Evaluating the value of upgrading a school computer system
Evaluating the value of upgrading a school computer system
I wrote a post from last week discussing the top upgrade for those school computers used for video editing. They were slow and needed a fix. The teacher wanted to know what was wrong, so I’m looking for the most affordable solution. Here’s a summary of the problems:
Physical Issues: The system was pre-built with a case and motherboard that didn’t match expectations. It had two RAM slots but looked bigger than a typical mini ATX board. It seems the board was custom-made for this setup, possibly not designed for heavy tasks like editing. I suspect they swapped out the old GPU for a 1070 chipset, likely cutting metal to fit the new card. They also used a cheap SSD as the boot drive and added extra RAM.
Performance Problems:
- CPU usage spiked 60-100% during work
- Memory usage stayed high at 50-80% idle
- Temperatures were consistently high, causing throttling
Budget Tips:
I suggested installing the right drivers and clearing out unnecessary files to improve performance. If funds were available, I recommended upgrading to a better GPU or adding more RAM.
What else could help? The teacher provided a spec list for reference. Let me know if you need anything else!
It seems the system is repeatedly throttling thermal performance. A fresh clean would help, likely improving quality to a level similar to MX-4. For others, a clean installation might be beneficial. Overall, the specs are decent for minor adjustments, especially for 720-1080p video. Edited on October 22, 2020 by dhannemon13 I even attached Riley's section for reference.
This setup works fairly well. I already have something comparable and it doesn’t strain the processor much. The RAM is fine too. If it’s an OEM build, I’d reinstall Windows using the original key—no updates or restore. A fresh install from Microsoft’s ISO will remove all hidden features, especially those common in Dell systems. That should fix the slowdown. If there are no specific rules, I recommend switching to Windows Defender for better performance and security. Make sure someone with admin rights handles updates, scheduling them on weekends or disabling them completely. A CPU health check would also help. As a bonus, if you need to upgrade, add more RAM and an SSD (DRAM is fine).
And I concur with this point. Regardless of how costly or reputable the antivirus software seems, certain individuals who download the incorrect files or insert infected flash drives would still face the same outcome. Windows 10's Defender performs exceptionally well; I haven't needed any third-party antivirus tools on many PCs or laptops I've installed. I plan to mention this in my previous post, but I assumed 8 GB would suffice for light editing (720-1080p video). For me, 16 GB would be excessive. Personally, I use an 8 GB laptop and it operates efficiently—typically using 30-50% RAM, which right now is around 62%, especially with 22 Vivaldi tabs open.
Sure, I just removed three different antivirus programs from my grandparent's computer because Windows Defender is now so much better. And guess the performance improved a lot!
It seems the Kingston SSD uses a green PCB in the photos, which makes it look like a HDD. The operating system running on it might be different from what you expect.
Absolutely. Even without Windows Defender, it's built into the operating system and will perform better. This was mainly guidance for what might come next. With under $100 they can still maintain those systems for years if they're serious about performance, though I assumed that was referring to a hard drive despite the photo appearance.
I never captured any photos of the SSD—it’s essentially just drifting within the system, right? But it definitely has two HDDs; I’m pretty sure they’re leveraging the SSD as a boot drive.