Two Old Laptops

J

Jaraldo

New Member
Hey everyone! I've got a quick question and I'd appreciate some input.

I'm a poor, in-debt college student and have these two laptops. I have obtained both of them for free and am trying to decide which one to use.

One of them is a Dell Inspiron 1501 (which is what I'm currently using). It's the newer of the two, however I'm very disappointed in the performance; especially when it comes to multitasking. It was the low-end Inspiron at the time Dell was selling them.

It has an AMD Sempron processor, 2GB of DDR2 memory, a 300GB SATA HDD, and integrated graphics. I am running Windows 7 on this thing.

I think the Sempron processor and the integrated graphics have collaborated and are frustrating me on purpose.... :(

The other machine is an older Compaq R4000. This machine is a tad bit larger, but is much more solid compared to the flimsy Inspiron. This machine uses an AMD Athlon 64, currently has 512MB of DDR memory, a 40GB IDE HDD, and has an ATI Mobility Radeon X300 video card.

Now, if I upgraded the Compaq to 2GB of DDR Memory and increased the size of the HDD to 300GB, do you think I would get better performance out of it than I currently do with the Inspiron? Keep in mind I do have another copy of Windows 7 I can put on the compaq...

Thanks for your insput!
 
I'll bet the performance will be similar and you won't be anymore satisfied but will be out whatever money you put into the RAM and new HDD. A quick look at crucial.com says 2G of DDR RAM will cost approx. $100 (2 1G sticks) and a quick search for a WD 2.5" 320G PATA drive will cost around $90.

You'd be better off putting the money toward a new laptop or perhaps a newer, used laptop.
 
Last edited:
I would personally just run XP or some distro of linux. If your just browsing the net, why not try jolicloud or something? Worked great for my eee pc 900... with the crappy 16gb ssd
 
OK, here's what I decided to do:

I did some research and ended up ordering a brand new AMD Turion 64 x2 Mobile TL-64 running at 2.2Ghz for around 50 bucks. I realize this laptop and the processor is a couple years out of date, but the new processor should get me much better performance than the Sempron and I'm hoping I'll be able to write papers, surf the net, and listen to music at the same time. :) It should be able to get me by for another year or two, anyway.

I did some research and found that the best processor Dell offered with the 1501 was the TL-60; however I did some reading and found that others have installed the TL-64 with no problem.

Before I ordered I used the Service Manual and took apart the laptop down to the motherboard as a test-run just to make sure I could do it. I think I'll be able to get this done with no problem.

If this works I'll have a nicer processor, the faster memory, and the better HDD....but I still won't have a dedicated GPU. I don't think it'll be a big deal for what I'm using it for, though. I think the trade-off is worth it especially when faced with the costs of updating the other system with older technology.

What do you think?
 
I agree that if you stick XP on the Inspiron you'll get better performance.
 
Your Compaq R400 became obsolete for HP in 2005. I agree with the response that it may have been better to save for a new computer or better used computer. But thus far, you have spent only $50. Keep in mind that student discounts are available. Please come back to this Forum with an update.
 
Thanks for your input, everyone! I successfully installed the new Turion 64 x2 and my system is performing MUCH better. This will get me by for a while.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top