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audiogarden1

23 Posts

7986

March 31st, 2008 00:00

Upgrading HD/CPU on m1530

Hello, ill be looking to do some upgrades at some point during this summer on my xps m1530, beginning with the HD. Currently i have:

3GB RAM

intel t7500 duocore 2.2Ghz

256MB 8600gt

120GB SATA HD at 7200 rpm

 

Now i know i cant upgrade the GPU, but im pretty happy with the 256MB 8600gt. However, im looking to increase performance and space for gaming and be able to install lots of them. First is the HD, im looking to upgrade to a hitachi 200GB 7200 rpm 16MB cache HD. Biggest Q with this upgrade is whether to take it to bestbuy or something and let them do the upgrade or if its as easy as i think it is to do it myself, im not too sure about the reformatting though an i dont have a backup HD to put the stuff from my current HD on to switch it over.

 

Next ill probably be upgrading to vista ultimate, im using premium. I know this gets me a few more FPS from games, but ive also heard that i will be able to install a 4th GB of RAM and that it will actually give some performance increase with ultimate. Im guessing this means i have to buy a double stick of RAM then because dell probably sent me with one double and one single stick.

 

As far as upgrading the processor goes, id probably be upgrading to an intel t9300 2.5Ghz 6MB cache. Basically i just want to know that i can do this, and that the motherboards are compatible.

 

Last but not least, would it be best for me to order all these components and bring them to a place like geeksquad and have them do all this? is there anything i have to worry about?

 

PS: sorry for the long post, any help is much appreciated

Message Edited by audiogarden1 on 03-30-2008 08:54 PM
Message Edited by audiogarden1 on 03-30-2008 08:56 PM

audiogarden1

23 Posts

March 31st, 2008 01:00

Thanks a bunch for the info. A couple more Qs if you dont mind, ive seen video on how to install the CPU and HD in the computer, but what happens after its installed with the new gear and i power it up for the first time? Is there just a screen that will pop up to install the new hardware and then bam, im in business or what? Also, i have seen on gamespots hardware performance guide for most games, ultimate tends to get a few more frames on games than premium, so id still like to do that, but you dont think i will get any increase if i also get a 4th GB of RAM? even if its gonna be a few fps as well, id make the jump to 4 GBs. Thanks again.

Mystofolyse

18 Posts

March 31st, 2008 01:00

I wouldn't take it to BestBuy for the upgrades, personally. You'd save a lot of dough doing it yourself. I recommend hitting up Newegg for the parts and Dell's support pages for the service manual for the 1530. With this laptop, it really hasn't been any easier for me until now to replace the CPU (it involves removing a panel underneath the laptop, and seven more screws to lift the thermal assembly; the hard disk is really simple considering it's in a caddy that slides in and out easily (there's four screws externally and two on the caddy to remove).

 

As for Home Premium vs Ultimate, you aren't going to net any more FPS than you already do, granted you have the latest drivers installed and are running at reasonable settings for the setup. Clean installing is a breeze these days; hit F12 for a temporary boot menu upon starting your system and boot from the Vista disc in your drive, follow the instructions, and it does the work!

 

For the CPU, the T9300 is a good choice; it consumes less power over all and is less generating of heat. You can Ebay a T7500 and net around $200 fairly easily.

 

Hope this helps! :)

DeathRider

549 Posts

March 31st, 2008 21:00

With a clean HDD, you should see the BIOS screen on bootup. The computer should automatically boot to the CD

You should have the OS disk in the DVD drive.

I usually make 2 partitions. Usually around 50 - 60GB for the main one and the rest as secondary.

That way, except for a hdd failure, you can do a fresh reinstall without worrying about losing data (in the understanding you put all your data on the 2nd partiton (usually drive D)

You might want to go to Dell's website and download all the latest drivers before you start.
You may also want to DL SP1 for Vista and load that as soon as the install is done.
Then you may want to run Windows Update until you have DL'ed all the latest updates and installed them.

Before anything, if you have not installed BIOS A08, you may want to do that before anything else because it gives the motherboard proper support for the newest CPUs.

Message Edited by DeathRider on 03-31-2008 06:55 PM

audiogarden1

23 Posts

April 1st, 2008 00:00

Hmm, im thinking i may just bring the new components to geeksquad and have them install them, as long as they'll install the drivers and things as well, otherwise ill probably be doing it myself. Thanks for the info.

tigerwolf7

3.9K Posts

April 1st, 2008 13:00

@audiogarden1 wrote:

Hello, ill be looking to do some upgrades at some point during this summer on my xps m1530, beginning with the HD. Currently i have:

3GB RAM

intel t7500 duocore 2.2Ghz

256MB 8600gt

120GB SATA HD at 7200 rpm

 

Now i know i cant upgrade the GPU, but im pretty happy with the 256MB 8600gt. However, im looking to increase performance and space for gaming and be able to install lots of them. First is the HD, im looking to upgrade to a hitachi 200GB 7200 rpm 16MB cache HD. Biggest Q with this upgrade is whether to take it to bestbuy or something and let them do the upgrade or if its as easy as i think it is to do it myself, im not too sure about the reformatting though an i dont have a backup HD to put the stuff from my current HD on to switch it over.

 

Next ill probably be upgrading to vista ultimate, im using premium. I know this gets me a few more FPS from games, but ive also heard that i will be able to install a 4th GB of RAM and that it will actually give some performance increase with ultimate. Im guessing this means i have to buy a double stick of RAM then because dell probably sent me with one double and one single stick.

 

As far as upgrading the processor goes, id probably be upgrading to an intel t9300 2.5Ghz 6MB cache. Basically i just want to know that i can do this, and that the motherboards are compatible.

 

Last but not least, would it be best for me to order all these components and bring them to a place like geeksquad and have them do all this? is there anything i have to worry about?

Several things here-as I mentioned in your other thread, Vista Ultimate is a COMPLETE RIP OFF.  It's a donation to Microsoft.  It does NOT improve your performance, and it does NOT let you "see" 4GB of RAM.  It has the EXACT same performance and memory limitations as Home Premium.
 
You're confusing 32-bit Vista with 64-bit Vista.  If you were to get a 64-bit version of Vista, you'd want Home Premium, NOT ULTIMATE.  But you shouldn't get 64-bit Vista at all, as there are possible driver and compatibility issues you may run in to.  For the time being most users should stick with 32-bit Vista.
 
Also, a CPU upgrade will NOT increase your gaming performance in any meaningful way.  You're going to be limited by your GPU, NOT your CPU, and the GPU can't be upgraded.  
 
Ditto for the hard drive.  For games, there's no reason to upgrade.  It won't improve your performance, and 120GB is way more than enough for installing games.  If you need more space for some other reason, do it yourself.  There's no reason to risk the system (and spend the money) having a third party like that do it.
 
But if this is for gaming, do *NOT* do any of these upgrades.  None of them are going to improve anything. 

audiogarden1

23 Posts

April 1st, 2008 17:00

Yeah, ive come to learn that i wont be seeing huge gaming upgrades, but i still want to make some upgrades. Though i dont think ill be pushing the 64 bit vista anymore since i have been hearing about the compatibility issues. I wasnt confusing ultimate with 64 bit, i just didnt know premium came in a 64 bit since i didnt have the option to get it when i bought my laptop, now i wont be doing any upgrading on the OS. I knew the HD would make little difference if any but im still going to upgrade cause i want something that has 7200 RPMs with the 16MB cache and i need more room than 120 GB. I have A LOT of games i like to play and want o keep them all installed. The CPU i know wont make a big difference, but i want to upgrade from the 2.2Ghz to at least 2.4, and i figure i might as well go all out on the 9300 for the bigger cache and the 2.5Ghz, which should make at least SOME small difference according to some Hardware performance stuff i have seen online, i know it wont be anything significant but i still want to do that anyway. Not gonna be doing the 4th gig of RAM anymore though, either, thanks for the info. I know ill be bottle necked by the GPU since thats the best i could do on this laptop, but its still a very nice GPU for a slim laptop not really meant for gaming, crysis is one of my only games i cant handle on more than medium, everything else like gears, UT3 and CoD 4 exceed my expectations for this system. Thanks for all the help again. Im trying to become computer savy, not quite there yet, but hopefully on my way ;)

 

One last question, if theres a chance a 3rd party like geeksquad could mess up my system by installing the HD, isnt there a good chance i can too? And also, wouldnt they be held responsible?

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