Hey guys! So, my laptop is now 2 years old and as we all know, laptops that reach that period is either going to be out dated soon or has to be upgraded or replaced. But, like the rest of the world, I don't have a big enough budget to get a new one, but I do have some. So my question is this, which is a better method, upgrade the parts of my laptop that is upgradable (CPU, GPU(?), RAM, HDD), sell this old laptop and buy a new one or build a Desktop PC instead? My budget is about $500 give or a take a few bucks. I'll be using my computer for some heavy stuff like CGI and Video Editing, so I guess I'm looking for a powerful build. Thanks in advance!
I guess it would depend where do you want to work. If you mostly work at home, it's probably a good idea to get a desktop computer. They are a lot cheaper than laptops, and usually more last longer as well. However, if you absolutely need to have a laptop, you are probably better of selling the old one and buying a new one. A lot of the parts of your laptop aren't upgradable, and the upgrades would still cost you quite a lot.
For that kind of work, you might want to invest more in a powerful desktop rather than a laptop. I am sure you can get a lot more powerful desktop than you can get a laptop with that kind of money. I would custom build a desktop with that kind of budget rather than buying a laptop.
The average laptop has a life span of 4-5 years depending on how you use it. Since there's like two more years on it, you could use it for one more year then sell your nearly dead laptop at half price. Add the proceed to money you've saved over the year and get yourself a new laptop. An upgrade while being relatively cheaper will be like the Sword of Damocles to you. You'll always be worrying about how soon you'll have to upgrade something else.
To be honest 2 years is not that bad. Mine is close to 4 years old and runs like new. You can probably get yours back up to speed if you optimize it a little bit. Delete bloatware if you haven't or turn off services that don't need to be running. But if your laptop was already pretty under powered to begin with then it will be pretty useless to do any of that because you're going to need a pretty powerful or up to date laptop by the looks of it. Just remember when you are shopping for a new laptop or desktop that all CPU's are not equal. Just because both computers have a "Core i5" doesn't mean they will run the same. Here is a benchmark chartLog In to compare CPU's and choose the best one for the price. (also taking into consideration other factors like memory, hard drive, screen etc.)
In my opinion, it depends entirely on your needs. As you point out that you'll need your laptop for some heavy stuff like CGI and video editing, I'd recommend you to build your own desktop. You should start off by selling your current laptop and then using the proceeds from this sale along with the 500$ in order to build a new desktop. In about 800$, you'll be able to build a pretty powerful machine.
