Dell Inspiron 1520: Viable After Market Upgrades

Awesome, how would I go about doing that (This is why I'll probably never buy a DELL again)? Also, if a BIOS update was needed but not applied, I'm assuming the new processor would just be under-clocked (as old settings would be applied) correct?

 

You'll definitely get a warning message reporting that the CPU is not recognized and a suggestion to press F1 to continue. Apart from that everything should work just fine, but don't quote me on that one. However I don't think that you would want to confirm or reject this theory. Just update your BIOS to A09 (that's the latest version dating back to August 2008 I think). All it takes is a minute or two and a restart to complete. Hope this helped. Good luck!

 

Already running A09. I'm just worried that it won't boot if I upgrade this CPU or it'll underclock the new CPU to what the old CPU is running now (Old CPU is 1.83 GHz, the new one is 2.6GHz).

 

No worries. I've just swapped my T7300 for a T9500 and it works like clockwork in 1520 with A09. Tested and confirmed.

 

Thanks! I've seen the error message you speak of, once when I upgraded the RAM. Now the debate, should I buy this CPU new or used. I'm looking on ebay for some possible deals.

 

My advice is to get a new one, if possible. Don't go for the cheaper ES or QS versions though, there is a very good chance that they won't work at all or you'll have major problems with getting them to work properly. I've heared of various issues with ES CPUs like for example getting stuck at a clock frequency of 1.2GHz or so. Also make sure that the seller accepts returns in case that you are not satisfied with the product (ES - Engineering Sample, QS - Qualification Sample)

 

I would recommend not even getting the T9500, just get a brand new T9300, you can get a new one for $90 -$100 on eBay. The single and only difference between both is 0.1 GHz, the T9500 is 2.6GHz and the T9300 is 2.5GHz. You are probably not even going to come close to noticing it.

T9300: New & Unused

 

Thanks. I actually submitted an offer for a ES sample, didn't even think of looking into that. I retracted my offer

Good idea and a hell of a savings. However, I do have one question for you before I go ahead with this. My current CPU is the T5550. Checking the specs on the Intel website for comparison, I noticed this.

Sockets Supported PPGA478

Now, comparing this to the T9300...

Sockets Supported BGA479, PGA478

Notice there's a "P" missing in the PGA478? Do you think this will be an issue?

Again, I really want to thank you guys for your support. I've barely been here a few hours and I can't believe the support I've already received

 

Glad I could be of help but just know that PGA-478 is the P-Socket CPU, that's the one I bought. You should buy that one and swap yours out, make sure you get IC Diamond for the Thermal Paste.

Edit: The one I linked you up there is a P-Socket CPU, just buy that and you should be fine.

 

Funny you should say that. I don't think that these specs are correct. What it should have been is namely (FC)PGA(Pin Grid Array) or in other words Socket P. And this isn't even an isolated case. I've found irregularities with the specs on Intel's website not once or twice. Just an example - my current T9500 is an OEM SLAPW and according to Intel it is a (FC)BGA479 (Ball Grid Array) CPU with 479 tiny balls instead of pins. But in reality it isn't. It has 478 gold plated pins which undoubtedly makes it a (FC)PGA478 CPU. As far as I know, the only socket that Inspiron 1520 supports is PGA. Still, I might be wrong, but it's unlikely. But you should certainly get a second opinion.

 

IC Diamond 24 Carat Thermal Compound - 4.8 gram - $20.95

IC Diamond 7 Carat Thermal Compound - 1.5 gram - $6.95

Think I can get away with using the cheaper one? Especially since I don't think I'll need 4.8 grams of the stuff.

I think I'm going to take my chances on this, especially since you said Intel has made numerous errors on their site before.

 

I've installed 3 to 4 processors and still have some left over from the IC Diamond 7 and if for some odd reason it doesn't work out, you have a 30-day return policy.

 

HDX9000 folks have pinmodded a E0-stepping X9100 to run on their PM965 chipset. Runs cooler than a X9000. See http://forum.notebookreview.com/8125412-post4565.html .

 

Ok, so I ordered the IC Diamond 7 and the T9300. They should both be here in a couple of days. I've read a few different sets of instructions as far as how to apply the IC Diamond 7 goes. Here's what I surmised.

1) After the CPU is seated in the socket, squeeze a 5mm ball of it onto the IHS.
(I'm guessing they mean 5mm ball on standard sized CPU's. The T9300 looks smaller, so should I use less? Maybe 4mm? Is it ok if some of the IC Diamond 7 bleeds onto the CPU itself?


)
2) Let the ball sit on the IHS for about 10 minutes.

3) Apply the heatsink with approximately 50 pounds of pressure.

4) Start the laptop when finished reassembling so that the IC Diamond 7 can cure over the next two hours.

5) Great success?

 

Yeah, but if you end up having any questions, I did do a full review of how I did this CPU replacement, this past April/March here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...cing-processor-1520-before-after-effects.html

 

Awesome, thanks!

I'll report back when I get this new thing up and running. I also ordered a 7200RPM HDD. I'm hoping I'll see a big difference once I slap both of these pieces of hardware inside.

 

Oh that's awesome, yeah, let me know!

 

Nice, helpful thread. I'm a fellow 1520 owner, and although a lot of 1520 owners have probably moved on, I'm glad to see a thread like this. Looking at the upgrade list, my only suggestion would be that I'm pretty sure the optical drive is an IDE connection, and it would be good to mention that in the optical drive section. There's a lot of SATA laptop drives available now, and it would be easy to buy the wrong type by mistake.

 

Alright man, will do thanks for point it out. I still have my 1520 and have been using it like a monster for the last 2 years.

 

Ok. I installed the new CPU. Here's the weird thing. My windows experience index dropped upon rebooting the laptop with the new CPU. Before it was 4.7 and now it's 2.3 Please refer to the images below.



Before



After



CPU-Z analysis. Notice the "Core Speed" on the bottom, 598.5MHz. Why is that so low?....

Also when I looked at the CPU info in the BIOS, it said Minimum speed was like 1.2, current 1.6 and max 2.5. Please give me some feedback on this because I'm a tad worried my unit is bad. Thanks!

 

Does the core speed ramp up when you load the CPU?

 

It's running in SuperLFM mode where the FSB is halved. Ie:

200x12.5=2.5Ghz (HFM)
200x6=1.2Ghz (LFM)
100x6=0.6Ghz (SuperLFM)

Installing Throttlestop and/or configuring the Windows Power plan Processor settings will get you full performance again. If you disable Speedstep in the bios you'll be able to run a T9300-2.5 in dual-IDA mode to get 2.7Ghz.

 

Hmm. So, I'm installing Windows Updates right now (Had to re-install everything since I also upgraded to a 7200RPM HDD) and I noticed it shot up!



It actually went up to like 2693 for a second then dropped back down. So I guess all is well, right?

Also, this thing runs hella cool! Right now with this load (roughly 36%) it's at about 100 degrees F right now. I'm just a little shocked though that for the Windows Experience Index, the CPU speed didn't increase.

I'd say this thing is running as should. Agreed?

 

Oh I see, post your entire current Windows Experience Rating here, which section is it low in?

 

WEI is notorious for being stupid. See if your Super PI or wPrime scores match up with what's "correct".

 

WEI is notorious, but WEI dropping that much does indicate a problem. Looks like you've got it sorted out now, though. And if you want to rerun WEI, it ought to go back up to where you were before or slightly higher. That 2693 MHz is Intel Dynamic Acceleration kicking in, and you can get that speed all the time with ThrottleStop.

100F is not bad for a mid-level load, but the 100% load for extended periods is the real measure that matters. Celsius is preferable, though - almost all benchmarks are in Celsius, so it quickly becomes the common currency. I'm even from America, the Land of Fahrenheit, where I tell the weather and cook in Fahrenheit, and had to do a conversion to get a sense of how good a temperature that was for computers.

 

Can't believe the 1520 still have a following, but good news for me since I've been putting off upgrading for a while now.

Recently (maybe the past two months or so) I've been have some video issues. My Inspiron's screen would glitch up, freeze, and usually would require a hard reset. 9 out of 10 times it would only happen when on battery.

I've changed the graphics drivers multiple times and even reformatted last week but the issue remains. Under Windows error logs, I see a "Video Hardware Error".

Is this an indication of my 8600M GT dying? If it is the problem, I'm considering replacing it with a 8400M GS since I don't game anymore, might as well reduce the power usage and heat output.

EDIT - Looks like WSXGA+ to WUXGA panel and T7300 to T9300 might be a possibility as well, but at that point, shouldn't I just go for a brand new laptop

 

Well, I wouldn't really say so, most of the upgrades you can make for your laptop currently, aren't all that much cash. You can buy a brand new T9300 for around $70 and I think a replacement 8600M GT is around $21 (both on eBay, of course). As for the panel, WUXGA is worth around $89 on eBay as well, the end result you'd probably pay somewhere right under $200 dollars to maximize your performance.

Graphics card dying? Perhaps. It may be dying but you might also have a dying laptop screen. I would recommend replacing the GPU as soon as possible and so how your machine responds as opposed to replacing the screen (gpu is cheaper to replace).

 

i purchased the recommended 4GB stick of RAM

my system properties shows the installed memory as 4GB, but when i ran the crucial.com system scan it said i only had a 256MB memory stick

anyone kno what the issue is?
task manager shows my total memory at 4GB also

 

If you do not have Windows (x64 Bit) Version, it will not allow you to access RAM greater than 3.4GB. Make sure you have a 64-Bit Version of Windows in order to access the full 6 GB of RAM.

What type of Windows are you using (e.g. XP, Vista or 7)?

 

i'm using windows 7 32bit

and yea i'm aware i'm only using 3.4GB of the 4GB stick

i was just wondering why task manager was showing that i had 3.4GB of memory and the crucial scan was reading it as a 256MB stick

 

Hello,
Is there any possibility to upgrade my Dell Inspiron 1520 with 2x2GB KINGSTON HYPER X DDR2-800 PC2-6400 CL5? I read some info from intel.com with regard on this and they said "maximum memory supported: 4GB, intel flex memory technology support, 64-bit wide per channel, support for DDR2 at 667 and 533MHz".

Thank you!

 

You can use the 2 x 2 Kingston. It will only run at PC5300/667MHz (not that you will notice a difference). No reason it shouldn't work though.

 

Thank you for the answer.

The thing is that I try to upgrade my laptop. First job was to upgrade the CPU. Task completed! Now I have Intel T8100. The second job is to upgrade the RAM. Still waiting to receive the RAMs. The third (here is the tricky part) is to upgrade the graphic card. The current configuration is based on X3100 (965 chipset I think) and I would like to upgrade with something at least equal with 8600M GT, reliable and as cheap is possible

Is there any chance to complete my mission?

Regards

 

If you have X3100, you will need to swap out the motherboard to get 8400M or 8600M.

 

Hello,

I'm a Dell Inspiron 1520 owner from Malaysia. Had mine for 3+ years now. I've been wanting to upgrade my specs. So far, I've already ordered 4GB RAM to be installed, and also overclocked my GPU. And now, I'm planning to upgrade my CPU from Intel C2D T7250 to a Intel C2D T9300.

The problem is getting a new processor here in Malaysia is very expensive. Even a used T9300 costs around USD164. I've found a OEM seller on eBay who can ship here to Malaysia from the UK who sells a new T9300 for around USD138, including shipping. And that is still expensive.

I've read the previous posts, and found out that buying in the US is cheaper. On eBay US you can get a T9300 for under USD90, is that right? Now, I hope someone here can help me out. I'm not asking much, but I hope I can trust someone here in the US to buy me a new Intel C2D T9300 then post me using the cheapest and reliable postage. I will pay for everything, using PayPal or etc.

If anybody is willing, please contact me straight away. We will get to know each other first. ;-)

Thank you.

 

I can get it for you. I sent you a PM, but I don't know if you can receive them. Let me know.

 

Oh thanks a lot! I got your PM, but can't seem to reply.

I was wondering, how much is the current price in the US for a new Intel C2D T9500 or a Intel C2E X9000?

 

Hi All,

First off, this thread is a HUGE help! Anyway, I would like to upgrade my dell inspiron 1520. one of the first upgrades im going to do is the graphics card and RAM. But with the RAM can I use 8gb? I know it says 6gb max but Im about to flash my bios to A09. Also, How do i know what port to put the 4gb chip and the 2gb chip? (if i can use 6gb) Thanks for the help guys, here are my specs

Dell Inspiron 1520

Windows 7 Professional 64bit
Intel Core 2 Duo T7500
BIOS-A02
SMBIOS Version 2.4
RAM 2.00GB
150GB HDD

 

You can use the 4gb chip in either module it doesn't matter, but you cannot access 8GB of RAM at all, the Santa Rosa Platform allows for only a maximum of 7GB I believe, but there were no 3GB RAM modules ever made so the best it can do is 4GB + 2GB in Intel Flex Mode.

 

Last I checked the X9000 was running somewhere between $200-$225 USD unused/new and $165-$185 USD used.

The T9500 is somewhere around $120-$125 USD used and $208 USD for unused/new.

 

Thanks for the help miheal. Whats Intel Flex Mode?

 

so can I buy this ram combo?

Newegg.com - Crucial 4GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Laptop Memory Model CT51264AC800

With

Newegg.com - Crucial 2GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Laptop Memory Model CT25664AC800

 

Yeah, I've heard you can use the PC2-6400 ones as well but I haven't tested them out, I've only used PC2-5300. As the PC2-6400 speeds (800 MHz) would probably be downclocked to the speeds of the PC2-5300 (667 MHz).

As for matching which brands, I have had great performance with the following memory:

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Laptop Memory Model F2-5300CL5S-4GBSQ

w/

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Laptop Memory Model F2-5300CL5S-2GBSQ

And to answer your earlier question about Intel Flex Mode: Certain Intel chipsets support different capacity chips in what they call Flex Mode: the capacity that can be matched is run in dual-channel, while the remainder runs in single-channel. For instance, in our cases, 2GB is the maximum that can be supported to run in dual channel with either slot (as one of the slots would have to be limited to 2GB, thus the slot with the 4GB would be split into 2GB, one running with the other slot in Dual Channel and the remaining 2GB runs in single channel).

 

Mihael, quick question for you - would a lot of the hardware you have listed be compatible with a Dell Vostro 1700? Cheers

EDIT: Ooops, missed out your section stating that most of it would be compatible in your initial post - apologies I'm going blind in my old age! lol

 

Thanks for the help! Sorry another question :/ so if I use one 4gb module and 2gb module, would i be running at 6gb ram speeds or 4gb speeds? Right now I have just 2gb (1gbX1gb). Would I notice a difference?

 

I have heard that the 6GB can only be used on the Inspiron 1520/1720 models, most people have stated that Vostro 1500/1700 models don't really work as well.

The maximum speeds that it would support are 667 MHz, this is because of a motherboard limit not something placed upon RAM. If you buy the faster RAM, it'll just downclock to 667 MHz. At least that's what I was told.

 

Ok so heres the deal:

I want to upgrade my dell inspiron 1520 but I dont know what to upgrade first. Should I upgrade my CPU and Graphics card or should I upgrade my RAM and graphics card. The main thing I want is a higher windows rating and speed. My CPU is an Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 and my Graphics card is an nvidia geforce 8400m GS. My ram is 1GBx1GB. So that being said, what is your guys advice on what I should do? I'll link you with the products I was looking at.

Graphics card

CPU

RAM

 

Perfect, that's exactly the things I would do. However, I would recommend using 4GB Stick w/2GB Stick to yield better results. Don't buy (2) 4GB sticks, as it will not work.

Also, you'd save a few bucks buying this 4GB one

 

Is it possible you could reup the w7 x64 driver package as megaupload no worky no more?

And should a T8100 be enough to run 1080p video w/o MPC-HC? The T5250 I have right now lags really bad on 1080p