Unsolved
This post is more than 5 years old
8 Posts
0
4993
October 21st, 2009 20:00
Is the Mobility Radeon 9000 (Y0707) worth it for a Inspiron 5100?
I have an Inspiron 5100 that I've upgraded through the years. It's actually running Windows 7 at the moment, and quite well actually. It's got a 2.4GHz P4, 2GB of RAM, and a 7200 RPM drive. I'm using it as my "main" machine at the moment, and it's quite strong for an older system. Strong enough that I preordered Win7 for it.
However, it still has its stock 16MB 7500c video card. I am thinking of spending $30 on a Y0707 spare, which is a 32MB Mobility Radeon 9000. I know it won't do Aero Glass, since it's a DX8 card with too little VRAM, but I'm wondering if it would perk up video performance anyway.
I am a bit concerned about the power budget. I attempted a 2.8GHz CPU in this machine, and it worked fine - as long as I ran a 5400RPM disk. Trying to run both caused problems. I'm not sure how much more power the Radeon 9000 will use compared to the 7500.
Thanks!
vishnusivathej
51 Posts
0
October 21st, 2009 21:00
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/498-34-radeon-mobility-7500-9000
check this page dude can get more info than u need
dallascowboyswo
4 Apprentice
•
2.4K Posts
0
October 21st, 2009 21:00
Ive run a 32 mb ATI 9000 in my daughters 5100 with a 40 gb 5400 rpm hard drive and a 2.6 ghz processor. The only advantage I believe she gained at the time was being able install Sims 2. We ran it for about six months or so. She had a spill that fried the motherboard so when I installed the new motherboard I went back to the original 32 mb ATI 7500 that came with it. A couple of weeks ago I bought the 64 mb ATI 7500 for it and installed it. They both generate a little heat but that is common for this computer. Back when I was looking to upgrade. I did find one user who had installed the 64mb ATI 9000 but said he had a cooling pad to use with it. I would not recommend the 64mb ATI 9000 because of the heat issue, but I have seen users run the 32mb version of the 9000, but you are using at your own risk since this card was not offered on the 5100 at time of purchase.
jshamlet
8 Posts
0
October 21st, 2009 22:00
For $32 shipped, I think it's worth it. The seller is including the heat sink module with it as well. I've read that it does better power-wise than the 7500, and that it will actually play DVD's in Windows 7. I'll keep my current card, just in case, but for the price, it's worth the risk. It will be the "last upgrade" at any rate. This little machine is pretty well maxed out, save for the processor - but that's hardly worth the effort with the locked FSB.
I don't game much, so the 32MB of RAM should be fine. I'm really trying to resolve the issue of partial support in Windows 7. The driver I'm using for the 7500 has trouble with full screen video.
dallascowboyswo
4 Apprentice
•
2.4K Posts
0
October 22nd, 2009 17:00
Well let us know how it runs Windows 7. When I ran the advisory tool it stated the graphics card was the limiting factor.
Inspiron 5100/2.6 Ghz/2 GB/64 MB ATI 7500/120 GB HD/1350 WLAN
jshamlet
8 Posts
0
October 24th, 2009 21:00
Well, there was some improvement. My 2D score went from 1.0 to 1.9, and the user interface feels faster. That's probably a raw artifact of the 9000 having a faster core clock and more memory bandwidth, but it was definitely a perk up.
Unfortunately, 3D performance was still a 1.0. It's a DX8 card, so it probably simply failed to run the tests - which I believe are all DX9 based.Fortunately, I don't game on this system. I have one app that uses directX a lot, but it at least runs on this system. It just dithers in lieu of translucency.