Upgrading my old HP Pavilion dv6-2153el

Hello everybody!

I was thinking about buying a new notebook, since my HP pavilion dv6-2153el is extremely old and is giving me a lot of problems, but then I thought that if I buy a new notebook I'd spend 1000€ just for a better GPU ( essentially), so I'd better buy a desktop instead of a notebook for gaming. So now I want to upgrade and make my old pc feel new!

Alright, let's start.

This is the page that shows all the characteristics of my PC: http://support.hp.com/it-it/document/c01995765#AbT0

I'll need to use it for Matlab and CAD programs like CATIA, and for playing with old games too.
First, I'd like to know if you think it'd be worth upgrading my pc or I'd better buy a new one because the CPU and/or the GPU I have aren't enough powerful for what I should do.
If they are ok, then I'd like to upgrade my HDD and RAM.
But first, I'd like to check if my hardware ( CPU and GPU) is fine or not. Is there any program that can check it?
I've never upgraded a PC and have never formatted an HD, so I'll make a lot of questions, hoping you could help me!

However, I'd like to get an SSD and 8GB of RAM, and I'll need to buy both of them from amazon.it
I don't think I'd have any problem upgrading, right?
Let's start with the SSD. My old HD does some weird noises when my PC boots up ( just like a Formula 1 car). I think it's the HD because I don't think it could be any other internal part.
Anyway, I'd like to format my whole HD and substitute it with a 500GB SSD. I was thinking about formatting my old HD ( I have all the files on my external hard drive), put the SSD in and install Windows 8.1 ( I have a free student license). I don't know if I'd have any trouble doing it. I have Windows 7 on my notebook at the moment, so I don't know if I'll find all the drivers I need. The SSD I'm looking to buy is the Crucial MX100 512GB. Is there anything better?
Before installing W8.1, however, I'd upgrade the RAM too. My PC has 2 slots, each filled with 2 GB of RAMs, so I'll need a 8GB DDR3 RAM. I don't know if I should buy two 4GB DDR3 or one 8GB DDR3. My pc can support up to 8, so I don't know if it means I can't have a free slot (?). BTW, I really have no idea what kind of RAM I should buy. It'd be awesome if you could link me an amazon.it page with the RAM I should buy in your opinion.

Alright. After doing this I will have a new PC. More RAM, New SSD, New SO. I'll be able to transfer all the data from my external HD to my "new" PC. But oh wait! My external usb 3.0 will be slow as hell on my pc with usb 2.0! But my pc has an esata port too! Can I find an adapter for it? [EDIT: Just found it I can't do it... Doesn't matter]

The main problems my pc has are:

1) Frequent blue screenes ( which should be fixed after upgrading to W8.1 on a new SSD)
2) It often shuts down by himself when playing or after working with MATLAB for more than 4 hours. It just overheats and shuts itself down.

So, how to fix the second problem? I think that's a fan problem, so since I'm not an expert at all I was thinking about taking it to a friend of mine which repairs PC, but I might repair it by myself if it's easy to fix.


I think that's all. Hope you can help me making my old PC feel like new ( if it's worth it!)

Thanks in advance!

 

Hi there,
If you want to upgrade to 8GB of RAM, get 2x 4GB identical sticks. I'm unsure if a single 8GB stick would be recognized. Crucial's memory configurator can tell you what kind of memory your computer takes. It should be a DDR3-1333 So-DIMM.

Upgrading the storage drive will likely make the biggest difference in terms of the system's responsiveness. I'll point you towards our SSD forum for research and specific recommendations.

Your computer may be shutting down due to overheating. Here's a cooling guide I wrote many years ago that illustrates the basics of cleaning it out. HP Pavilions aren't the easiest to take apart.

One last thought before you spend any money on this computer is - is it really worthwhile. It's one thing to upgrade the storage drive since you can easily transfer that to another computer. Doing that and reformatting the computer (fresh installation of Windows) will do more than anything for its performance. But consider that a modern notebook with an Intel Core i7-4XXX e.g. i7-4710HQ quad-core notebook will run rings around what you have now and additionally bring the benefits of greatly increased battery life, proper support for Windows 8.1, a full warranty and not having the feeling your computer is a failure waiting to happen.

 

Thanks a lot, Charles.

I was thinking to buy a new laptop ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/which-notebook-should-i-buy-for-gaming.769877/#post9902439) but I think it wouldn't be worth spending around 1000€, so I'd better upgrade my old laptop, also considering that I'd use the SSD I buy on a new PC if I'll ever buy one, so I'd just spend around 60€ for the RAM upgrade.
I'm just an engineering student who hasn't got much money, but that extremely needs a good pc to be used for studying and doing exams with Matlab and CATIA. Those are the priorities now, not gaming, which I could do on my PS3 or on a Ps4 if I buy one. The most important thing is that it doesn't fail on me during an exam while using Matlab or CATIA ( which has already happened while working at home, overheating)
As for the CPU, I don't know if I really need a better CPU for what I do. A battery life improvement would be really good, but I think I'll almost always have a power source when I work. I don't think I should spend 800€ on a new laptop just for the CPU. I could save that money for something else.
Do you think it'd be worth upgrading? Is the CPU something I should worry about considering what I do with my HP ( everyday use, working, studying and playing with old games).

A lenovo y50-70 with 4K display and 860m 4GB, 12GB RAM + i7 4710HQ would cost 840€ + 25€ for external DVD Burner + 170€ for 512GB SSd --> 1035€
If I upgrade my PC with a new SSD and RAM, it would cost around 220€, and I would save 815€, which could be used for a new laptop when my pavilion won't be enough.

 

Open the Task Manager (Ctrl + Alt + Esc) to the Performance tab while you're working and let it run in the background. Then take a look at the CPU usage graph; if it's in the 80-90%+ range continuously, that's a good indication you would benefit from a faster CPU. If it only goes to that percentage occasionally then power-wise you're fine with the current CPU. The Core i7-720QM is still sufficient for most modern applications.
Also watch the Memory usage graph; if it's 2.5GB or above, chances are your system's 4GB of memory is holding it back.

What I'd personally recommend in your situation is to first thoroughly clean out the notebook from dust. If you need help, you might ask in our HP Pavilion forum. Doing this will minimize the risk of overheating.

Secondly I'd buy the SSD you're looking at and commence with the new installation of Windows. Realistically you'll want to stick with Windows 7 unless HP offered Windows 8.1 on that notebook (I doubt it) because you otherwise may not have proper driver support. You can get all the latest drivers for your notebook by downloading them from HP's Support website.

As a third priority you could upgrade the memory - we have a general guide here. Going from 4GB to 8GB of RAM will likely help performance significantly. But again I think the two items I listed above will make the most significant differences of all.

 

Thanks a lot again!

I've already called a friend of mine whose job is to repair computers. I'll make him check the fan and clean the notebook (because I don't want to accidentally break anything), and I'll upgrade the memory and the SSD by myself.

I'll check the CPU as soon as I can, but I think it has never given me any trouble. Sometimes it takes a while to run my matlabs codes, but I always optimize my codes in order to make them run on slower machines, so I don't think that's a problem.
As for the RAM, when I turn on the PC it's always at more than 50% just with Chrome opened... When I work it takes more than 60% for sure. I don't know if that is normal...
I was thinking about first upgrading to 6GB, then going to 8GB if it isn't enough. If I buy the correct 4GB kind of RAM will I be able to use my old 2GB + 4GB?

 

Sounds like a RAM upgrade is in order. It should make the system more responsive overall especially while running more intensive tasks.

You can add just one 4GB stick but for maximum compatibility and the best performance, use identical sticks (brand/capacity/frequency/timing) - always. 2x 4GB in your case. See the memory upgrade guide I linked to above; after installing the new RAM, you'll want to run memtest86+ for a while and make sure it's error-free.

 

After hearing your suggestions I've upgraded my PC!

I have cleaned up my fan, upgraded my RAM to 6GB and put a 250GB SSD. Now it works like a charm, with Windows 7 Professional.

Now, I'd like to play some new games on it, but I can't because my GPU isn't powerful enough. I was thinking about buying an external GPU that can let me play new games at 1080p + filters, linking my PC with my 1080p TV with an HDMI cable. Is it technically possible?

 

Not doable with this PC. You're stuck with the GPU you have.

 

Well, that's a bummer I thought I could do it using the ExpressCard/54 Slot (also supports ExpressCard/34).
Is there any reason why I can't do it?