Precision M4600 Owners Lounge

I did lift thr keyboard up to replace the ram but not detach the ribbon.
I did open it up to push the connect in more firmly after encountering this problem.

 

I would unhook it, then plug it back in just to be sure, otherwise you may need to replace it or the motherboard.

Luckily both are generally pretty cheap.

 

Is replacing the motherboard hard to do?

 

Takes some time but not particularly tedious, Ive done it a few times on this laptop as well as others.

 

Hello, photographer here looking to display 3840 x 2160 (4K...ish) from my M4600 using a FirePro M5100. I currently am running the following:

M4600
I7-2620m (2.7-3.4...which only goes to 3.2 for some strange reason)
AMD FirePro M5950
8GB Ram @ 1333
500 GB / 7200rpm Toshiba HDD
Display Port on side of laptop

It looks from the following website that 3840 x 2160 is capable with the M5100:

http://www.game-debate.com/gpu/inde...re=firepro-m5100-vs-geforce-gt-750m-2gb-gddr5

I also read that Display Port is capable of max of 3840 x 2160.

I have not found anywhere that anyone has done this. I do not have the 4K monitor yet but would purchase it upon successful upgrade of the M5100 and don't want to find out the hard way and end up having to purchase and return the QHD (2560 x 1440).

Thank You for your help! This Forum is Awesome!! Have learned so much over the years!

- Ulysses

 

I have a few questions about upgrading my m4600. ( Intel i7-2640M @ 2.8GHz, 16gb RAM, 256gb ssd x 2, 750gb hdd, FirePro M5950. )

1. Can I install a 2920XM processor in this laptop? I suspect I can, but does that automatically re-enable the two RAM slots under the keyboard so that I can add more?

2. Would it worth it to upgrade the FirePro 5950 to the nVidia Quadro 2000M? I don't believe my display is IPS. Would the 5950's heat sink work on the 2000M?
Note: I do mostly music related tasks, recording, composing, etc. I don't anticipate doing any gaming, but I want the POTENTIAL to game if I wish. If that has any bearing on choice of card, please advise.

These are the last two tasks I have in my grand upgrade plan. Thank you for your help.

 

You can install the 2920xm but the i7 2860qm is basically the same thing but runs cooler due to its lower heat dump. It doesnt need to be an XM chip to use all the RAM slots, just needs to be any quad core CPU.

Dont bother with the 5950. If you are going to upgrade then I would go with the m5100 or w5170m as long as you dont have the IPS panel. With the IPS panel the best you can use the 2000m.

An overclocked m5100 is in the same neighborhood as the 850m last that I recall.

 

Remy,

I would agree with TheReceiver. I just upgraded from the 2620m this week to the 2860QM and can tell you from first hand experience that its a worthy upgrade and the best from all the Quad core CPUs IMO in regard to value. I got a great deal on ebay and picked one up and couldn't justify spending twice on the 2960xm. The 2860qm does have a little more power draw than the dual core processors i had (2620m) and will kill your battery ever so slightly faster but then again we don't own these machines for good battery life (they basically suck in regard to battery life). However, they make great machine and still provide a good budget option for most that stay at a desktop.

In regards to the GPU, its probably not worth the upgrade for you reading and music editing. I will likely upgrade to the M5100 in the near future but i watch movies, have multiple windows open and am a Photographer editing large files in Adobe software so a cheap upgrade to the M5950 GPU is going to help me display 2560x1440 to a 27'' Monitor.

RAM is related to cores.
Dual core = Max 16gb @ 1600mhz
Quad Core = Max 32gb @ 1333mhz

It has been said that 1600mhz will work on quad core processors but I don't have experience to speak of that and others have said that you have to flash the card to actually see 1600mhz through the cards.

If you need help i would be glad to.

- Ulysses

 

1600Mhz will work but you need to create an XMP profile on the individual DIMMs.

Quad Core max is 32GB and likely can also handle 1600Mhz but I have yet to see that as most people willing to spend that much on RAM at this point would rather get a new machine altogether.

Best value chip is likely to be the 2760qm as they average around 50 USD or lower as opposed to the 2860qm that goes for 80 plus USD and the difference is only 100Mhz for the 4 core turbo speed. Unless you find a good deal for one of course go for the 2860qm.

Cant overclock in this machine, so no point to XM chips.

 

Thank you for correction. That was a typo on my end (32gb for quad core....edited in post).