should I get more RAM or a new computer?

[Welshjim]

bigdan--If you decide to get a new computer, remember that Windows 10 will be available in a couple of months.

[bigdan]

My computer was on hibernate for the last few hours. I just turned it on and its Core 1: 44C, Core 2: 46C

[fink]

That's good but there was something pushing it to those higher temps before. That doesn't happen on it's own. Do the malware check and look at the vents/fans as suggested too.

[Derp]

First step: Clean that thing out and replace the heatsink compound. Next make sure the cooling fan is functional.

[bigdan]

First step: Clean that thing out and replace the heatsink compound. Next make sure the cooling fan is functional.

its a laptop. is that easy enough to open without screwing things up?

[bugspop1]

Every Laptop is different.
If you type your Make and Model Number into Youtube, you may be able to find a Video for disassembling your laptop.
I won't say it's easy, it's definitely not.
Your Laptop is like a Desktop Computer, the Fans and Vents get Clogged and Plugged up with Dust and Animal Hair and need to be cleaned.
The Thermal Grease is like your Cars Oil, it does Break Down and need to be replaced eventually.

If you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself, a Mom & Pop Computer Store is your Best Bet.
Call them and ask how much it would cost to have your Laptop Cleaned and the Thermal Grease Replaced!

[bugspop1]

BigDan,
Here is a Link with a video on Youtube for Disassembling an Acer Aspire V5 471.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcLuzGfMssc
Over to the Right are other Videos on Disassembling for other Makes and Models of Laptops.
This should give you an Idea of what you're getting into!

[bigdan]

Every Laptop is different.
If you type your Make and Model Number into Youtube, you may be able to find a Video for disassembling your laptop.
I won't say it's easy, it's definitely not.
Your Laptop is like a Desktop Computer, the Fans and Vents get Clogged and Plugged up with Dust and Animal Hair and need to be cleaned.
The Thermal Grease is like your Cars Oil, it does Break Down and need to be replaced eventually.

If you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself, a Mom & Pop Computer Store is your Best Bet.
Call them and ask how much it would cost to have your Laptop Cleaned and the Thermal Grease Replaced!

OK I'll look into it.

I've discovered an awesome Chrome extension that 'suspends' the tabs that are not in use, so they're still open but not using much memory. It's been such a game changer! Which means there's less load on the computer now.

The temp's are now typically 50s and 60s. Is that OK or that's also too high? At the moment they're both an even 50, and this is with Firefox with abotu 10 tabs open, 3 PDF's, one Excel, one VLC, and a couple Notepad's open.

[Midknyte]

That explains a lot. Chrome is a known ram hog. Do you have any Chrome apps installed also? Those run a Chrome.exe instance in the background.

There is a known memory leak also.

Chromium (or browsers based on) still suffer from that ugly bug which causes a big chunk of memory leak each time a user opens the popup UI of an extension.

https://code.google.com/p/chromium/i...tail?id=441500

50-60 is definitely better.

[bigdan]

Yes I do have a number of Chrome apps installed. Not sure which would be the biggest hogs.

The suspending app I just installed over the last week has been a life changer though! Highly highly recommended!

[Midknyte]

Which one are you using? There are quite a few for Chrome (and Firefox too)
http://fieldguide.gizmodo.com/8-hand...abs-1709257073
The Great Suspender is another one.

Chrome has become really bloated and it's even worse with Apps. Look in your Task Manager and see how many Google Chrome.exe and Google Chrome Helper.exes there are. That's probably what is eating up all your RAM.

[bigdan]

Which one are you using? There are quite a few for Chrome (and Firefox too)
http://fieldguide.gizmodo.com/8-hand...abs-1709257073
The Great Suspender is another one.

Chrome has become really bloated and it's even worse with Apps. Look in your Task Manager and see how many Google Chrome.exe and Google Chrome Helper.exes there are. That's probably what is eating up all your RAM.

yeah that's the one, The Great Suspender.

Is there a way of knowing which things in Task Manager are Chrome tabs and which are Chrome extensions?

[Midknyte]

http://www.howtogeek.com/139434/how-...all-my-memory/

You need to look at the Process ID (PID) in the Chrome Task Manager and compare that to Windows Task Manager.