Old, Slow Computer - Upgrade or Buy New?

I have two desktops here. Was running Win 7 on both. One (due to a hardware failure) ended up getting replaced with a new MB that was designed to run only Win 10. REAL bummer! I loaded that with plenty of RAM, SSD drives, and it has dual monitors. And while I have a minimal Win 10 on installed, it now multi-boots into 8.1, 10 or Ubuntu -- with Ubuntu being the choice. As fast as I need!

The other machine still runs 7 (and Ubuntu). It won't run 10, so that solves that question. With some careful registry cleaning, and other tuning up, it is a nice snappy machine. It has 3 Gb of RAM, will only take 4. I have an additional 1 Gb stick that I will add, and plan to update the HD to a SSD. That machine is running on a 500 Gb HD, and today a SSD of that size is not that much money. Physically where I have it located there is not room for a second monitor, but find the local Goodwill stores a fantastic source of used, but very usable monitors.

On the dire predictions of malware and Win 7 -- I think that is hype trying to convince people to upgrade. As the number of Win 7 users dwindle, the nerds writing malware aren't going to be aiming their stuff toward them. I have a Win 3 box, still up and doing a job, and have no worries about malware!

And, for those willing to run other than Windows, look at the horsepower available in the Raspberry Pi series!

am 71 using win 7, win 10 have no problems at all use PCMATIC across all never a problem with anything
need to use them to keep all I have Win 10 does not
run a lot

Replacing Windows with Linux Mint would speed up the old computer significantly!

IMHO, here is my approach to "speeding up" computers:
A. If it is running on a Pentium processor or below, consider upgrading!
B. First INCREASE memory to 16G, and set Windows "page file" to automatic.
C. Replace Mechanical drive with an SSD, shopping by performance and not just cost. If you have a lot of data, consider putting OS and executables on C: drive, and all there rest on a secondary drive. Andfrom this point forward, DO NOT DEFRAG.
D. Consider a one-time use of one of the highly rated cleanup utilities, to remove crap.

If you're upgrading to a SSD, you must turn OFF automatic defragging. SSDs have a finite number of rewrites, and defragging causes multiple rewrites. The way SSDs store data is different to disk drives, you should defrag disk drives, but I repeat, do not defrag SSDs.

An upgrade I did recently on my elderly box, for a very reasonable price, was to look up what CPU I had (cat /proc/cpuinfo), find on Ebay a compatible CPU with twice the cores, and higher clock speed, and plonk it in place of the old one on the MB.
Instant speed improvement.

PS But make sure the new CPU uses the same socket as the old !

My old eyes strain at small print. Upgrading for me involved (1) buying a refurbished office machine computer (from a reputable microsoft windows recognized refurbisher). They re-installed the newest windows 10 pro, changed out the hard drive to a brand new 1 terrabyte unit (they guarantee it for 2 years!). My machine came with 8 gigs ram installed. It also has a display port connection that I hooked an adapter onto that gives me HDMI connection. An HDMI cable lets me connect to a (2)large flat screen "smart TV" for my monitor. It is a 4K resolution tv that can also go onto the internet on its own, as well. That way I can watch netflix movies at 4K resolution, and for internet surfing and youtube I use the pc, with its' 1080 resolution (plenty adequate, but If I want 4K youtube I can go there on the TV and not be limited by the older pc's graphic card.). The refurb HP office pc cost $149, and the 42 inch smart TV was about $300. I've been using this setup for 3 years already and quite happy with it.

I used to replace my computer every few years after they became unacceptably slow, but then you wrote about PrivaZer, a utility that cleans the junk out. I had previously used Super Antispyware for the same purpose. Each seems to work well, but over time the junk builds up again. Then I started using both tegether (at separate times) and after 2 years my computer runs like new. Here's how: I use PrivaZer at shut-down, setting it to scan the machine and then shut it down when finshed. Then, immediately after booting up again, I run Super Antispyware. Often the latter finds nothing, and sometime a few items, but occasionally it finds hundreds; this morning it found 443! I should mention that I have each utility download updates before I turn them loose. The computer always runs like new! What's not to like about that? I should mention the PrivaZer has been asking for donations more aggressively, and I do send them a few dollars on occasion.

I always by high end refurb PC's, and besides a little cleanup, all I usually need to do is add memory.

I also just went to dual monitors, mostly because I'm working from home because of this virus thing. $250 buck for 2 24" monitors and a dual swing arm mount. Good investment.

If you can't add memory to your laptop, you can put in a usb flash drive, go to PC, right click on the drive - choose properties - then click on Readyboost and set it up.

My 'production' desktop system has Windows10 dual-booting with Mageia Linux. It originally had an AMD Athlon II dual core CPU and 4GB RAM with an onboard Graphics chip that used 1GB RAM 'shared' from main memory. I upgraded the RAM to 8 GB, and got an Nvidia GeForce GPU with 2 GB RAM onboard *not shared).

When the CPU started to run hotter than it should, I got a new (much larger) CPU cooling fan that took my operating temps from near 70 degrees Celsius to less than 30 degrees Celsius at an idle, and in the lower to mid 30's when under any load.

I then got an AND Phenom II quad core CPU that uses the same cooling fan (now runs in the mid to upper 30's Celsius), and just to max out the systems RAM, added another 8 GB (so now the system takes advantage of dual channel RAM access).

The GPU significantly improved my ability to stream video from the 'net, and graphics are now much clearer, and snappier.

The quad-core CPU improved performance and stability, even though it is still an old device.

My most recent (and probably final) upgrade is getting a 1TB SSD drive. This is perhaps the best upgrade I have made. My boot time in Windows 10 is now less than a half minute, and there is a noticeable improvement in programs loading.

All in all, I have probably spent between about $200.00 and $250.00 making these changes, but for me the results are well worth the investment. I should be able to use this machine for several years to come.

As a final note, my Linux installation now boots in about 20 to 25 seconds as opposed to 2 to 3 minutes before.

My recommendation to anyone who is trying to decide whether to upgrade what you have, or buy new is to make sure to evaluate cost / benefit from both sides of the equation. First find out what the cost of a new up to date system will cost, and what benefits it will provide. Next look at what upgrades are possible with your existing mainboard and CPU. You will get the most bang for the buck by adding more RAM (but only if your system can support it). The next best upgrade is getting an SSD drive. This will vastly improve boot times and make things seem significantly more 'snappy'. If you learn that your main board will not support more RAM or a better CPU, I suggest that you will get the best bang for the buck by getting a new system rather than upgrading what you have.

My2Cents (YMMV)
Ernie

My Windows 95 is getting slower and slower each year. It is almost, but not quite, unusable. Do you have any remedies for under $10.00?

Also regarding viruses, be sure to let Bill and Melinda Gates vaccinate you for "the virus" and implant a NWO chip inside you at the same time. There's no cost - it's totally free, and, it's for your own good. Remember, anyone worth $100B can't be all bad (or evil).

Hey Mike, try an abacus...

My CPU is an i5, and recently I installed a 256SSD as my C drive. The old C drive is now just a storage drive and the set-up works well.
I also have used dual monitors for years - the present pair are 24inch. I do tutorial testing for a graphics group and being able to put the tutorial on the 2nd monitor is great; also being able to copy easily from one program to another at full screen. I'd be lost without the 2nd screen - can really recommend it.

Re: Windows 10... I just wanted to say I recently put it on to an old ACER Aspire netbook and, although a bit slow booting up, it works better than the old Windows XP that was there originally.

Many years ago my parents bought a new Sony VAIO PC and Mom was happy with it but when I used it I noticed that it was a bit sluggish. I did a bit of research and found out that the RAM that came with it was 1G of PC2700 but the 2.6GHZ CPU was compatible with PC3200. Right away I went to my favorite PC parts web site and ordered 2G of dual channel PC3200 RAM. After I swapped the old with the new, boot time was cut in half and it ran much smoother. Needless to say, Mother was ecstatic and asked if I could do anything else with it but due to limited options (and her limited knowledge) the only other thing that I could do is add another HDD but the existing HDD was ample for what she had used it for and no further upgrades was added.

I like your recommendations, but I would be very happy if they made monitors with adjustable bases so I could lower the monitor to the desktop. I have to top my head back a bit to read my screen since I have bifocals. Yes, I've tried trifocals but wasn't satisfied with them.

I was a Windows 7 hold out for a long time. I tried Windows 10 early on and hated it so I reversed back to 7. Held on until Feb this year and finally resigned myself to upgrading to 10 for security reasons. The upgrade was simple, it took a few days to get accustomed to 10, but WOW! Is it worth it! My Dell desktop is so much faster running Windows 10! And I feel much safer with it. If you're still holding out, try it!