How do I upgrade my notebook computer?

A lot of people's notebooks used for a long time to find more and more slowly, the notebook is not like desktop upgrades space, many people tend to give up the old buy new, don't rush to throw! Triple to introduce some ways to upgrade old laptops, the simple effect is obvious.

After two or three years, a laptop that is already in good condition may look senile, the aging of the device and the new system and software that take up more resources make it start to slow down and even use the problem continuously. At the same time, the standard and interface of wireless networks supported by old laptops have lagged behind the latest standard wireless network adapters and new interface speeds such as USB 3.0, which are becoming bottlenecks in computer data transfer.

Unlike desktops, laptops are not designed so much to take into account upgrades, and are not intended to allow users to upgrade significantly, so many users with higher computer performance are forced to buy only one new computer. However, if the laptop is only an individual parts need to upgrade, then we can still do some local upgrades.

On a portable computer, a mini pci-e slot is usually reserved for the user to upgrade. With this slot, we can install a mSATA SSD as a system disk, without affecting the storage capacity of the device, make full use of the advantages of solid-state drives, allowing the system to start and run faster. You can also install an adapter card with a high-definition decoding chip to allow the old device to have enough performance to play the HD video. In addition, laptops on the hard disk, wireless network cards, memory, mobile communication adapters and other modules are generally installed in the slot, for these modules, we can adjust according to their needs, for example, we can replace a wireless network adapter card, so that notebook computers can support the latest wireless network standards. Which module should be replaced, and what equipment should be left for the mini pci-e slot, we need to decide according to the bottleneck of the notebook computer and its application requirements. Below chip will introduce a variety of different upgrade methods for reference.

Limitations of upgrading your notebook

Using a mini PCI-E slot upgrade is the easiest way to replace the original module of a notebook computer, which is a relatively difficult problem to consider when deciding on an upgrade method. In general, the motherboard and display card of the notebook computer is not replaceable, and the processor can be replaced, but if you want to replace the processor, you need to carefully consult the notebook manufacturer's data, in addition to determining the motherboard can support the type of processor, we must also consider the new processor generated by the heat, Whether the thermal system of the notebook computer can withstand such problems.

Upgrade Step

From easy to difficult, the following we will introduce upgrades to install a variety of modules, in general, because the upgrade of the internal modules need to open the notebook computer, so the difficulty is relatively high.

1. Install USB 3.0 Adapter card

The slow USB 2.0 interface when transferring large files is annoying, which causes us to be unable to use the USB 3.0 devices that are now ubiquitous to transmit data, and to solve this problem, installing a USB 3.0 adapter card on the Express cards slot on the laptop is the only way to do so. USB 3.0 Express card usually provides two USB 3.0 connectors, according to the product channel and brand different, the price is mostly between 50~150 yuan. When choosing the USB 3.0 adapter card for Express card, pay attention to the preferred 34mm cards, because 34mm Express card cards can be used in 34mm and 54mm in the Express tab slot, or you need to find out the express on the notebook computer first The size of the card slot. The Express card is easy to install and can be used by inserting the card into the slot and installing the manufacturer-supplied driver.

2. Increase memory

If the notebook computer has less than 4GB of memory, it is necessary to upgrade to 8GB. Use Cpu-z (www.cpuid.com) to detect the amount of memory installed on the current portable computer, the Model (Memory tab), and whether there are free slots (SPD tab). Next, depending on the memory, consider whether to buy higher-capacity memory to replace the original memory or to install a memory module in the spare slot that is the same as the original memory. On the back of your laptop, find the screws with the memory module markings, unscrew the screws and open the bezel to see the memory slots. Press the metal sheet at both ends of the memory module to open the retention device to remove the memory and then perform the opposite steps to install the new memory.

3. Install SATA Solid State Drive

For all laptops using a mechanical hard drive, installing a solid-state drive can improve performance effectively, and the operating system and applications will start much faster. There are two options for installing a solid-state drive, one of which is replacing a mechanical hard drive with a solid-state drive. The hard drive is usually installed near the bottom of the notebook computer, so you can open the hard drive lid on the bottom or side of the laptop and easily pull out the hard drive to replace it. Then, simply install the solid-state drive in the reverse order. Next, we can install the original hard drive on the removable hard drive box to copy the required data from it. For best performance, however, Chip does not recommend copying the original operating system, but should reinstall the operating system on the solid-state drive, so that the new version of Windows Installer will automatically use the solid state drive optimized settings to maximize the performance of solid-state drives after identifying the SSD. , and extend the service life of solid-state drives.

4. Install mSATA Solid State Drive

To upgrade a solid-state drive for an old laptop, consider installing a msata SSD on a laptop's mini pci-e slot in addition to using a solid-state drive to replace a mechanical hard drive, and in the case of a pci-e slot on your laptop. mSATA solid-state hard disk installation is very simple, only need to open the notebook computer at the bottom of the slot baffle, the mSATA solid-state hard drive into the slot. However, it is important to note that the mSATA SSD must be fastened to a mini pci-e slot with a small screw, but that some laptops do not have the proper screws reserved, and some mSATA SSD products are not equipped with screws, so In the purchase before we must find out whether there are reserved screws on the slot, if not, you need to buy msata solid-state hard drive to consider equipped with screws.

After installing the mSATA solid-state hard drive, set the priority to use solid-state hard disk boot in the BIOS, reinstall the operating system and applications on the solid-state drive, and then store photos and various video and audio files on the mechanical hard drive to take full advantage of the performance of the solid-state drives and the capacity of the mechanical hard drives. The performance of mSATA solid-state drives is close to SATA solid-state drives, and in our tests, the Samsung 840 Evo mSATA SSD is very well performing.

5, the installation of High-definition accelerator

Installing a high-definition accelerator will be an effective way to install a high definition accelerometer if the laptop cannot play high-definition video smoothly, or if it relies too much on the processor during playback to seriously increase the load on the cooling system and affect the life of the battery. Broadcom's crystal High-definition chip is the current mainstream solution, and now its latest version is BCM-70015, which is also effective for Flash HD video decoding. Through Taobao and other online trading venues, we only need to spend about 100 yuan to buy a mini pci-e High-definition accelerator with BCM-70015 chips. Plug it into the mini pci-e slot as you would install the mSATA solid-state drive, and install a 32-bit or 64-bit version of the driver based on the operating system version. Typically, the next Windows Media Player will automatically decode the HD movie with the chip, but if the player does not, then we can manually select the Broadcom video decoder in the Windows Media Player Settings Options dialog box. And if you want to speed up the decoding of Flash HD video, then we need to reinstall Adobe Flash after installing the Broadcom driver.

6, replace the wireless network adapter card

If the wireless network speed is the bottleneck of the laptop, then we may consider replacing the wireless network adapter card. In general, laptop wireless network adapter cards are installed through the slot, and most of the only need to remove the bezel on the back of the laptop computer can be directly replaced. Therefore, simply remove the old card, install the new card, and update the device driver. However, in the course of the replacement, special attention needs to be paid to the antenna of the wireless network adapter card, the newer standard wireless network adapter card usually needs at least two antennas, and the old notebook computer's wireless network adapter card may have only one antenna, which will require us to continue the next step of the upgrade.

7. Install wireless network antenna

If the laptop has only one wireless network card antenna, then the replacement of the new wireless adapter card will probably not work stably and use the 5GHz band, serious impact on the speed and stability of the wireless network. Therefore, in this case, a certain hands-on ability of the user can consider installing a wireless network antenna.

First of all, according to their choice of wireless network adapter card matching appropriate antenna, and then open the screen, the antenna led to the back of the screen, so that when the notebook computer opened to use, the antenna can be in a higher position, to obtain a better signal. Each laptop opens the screen in a different way, with Lenovo X201 as an example, we have to unscrew the bottom edge of the screen 3 screws, release the Panel and display box to open the display. Antenna connection can be adjusted according to the direction of the display wiring, the antenna to the notebook computer, insert the wireless adapter adapter card on the other antenna connector. This series of operations requires us to have a certain hands-on ability, chip recommended that in the actual operation before the Internet to find and learn their own laptop computer screen disassembly method, to ensure that the operation can be successfully completed.