My new laptop seems slow. Am I expecting too much?

[merk66]

I just bought this new laptop for business purposes. I intend to use it for excel, word, and Google apps (like calendar, maps, Gmail, etc.)

It is a Dell i3543-3251BLK. The specs are an i5-5200U, 4GB Ram, 500GB 5400RPM HDD.

The main issue that I have experienced since first turning it on is that the hard drive seems to almost constantly thrash. It is to the point where the laptop just feels extremely slow 80% of the time.

My main desktop is quite overpowered by comparison, an i7-4790K, 8GB DDR3, 256GB Samsung 840 EVO. I never feel like it slows down, so I wonder if I am just used to it and the new laptop is performing as expected.

I want to like the laptop, it has Windows 8.1 on it and I opted for the touchscreen, which I am liking so far.

Anyone have an opinion on my situation? I can take it back up to the end of March....

Thanks!

 

[sincreator]

Replace the main drive with an SSD and then you'd be happier with it. A 5200 rpm drive will feel very slow compared to your desktops SSD. That is most likely your issue.

 

[grmnlxndr]

Maybe you are used to the ssd, it changes a lot... Can you try using a ssd without voiding your warranty??

 

[Louise Porkolt]

Hi there,

Why would you keep a laptop which is slow when you want an upgrade to a faster one ? I would replace the thing before your test-period or warranty expires !

Try reinstalling the OS, I noticed that every 10 PC's I install (Win7), 1 or 2 have to be rebuilt because of issues !
After reinstallation the issues appear to be gone !

Just let us know, Louise.

 

[jitpublisher]

You cannot compare a laptop with a desktop, especially a fast desktop with an SSD, and a laptop with a 5400 HDD. An SSD for the laptop would make a big difference. Also, make sure the laptop does not have a bunch of bloatware running in ths background, as is very typical for laptops to come preloaded with a bunch of crapware you wont ever use.

 

[merk66]

Thanks a lot for all of the replies. I am considering the move to an ssd. I will probably call Dell first to check the warranty issue. On the surface, there does not appear to be a ton of bloatware that needs to be uninstalled, but I need to check the startup items and make sure there is nothing crazy going on behind the scenes. I did uninstall a couple of programs and there are definitely a few more that could go away unmissed. Who knows, it could even be some Dell help program or update wizard that is running poorly. As to Louise's question as to why I would want to keep it, well it is a $500 laptop that I intend to use minimally for light excel and word use. If I could buy a $100 ssd and make the performance better, that might be the best way to go. I suspect that I would be totally happy with it after that one upgrade. Does anyone know how hard it is to get to the hard drive on this laptop - Dell Inspiron 3000 series?

 

[Louise Porkolt]

My question was why would you keep it after your test-period, my guess was that you bought it and still had the time to change it with another one. (usually 7 days)
I might have misunderstood that, in that case, just forget it !

About the harddrive, on Dell's it's the easiest part to replace and to get to.
I don't know where it is, but usually it's marked with a few signs !

Good luck, Louise.

 

[merk66]

My question was why would you keep it after your test-period, my guess was that you bought it and still had the time to change it with another one. (usually 7 days)
I might have misunderstood that, in that case, just forget it !

About the harddrive, on Dell's it's the easiest part to replace and to get to.
I don't know where it is, but usually it's marked with a few signs !

Good luck, Louise.

Thanks for the tip on drive location.

Yeah, I bought it on Saturday at Fry's Electronics for $529 and then yesterday I saw that they had it on sale for $488, so I went back and got a refund for the difference. They have a 14 day return policy on it, so I have until March 28th to decide.

 

[Louise Porkolt]

OK, Extra money for an SSD !!!