Is my processor defect and what will be an alternative?

[TGijz]

Dear people, my laptop was very slow. The disk usage was almost the whole time 100%. After I buyed a new HDD it is a bit better. Today I run the diagnostic tool from Intel for my processor. The result was not very good. There were a couple of fails but I don't really know what they mean. Maybe you guys can help me out? See added file for test results.

The laptop is a Acer Aspire 7741.

The processor is a: Intel Core i5 M 450 @ 2.40 GHz

The motherboard is a: JE70_CP

If you need more info tell me.

Thanks in advance.

Thomas Gijzel.

[n_scott_pearson]

The test that are failing are advanced math instruction tests and these may be failing because processors this old (it is 1st gen Core processor, 8+ years old!) didn't have support for these instructions.

Honestly, it's time to replace this poor old thing!

...S

[TGijz]

Thanks Scott. I want to replace the thing but I really don't know what to buy. Maybe you can help me out? There are so many pockets connections....

Thanks.

[n_scott_pearson]

Now there's a loaded question! Unfortunately, I haven't got the time (or the energy) to answer it completely (as it would take many, many paragraphs to do so).

If you are on a budget, there are a lot of choices at the low end of the spectrum, with Core i3, Pentium, Celeron or even Atom processors that will offer equivalent levels of performance. You could also go for a Core i5, if you want a boost in performance, or a Core i7, if you want something that can run the modern high-end games. The more memory you have, the better; Windows 10 seems to eat memory, so lots is necessary (8GB minimum, 16GB recommended).

To be honest, I am disgusted with the entire laptop industry and the lows that they have sunk to. The warranties that are being offered are total garbage. I would advise you not to purchase anything that doesn't include a full 3-year international warranty, but the fact is, NO ONE seems to be offering that anymore (at least not without you paying them more money; what a scam!). If you have a problem and call them, their support folks are next to useless technically and most are paid to up-sell you on service plans, etc. I see so many people coming to the Intel support site because they cannot get any real help from the folks who are supposed to be helping them. I also see a lot of people coming to the Intel site because the folks who are supposed to be helping them won't even respond.

Now, all that said, that's only the issue if something goes wrong. If you want to look at it from a hardware quality standpoint, check out an article like 7 of the best laptop brands of 2019 (https://mashable.com/roundup/best-laptop-brands). I myself will *never* buy Apple; they're way overpriced and I believe that hardware and O/S should *never* come from the same company.

...S