I currently still have the Lenovo ThinkPad T420, but I notice that it is starting to reach its limits with many open tasks and programs that consume a lot of resources. Hence my question, how could I upgrade him to enjoy it a little more? Whether processor or RAM, I've already read a lot about it on the Internet, but I'm not so sure about it, especially because the RAM or processor still has to be suitable for the mainboard etc.
PS: An SSD is already installed.
I would not upgrade the processor, because it is not worth the maximum are Sandy Bridge i7 Quadcores from 2011. How much RAM did you install?
How much RAM and which processor are installed?
Is it one with an i5 processor? Does he have two graphics chips? Does it have 1600 x 900 resolution or 1366 x 768? Do a system evaluation and post the result!
(I have refurbished some of these (in my opinion, really solid) devices and estimate that 8 GB of RAM and an SSD are the only thing worthwhile, but only for one with 1600 x 900 and dedicated graphics.)
8 GB of RAM and the Intel i5 2520M are installed.
8Gb are installed
Then you will probably not be able to do much, after all, the laptop is about 9 years old.
Did a system assessment. The result is as follows:
Processor 8.4
Memory 8.4
Graphics 6.2
Gaming graphics 6.2
Primary hard disk 8
by the way, the resolution is 1366 x 768
So wouldn't it make sense to install RAM with a higher clock speed (if there's something suitable for this laptop)?
Ok, so the graphic is the weak point. You can't swap them - unless you swap the entire mainboard. So I would recommend not upgrading the laptop anymore, but looking around for another one. However, I have the experience that a T420 with 8 GB RAM and i5 still covers most applications. Video editing and current games are no longer an option with Intel graphics.
According to https://thinkwiki.de/T420, only 8GB RAM are officially supported, although there have been successful attempts with 16GB. Would be worth trying. But you have to see if the RAM is actually the bottleneck in your typical use.
As far as the CPU is concerned, an upgrade to a faster dual core makes no sense, because there are only two faster ones, which are only 100 or 200 MHz faster. There remains an upgrade to a quad core, whereby according to the wiki (link above) the two slower models are preferable, otherwise the cooling system will reach its limits. But they are even a bit slower in single-core performance, comparable in dual-core performance, and there's an advantage only when more than two cores are used: https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/.../2729vsm29 Overall, I would say that upgrading the CPU is not really worthwhile…
A new installation of the operating system should help most anyway, if it is a Windows.
No, that may bring you 3-5%
