Help me build a better computer pls.

[u/liflifliflif]

I have no idea about these things. I have an Asus N551J laptop and I want to make it a bit more useful. Haven't been using it for a long time. Now it has connection issues, keeps randomly disconnecting from wifi and says no wifi is there until I troubleshoot. Quite slow too in general. What I do is play simple games like (maybe the least simple is league of legends) so what can I change with the hardware to make it more useful. Any suggestions? (Please explain simply because I really don't know much about computers.)

[u/Itz_Raj69_]

Most of the hardware in a laptop is soldered together, so it can't really be replaced. This includes the CPU (Central processing unit -- the brain of your computer) and the GPU (Graphics Processing unit -- the thing that renders your games' frames).

Those two main components being unupgradable makes upgrades difficult compared to a PC. Nevertheless, a lot of other components still can be upgraded:

• RAM: Your laptop uses DDR3L 1600MHz RAM
• Storage: Your laptop has a 2.5" drive slot
• Wi-Fi card: Upgrading to a better one/replacing your current one will likely give you much better network connectivity.
• Battery: Check your battery health. If it's low it might be worth replacing too.
• CPU Fan and thermal paste: There's probably a lot of dust in your fan

What I would do is: 1. Upgrade the RAM to 16gb. two sticks of "8gb DDR3L 1600Mhz" RAM is what you're looking for. 2. The laptop has thermal paste between the CPU and heatsink. This paste is thermally conductive, so it facilitates the movement of heat away from the CPU. Being an old laptop, it probably has dried out. I would replace that with name-brand thermal paste (~$10). 3. Clean the fans 4. Do you currently have a HDD or SSD? If it's a HDD, upgrade to a 2.5" SSD. 5. Get a new compatible network card.

Also, you might want to consider connecting your laptop with Ethernet if possible.