Help me speed up my laptop..

Interesting isn't it! Why everything just works with Linux these days is because of how the Linux kernel is built and what goes into each new release. Check out this 3 minute video for a quick look at why you can install Linux on almost anything and it'll just work right outta the box..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=yVpbFMhOAwE

Linux Mint and every other major distro takes advantage of the power built into the Linux kernel in ways that never cease to amaze these days. Wasn't always that way as those of us who've been around awhile can testify. However today's desktop Linux has capabilities that make it not only bullet proof security wise, but able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, doing so without breaking so much as a sweat!

 

The guys and gals at Linux Mint, those doing the heavy lifting necessary to get a new release out twice a year, they're the ones working for Mint! People like me, legions world wide who use Mint on a daily basis, simply pass the word along to encourage others to at least explore the world of possibilities that Mint places at their fingertips.

Actually the graphic art end of advertising was what I did before retiring some years back. Had nothing to do with Linux Mint however, that's something I do just for the fun of it!.....

 

I must be really stupid or Dumb I tried to install it to a flash drive and could not even get it to install on it

 

Ditto, I have a dell insprion 15z and I just the put the ISO on the jump drive and have tried booting to my jump drive.. My computer is not recognizing it. From what I have read, there are lots of causes, such as boot sector files are missing on the drive, newer computers can't boot from USB without changing some settings, ect..

I think I will just put it on a Cd


Waait you said you tried to install it on a flash drive?
I downloaded the file, as a ISO and just cut and pasted into the drive. Is that what you tried?

 

Strike 1

Strike 2

Strike 3


Other than that, the above advice on Spybot is solid.

 

+1 with this. Your main problem is Vista. It was pure failboat from day one. Just get a new machine.

 

When I bought my laptop, it came with XP Media Center Edition. A friend of mine bought a nearly identical laptop (same model series). It came with Vista. My laptop certainly seemed faster than hers.

 

That's wrong guys. You have to 'burn' the ISO file to a blank DVD or Flash Drive, not copy or paste it as is.

Here's just one of many ISO burning utilities available for Windows. http://www.freeisoburner.com/

If you want other ISO burning options remember Google is your friend!

Once you get the ISO properly burned to a DVD or a Flash Drive the rest is simple. Open your computer's BIOS (if you don't know how do a Google search for your specific machine and ask about opening its BIOS). Set the machine's boot sequence so your CD/DVD drive or your USB device boots first. Then boot to the DVD or the Flash Drive you've burned the ISO to and follow the prompts as your computer boots live to Mint.

You'll be able to run Mint directly from the drive you've burned the ISO to allowing you to check it out before installing. If you do decide to install it Mint lets you to set it up however you want, either as a stand alone operating system using the whole disk, or alongside Windows in dual boot configuration allowing you to pick which OS you want to use as your computer starts up.

 

Alright guys well I think I have decided to just build my own custom desktop PC. For the amount I would be paying vs. the features I would be getting with a laptop, building a desktop just seems more practical. I don't really need to game on the go or anything, but I do want to be able to move from console to PC gaming a bit. There is only so much you can do on an xbox360. I rarely ever sit and play games anymore, but when I do, I have a pretty specific taste.

So I am going for a budget PC build, not a $1000+ Super Computer. Been doing research for the last week or so and comparing different parts, and learning about different components. This is what I have saved in my Amazon shopping cart right now. Yes I will probably find these parts cheaper elsewhere if I can. Maybe even ebay.

Corsair Builder Series cx430 PSU http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0092ML1SC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
MSI Socket FM2/AMD A75 Motherboard

MSI AMD A75 MicroATX DDR3 2133 370 Motherboards FM2-A75MA-E35

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009HP42HQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
AMD A10-5800k APU 3.8ghz Processor

AMD A10-5800K APU 3.8Ghz Processor AD580KWOHJBOX

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0095VP8D4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500gb Hard Drive

$25 WD Blue 500GB Desktop Hard Disk Drive - 7200 RPM SATA 6 Gb/s 16MB Cache 3.5" - WD5000AAKX

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00461G3MS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Corsair Vengeance 8gb (2x4) DDR3 RAM

$57 Corsair Vengeance 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3 1600 MHz PC3 12800 240-Pin DDR3 Dual Channel Memory Kit 1.5V (CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004CRSM4I/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
ASUS Wireless N Network Adaptor http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0054L9PWO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER


I posted the links so you guys can see the prices and info about the parts. The total in my cart came out to $375.05, which for a decent gaming desktop, I don't think is bad at all. The only things I can think of that I didn't include are the CD/DVD Drive (because I'm going to steal the one out of my current desktop) and a case (because I haven't chosen one yet).

In all honesty, I don't know very much at all about PC components and which ones compared to others are better. I found a guy online who makes videos about PC builds and he designed this one as a budget build on youtube. I think this is the right video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6FD1b-tYkk

Now the one main thing I didn't include, which is probably the biggest most expensive piece of the puzzle is a Graphics card. I left this out on purpose. This configuration as it is has pretty decent onboard graphics as it is, and that will probably work fine for me. I do plan to upgrade to a dedicated graphics card, probably a Radeon HD7770 once I have more money to blow on this.

So the one main reason I am posting all of this here is to get input from you guys. If you know of a better component that would work well or better in this setup, and is roughly the same price, feel free to chime in. If one of these components won't work in this setup, feel free to point that out too. I don't plan to start buying anything until I know for sure I am getting the best setup I can for the money I'm spending. Once I get to that point, I will start a new build thread and take a bunch of pictures. Maybe even a video to start my journey to Youtube stardom.

You guys have been an awesome help in this thread and you are all full of info, I really do appreciate everything immensely. I have learned a ton just from reading along with what you have all been saying. I hope I can still get some input on this!

Edit: I just found this hard drive that is double the memory for only about 8 more bucks. Same brand too.

$40 Western Digital 1TB WD Blue PC Internal Hard Drive HDD - 7200 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64 MB Cache, 3.5" - WD10EZEX

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0088PUEPK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8

Now I don't know much about the SSD's or hybrid drives. Can I get one those instead? Or should I be running them alongside a normal HDD?

 

SSD and hybrid are more expensive, but you can run them alone just like a standard HDD. I actually replaced the HDD in my PS3 with a larger hybrid drive, works like a charm.

Personally, I would go with a larger and better PSU, minimum of 500W. I am partial to Antec and Enermax, and never spend less than $70 -- that's about where they start to get a lot heavier and heavier duty. The PSU is the heart of the system.

It has been a while since I have done a build, so I can't comment on the compatibility of the rest of those items. They are good brands, though. Go to NewEgg and compare.

 

Definitely spend some money on a SSD for your OS. Even if it is just a 64gb model solely for the OS. SSDs make such a massive impact on performance. Also, about leaving out the graphics card, If you plan to play any thing more than Candy Crush then you will need a dedicated graphics card. There is no such thing as decent integrated graphics.

Here are a couple options. WELL worth the extra $200.

Samsung 840 Series 2.5" 120GB SATA III internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7TD120BW

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Serie...id=1374599503&sr=8-5&keywords=samsung+840+pro

$200 EVGA GeForce GTX 650 1024MB GDDR5 DVI mHDMI Graphics Card 01G-P4-2650-KR

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-...=1374599629&sr=1-1&keywords=gtx+graphics+card

 

That hard drive you posted is the only one I have looked at before posting my last post lol. And this graphics card. The name is the same but it looks a bit different. But its new, and unopened, and I could save a little bit.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PNY-GeForce...165?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item3a832476c5

 

95%? I wouldn't even consider it. I've only bought from sellers with 99% rating
Check out his reviews.

Try doing a search on ebay for the graphics card and filter by only top rated sellers. You might find the same one.

 

It is pretty fun to build new computers every few years. I just built a new PC a couple months ago that will run most modern games at High to Ultra in full HD. I read a couple gaming builds on Toms Hardware, then went for it. The results are great. BF3 and Bioshock Infinite are not problem at their top settings. Mission accomplished!

I went with an Asrock z77 mobo, an Intel G860, a 7870 vid card, 8GB Corsair ram, a Samsung 840 pro 128GB, 1TB storage drive. I traded an old radial saw for a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate (woot). I stuffed it all (easily) into a Corsair C70 case.

Look for newegg "daily deals" for cheap hard drives and stuff, and maybe check out slickdeals too - I have seen a lot of really good links on there to get some parts super cheap.

 

I didn't even notice that. Thanks for the heads up. I will do that from now on!

Thanks I didn't know that. I have looked on Amazon and newegg mostly. I figured amazon probably had better prices, and I could get free shipping. I'll check out the daily deals on there! About how much did you spend building yours?

 

I think I spent 800 or so. I really wanted the case (there goes 100 bones), and the vid card I picked was $210 on sale (ouch) - but it came with some sweet games.

To save some coin, you could get a h67 mobo, a 7770 vid card, the same G860, and a SSD and you would be ready to roll. I bet it would play games on Medium/High at 1080 no prob.

 

Download and install Ubuntu.

 

Hmm... I will have to look into pricing that out. The main thing I worry about is skipping out on the HDD and going straight for a SSD. They are fast, but they normally don't come with all that much memory. I would for sure need a normal harddrive, at LEAST 500gb.

I'm really trying to build a decent PC with as little spending as I can. If I sat and was gaming 24/7 or spent way more time using it, I would spend a bit more. I was trying to stay around 400-500 just to try to limit myself. The only thing I have now to reuse is an optical drive. The normal hard drive in my old desktop is tiny and useless.

 

Boot time with SSD is woot fast. But it will prolly bust your budget.

You could build this little badass for ~$400:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/mini-itx-do-it-yourself-game-console,3531.html

 

That is a pretty interesting build.... I know nothing about those mini mobos, and the home theater style cases. To be honest I haven't really heard of most of those components before.