D400 possible upgrades.

Hi All,

I have A D400, I want to upgrade it, I have multiple questions:

1- Can I upgrade the CPU what is the Max CPU supported? Current one is 1.6 Pentium M.

2- I want to have 2GB RAM, I couldn't find the 2nd slot only seen 1 under the laptop? Current configuration is 512MB RAM 256 x2.

3- Optical Drive, I want to upgrade it to Super Multi DVD-RW where to find a computable optical drive? Current drive CD-RW DVD-ROM.

4- HDD, I Want to upgrade it to the best HDD possible, but I'm concerned about over heating? current HDD 40GB

5- VGA, is it possible to install a dedicated VGA card? current is the weak Intel integrated VGA.


Many thanks in advance for your Pro. support & advice.

UNREAL-AHW

 

1) You've got a Socket 479 Pentium M 1.4. You can upgrade to:

Pentium M 1.5 1500 1024 400
Pentium M 1.6 1600 1024 400
Pentium M 1.7 1700 1024 400

Pentium M 710 1400 2048 400
Pentium M 715 1500 2048 400
Pentium M 725 1600 2048 400
Pentium M 735 1700 2048 400
Pentium M 745 1800 2048 400
Pentium M 755 2000 2048 400
Pentium M 765 2100 2048 400

... assuming your BIOS supports the chip.

2) Your laptop does support up to 2GB of memory. One of the slots is under the keyboard. http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/latd400/smen/index.htm

3) Is this an external drive? The D400 doesn't look like it has an internal drive...

4) Anything that's IDE and 2.5" should work fine. You may not be able to recognize really big drives though.

5) No. You cannot upgrade the GPU.

 

Many thanks "Commander Wolf" for your fast & useful response...

1- I heard that the CPU is soldered to the MB. is that true...

2- Thank u very much the info u provided me was very useful...

3- yes of course, it is external. the drive inside the bay is replaceable

4- regarding the HDD, what is the fastest available 2.5 HDD ?

5- thats a petty...

waiting for other valuable input

UNREAL-AHW

 

You cannot - as is common with Dell ultraportables since the C400, the CPU is soldered on. Now, it IS possible to upgrade as I believe I read it being done before, but you'd need to do a LOT of soldering, be very skilled in handiwork and have lots of patience. Worth it? No unless that is your hobby or something. Memory - yes upgrade to 2gb, that is worth it. Hard drive - before you upgrade, check your device manager under windows and google the model of your hard drive. What you want to do is make sure the D400 uses a 2.5" or 1.8" drive - as I'm not sure off the top of my head. Google your current drive model and find out what size it is. As for optical drive, you can upgrade to any of the Dell external optical drives on ebay, just search for dell dbay drives. And no you cannot upgrade the graphics - integrated. However unless you're a gamer, I honestly don't think upgrading from the 855 graphics is that huge a benefit anyways. Good luck!

 

If you were looking to get rid of what you have and upgrade to a new ultraportable, Dell is clearing out the D420 at $699 brand new. Not a bad deal. I know its not the latest and greatest but it might be cheaper than upgrading all of this stuff.

 

Many Thanks to u guys for your valuable contribution, Now I belive the best thing to run for are
1- 2GB RAM,
2- larger 7200-HDD
3- multi-DVD Writer.

Kind Regards,
UNREAL-AHW