upgrading laptop dell insp

superfreak · 04-19-2007, 05:13 PM

bought a dell inspiron 1501 at the time just wanted it for browsing and music but now i want to game a little

this is my first laptop always built desktop's, can i order more ram, replace the cpu on this thing or is this a whole dif way of upgrading with laptops

[-0MEGA-] · 04-19-2007, 05:16 PM

Replacing the RAM is much easier then it is on a desktop, I replaced mine in about 5 minutes. On the back of the laptop, there is a removable panel where the Windows XP CD-Key sticker is, you simply remove the two screws and replace the RAM.

The CPU is much harder however, since you have to open up the laptop.

You can also upgrade the hard drive fairly easily.

b3rt_d4ni3l · 04-19-2007, 05:21 PM

you can upgrade your RAM (as long as its compatible)...
note that laptop does not use the same RAM as desktop

a few laptop allow you to upgrade the GPU but im not sure about Dell Inspiron 1501... my guess is you wont be able to...

as for CPU, i have yet heard people change their CPU on a laptop... but i might be wrong...

laptop is not as upgradeable as desktop... generally people will just buy a new laptop if their laptop needs an upgrade (upgrading RAM is a different matter)

[-0MEGA-] · 04-19-2007, 05:25 PM

Im not positive with the Dell AMD laptop, but the newer Intel-based laptops allow you to upgrade their processors, it looks just like a desktop socket, but the hard part isnt replacing the CPU, but getting to the CPU is.

And I dont believe you can upgrade the video card on the E1501, but again, im not 100% sure on that.

superfreak · 04-19-2007, 05:48 PM

alrighty. uhm i guess for now since this only had 512mb of ram do you kno where i can buy say 1gig or 2gigs of ram for this laptop.. upgrading the laptop would be nice too

another question for those of you who have tons of music on your computer how do u back it all up dvd disc's or what

b3rt_d4ni3l · 04-19-2007, 05:54 PM

you can buy from Newegg.com but you have to make sure the one you are buying is compatible with your laptop...

for backing up data... burning all of them to DVD is one way, another way is to get an external hard drive and move all your musics and movies into there... again Newegg.com have a few external hard drive that you can choose from...

EDIT: in case you dont know which RAM is for your laptop, try downloading CPU-Z and run it to check what RAM is in your laptop right now...

superfreak · 04-19-2007, 05:58 PM

yea i was just in the process of geting cpu-z ...

yea i didnt think about getting a external drive good idea..

last question when upgrading the ram right now it has 512mb not sure if its 2x 256 sticks or just 1 512

when i do it should i get 1x 2gig stick or 2x 1 gig sticks

AdmnPower · 04-19-2007, 06:10 PM

You can't upgrade the video card on that laptop, my cousin has one. Its intigrated but it's a chipset made by ATI so it's good but not that good. If you are looking to increase your game performance after you buy your ram try to see if you can share more ram to the video card. That may help.

b3rt_d4ni3l · 04-19-2007, 06:24 PM

im pretty sure your laptop can support dual channel so definitely get 2x 1gig... it is faster compared to 1x 2gig... this is because you have 2 sticks of RAM to work on your processes... compared to just one stick

superfreak · 04-19-2007, 06:54 PM

gotcha.. thanks guys for your time and help ill keep u posted on how the upgrading goes and maybe get some b4 and after pcmark scores

04-19-2007, 05:13 PM	#1 (permalink)
superfreak Gold Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: st.louis Age: 20 Posts: 265	upgrading laptop dell insp bought a dell inspiron 1501 at the time just wanted it for browsing and music but now i want to game a little this is my first laptop always built desktop's, can i order more ram, replace the cpu on this thing or is this a whole dif way of upgrading with laptops __________________ < - - - -Sony VaIo AR Series- - - - > CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 GPU - NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 monitor - 17.0" Wide XGA / Samsung 32" HDTV RAM - 1GB DDR2 OS - Windows Media Center HD - 200gig sound - HDTV / logitech surround

04-19-2007, 05:16 PM	#2 (permalink)
[-0MEGA-] Diamond Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Concord, NH Age: 20 Posts: 27,082	Replacing the RAM is much easier then it is on a desktop, I replaced mine in about 5 minutes. On the back of the laptop, there is a removable panel where the Windows XP CD-Key sticker is, you simply remove the two screws and replace the RAM. The CPU is much harder however, since you have to open up the laptop. You can also upgrade the hard drive fairly easily. __________________ Desktop // Laptop Core 2 Quad Q9550 @ 4.0GHz // Core 2 Duo P8400 2.26GHz Asus Rampage Formula X48 // Intel PM45 ATI 4870X2 2GB GDDR5 // 512MB GDDR3 9800M GTS 4GB (2x 2GB) DDR2 940 // 4GB DDR3 800 750GB SATAII w/32MB // 200GB SATAII 7200RPM Creative SB X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty SilverStone 750W +12V@60A 3DMark06: 21391 // 9179

04-19-2007, 05:21 PM	#3 (permalink)
b3rt_d4ni3l Platinum Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Milwaukee Posts: 946	you can upgrade your RAM (as long as its compatible)... note that laptop does not use the same RAM as desktop a few laptop allow you to upgrade the GPU but im not sure about Dell Inspiron 1501... my guess is you wont be able to... as for CPU, i have yet heard people change their CPU on a laptop... but i might be wrong... laptop is not as upgradeable as desktop... generally people will just buy a new laptop if their laptop needs an upgrade (upgrading RAM is a different matter) __________________ The Rig: Intel Q6600 G0 Stepping \|\| Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro MSI GeForce 8800GTX OC \|\| GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R Rev. 2.0 Corsair XMS2 2x1GB 4-4-4-12 \|\| 2 x Western Digital SataII 500GB Lite-On w/ LightScribe \|\| Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer ASUS PhysX Physics Card \|\| PC Power & Cooling Silencer Quad 750W Black XION Onyx XON-301 Black \|\| Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit

04-19-2007, 05:25 PM	#4 (permalink)
[-0MEGA-] Diamond Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Concord, NH Age: 20 Posts: 27,082	Im not positive with the Dell AMD laptop, but the newer Intel-based laptops allow you to upgrade their processors, it looks just like a desktop socket, but the hard part isnt replacing the CPU, but getting to the CPU is. And I dont believe you can upgrade the video card on the E1501, but again, im not 100% sure on that. __________________ Desktop // Laptop Core 2 Quad Q9550 @ 4.0GHz // Core 2 Duo P8400 2.26GHz Asus Rampage Formula X48 // Intel PM45 ATI 4870X2 2GB GDDR5 // 512MB GDDR3 9800M GTS 4GB (2x 2GB) DDR2 940 // 4GB DDR3 800 750GB SATAII w/32MB // 200GB SATAII 7200RPM Creative SB X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty SilverStone 750W +12V@60A 3DMark06: 21391 // 9179

04-19-2007, 05:48 PM	#5 (permalink)
superfreak Gold Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: st.louis Age: 20 Posts: 265	alrighty. uhm i guess for now since this only had 512mb of ram do you kno where i can buy say 1gig or 2gigs of ram for this laptop.. upgrading the laptop would be nice too another question for those of you who have tons of music on your computer how do u back it all up dvd disc's or what __________________ < - - - -Sony VaIo AR Series- - - - > CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 GPU - NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 monitor - 17.0" Wide XGA / Samsung 32" HDTV RAM - 1GB DDR2 OS - Windows Media Center HD - 200gig sound - HDTV / logitech surround

04-19-2007, 05:54 PM	#6 (permalink)
b3rt_d4ni3l Platinum Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Milwaukee Posts: 946	you can buy from Newegg.com but you have to make sure the one you are buying is compatible with your laptop... for backing up data... burning all of them to DVD is one way, another way is to get an external hard drive and move all your musics and movies into there... again Newegg.com have a few external hard drive that you can choose from... EDIT: in case you dont know which RAM is for your laptop, try downloading CPU-Z and run it to check what RAM is in your laptop right now... __________________ The Rig: Intel Q6600 G0 Stepping \|\| Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro MSI GeForce 8800GTX OC \|\| GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R Rev. 2.0 Corsair XMS2 2x1GB 4-4-4-12 \|\| 2 x Western Digital SataII 500GB Lite-On w/ LightScribe \|\| Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer ASUS PhysX Physics Card \|\| PC Power & Cooling Silencer Quad 750W Black XION Onyx XON-301 Black \|\| Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit Last edited by b3rt_d4ni3l; 04-19-2007 at 05:56 PM.

04-19-2007, 05:58 PM	#7 (permalink)
superfreak Gold Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: st.louis Age: 20 Posts: 265	yea i was just in the process of geting cpu-z ... yea i didnt think about getting a external drive good idea.. last question when upgrading the ram right now it has 512mb not sure if its 2x 256 sticks or just 1 512 when i do it should i get 1x 2gig stick or 2x 1 gig sticks __________________ < - - - -Sony VaIo AR Series- - - - > CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 GPU - NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 monitor - 17.0" Wide XGA / Samsung 32" HDTV RAM - 1GB DDR2 OS - Windows Media Center HD - 200gig sound - HDTV / logitech surround

04-19-2007, 06:10 PM	#8 (permalink)
AdmnPower VIP Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Indiana, USA Posts: 1,177	You can't upgrade the video card on that laptop, my cousin has one. Its intigrated but it's a chipset made by ATI so it's good but not that good. If you are looking to increase your game performance after you buy your ram try to see if you can share more ram to the video card. That may help. __________________ Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4 ghz 4 gig DDR 2 800 Sapphire Radeon 3870 X2 250 gig Seagate Barracuda Windows Vista

04-19-2007, 06:24 PM	#9 (permalink)
b3rt_d4ni3l Platinum Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Milwaukee Posts: 946	im pretty sure your laptop can support dual channel so definitely get 2x 1gig... it is faster compared to 1x 2gig... this is because you have 2 sticks of RAM to work on your processes... compared to just one stick __________________ The Rig: Intel Q6600 G0 Stepping \|\| Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro MSI GeForce 8800GTX OC \|\| GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R Rev. 2.0 Corsair XMS2 2x1GB 4-4-4-12 \|\| 2 x Western Digital SataII 500GB Lite-On w/ LightScribe \|\| Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer ASUS PhysX Physics Card \|\| PC Power & Cooling Silencer Quad 750W Black XION Onyx XON-301 Black \|\| Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit

04-19-2007, 06:54 PM	#10 (permalink)
superfreak Gold Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: st.louis Age: 20 Posts: 265	gotcha.. thanks guys for your time and help ill keep u posted on how the upgrading goes and maybe get some b4 and after pcmark scores __________________ < - - - -Sony VaIo AR Series- - - - > CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 GPU - NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 monitor - 17.0" Wide XGA / Samsung 32" HDTV RAM - 1GB DDR2 OS - Windows Media Center HD - 200gig sound - HDTV / logitech surround

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