6930 z - a little upgrade advise

BeardFreak

Hi chaps...

 

I have the 6930z laptop that is currently running the supplied 32 bit Vista.

 

It's all rather chuggy and slow at times, and I've cleaned it up as much as possible, but think its time to spend a few pounds.

Two questions for other users.

 

1. Any problems with Windows 7 on here (clean OEM install) ?

2. Would it be good to switch out the current HD for a SSD, if so, any recommendations for a SSD ?

Hope somebody can advise me, before I take the plunge.

 

Regards

 

Simon

HolyDriver

First thing you're going to want to do is use this utility to see if your system is compatible with Win7.

 

If it is, do yourself a MASSIVE favor and check the device manager while you still have Vista to see what components you have in your system.  You'll have to do some sleuthing to track down drivers for Win7, since Acer doesn't offer any.  Curiously, though, all they offer for Vista is a VGA driver, so you may not have all that much to track down.  As Vista and Win7 are so similar, you MAY be able to get away with using the Vista VGA driver in Win7 if you cannot find alternatives through the graphic processor manufacturer.

 

If there is any software that you want to hold onto (it seems that webcam software is difficult to get ahold of after a format), look into creating a backup disc through whatever backup/recovery utility Acer may have provided you with.  Otherwise, your second option would be to go into the control panel, then Programs and Features, and make a list of any programs you see in there that you want to keep using, and see if you can google downloads for each one.

 

A solid state drive is always going to boost system performance.  The question is how much, which varies from system to system depending on what components are in it.  Basically, a solid state removes seek times, as well as drastically reducing read/write times and giving a minor boost to battery life as well as a reduction in heat output.  Whether the rest of your system will be able to keep up with how fast your SSD is is the major question. 

 

With this being a Vista-era system, I wouldn't expect the system to be able to take full advantage of an SSD, so there's no point in spending a lot of money on one.  A full install of Win7 32bit with all updates and basic programs like Flash player for general internet use takes up ~20gb.  As such, you're gonna want to look for a 64gb drive at least, and probably 128gb at most.  Adata makes a good 64gb drive, while Crucial and Samsung make good 128gb drives.  If you think you want more storage than that, look into ultra compact USB flash drives - they barely stick out of the system and can add up to 32gb from what I've seen.  The benefit of this is that it can easily be removed and placed in another system for backing up important files from your laptop.

 

There is, of course, the point that with the money and effort you're going to put into this, it MAY be worth considering purchasing a new laptop and just selling your old one to offset the price a little.  Win7 will give your old system some better performance with its better management of RAM, but a whole new laptop will run even better, and will get more benefit from a solid state drive.