When a PC has a few years under its chassis, performance can begin to get a little sluggish depending on how far components are pushed. Luckily, there are a few ways you can add life to an old computer. A Windows Central community member is looking to do just that with an old HP Mini 110. This little box packs an Intel Atom N270 processor, which sports a single core with multi-threading, so it's going to be quite the project.
The CPU is pretty much at the bottom of the minimum requirements table, launching for use with Windows XP. Installing Windows 10 on the HP Mini 110 with only a gigabyte of RAM is always going to be a tough time. Bbeelzebub has already ordered a 2GB stick of RAM, which should improve things immensely. Unfortunately, since this is a netbook, options to improve performance are limited — you won't be able to throw an Intel Core i7 in the small portable PC, for example.
That said, it is possible to replace the hard-disk drive (HDD) with a solid-state drive (SSD) and potentially upgrade the CPU. The latter may address the video issue Bbeelzebub is having in Windows 10. Giving the OS a little more RAM, faster storage and a more capable processor certainly wouldn't hurt.
So, I'm a hoarder and keep all my working computers around to put in various places to always have internet access. I've had an old HP Mini 110-1025DX since 2009, I never used it all that much, but I've ran XP, Win 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 on it. XP and Windows 7 were fine but ever since the Windows 10 Creators update, it is nearly unusable. It was a lot better on the OG Win 10 release. Video...
Bbeelzebub
Had some experience with the HP Mini 110 or you have recently refurbished another old PC? Head to the community forum and join in the conversation.
From the forums: Attempting to give an old HP Mini 110 New Life
Rich Edmonds is Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him over on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.
