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How could my mum speed up her PC?

martin2345uk

martin2345uk

macrumors 65832
Original poster
Jan 6, 2013
1,500
1,276
Essex
Hi all,

I know very little about computers, my mum even less so, but just wondering if there are any steps we could take to make her machine run at least a bit faster - it's incredibly slow and stuttery at times and is quite frustrating to use!!!

The PC is a Lenovo all-in-one, running Windows 10. It was a budget machine so I'm not expecting miracles here :)

These are the details of the hardware:

Capture.JPG


It has a hard disk drive:

Capture2.JPG


When it slowed right down just now I had a look at Task Manager and it looked like this, no idea if this is relevant at all

Capture3.JPG


Any ideas clever folks?
 
So, a few things you need to know.

The Intel Pentium isn't a very fast processor. But, it's sufficient in this case because your PC is only using 25% of its power on your screenshot.

Secondly, these all-in-ones are typically laptop parts put into a desktop. If on the lower budget end, then that means parts such as your memory / RAM is soldered meaning you can't upgrade it. Your memory / ram is at 93% so it could do with being doubled to 8GB - if you can, go onto a site like www.crucial.co.uk and let it scan your system to tell you if it's upgradeable. Then, consider buying and installing it - there are guides online and it's generally easy for even novices to follow along.

Your obvious problem with the PC is Disk. This is the 'hard drive', storing all your content. I assume it's a spinning hard drive which is cheaper, slower but offers a lot of space. This is hopefully upgradeable (check Crucial's PC Scan also) to an SSD, which will be much much faster. It's the single best upgrade you can make to any compatible computer.

Other than improving the specification of the PC physically, you could go to the Startup tab in Task Manager and disable a lot of things that run automatically when you turn on the PC so it doesn't take so long trying to sort itself out each time you start it.
 
martin2345uk said:
Hi all,

I know very little about computers, my mum even less so, but just wondering if there are any steps we could take to make her machine run at least a bit faster - it's incredibly slow and stuttery at times and is quite frustrating to use!!!

The PC is a Lenovo all-in-one, running Windows 10. It was a budget machine so I'm not expecting miracles here :)

These are the details of the hardware:

View attachment 902541

It has a hard disk drive:

View attachment 902543

When it slowed right down just now I had a look at Task Manager and it looked like this, no idea if this is relevant at all

View attachment 902544

Any ideas clever folks?
Click to expand...

I don't exactly know how upgradable the Lenovo all-in-one is, but a view things spring to mind judging from what I see in the task manager (if possible on this machine):

  • Upgrade the RAM from 4 to 8 (or even 16) Gb.
  • Replace the HDD (I assume it is a mechanical hard drive) with an SSD.
  • Put a completely fresh install of Windows 10 on the SSD.
This will increase the speed of this machine considerably.

If the hardware upgrades are not possible: at least clean up the hard drive (for what I see it does not have a lot of data on it anyway) and/or do a fresh install of Windows.

Don't expect miracles, because, as you said, it is a budget machine and the Pentium CPU is not the most powerful in the world. But replacing the HDD with an SSD and upping the RAM should help a lot.

These upgrades (if possible) will cost you a couple of hundred bucks. But a new PC with better specs will cost you way more than that though. Try to find someone who can judge if this Lenovo can be upgraded and maybe can do it for you.
 
Last edited:
Can you open and upgrade it? Any service doors on the back to upgrade ram and the hard drive?

4GB of RAM are very very limiting and this thing probably uses a slow HDD? Install a SSD then (if possible). That would make a huge difference.

Edit: too slow :)
 
This gives an idea of what specs in laptops

Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop, 15.6 Inches FHD IPS Display, 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8265U, 8GB DDR4, 256GB SSD, Fingerprint Reader, Windows 10 Home, A515-54-51DJ

www.amazon.com

Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop, 15.6 Inches FHD IPS Display, 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8265U, 8GB DDR4, 256GB SSD, Fingerprint Reader, Windows 10 Home, A515-54-51DJ

Acer Aspire 5 A515-54-51DJ comes with these high level specs: 8th Generation Intel Core i5-8265U Processor 1.6GHz with Turbo Boost Technology up to 3.9GHz (6MB Smart cache), Windows 10 Home, 15.6 Inches Full HD (1920 x 1080) widescreen LED-backlit IPS Display, Intel UHD Graphics 620, 8GB DDR4 Mem...
www.amazon.com
 
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Thanks for the replies! Seems like a RAM and SDD upgrade are the avenues to explore.

I’m telling you now though no way do I have the ability to do any of that myself so I’ll wait till lockdown is over and make enquiries! :)
 
Perhaps a neighbor, or a friend who does know can help out. Seeking out a professional is an option, but it will cost you. If I were in your shoes, I would go and look at a refurbished newer system If you can afford it.
 
martin2345uk said:
Would something like this be a good buy?


www.laptopsdirect.co.uk

Refurbished HP Compaq Elite 8300 Core i7 3770 8GB 512GB DVD-RW Windows 10 Professional Desktop - Laptops Direct

Buy Refurbished HP Compaq Elite 8300 Core i7 3770 8GB 512GB DVD-RW Windows 10 Professional Desktop from LaptopsDirect
www.laptopsdirect.co.uk www.laptopsdirect.co.uk
Click to expand...

Looks good. Seems like a good deal. It ticks all the boxes and it is way better than the current Lenovo:

- Good CPU
- Enough RAM
- SSD
- Windows 10 Pro
- One year warranty

I am not from the UK, but if the store is a reputable one: Go for it.

Don't forget you need a monitor, keyboard and mouse also! Depending on what kind of monitor you want, you need to add another 100 to 200 pounds to the price (unless you already have a monitor). You probably can use the mouse and keyboard of the Lenovo.
 
Last edited:
I know for my parents, a good malware scrub improved the situation greatly. Turns out that people who aren't familiar with computers also tend to accumulate a lot of crapware without knowing it, and all of that starts eating performance.

Another problem I encountered was a machine with 4 anti-virus programs installed, all of which were starting to treat each other as malware and competing for supremacy. After they saw that clearing malware helped before, they figured they couldn't be too safe and started installing everything they saw advertised...
 
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