Reasons to Upgrade Your Laptop (That Go Beyond a Performance Upgrade)

[seeprime]

I do gaming laptops for the portability and power. So not gonna be upgrading this beast on a whim just because it's a few years old

I'm hoping Thunderbolt will become standard on just about all laptops so that anyone can plug in an external graphics card, in a box of course, and instantly upgrade.

 

[seeprime]

I had a laptop with an i5-6300HQ and a 960m until about a year ago. Ran Watch Dogs 2 and got a message that my GPU was below the minimum requirements, so I figured it was time for a new laptop. I now have one with an i7 and gtx 1060 max-q. It is still only a computer with a 4-core CPU. I could make use of an 8 or more core CPU on a laptop, but when they become available and the prices come down.

This is why we need to push laptop OEM's to incorporate Thunderbolt into every machine that has a Ryzen or Core chip onboard. Instant expandablity, making any machine a gaming PC or workstation, would be great.

 

[Puiu]

3-4 years is my upgrade cycle for a laptop (as long as it doesn't fail completely).

 

[seeprime]

3-4 years is my upgrade cycle for a laptop (as long as it doesn't fail completely).

That used to be mine also. Now with SSD's the machines last longer, and run a bit cooler. In my opinion businesses should upgrade no farther out than every four years.

 

[Capsaicin]

“For most, 4K on a 13- to 15-inch screen is overkill and mostly unnecessary“

It’s that insanity that keep giant ugly pixel 1080p monitors still being sold after 4k was introduced a half decade ago. It’s mind boggling how people can look at their smartphones with 300+ dpi and then look at a 23” 1080p monitor all day. When I got my 4k 15” laptop it was like getting glasses for the first time. I could finally see DETAIL in everything! I wish manufacturers would STOP shipping 1080p anything. Fat pixels are gross.

 

[mbk34]

Oddly, I can't think of any reason to upgrade my main laptop. I have a HP Envy 13" that's a couple of years old but it's 2 core i5 seems to handle everything I throw at it, there's a low power GPU (an MX 150) if I want to play games and the battery will happily last all day. Most of all it just makes me smile every time I open it up as it's a lovely looking thing. Obviously if you want to edit video files or play the latest games then you need something better or, more likely, a decent PC.

I can see improvements in my ultra portable surface go, micro bezels and a longer battery life would be nice, but I can't see myself spending more cash. Anyway, once they get ancient I tend to just convert them to Linux which, if the hardware is compatible, tends to give them a new lease of life.

 

[Chinaski]

Agrred, I have a T400 (11 years old) with a lightweight distro (bunsenlabs) of linux on an SSD. Works for everything I need it for (emails, office, browsing), arguable that the only issue is it weighs a bit lol.

My T510 is a certified weapon!

 

[DelJo63]

Hmm; laptop implies portability and imo that demands connectivity.
Bluetooth, Wired and Wifi networking, OPTICAL cd/rw, USB

The laptop is frequently the device of choice for making presentation, so get several USB ports

 

[hakeemzu]

How can we continuously updating our laptops its need a lot of money

 

[DelJo63]

How can we continuously updating our laptops its need a lot of money

I don't update either for the same reason. If yours is working for you just enjoy the savings

 

[poohbear]

Still rocking my Asus Zenbook with 4th gen Haswell from 2014. I upgraded the HDD to an SSD and it's a night and day difference. For office work, email, and internet browsing there's really no need to upgrade.

However, recently saw that new Acer Swift 5 with 10th Gen Ice Lake, 12 hours battery life, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB PCIE SSD, Wifi 6, touch screen, and weighing only 990 grams @ ~$900 is looking mighty tempting. I'll prolly upgrade to that beauty on a Black Friday sale this year (2020).