Upgrading Inspirons...

S

starhawk

[H]F Junkie
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Hi ya'll... my father has a Dell Inspiron laptop... bout all I know is that it's the size of an overfed Mack truck with all the power of a carb-clogged weedeater :eek:

Model is 6400-e1505... I think it's got the absolute crappiest config possible but I don't know for sure. I've got an email in to him, see if he can find the service tag on it and then I can give ya'll more info.

What I'm wondering is this. I've got a Thinkpad T40 that I was gonna give him for Christmas, that has a gig and a half of RAM, a 1.6ghz P-M, and an 80gig HDD. It blows his Inspiron outta the water in every way except the screen (maxes out at 1024x768). I'm not too cheap to spend $7.50 on FleaBay to get a used IBM charger for him.

But would there be any benefit over that to rebuilding his Inspiron to be much, much better? Would I have to swap out boards? I have a s775 CPU somewhere, it's a Core Duo IIRC (sitting in a Dimension 9100), could I basically just drop that in, add RAM and a hard drive that's bigger than a mosquito ass (current one is 40gb :eek: )

It's worth noting that I've got enough experience with pulling laptops apart now that I know I can do this if it's worth it. I just don't know if it's worth my trouble. That's what I want to know.

Thanks folks!
 
doesn't that dell have a core duo processor? Doesn't it completely outperform your thinkpad right there?

I haven't heard of s775 socket, is this a mobile socket? your not just referring to socket 775? socket 775 is a desktop component, they dont make laptop processor for socket 775.

the sockets in your dell are probably pbga479 or 478, i think it may be referred to as socket-m.

Some laptops require bios support for a cpu upgrade, you'll have to check with your model.
 
Sorry for the shorthand, s = socket, so s775 = socket 775. Guess if that's a desktop-only socket that I'm not putting that chip in his dell.

Yes, what's in there is almost certainly a Celeron M that's Socket 479 (might be oldass enough to have a socket 478 proc in there, ye gods). IIRC it's got either 256mb or 512mb RAM, but I can't remember which. I'd be more than a little surprised if there was a gig in there. HDD is 40gb.

That dell is capable (in some instances) of having a core duo, but IIRC my father was his typical brilliant self and went for the cheapest version of the midrange stuff. This thing is like 5yrs old. It's huge, it's ugly, and it's outperformed by my TI-83+.

People who trust Dell like this give me ulcers :rolleyes: his wife has a Dell desktop; it took me 30min to figure out how to get a combo drive in there (original was a CD-ROM of all things). Don't get me wrong, Dells rarely break down, but when they do (or get old enough to merit upgrades), that's when I start sweating.

Oh, BTW, Dad likes to use this braindead behemoth for working on 42+mb Photoshop posters (he's a graphic designer). IIRC he's got CS3 on this thing, as well as CorelDRAW X3. He has to reboot like every 45min to clear the gunk outta the RAM.
 
I have an E1505 as well, it's actually given me very few problems over the years. One problem I ran into which seems to be a common issue for that model has is the hinges are very weak on the screen. I ended up using JB weld to strengthen them. It doesn't have the best build quality, but it has been a reliable machine for me.

I think you could get much more performance from the E1505 than the T40. One reason is the E1505 can take up to 4gb of ram, even though Dell's site states 2gb is the maximum. Another reason is you can put a dual core CPU in it. It is able to accept Core Duo and some Core 2 Duo model of CPUs, both of which are dual cores. I'm not sure which screen you have, but I have the 1680x1050 screen, which has significantly more real estate than 1024x768.

It is a big laptop, but for something that came out in late 2005, early 2006, it has a surprisingly respectable upgrade path. :)

BTW I have an extra Core Duo 1.83GHz CPU if you are interested.

It sounds like your dad would benefit the most from a RAM upgrade to 4gb though.
 
I guess what I'm really looking for is this...

If I get the Core Duo CPU, will I have to then upgrade mobo and cooling system? How the crap much is that gonna cost? I don't mind spending a day pulling it to bits and putting it back together, but my wallet only has so much in it, ya know?

versus just spending ~$7.50 for a thinkpad charger? He keeps that laptop at 1024x768 anyways, so the screen isn't much of an issue... but if it is, how much for a high-res T40 screen?
 
I'm pretty sure all the E1505s have the same cooling system, so you'd just need to remove the heatsink, take out the old CPU, put in the new one, properly apply thermal paste,and put it back together.

So your cost would be CPU, and thermal paste (unless you already have some).

I've got no clue how much a new screen for the T40 would be, or what options are available.
 
...and ram. I'll look into that on ebay once i get the tag # from him. Need to know both kind and quantity...

also what's the going rate for a 160gb pata notebook hdd?
 
I have this exact RAM running in my E1505.

Also the E1505 has a SATA hard drive interface.
 
I didn't know they even MADE 40gig SATA drives... OK, lemme look on ebay in a little bit. Right now I'm arguing with a damn Latitude CPi that doesn't understand that it is far more useful in one piece than 65.

EDIT: waitaminit. That T40 has a 1.6 P-M in it right now. I can upgrade it easily, I've got 3 or 4 procs that will fit in there (forget what speeds they are); how high could I go on that thing? TBH it's easier for my wallet to get a fast P-M and a charger (total less than $30) rather than a core duo, crapton of ram, and a hdd (total skyward of $50). I be poor ya'll.

EDIT2: if anyone will do this, I've got two of the XGA-only thinkpad screens (T4* series) that I'd trade for one of the better screens. Don't care what the label on it sez, if it works, it works, I gotta sharpie if it doesn't say T40 on it ;)
 
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Apparently they made up to 2.27GHz Pentium Ms according to wikipedia, but I almost always see the 1.6GHz flavors. They all appear to be socket 479.
 
Holy flying f*ck those are expensive. Not goin through that.

I know that I've got a P-M 1.7ghz somewhere, and I know fer a fact I have an SL7EN somewhere. Would the 1.8ghz proc be that much of a boost?

Also, I've got an SLA9S -- that's a Core2Duo according to the internets, would that run in that damn inspiron?
 
Minor off topic question. Got a bellyachin latitude CPi (version D300XT) -- info off the back sez it's model # PPL, assy # 9321C. Gives me a post code, but I don't speak dell led blinky code moonspeak crap.

Power light comes on (green) for 5-10sec then cuts off as battery light blinks rapidly (amber 4-5x, then green 1x).

Can someone get out their dell post-led-blinky secret decoder ring and tell me what the crap it's saying? Dunno if it helps, but I don't see this thing being made after '06 since it's got a Y2K compliancy sticker on the back...
 
starhawk said:
I know that I've got a P-M 1.7ghz somewhere, and I know fer a fact I have an SL7EN somewhere. Would the 1.8ghz proc be that much of a boost?
Click to expand...
With that old of a CPU, yeah every ounce of clock speed increase will help a little. In fact, if you do have the SL7EN, you could always do the old' Pentoim M Pin mod trick to get a little extra clock speed:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3226&article=pin+mod

Thats what I did with my old Pentium M 725 1.6: Pin-modded it and soon had a 2.13Ghz Pentium M. In your case, you would have a 2.4Ghz Pentium M if the pin-mod is successful. With that said, even a 2.66Ghz Pentium M would be no match for even the cheapest Core Duo or Core 2 Duo dual core CPUs.

starhawk said:
Also, I've got an SLA9S -- that's a Core2Duo according to the internets, would that run in that damn inspiron?
Click to expand...
No. Incompatible sockets: The Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T5250 (the CPU you supposedly have) uses socket P. The Dell E6400/E1505 uses socket M.
 
Thanks, man! Looking right now at the pin mod article. Re: core2duo, that's what I thought, but it never hurts to make sure.
 
I'll try the pin mod later, right now I feel like Rip Van Winkle before the nap. Ack.

Guess I'll start another thread for this damn Latitude CPi... it's still being an ass.
 
Got the service tag for that inspiron... boy does dell hate to give one any useful info.

512MB RAM (I'm mildly surprised) @ 533MHz.

Proc is a Yonah core (IDK what proc that is) T2300. If someone smarter than me can ID that CPU, this would be helpful.
 
starhawk said:
Got the service tag for that inspiron... boy does dell hate to give one any useful info.

512MB RAM (I'm mildly surprised) @ 533MHz.

Proc is a Yonah core (IDK what proc that is) T2300. If someone smarter than me can ID that CPU, this would be helpful.
Click to expand...

That would be a Core Duo at 1.66Ghz, which is a dual core CPU. That CPU is ok, especially compared to the T40 options. Just buy the man some RAM and call it a day :p
 
Run some compressed air through it, and it should be fine. The intake (I think) is on the back, with the exhaust on the bottom.

As far as RAM, your Dad's laptop also can support PC2 5300 (667MHz) as well as PC2 4200. Get as many GB as it can hold, which is 2GB since it's 32-Bit, or 4GB if you want it to "max out" at 3GB.

2GB (2x1GB sticks) of PC2 4200 for $25.99
2GB (2x1GB sticks) of PC2 5300 for $25.99
4GB (2x2GB sticks) of PC2 5300 for $44.99

And all of them have free shipping. A new processor shouldn't be too bad either, I've seen a T2700 for around $80, with the next step down just over half of that.
 
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My wallet has moths and expired coupons in it ;) paypal ain't more.

Anyone wanna trade?
 
One other dumbass question: how does a P-M SL7EN stack against the T2300?

I'm pretty sure I know what ya'll are gonna say, but I want to make sure.
 
A T2300 isn't that bad of a processor considering. Hell I have a laptop currently that uses one that is still useful. Focus on upgrading memory, or checking to see if its overheating. I've seen several dells around that vintage that was dog slow because the compound they used has now turned mostly to dust. If it's been overheating for too long however they still tend to run crappy after you fix it.
 
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