I use the computer mainly for streaming video (YouTube), solving numerical puzzles in Excel or Python, preparing taxes and tracking investments (also in Excel), online video guitar lessons, reading message boards on the internet, geocaching. Nothing especially computationally demanding like gaming, video editing or rendering of complex drawings.
The main aspects I am dissatisfied with in my current laptop:
It can take several minutes to be “ready” when it first starts up, and can take a long time to load applications such as Excel or the photos application. Note it’s fast enough when up and running and once the application is loaded.
It has extraordinarily poor sound from the built-in speakers. No bass reproduction at all (I can see the bass player strumming but can’t hear anything), and needs to be at near full volume to be able to hear spoken dialogue.
What features, specifically, should I look for that will give me a better experience?
On your first point, you might consider just replacing the HDD (which I assume is a mechanical HDD) with a good durable fast SSD like a Samsung Pro. Or even better, an M.2 or M.3 form factor which bypasses SATA altogether, if your laptop can accommodate it. Honestly, to my old-school mind that laptop still looks like a pretty decent configuration for your needs.
On the second point, you might consider just getting a pair of decent external speakers, which will give you far better sound than any laptop internal speakers.
You are right that this laptop (if repaired) is adequate to my needs.
I didn’t mention why I am thinking of buying a new laptop. One of the hinges is broken so the screen doesn’t open or close properly. My options are repair or replace. Since I posted I’ve been looking at YouTube videos that make me think it’s a straightforward (and low-cost) repair, so I am leaning towards the repair option.
Thanks for the suggestion of replacing the mechanical HDD with an SSD. I didn’t know that was possible, and in fact I still don’t know what would be involved or whether it’s something I can do myself.
The internal speakers on new laptops aren’t necessarily going to be better than they are on your current one. You didn’t specify the year/model of the current device but I assume it’s probably up there in age and in a larger chassis, a new ultrathin ultrabooks may actually lead to a downgrade in some cases.
That said, some laptops (usually higher end/gaming laptops) will promote their audio performance and include upward facing onboard stereo speakers. The HP Spectre is one example (I own an older one and I hate it for what it’s worth) but there are others. Unfortunately these tend to be at the top-end for price though with some shopping you might do better.
I’ve taken to viewing laptops as disposable, especially for people like you who really can get by with a low end system. While you can get a decent SSD to bump up the performance of your current system, the returns are diminishing. SSDs aren’t cheap and they will only improve certain aspects (initial loading being one), and at some point you’ll be hamstrung by memory, CPU or ports. Buying a new entry-level system with good speakers may get you where you want to be for just $400.
I did it myself on four different laptops, and I’m not good with mechanical stuff. It usually involves nothing more than removing two small screws, pulling out a drive tray with the old drive, and popping in the new one. The SSDs meant to replace HDDs have the same 2.5" form factor.
Before removing the old drive, you will need to clone it to the new replacement. For that you’ll need some sort of USB-connected external enclosure for the new one. There’s lots of free cloning software you can get – I recommend the free version of Macrium Reflect.
To simplify the cloning process, the new SSD should have the same capacity (or larger) than the original. From your specs in the OP, you want to get a 1 TB SSD. This will give you the same capacity as the original but much, much faster speed.
You could get by with a smaller SSD (like 500 GB) but then we need to get into partition resizing.
Make sure you factor in this cost. Also the know-how to clone the image. You can’t just slap a new HD into a system and fire it up. You’ll also probably end up with 2 partitions if you get a larger HD which can be a pro or a con depending on your POV.
It should be fairly easy, yes. The main issue is that laptops often limit the physical size of the M.2 SSD, and physically smaller ones can get more expensive at larger data sizes.
But, assuming you find one, it shouldn’t be too hard to just install some cloning software and clone the drive and change the boot order. I’ve had a good experience with EaseUS, so I will link their guide for cloning your OS drive to NVMe.
I’m bumping this thread because I also want advice. Actually, I was led to this thread by googling for advice on how to choose a new computer. My wife’s laptop (Lenovo) is several years old (I have forgotten how old) but it has been upgraded to Win-10. First, it has gotten very slow. What causes that? Second place, a couple times a week (or so it seems) she will tell me that something has stopped working; I almost invariably have to reboot and that takes forever (10-15 minutes). Is this likely an aging disk problem? The idea of replacing the spinning wheel by an SSD seems attractive, but is it a DIY project? The really painful thing is moving her files over and syncing the passwords and stuff. Of course, that’s also a problem with a new computer. Also what do you do about the OS?
It could be failing hardware. It could be something weird in Windows, as it has a habit of suddenly not playing well with spinning disks. Whichever it is, it would probably be a great idea to get an SSD, especially since she only uses about 100GB–meaning 240-256GB drive would be fine. (Even a 128GB drive might be fine in a pinch.)
On most laptops, replacing the hard drive is pretty user serviceable. There will a separate compartment you can open up with screws. A SATA SSD will most likely just allow you to do a 1-for-1 swap. That said, it would be good to know the model, so we can look in the manual.
As for how to get the OS onto the drive: that depends. It’s possible to buy a device that will let you hook up the SSD via USB, and then you can use cloning software. That said, with the OS and drive being slow, it might honestly be better to install fresh. Passwords in your browser can be synched. Though you would have to reinstall programs and still copy over the documents and such.