Upgrade Thinkpad L540 or buy a new laptop

Hello,

I currently have a Thinkpad L540 with the following configuration:

Code:

Operating System
    Windows 7 Professional 64-bit SP1
CPU
    Intel Core i5 4300M @ 2.60GHz
    Haswell 22nm Technology
RAM
    8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 (9-9-9-24)
Motherboard
    LENOVO 20AUS0BC01 (CPU Socket - U3E1)
Graphics
    LCD 1366x768 (1366x768@60Hz)
    Intel HD Graphics 4600 (Lenovo)
Storage
    465GB Hitachi HGST HTS725050A7E6300 SCSI Disk Device (SATA)
Optical Drives
    PLDS DVD-RW DU8A5SH SCSI CdRom Device
Audio
    Realtek High Definition Audio

I have been using it for last three years. But now it feels that it has started to get slow. My main usages are programming in IDEs, chrome with tons of tabs(around 30-40), some background scripts to keep my stuff in place and in sync.

What do you guys suggest shall I upgrade my current system with more RAM and an SSD? If yes, any suggestions? or Shall I buy a new/used/refurbished laptop? I'll look for a quad core with at least 16gb ram and the budget will be 1000CAD. I do not play games but I do open up VMs once in a while for development purposes.

 

The overall bottleneck in your computer is likely the hard drive. If you have a lot of apps open, the computer may run out of RAM, and will then use the hard drive as a swap disk (virtual memory). The hard drive is about 1000x slower than RAM, so ...really slow.

You could throw in an SSD - even a very inexpensive one will do - and that would make things significantly better. A clean installation of the operating system will likely do wonders to begin with.

What you can do to figure out if the CPU is the bottleneck is open the Task Manager (Ctrl + Alt + Esc) and leave it running for a bit while you do your typical work. Then open it and check the CPU graph. If the usage is consistently over 50 percent for extended periods of time (not just spikes) then you could probably benefit from a faster CPU.

Bottom line, though, is that you're using a system that is nearing the end of its life cycle. The battery is probably degraded. Probably best off going for a new machine, assuming you're OK with Windows 10.

The ThinkPad L580 is the new version of yours. Not terribly different, but it has the latest technology.
https://www3.lenovo.com/ca/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-l/ThinkPad-L580/p/22TP2TBL580
Lenovo's configurations aren't loading for me right now (on their US or Canada sites, strange). But it seems a little pricey in Canada. The Core i5-8250U is the least-expensive quad-core you'll find in a notebook like that.

Charles

 

Thank you Charles. I am planning to format it once and then observe if it makes any improvement.
May be then I'll buy an SSD and hope it will help it perform much better.

I want to hold on to purchasing a new laptop until next year as I have no plans to buy it new.

 

Buy an SSD - there's a high chance that you'll be able to use it in a future notebook anyway. The RAM and CPU seem OK - the SSD will make the whole system seem faster and more responsive.

 

This is a little less likely nowadays, with the shift away from 2.5" SATA and 1.8" mSATA to the NVMe form factors.

 

@D0_do very low screen resolution negatively affects your productivity, HD is simply atrocious by today's standards - I suggest getting a new/used machine with at least FHD display (unless you use this one with external monitor most of the time). Something like t450/s or t550 with FHD IPS, or even newer depending on your budget, would be a good replacement.

 

I know this has been said before, but buy an SSD. A Q6600 with an SSD can run Windows much more smoothly than a 8700K with an HDD. If you do decide to buy a new laptop, head over to http://forum.notebookreview.com/forums/what-notebook-should-i-buy.16/ and fill out the form.

 

I know . I used to have FHD dell studio and then had to buy this system in an emergency situation when studio died. Currently I have a monitor hooked to it.
I am holding on to my purchase of a new laptop as intel generation 8 processors seems much better than their predecessors and I'll most probably be buying a used/refurbished one.

Any advice which SSD to go for?

umm I didn't know the form factors affect this as well. I'll google it and read a bit about it. If you have a reference that will be great as well.

 

Get a Crucial MX500 ssd in the 2.5" form factor. Refer to the video below for the installation.

 

All I meant to point out is that newer notebooks tend to favor the smaller NVMe form factor, so you may not be able to bring over a SATA or mSATA SSDto a newer notebook in future, depending on what types of drives the newer notebook can support.

 

So far all laptops have at least one 2.5inch SATA bay, and m.2 SATA is still available in almost all as well.

 

Not all. Many newer thin/light notebooks have a larger battery option which is mutually exclusive with installing a 2.5" SSD, as the battery takes up extra room.

I would expect this trend to continue/accelerate to the point where 2.5" drives are not accommodated at all, in any configuration.

 

@D0_do If you decide to get an SSD, I'd recommend SATA m.2 2280 drive in m.2 to 2.5" adapter instead of native 2.5" drive, unless the price difference is inadequately high. It will definitely be compatible with almost any machine and won't limit you in choice when you decide you're fed up with HD display.

I speak from experience - switching from an otherwise decent laptop with HD display to a newer Thinkpad with FHD over a year ago, I had no other choice but to sell my 1TB 2.5" SSD - simply because there wasn't a slot for it; was I to purchase a machine specifically with 2.5" slot, I am positively sure I would not be as happy with my choice.

 

I would recommend a clean install of Win 10 Pro on a 1TB or larger (2.5") SSD (that has been OP'd by 33% or more) after upgrading the RAM to 16GB total.

The base hardware (CPU/igpu) you have is potent for your indicated workflows - however, the low RAM (8GB is hardly enough for multi-tab/multiwindow browsing for manyyears now...) is holding your productivity and 'snappiness' back a lot. Windows 7 is also an old and creaking platform that is overtaken by Windows 10 for productivity - especially when an SSD is part of the setup.

With a 1TB SSD OP'd by 33% (giving the user ~635GB of usable capacity), and a clean Win 10 install all on your i5-4300M with 16GB of RAM, I would not be surprised to have this system be more productive than that used/refurbished 16GB QC system you are considering (which probably/may not have an OP'd SSD nor a clean Win 10 install). And you should be able to upgrade the RAM, the O/S and the storage system for less than the cost of that used setup (which would more than likely need work to get working optimally in any case...).

What all these upgrades together should get you is a system that you'll be using (at least in your current workflow) for the next decade. That's not something that Win 7 will be able to offer you in less than two years from now.

Hope this helps.

Take care.

 

aha i ordered in the 2.5" crucial ssd drive before I saw your reply. :|

Thank you tilleroftheearth.
Lets' see how the performance goes with addition of an SSD. If it will ask for an addition of RAM as well I may buy that as well. The RAM prices are way too high.

I am curious about ~635gb of usable capacity on a 1tb ssd. Why is it so?

 

Hey bud what you have there may be a gem - The L440 is the one of the most flexible thinkpads at a lower cost vs the T series which are virtually the same (but in fact the T series has a BGA cpu)

OK - list of things to address that will cost you under $250

-Screen - replace with FHD and check if the 30 pin cable needs to be upgraded . The monitor change is one of the easiest.
RAM - get it 16gb DDR3L of course, you need to make sure they're DDR3L as your CPU is not compatible with the older DDR3 high voltage ones
SSD - there a number of alternatives here. Definitely swap the 2.5' HDD for the largest SSD per/gb ratio you can afford.
The laptop should also have a dvd drive which you reuse your old HDD by removing your dvd drive for a caddy.
Third storage option is tricky - check beneath your battery - there should be an m2 slot that was setup for "express cache" and I'm fairly certain yours would have that additional component given you bought the model with a stock HDD instead of a SSD.

This fits a 2242 M2 SSD drive which at the moment is still kinda hard and pricey to find but i don't see any reason for you need 3 at this stage for now assuming you aim for a 500gb ssd or even 250gb is OK

2242 m2 SATA ssd are slowly making it's way into the market but at the moment are mainly chinese labeled brands which may or may not be inferior but why take the risk.

2.5inch ssd drives will continue to prevail (unless your next upgrade is a sleek and slim ultrabook) - so ok let's say you want to future proof that too. Buy a 2280 m2 SSD Sata drive (they're about $10 more than the 2.5" variants and pay an additional $10 for a m2 to 2.5" adapter enclosure.

do not bother with the CPU upgrade - you do not need the quad core features given what you said you will be doing and personally it will be wasted on a double socket ram laptop.

Going forward - the only bottleneck i can see is perhaps the ram capping out at 16gb but it's going to be balanced off by the fact that you'd be having all SSD over the next few years.

Do not underestimate the i5 haswell M cpu. the turbo speed and performance are on par with the the skylake ulv (socketed) version with the only weakness being the haswell igpu.

This can be fixed too - this sick laptop is the last thinkpad variant to employ an express card slot which is a pcie 2.0 standard. modding it with an external dGPU is a it technical but well documented.

Wireless cards should be upgraded to the AC format but i assume it is already AC so you are officially a proud owner of the ugliest beast that was designed to be the poor man's Thinkpad but one that can easily go toe-toe with the newer gen laptop. It's a real tank with mil-spec grade.


Other points to take note:
This series would come with the redesigned infamous extra large touchpad that caused such a backlash Lenovo reverted to the previous config. If it annoys you too - a replacement only costs below $10 and it's very easy to swap.

Also the lack of backlit keypad support is a bummer (many have tried to purchase the backlit keypad version from the T series but the mobo was not wired for power to supply the lights!)

On the note of the CPU - keep any eye for either a i7-4702qm or i7-4712qm and if you spot one for say $50 take it. These are the only 2 variants that match the TDP of 35w. the other quads are 7w higher?
if you wish - the other qm cpu will still function but you will need to be a bit more vigilant around potential thermal issues. that said - just aim for the 2 variants i mentioned, they're at least 4 years old now so get one for cheap. Otherwise the i5 is plenty much,

Apart from that - the ongoing support of drivers from lenovo is outstanding but beware of any Lenovo bloatware - infact do not even install any lenovo labelled "utility". just keep an eye out for bios support.

THe whitelist issue can be annoying but at this stage if your wifi card is the 7260 series you're good in my books,

 

@p0och Thank you for such a great insight.
I went ahead with crucial mx500 500gb ssd. Should have waited a week more to save another 15$ but whatever. I do have wwan slot as well as a cd/dvd drive but I don't think I'll need more storage space locally any soon. I do think sometime in near future I may upgrade to 16gb of ram.

However, I did come across an interesting problem on my laptop which initially made me suspect that it is my laptop which has become extremely slow. Seems like the issue is WiFi card on my laptop. In windows, it doesn't work to its full strength.
Speed tests shows the speed as 300-800 Kbps. I have dual boot ubuntu installation and when I switch to ubuntu the speeds are fine.
Then, however I have netgear adapter as well and I plugged it in yesterday while working in windows environment and I am getting normal speeds of 15-30 Mbps through this adapter.

I don't know exactly how to describe this problem. In simple words, With default wifi card internet speed is super slow while working in windows but it is fine when I am in ubuntu environment. Plugged in a netgear adapter while in windows and the speed went back to normal.

 

what is your default wifi card?

 

Sorry for the late reply (life is busy).

1TB (nominal) SSD is calculated by the manufacturers as 1,000,000,000,000 bytes and mistakenly refer to it as a TB.

However, computers actually store data with 1024 bytes per KB. To make a TB would require 1024x1024x1024x1024 bytes of storage which equals 1,09,9,511,627,776 bytes.

To properly calculate how much storage a nominal 1TB SSD will hold with an additional 33% of OP'ing is done like this:

1,000,000,000,000 / 1024 / 1024 / 1024 = 931.32 GB

931.32 x (1-.33) = 623.98 GB of usable space

(The ~11 GB difference is just from memory because 1TB SSD's don't get shipped with just 1,000,000,000,000 bytes of usable space... or, I may have simply been thinking of another %age OP'ing…).

Hope this helps.

See:
https://www.reference.com/science/many-bytes-terabyte-f3ffb58bf4f7ab36#

 

Also, if your trying to determine the size of what your files take on disk, YMMV. See "History and Usage" for your OS type- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mebibyte

 

@p0och Sorry about the late reply. My wifi adapter is
Intel Wireless-N 7260 BGN 2x2 HMC WiFi Adapter

 

@tilleroftheearth I am aware about the 931.32 Gb part. But 33% of OP'ing to come at 623.98 Gb...I still did not understand this

 

if your observations on the performance of the 7260 is between the 2 OS, it is very likely an APSM or lenovo's power management driver in the way.
Depending on who you ask - the 720 seems to be a hit or miss mainly because it was one of the first to support AC - My own experience have been nothing but great. but I guess part of it was because i had adopted the netgear r7000 and configured it with a custome formware called dd-wrt which to this date remains one of th most formibadle router and can be had for a bargain.

anyway there's a few tweaks i'd do to improve performance.just also check if you are experiencing a large amount of packet loss too.

In power management under advance in the pci express configuration - disable link power management when plugged in (you can also disable that on battery but i'll let you decide on your own circumstances.

another one under the advanced section is the obvious wifi performance configure that to the max.

then go to device manager and click on the network card's properties - under options enable the turbo boost option if you have that.

beforehand - do you have access to 5gz band (AC or N standard) ? on the prefered bandwidth option (still under the network card's properties ) - select 5ghz to benefit from the larger lanes.

IF you have roaming aggressiveness as an option - (this option makes the wifi card work harder to find a better connection whilst connected to the current) - so in most cases you will not be on the move so I normally select the lowest options. (the wifi card then has a longer i between time to ping or search for other signals where in most cases - is unnecessary)

and finally under the power tab of the properties - uncheck the box that says allow system to suspend/sleep during inactivitiy.


Other notes

if your internet is only on the 2ghz channel - see if either your router or the card has the option for bluetooth preamble which in essence will adjust for any clashes as both techs uses the same channel in different variations.

the worst case and it's really not a big deal is to buy a usb version with a fat antenna ($25 max?) there are also express card slot wifi options but are overpriced/

 

oh and yet another reason why the L440 is the beast is the adoption of the m2 form factor.

in the minipcie days which was ivy bridge - the best wifi card was the 7260 and a broadcom version because they both offered AC and bt 4.0

you can probably forget all those tweaks or rather have a read as they are tweaks i employ to any of my setups.

but point being you can buy the intel 8265or 8260 for under $20 as well - just make sure if buying from ebay to ask if the wifi card supports LENOVO L440

due to the whitelist and assuming you wouldn't want to wade into that - go to the L440 Manual which will have a list of compatible wifi models along with their FRU and then ask the seller for that.

Some sellers may even be able to custom it to your needs for an extra - either through an extra bios mod software with whitelists removed or through another method. Eitherway - its not impossible to then grab the intel 9260 which is the wgiga & bt 5.0 rdy (if i recall correctly).

 

As I also mentioned in that post you partly quoted; I may have been thinking about another OP'd amount (I OP my SSD's by up to 65%, depending on the workload I use them for).

Take care.

 

If you have one 8gb stick and room for another 8gb stick, then it's worth it to upgrade the ram and add a SSD. If you have two 4gb sticks in and no extra slots, then the cost of replacing all the ram might not be worth it.

 

Yes this is the scenario. I have two 4gb sticks and therefore I am considering that if I need to upgrade the ram I'll buy a used one.

 

Terrible idea. It won't work in JBOD on anything newer than Core 2 Duo because SATA Port Multiplier functionality was dropped afterwards. That leaves the choice of RAID0, RAID1 & SPAN. Crappy controllers inside such solutions will not improve 4K performance at best, but more likely it will be slower than a single drive, and they do not support TRIM to add an insult to injury. Bottom line, just don't.