Upgrade or replace hard drive?

[desertgirl1]

Purchased 9/15 with 1TB Sata 3HD, sadly replaced some years ago with a 214gb HD. OS Win 10 Home 64bit . Processor, Intel Bay Trail Celeron J1800.  Question:  Hard drive, upgrade or buy a new computer?  Considering buying  2 TB HD which was an original option, but given the age of the supporting hardware is that practical?  RAM is maxed at 8GB. If I decide to upgrade, HP no longer sells the original options, which came with 2 different cables, both Sata 3, but one 165mm and one 254mm.  Can I buy cables separately or are they part of the HD?  If I upgrade, I 'am probably not tech savvy enough to do it myself so have to factor in tech costs.  With technology changing so rapidly, is it worth upgrading, especially since I'm limited to 2.0 and one 3.0 port?

[old_geekster · Accepted solution]

@desertgirl1 , welcome to the forum.

You have two options as I see it, 1) add a SSD as your boot drive or 2) buy a new computer.  The SSD will definitely increase system performance by speeding up your boot time and making basically all other functions faster.  Here is a SSD that should work for you:  https://www.newegg.com/samsung-860-evo-series-1tb/p/N82E16820147673

You will most likely need a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter to fit the SSD into the drive bay:  https://www.newegg.com/siig-sc-sa0h12-s1/p/N82E16811990004?Description=2.5%22%20adapter&cm_re=2.5%22...

The two items in my links are good options, but you can use them as examples if you don't want to buy them.  Here is a HP Knowledge Base article to help you with the install of the SSD:  https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Knowledge-Base/Upgrading-Desktop-or-Laptop-to-a-SSD/ta-p/73048...

The processor is soldered to the motherboard and can't be replaced.  The memory is already at maximum as you stated and there is not slot for a video card upgrade.

Now, that I have given you some options, I will have to be honest with you.  Every 3 years is like an eternity in technology.  The least expensive computer you could buy today, within reason, will be 10 times the speed of your current computer.  Of course, the decision is yours to make.  I can only give you the information.

Please click the Thumbs up + button if I have helped you and click Accept as Solution if your problem is solved.

[desertgirl1]

Thank you, that is the type of advice I was looking for. I'm a senior and rather attached to having a desktop system, old school with a mouse, lol. Like many I have managed to fill my HD with photos mostly, so also considered adding an external HD and just moving my pics, music, docs to it. My system is having a few hiccups, that I suspect is because the HD is full.  Or putting photos on a flash drive, which at my age I'd probably lose.  It's hard to merge my inclination towards new tech with my aversion to laptops and touch pads and retirement budget.

[old_geekster]

You are welcome, @desertgirl1!  As you may have surmised from my Forum name, I am a senior, also.  However, I began learning to use technology at a much younger age.  So, I am very comfortable with it.  I certainly understand your situation.  My wife has a laptop, but I am still a desktop kind of guy.  I like the click of the keys on my mechanical keyboard and the feel of a good mouse in my hand!  Good luck with your decision!

[desertgirl1]

Thanks, thought I'd share my decision, after days of research and considering all options, I decided to follow your wise recommendation, and buy a new computer.  I decided on an HP,  all my peripheral s are HP, and I've had decent results with their PC's.  I picked the MD1-F0024, with Ryzen 5 3400G processor, 12Gb memory, 256Gb SSD, and adding a 2TB HDD for storage. It is expandable, and probably will be my last PC, all for under $700.

[old_geekster]

You are welcome, @desertgirl1!  It sounds like you made a good choice to fit your needs.  I know that you will enjoy the speed of the SSD boot drive.  In fact, you won't believe the difference in your new computer and your old computer.  Technology has moved forward by leaps and bounds.

Enjoy!