Not being a CPU guru, what's the difference?

[ZMan2k2]

No, I'm not running 3 AV programs. Installed them, ran them, then deleted them. All I'm using for protection is MSE.

[jwslam]

Originally posted by ZMan2k2
Question, if it is the HDD, what's the best SSD HDD either 500Gb or 1TB to run with?

None. That would run you around $300+. Plus IIRC failure rates on SSD are still higher than spinning.

You're better off going with something around 128ish gb then going with an external / cloud / NAS. Much more bang for buck in terms of $/gb

[ZMan2k2]

Bah. Wife would hate that. She's the one who uses the laptop the most. I'm just the repair guy. I don't want something that will fail on her 6 months from now, again. Maybe have to go for a 7200rpm spinner.

On another note, ran Malwarebytes and ESET, found a few files, cleaned them up, and restarted. So far, haven't had the freezing issue. But it still runs warm. I'll open it up and blow it out, clean the fan, etc. Maybe I can get some life out of this yet.

[ZenOps]

SSDs tend to fail at around 800TB writes.

http://techreport.com/review/27909/t...heyre-all-dead

In normal usage, a computer would never hit that, as the vast majority of typical accesses are read sequential, which don't really impact SSD life as much as writes do.

[ZMan2k2]

Not feeling good today, so not going to work. Opened up the back with a cup of coffee and a screwdriver, dusty, dusty, dusty. Compressed air helped with that. Put it back together, and it runs quieter too.

What about a hybrid drive? MemEx has a 2.5" WD Blue drive for $120. I assume OS on the SSD, files on the disc.

This is an old laptop. I assume SATA II. Would a SATA III drive work in it? It's hard to find a SATA II drive anymore.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Good SSD's do not have high failure rates at all. There are also no moving parts , much greater impact resistance, and way less can go wrong in general.

You probably don't want a hybrid drive, most of them aren't big enough to hold windows plus all your applications with room to spare. Most SSD's run a bit faster too if they aren't close to full.

Just drawing from my own personal experience, every HDD I've ever bought except one has failed, and I have never had an SSD fail on me yet in 6 years.

[revelations]

Originally posted by ZMan2k2
Not feeling good today, so not going to work. Opened up the back with a cup of coffee and a screwdriver, dusty, dusty, dusty. Compressed air helped with that. Put it back together, and it runs quieter too.

What about a hybrid drive? MemEx has a 2.5" WD Blue drive for $120. I assume OS on the SSD, files on the disc.

This is an old laptop. I assume SATA II. Would a SATA III drive work in it? It's hard to find a SATA II drive anymore.

3s are backwards compatible. Dont get a hybrid drive - I've seen too many hardware issues with them personally to be able to recommend.

A 500gb SSD can be had for 200$ - is this still not enough space?

[revelations]

Originally posted by ZMan2k2
On another note, ran Malwarebytes and ESET, found a few files, cleaned them up, and restarted. So far, haven't had the freezing issue.

This has been my experience as well. The "big 3" (norton AVG Mcafee) are essentially useless in anything else - except slowing down your PC. The others are nearly equally as useless. Once I run the above combination(Mbam, eset) , I ALWAYS find bugs the others missed out on.

To be 100% certain - I would also recommend running these scans in SAFE mode, down the road when you have a moment.

[ZMan2k2]

Originally posted by revelations


3s are backwards compatible. Dont get a hybrid drive - I've seen too many hardware issues with them personally to be able to recommend.

A 500gb SSD can be had for 200$ - is this still not enough space?

No, 500 should be enough. You recommend the Samsung on sale at MemEx right now?

[revelations]

Yea thats what I use as well...

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by ZMan2k2


No, 500 should be enough. You recommend the Samsung on sale at MemEx right now?

The Samsung EVO's are excellent drives, some of the best. 250 GB for $114 or $500 GB for $199. Sometimes the 500GB goes for $179 so that deal is only OK.

[ZMan2k2]

Okay, so the SSD is the possible upgrade.

Right now, after running MWB and ESET, it's a new machine, no issues. Hasn't done the freeze up thing since then says the wife. Taking it apart, and blowing the dust out of it has cooled down how it runs with multiple apps, so she's happy for now. I'll look into an SSD upgrade.

[ZMan2k2]

Problem.

Had a glitch out yesterday. My wife was sitting cross-legged on the couch, had a couple Word docs open, Chrome with multiple tabs, and email open. Processor was running hot, vent was kind of covered by her knee, and glitch party happened.

What happens is the programs freeze, and the screen flashes until you activate Task Manager. Just have to activate it. Then the glitch stops.

This leads me to the processor as the culprit. It's wearing out, it's been through a lot. It's old, and it's not up to the task any more. So it's looking for a new laptop that's in my future. Not sure if I'm going to get a decent laptop, and buy the parts to spec it out like I want it, or buy one all set up.

[captain134]

Originally posted by ZMan2k2
Problem.

Had a glitch out yesterday. My wife was sitting cross-legged on the couch, had a couple Word docs open, Chrome with multiple tabs, and email open. Processor was running hot, vent was kind of covered by her knee, and glitch party happened.

What happens is the programs freeze, and the screen flashes until you activate Task Manager. Just have to activate it. Then the glitch stops.

This leads me to the processor as the culprit. It's wearing out, it's been through a lot. It's old, and it's not up to the task any more. So it's looking for a new laptop that's in my future. Not sure if I'm going to get a decent laptop, and buy the parts to spec it out like I want it, or buy one all set up.

I believe what might be happening is that the thermal paste between CPU and its heat spreader is dry and cracked and needs to be replaced. I do this repair all the time with laptops. It isn't an easy repair as the board probably has to come out of laptop case but to test the theory you can install a program like HWMonitor and just watch your cpu temps. If they are getting in the 90C or higher range then the cpu is most likely throttling itself.

[revelations]

Get a laptop stand with a big, silent fan.

[ZMan2k2]

HWMonitor pegs the CPU at 95* before it glitches. So, I'm assuming I need new thermal paste put on the processor and heatsink. I'm not good at doing more than I did, taking it apart and blowing dust out.

Anyone recommend somewhere to put new thermal paste in?

[Vagabond142]

For SSD at 500GB, the Samsung 850 EVO, hands down. Fastest and most reliable SSD you can buy. I have an 850 Pro 128GB and 850 EVO 500GB in my main computer, and a 850 EVO 250GB in my ASUS X55 notebook. The ASUS with the factory drive would take 2 mins to fully load. With the EVO, I am typing my password in within 20 seconds.

As to SSHD's: Avoid like the fucking plague. They are a good idea on paper, but their failure rates are extremely high (>20% last year) and the bugger is, it's usually the SSD part that fails. Without the SSD part, the spinning platters could be full of data, but you can't get through to them as the SSD is between the SATA connector and the platters.

Also, an i5 dual core mobile CPU these days will easily munch away at most programs. Only true multithreaded programs like Photoshop, Premiere, etc, will take advantage of an i7.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by ZMan2k2
Problem.

Had a glitch out yesterday. My wife was sitting cross-legged on the couch, had a couple Word docs open, Chrome with multiple tabs, and email open. Processor was running hot, vent was kind of covered by her knee, and glitch party happened.

What happens is the programs freeze, and the screen flashes until you activate Task Manager. Just have to activate it. Then the glitch stops.

This leads me to the processor as the culprit. It's wearing out, it's been through a lot. It's old, and it's not up to the task any more. So it's looking for a new laptop that's in my future. Not sure if I'm going to get a decent laptop, and buy the parts to spec it out like I want it, or buy one all set up.

No hardware is going to survive if you don't have enough cooling.

If you think heatsink is the issue, you will see failure before your fan is covered.

Get your wife a laptop fan tray.

But I do think it's time for a new laptop. I can understand fixing it up if you have random spare parts laying around. There is no point shoving new parts into a 8 year old laptop.

Don't bother with hybrid drives, they made sense when SSD was expensive but now SSD is kinda cheap. $200 usually get you 500GB. Hybrid drives also mean it introduced 2 failure points instead one for SSD and HDD.

As for SSD write wear, it's an issue but not for consumer applications. Unless you delete and create and delete 100s of GB per month, it won't see any wear. Typical SSD should last 3-4 year easy before wear is an issue. Just make sure you get the latest firmware and latest OS.