Upgrade suggestions for Hp Pavilion 17 - Need Help

[r0bert]

I have posted my computers specs below. I am looking to boost my computers performance in every category. I have ordered a 4gb stick of ram from crucial, they assured me adding the 4gb stick with my current 4gb would give me 8gb ram. thought id start off small for started but am looking into a process to replace my current one and possibly a better graphics card if possible. I believe I read in one of these forums that my computer will never support full 1080p? I play a lot of movies through my computer so will my computers graphic card effect the look when hooked up through my hdmi cord? looking for suggestions on replacing my processor and graphics card to improve my movie experience when watching large hd movies. my computer often lags or glitches when playing, and whether or not the 4gb ram will help? thanks again, take care & happy holidays.

Time of this report: 11/5/2013, 23:00:37
Machine name: ROBERT
Operating System: Windows 8 64-bit (6.2, Build 9200) (9200.win8_gdr.130301-1803)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
System Model: HP Pavilion 17 Notebook PC
BIOS: F.17
Processor: AMD A8-5550M APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics (4 CPUs), ~2.1GHz
Memory: 4096MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 3294MB RAM
Page File: 2004MB used, 4488MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.02.9200.16384 64bit Unicode

 

[huskersforever]

Buy more ram to improve movie watching. Or Sell it and build a new computer if you want to play games on a serious level. If not, it is sufficient for anything like office work and internet streaming/browsing. Also, make sure your drivers and crossfire is working.

 

[r0bert]

Buy more ram to improve movie watching. Or Sell it and build a new computer if you want to play games on a serious level. If not, it is sufficient for anything like office work and internet streaming/browsing. Also, make sure your drivers and crossfire is working.

I don't game at all unfortunately however I will be watching some heavy movies on here, anywhere from 11-40 gigs. so I just need to max out my ram? which would be 16gb I believe. I can't afford everything at once but if that is what I need to do can I buy an 8gb ram stick and replace on of my 4gb sticks once I've gotten and installed the 4gb stick I ordered today? so I would have 12gb ram and would replace the last 4gb stick of ram with an 8gb whenever possible. is this theory sound?

how would I go about making sure my drivers and crossfire (whats that?) are working properly? thanks again.

 

[huskersforever]

Buy more ram to improve movie watching. Or Sell it and build a new computer if you want to play games on a serious level. If not, it is sufficient for anything like office work and internet streaming/browsing. Also, make sure your drivers and crossfire is working.

I don't game at all unfortunately however I will be watching some heavy movies on here, anywhere from 11-40 gigs. so I just need to max out my ram? which would be 16gb I believe. I can't afford everything at once but if that is what I need to do can I buy an 8gb ram stick and replace on of my 4gb sticks once I've gotten and installed the 4gb stick I ordered today? so I would have 12gb ram and would replace the last 4gb stick of ram with an 8gb whenever possible. is this theory sound?

how would I go about making sure my drivers and crossfire (whats that?) are working properly? thanks again.

For RAM, 8gb is plenty.

I assumed you had a graphics card. If you don't, that may be a worthwhile upgrade. A HD 7570 is the recommended card for your current processor. Roughly $80 on amazon. This assumes you have a PCI Express port available and your power supply is 300+ Watts.

Lastest drivers can be found at http/support.amd.com/en-us/download

Crossfire is pairing 2 or more AMD gpus together to work in tandem.

 

[electrontau]

Buy more ram to improve movie watching. Or Sell it and build a new computer if you want to play games on a serious level. If not, it is sufficient for anything like office work and internet streaming/browsing. Also, make sure your drivers and crossfire is working.

I don't game at all unfortunately however I will be watching some heavy movies on here, anywhere from 11-40 gigs. so I just need to max out my ram? which would be 16gb I believe. I can't afford everything at once but if that is what I need to do can I buy an 8gb ram stick and replace on of my 4gb sticks once I've gotten and installed the 4gb stick I ordered today? so I would have 12gb ram and would replace the last 4gb stick of ram with an 8gb whenever possible. is this theory sound?

how would I go about making sure my drivers and crossfire (whats that?) are working properly? thanks again.

For RAM, 8gb is plenty.

I assumed you had a graphics card. If you don't, that may be a worthwhile upgrade. A HD 7570 is the recommended card for your current processor. Roughly $80 on amazon. This assumes you have a PCI Express port available and your power supply is 300+ Watts.

Lastest drivers can be found at http/support.amd.com/en-us/download

Crossfire is pairing 2 or more AMD gpus together to work in tandem.

He has a laptop. Cannot upgrade graphics card.