Limping along with an old laptop

[SweetDan]

All the chatter in the Building a recording PC thread got me thinking about and re-evaluating my own computer set-up.



Thanks for the computer-scented GAS, guys!



I'll have to bite the bullet and upgrade eventually, however: my computer is a cheapo HP laptop from 2009. It's got a pretty slow CPU (single-core, 2ghz), I've maxed out the memory it can take (only 4gb), and a very low resolution screen (1366x768). Reading through that thread prompted me to start digging into all sorts of PC building info, and while it's kind of fun to think about what I could do computer-wise, being the cheap bastard that I am, it seems less fun when I think about the cost of a new computer vs., oh, I don't know, an actual tube amp or something.

Despite the GAS, I was inspired to at least do something. The simplest upgrade was to change from a 250gb HDD to a 500gb SSD. With that alone things are a bit snappier. Additionally, with the added capacity (and now having the old HDD as a backup if needed), I upgraded from Windows 7 -> 10 (which is still free as long as you're starting w/a legit copy). I have yet to do some tracking w/the new set-up, but my internet searches tell me the drivers for my interface should still work. (The DAW still works; tried that already.)

Here are some articles I referenced that guided me so far:
- Swap out the HDD for an SSD: https://editorsean.com/articles/clone-h ... -software/
- Upgrade Windows 7 -> 10: https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/14/2106 ... 10-free-os

Hopefully my laptop holds out for a while. And if not, thanks to my GAS-powered research, I've got a list of components picked out should I need to build a new PC. I'd make use of the SSD I just bought in that build and restore the laptop to it's former faded glory complete with Windows 7 and the old HDD.

[WhiskeyJack]

That is awesome SD. I am very keen to hear how your performances gets affected with the Windows 10 upgrade. That is something i have been telling myself to do every weekend for the last year and never do.

I'll expect a full report on my desk by monday. overtime will not be paid. There will be be a lunch allowance. Don't let me down.

[JD01]

When you're ready to get a new computer just post your budget and ask Tadpui for help!

[paulman]

Thanks for the computer-scented GAS, guys!

Sorry man!

[vomitHatSteve]

Interesting. Win10 made my old laptop unusable, but I didn't do any optimizing.

Yours sounds like a win XP era machine. Kinda surprised that W7 worked even!

[SweetDan]

That is awesome SD. I am very keen to hear how your performances gets affected with the Windows 10 upgrade. That is something i have been telling myself to do every weekend for the last year and never do.

I'll expect a full report on my desk by monday. overtime will not be paid. There will be be a lunch allowance. Don't let me down.

Well, it's not turning out to be as awesome as I'd thought. I've been using this laptop almost strictly for recording/light mixing for several years now. (Being that I work in software and at home, I have a work-issued computer that in off-hours I use for general web browsing, youtube-video-watching, etc. - I spend a good chunk of time doing that sort of thing studying up on new programming languages and tools anyway.) I was hoping the SSD would give me enough of a boost that I could do everything from the laptop, but that's not going to be the case. Program start-up time is much faster, everything else is still the same - slow!

For recording it is better now in the sense that I've got more and faster storage space. I had no problems installing my DAW (Studio One) and drivers for my interface (Tascam US-800). But the CPU has and will continue to be the bottleneck for everything - I really can't browse most websites, watch youtube, etc. - it's just such a grind on the CPU to do anything really.

Interesting. Win10 made my old laptop unusable, but I didn't do any optimizing.

Yours sounds like a win XP era machine. Kinda surprised that W7 worked even!

No, it came w/Win7 installed; late 2009. I'd say Win10 hasn't made it unusable, but as noted above, I've hardly done much more with it than recording for a while now. Having Win10 now is nice, since I won't have to worry about missing out on security updates and stuff like that.

[Tadpui]

I've gotta admit that my nerd self is a little triggered by a 2009 laptop still being used for music production in 2020 But when it comes down to it, if it works for you, it's the right machine.

The good news is that if you do end up getting a modern laptop anytime soon, you're in for a treat! They've gotten quite a bit better and faster in pretty much every way since 2009. But that SSD upgrade was probably the best thing you could have done. The difference that makes in overall responsiveness is pretty massive.

[SweetDan]

I've gotta admit that my nerd self is a little triggered by a 2009 laptop still being used for music production in 2020 But when it comes down to it, if it works for you, it's the right machine.

The good news is that if you do end up getting a modern laptop anytime soon, you're in for a treat! They've gotten quite a bit better and faster in pretty much every way since 2009. But that SSD upgrade was probably the best thing you could have done. The difference that makes in overall responsiveness is pretty massive.

Oh, I know. For work I had a 2013 Mac Book pro, and now a 2019 MBP (I hate the new keyboard).

[CrowsofFritz]

I've gotta admit that my nerd self is a little triggered by a 2009 laptop still being used for music production in 2020 .

I just bought a 2011 iMac. How does that make you feel? Haha

[CeeBee]

That is awesome SD. I am very keen to hear how your performances gets affected with the Windows 10 upgrade. That is something i have been telling myself to do every weekend for the last year and never do.

I'll expect a full report on my desk by monday. overtime will not be paid. There will be be a lunch allowance. Don't let me down.

I upgraded my old Asus (2012) after having issues with windows 7 plus I couldn't upgrade to Melodyne 5 as according to the manufacturer it only works on win 10, and things are working nicely. Asus said it wouldn't work because they didn't have any drivers, but I upgraded anyway and it worked like a charm. It is quicker than windows 7, but that could be due to the fact that my windows was bogged down with some crap maleware. I did the free upgrade and it assigned a digital product key automatically. I can probably use some bluetooth eadphones or speakers now which wouldn't work in win 7. So it's a win win situation here

[SweetDan]

UPDATE: I reverted the OS back to Windows 7. Win 10 ran, and at first it seemed OK, but the more I used it, things were just too slow. Having an SSD does make Win 7 seem a bit faster, so that's nice.

The conclusion to this experiment is that I do not recommend trying to run a "modern" operating system on such old, slow hardware, even for general purpose computing. If I can eek out $600-$800 from the family budget soon, I'll build a new desktop tower and quit futzing around w/the old stuff.

[CrowsofFritz]

UPDATE: I reverted the OS back to Windows 7. Win 10 ran, and at first it seemed OK, but the more I used it, things were just too slow. Having an SSD does make Win 7 seem a bit faster, so that's nice.

The conclusion to this experiment is that I do not recommend trying to run a "modern" operating system on such old, slow hardware, even for general purpose computing. If I can eek out $600-$800 from the family budget soon, I'll build a new desktop tower and quit futzing around w/the old stuff.

I’m reading the specs you have and damn, I’m surprised it’s running at all lol. That’s good that it’s better, though.