There is nothing more frustrating than a slow computer, especially a laptop. As we can see that we have to use it right away and suddenly we see how it jumps, the programs have trouble loading and suddenly our brand new Intel Core or AMD Ryzen becomes nostalgic and wants to play a 286. Worst of all, this usually happens over time and as our computer gets older.
Is the laptop slow due to planned obsolescence or is it something else? Well, it is rather the product of a series of factors that can be avoided by the end user and to which we often do not pay much attention. Either because we don’t know them, or because we don’t give them importance until they have already grown too big. That’s why we are going to give you some solutions to make your laptop stop going to the pedals.
Why can a laptop slow down?
Well, there are several different factors that can slow down our laptop and therefore not do its job fast enough. Although in general they can be divided into two parts: poor maintenance and poor choice of material when buying it. Here are some simple tips that will help you get your laptop running as fast as possible. They do not require advanced knowledge and can be performed by any user.
Insufficient technical specifications
The first of the factors you need to look at is your laptop’s specs to see if there is a bottleneck in the hardware that is negatively affecting the laptop’s speed from the factory. And it wouldn’t be the first time that due to an element of hardware, your newly acquired computer doesn’t run with the same ease. That’s why it’s better to be safe than sorry before buying a laptop.
- Look carefully at the specifications, for example, that your laptop’s processor is, for example, an i7, it does not mean that its performance is top-of-the-range. It wouldn’t be the first time Intel has sold a low-power processor with a high-end name. And the same can be said in the case of AMD’s Ryzen. If you need the specifications of a specific model, you only have to look for them on the CPU manufacturer’s site where you will find them in detail, especially those of Intel.
- Single-channel memory involves RAM contention, higher latencies, and a significant reduction in performance. If a laptop has such a problem, be aware that it comes with a built-in bottleneck.
- If two models have the same specifications, but different thicknesses, beware. Look at the full specifications of each, sometimes greater fuel efficiency is achieved by reducing the speed.
- If you have to choose a laptop with flash memory for storage, always NVMe SSD, it doesn’t have to be the latest generation PCIe, but avoid those that use eMMC. And if it costs you a bit more, wait a bit and save. Of course, you won’t find this problem in the case of gaming laptops.
One advice we give and no matter if you are going to install an NVMe or a SATA type, if you can, install an SSD in your laptop. Trust us, you’ll notice a noticeable performance improvement on your slow laptop.
Update your laptop hardware to prevent it from running slowly
These don’t have the same update capability as a desktop computer, but there are two things that unless you have a computer with LPDDR type memory and therefore soldered to the card, then the safest thing is that you’re going to have unpopulated SO- DIMMs. So take a good look at your computer’s RAM specifications and buy another similar module. If you’re not sure what type of RAM your computer uses, Google the specific RAM and model you have and you’ll find the exact information.
And it’s not for nothing, but there are laptop models in which dual-channel memory is activated when both slots have memory installed, and not only one. Therefore, expanding the RAM of a slow laptop is always a good option to gain performance. Another option is storage, if we have an empty M.2 slot, do not hesitate to install an NVMe SSD.
Startup apps slow down your laptop
For us, the best Windows boot is that it boots without any applications beyond the desktop environment. Unfortunately, as we install them on our PC, we find that we do not uncheck the “run at startup” box and then we have a huge queue of applications that want to start and start consuming resources from the start. Among them, the worst are those that, with or without the user’s permission, end up constantly monitoring what we do, like old veils in software format.
Solving the problem is simple, just press the CTRL, ALT and DEL keys at the same time and on the screen that appears, select Program Manager. After that you will return to the previous environment, but with a new window where you will have to go to start seeing all the applications that slow down the startup of your laptop and, to top it off, they remain running there . Well, in the list that appears, right-click and select disable in all apps you can. If there is an application that you need to start with for reasons other than performance, leave it active.
Update your computer drivers
In this we are going to be brief, some drivers that are not updated can cause many problems and if it is for something that new versions come out from time to time, to solve specific problems, but above all performance . That’s why if your laptop is slow, we advise you to update the hardware drivers.
It’s as simple as searching for Device Manager in the taskbar search box and Windows Metadata Search will take you there. If you see that there is an element marked in yellow, it means that it is working, but it is not working as it should due to conflicts with the rest of the components or due to problems with the driver, it will therefore be necessary to update it. How? ‘Or’ What? Very simple, right-click and select Update Driver from the context menu. Windows will then search its repository on the Internet for the latest version of the driver for that component.
Keep the laptop and its surroundings clean
The dust accumulated inside a computer causes a rise in temperature, which is fatal in laptops, since their sensors cause the clock speed of the various components to drop. That is why it is very important to work in an aseptic environment that we keep clean periodically and open the computer from time to time to clean the accumulated dust.
Use ear cleaning pads for the toughest areas, a dusting cloth and compressed air spray for general cleaning. You don’t need to remove anything if you’re not sure how to put it back. On many computers, you only need to remove the bottom cover to perform this cleaning process. Of course, do it with the battery disconnected and the laptop without external power of any kind and just in case, be sure to wear gloves against static discharges that may occur during the operation.
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