Dell Inspiron 1520: Viable After Market Upgrades

The screen on my girlfriend's inspiron1525 has turned dimmer over the time (same thing happened to my vostro 1500). I'm thinking of replacing the backlight with something like this: 15 4" WXGA CCFL Backlight Bulb with Wire Harness for Dell Inspiron 1501 1525 | eBay

How hard is it to replace the backlight? I've already tried replacing the inverter on my vostro and that didn't change anything - so I'm gonna try this $10 backlight replacement and if that doesn't work - then I guess I'll have to try buying the whole LCD - even though I don't think I need to replace the whole LCD when the screen just got dimmer over time.

 

It's kind of a pain, especially if you want to do it without messing up your screen.

 

Hello all!

I have a Dell Inspirion 1520...I've taken some advice and upgraded the processor and ram, but now thinking about a SSD. I tried scanning through the numerous pages, but couldn't find an exact answer.

Just a quick question about this comment. "SATA Note: All SATA II (3.0 Gbps) Drives (SSD or HDDs) are backwards compatible with the Dell Inspiron 1520 SATA interface (1.5 Gbps) at no performance loss whatsoever. So do not worry about that, SATA III speeds will not be reached on the 1520."

Does that mean that a SATA III SSD will not work at all in the laptop, or just that you won't see the SATA III speeds? I have a 128gb Kingston that I want to throw in there, but I don't want to mess things up if it won't work at all.

Thanks for the assistance!

 

The latter - SATA III will work fine.

 

Thanks much!

 

Hello. I read a lot of pages on this topic.

I am trying to upgrade my sister's aging Dell Inspiron 1520. It has a T2310 (1.46GHz) CPU, upgraded to 2GB RAM, Nvidia 8400M GS video card 60GB OCZ Vertex 2 SSD, and running Windows 7 OS (32-bit).
I only want her to have a faster machine of course, and I feel that the CPU is slowing everything down. The boot time can be about 1 minute even with SSD, and shut down can be 20-30 seconds.
I just installed nearly 40MB of OS updates, and it took so long to do so. Multitasking is borderline dreadful on this CPU.
My sister knows next to nothing about laptops and she couldn't care less, but I need a faster machine anyway for her and to have a more pleasant experience when I update her laptop.

She uses the laptop just for school and minimal browsing, such as Word while using Firefox in the background sometimes.
So, I browsed a lot of CPU's on eBay and their benchmarks. Found out that the T6500, with a 1301 average CPU benchmark on cpubenchmark .net, should more than suffice. This CPU upgrade will theoretically double the CPU power over the T2310 (1.46GHz) CPU.

I purchased the T6500 (2.1GHz) CPU on eBay for apparently the best deal compared to other CPU's ranging from T7500 to the T9300 from a reputable seller.

I am on a low budget for this laptop since my sister's PC needs are not high at all. I own other laptops with Intel Core i5, AMD dual-core (2010), and one more Intel Core Duo laptop by Dell.
My experience with laptops is moderate; having opened many before.
I will wait for the new CPU to arrive and post what the results are.

Any comments, suggestions, and questions are welcome.

 

I haven't seen someone successfully put this T6500 CPU inside the 1520 I believe. I wanted to see that someone had successfully used this CPU and see an impressive increase in performance for the 1520 laptop. I can only wait and see. That is truly the fun part for me. A little challenge such as this to keep me on my toes.

For the price of the processor and the opportunity to crack open the 1520 was too tempting.

A side note: I was not perfect today as I cracked a little portion of the Dell Inspiron 6400 (e1505) opening it for the first time today to apply new thermal paste to a 6+ year old laptop due to my belief that the CPU fan was running too often. I hope I can do better with the 1520 model.

 

Yeah, the T6500 should be a nice boost in performance. Almost 50% better core speed, twice the cache, a 50% faster bus... all around a nice step up. The T2310 probably was the bottleneck a fair amount of the time - I've had faster boot-ups than 1 minute with just a regular hard drive, but also a considerably more powerful CPU.

The T6500 should work just fine, but you're right, it's an uncommon choice on the 1520 (I don't recall seeing this particular upgrade, either). It came out in January of 2009, which was 18 months after the 1520, and I'm pretty sure Dell quite selling the 1520 sometime in the first half of 2008, so none shipped with it. The T8100 and the T8300 are the most popular upgrade choices from entry-level configurations. The T8100 is a tiny bit more powerful than the T6500, but very little, and the T8300 is a bit better than that. Likely as important for their popularity is that they shipped a whole year before the T6500, and were more available to consumers at retail.

The 1520 isn't too difficult to disassemble as long as you have the service manual available the first time or two you do it. The two places where you might need to apply more pressure than you think you should are snapping the section that says "Inspiron 1520" off with a flathead screwdriver, and popping the keyboard out. Both of these get easier after doing it a few times. Otherwise, if there's too much resistance, double-check that there isn't still a screw that you missed - there's a lot of them.

Let us know how it goes!

 

Update.

It is a success! I will post more details later and what exactly happened later tonight, hopefully. ^^^ Thank you for the comment above. I really liked your input Apollo13.

 

OK. Summary of what happened.

It had taken me maybe 20 minutes of carefully inspecting the 1520 laptop and dismantling everything from the keyboard onward. I recalled how to switch the memory a few years ago behind the keyboard, so the start was a cinch. I had previously put a Patriot 2GB PC@-5300 667MHz SoDimm CL5, as it says on the container, to boost from 1GB (512MB x 2) to just the one piece of Patriot RAM which I decided to lodge on the underside of the laptop naturally. I was about to quickly place the new (but used) T6500 CPU (2.1GHz) in replace of the unbearably slow T2310, when I noticed one small fragment of green styrofoam lodged between some of the pins under the CPU. So, I advise anyone to check for any pieces obviously before installing a CPU with pins underneath. It caught me by surprise, as I did not think that the square piece of styrofoam to safe keep the CPU would come apart like that. But, it makes a whole lot of sense now.

After installing the CPU, I used some thermal grease I had also received for cheap on eBay. I was looking at the Arctic thermal paste, but I don't think I switch out enough CPU's to warrant more expensive paste! I proably put more than necessary grease on, but not enough that the heatsink will make the paste spill all over the motherboard.

After finishing up, I plugged the laptop in, and it... did not boot. Instead the two right LED lock buttons were blinking while the left remained solid. I quickly looked up this coding on Dell's site, which meant I needed to reseat or replace the RAM, or replace the motherboard. It just had to be that the RAM was in the wrong slot, so that is what I did. I changed the RAM from DIMM B to DIMM A.

And voila, the laptop booted up much more swiftly than ever before. I immediately checked Windows 7 Experience Index for a quick look at the upgraded CPU. The 1.46GHz CPU had a score of just 4.1, and the RAM at 4.3
The 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo (T6500) boosted both scores to 5.5! I am more than amazed
Probably what is most amazing to me of all is the price I was able to grab for the used T6500, which was under one Lincoln shipped. Other CPUs were nearly $20 or a little less for not much of an improvement compared to the T6500. I believe the T6500 was quite easily best for the price, and I would have regretted buying anything else and spending more at that.

I felt I did pretty well. And yes, I should have read the online manual, as I am a detail oriented person and hate to not know what I am doing. But, this puzzle was rather easy yet fun, and not costly to do.

I recommend anyone to put a T6500 into their (now aging, in laptop years) Inspiron 1520 if a boost in speed is what you are looking for with a decent price. I saw another T6500 processor just above $5 used. It's not a Core i3, i5, etc, but the CPU should help with nearly everything I throw at it. The 1520 now opens everything with relatively low lag. Also, 1080p youtube trailers, for example Skyfall International HD (great movie!) ranged from 50-60% CPU usage, sometimes hitting the 70s, but a lot nicer than constantly near 100% with the T2310.

All is well. Thanks for the help notebookreview for suggestions and guides into help choosing.


P.S. - My BIOS was updated as well. As others have said, make sure you have the latest BIOS.

 

Hey everyone,

I am looking to replace the T5450 of my Inspiron 1520 with a T9300.

Can anyone recommend a seller on eBay? I'm looking to buy new of course, as suggested.

Also, after installing the new CPU, what will I need to do in terms of BIOS and all that?

Thanks in advance

 

Really absolutely no difference buying it new or used. I don't even know how you could tell if it's truly "new". You don't actually need to change anything in BIOS, just make sure you have the latest.

 

Ok, but I should look to buy from a "Top-rated seller" if buying on eBay, correct? And A09 is the latest BIOS for Inspiron 1520 right?

Also, would it be worth it to get the T9500 for that extra 0.1ghz difference? lol

Thanks again

 

I don't know what's the latest BIOS, but you shouldn't pay more for that 100MHz. It's like the double price for a T9500.

 

A09 is the latest BIOS.

 

Hello guys.
Since i've had to take from a box an old dell inspiron1520 of mine because i would gift that to my 12year cousin
he will use it for games based on UT3 engine or source so this lappie can run them without a problem.
The laptop has C2D 2,0ghz, 3gb of ram and Nvidia 8600M gt DDR2, win 7 x32.

But i have worries about low WEI score of Windows Aero it's 2.7 while other ratings going to be ok for the system cpu and memory 5,1, HDD 5.7.
I've seen pictures in this thread about WEI score from other owners of the laptop and theirs even more better than mine it's arround 4.4.

I'm using Nvidia driver 301.42 with the newer drivers i've had worse aero perfomance it's about 2.5
Is there a problem?Could it be faulty motherboard or something?Also i have another video card the 8400M gs which shows the same worse Windows Aero score it's 2.0 so it's not a problem in video card.
I'm hoping you guys will lead me to the answer about that.

 

I have ran the dell diagnostics tool via F12 that showed me hardware error 2000-0411 id and description about no graphics card detected but the diagnostics have been finished normally without additional errors.
The error occurs on both video cards 8400 and 8600 so i decided that's motherboard issue.

Interesting fact - the laptop works correctly w7 boot up without bsod or someting also i've played in games and found no problems with them.
But i'm sick about benchmark results for the video card.The 3dmark06 all default 1024x768 shows 1300marks that's such a low score while google says there's should be 4500+marks without overclock.

Should i believe the dell diagnostics tool?Anybody experience about using that?
What do you think must I leave or buy new mobo?
Thanks!

 

WEI is a poor benchmark, but given that 3DMark06 score, it was actually on to something in that case. The 1300 is with the 8600M GT, right? That is really low for that card. Google's quote is overoptimistic - might be accurate for the GDDR3 version, but not this one. Still, though, the range I've had is 3546 (stock 2007 drivers) to 3945 (266.58) without overclocking, and up to 4309 with both GPU and CPU overclocked. So 1300 is most definitely too low.

I'd do some CPU benchmarks before replacing the mobo just to be sure that's okay and not bottlenecking it. But if 3dmark is way low with both cards (8400 GS should be 1300-1800 I think, though I've never owned one, so don't quote me), it may be the motherboard.

-------

Separate question: Has anyone ever had their 1520 not boot with symptoms of no display on the screen (including on an external display via VGA - haven't tried S-Video), and the CPU fan not spinning? The hard drive and optical drive are being powered up, and it appears that both the CPU and GPU are at least detected, as the HDD and ODD are only fired up when both a CPU and a GPU are present. Both battery and AC power are also working, and the battery will charge. I'm not sure if it's POSTing - hasn't given any real signs that it is, but hasn't beeped any error codes, either.

My guess is that something went wrong during my attempted CPU upgrade - either static electricity, or perhaps a sliver of thermal compound getting on the motherboard (haven't been able to find any, but could've been a very small amount). So I'm guessing it's going to require a motherboard replacement to fix, but I thought I'd see if anyone has any other ideas, even if just to configure the theory.

 

Almost certainly a bad GPU. It's rare on the 1520, but it still happens.

 

If it is the detachable one like vostro, you can get a replacement for pretty cheap. Use fan control i8kfangui to make sure the fan spin up early and properly. My first replacement cooked itself relative quick.

 

Yes, it is detachable and they are cheap. The fact that it's on its own card with its own heatsink probably contributes to the relatively low failure rates (ie compared to M1530s with the same chips).

 

Thanks for that!You just made me sure about my trouble.
I've checked CPU its forking just fine,
1995mhz both cores with loading in task manager 3-5%
Already found the mobo but it's used part cos cant find that in new condition in my country also the seller offered me the display 1440x900 res(mine is 1280x800 now).

 

No problem, RussianEnthusiast.

Hmm... interesting. That would be cheaper and easier to replace than the motherboard. I am leaning towards repair; for as much as I like the whole package of this laptop and the relative costs of repairing versus buying something new that I'd like, it seems fixing it would make more sense. Especially since there's other things I'd rather put my money towards at this point.

 

Just thought I would put this on the list as an upgrade since the stock 6 cell 48Wh Inspiron battery in not the highest powered 6 cell battery out there. you can get more run time by by upgrading to our 6 cell high capacity 62Wh Inspiron 1520 battery. The battery uses a more advanced type of li-ion cells from Panasonic that store about 30% more power and has a longer service life than other batteries. About 3 years as opposed to 2 years for Dell's OEM battery.

Cheers:thumbsup:

John

 

Hello everyone

It's great to find a page with such a lot of information for the Inspiron 1520.
I would like some help please.
I have my laptop since September 2007 and since then I have upgraded to 4 GB of PC-6400 ram and a 320 GB hd.
Recently, I thought about updating the bios as its current version is A00 but after doing some research, I saw that people had a lot of problems which rendered their laptop unusable.
My question is has anyone had any problems upgrading their bios using the one from the dell driver site? If problems were encountered, how were they solved?
Is there any way to save my current configuration and restore it in the event that something goes wrong during the bios updates?
I would like to update my bios to A09 and I understand that I would have to do that progressively using the available updates and in the event that something goes wrong I would like to be able to fix it or at least revert to my current configuration.

Thank you.

 

Well, I can't speak for everyone, but I never had any updates with BIOS issues. I went from A00 -> A07 -> A09. Just make sure you have a good power supply, and leave the battery in in case someone would run into a pole and cut you neighborhood's power right when you were upgrading.

I believe Dell's website does have an "Old versions" option for the BIOS where you can download versions prior to A09. I don't know if it goes all the way back to A00, but it wouldn't surprise me if it did.

Actually restoring it to A00 if something went wrong during the update might prove challenging, though. The chance of something going wrong mid-update, however, is quite small. Reverting to A00 if there were some incompatibility issue with A09 (also quite unlikely) should be as easy as installing A09 in the first place, assuming Windows still boots properly (which in all likelihood it will). My guess would be 99.99% of the time you'll be fine, and most of the other 0.01% is due to misfortune with power combined with not keeping a battery (or universal power supply) available as a precaution. I'd be curious where you saw people having a lot of issues with this with the 1520; if it was at NotebookReview I'm surprised I never heard about it.

 

You're able to update BIOS even without the battery, just using AC power cord.
For this you should make a usb bootable flash with dos via this usb run bios update application with command /forceit
The command will help to avoid lack of battery on your laptop and will update your bios also can be used to downgrade your newer bios on older versions.Used the way twice and have no problem.Successfully updated from A03 to A09.

I've heard from some poor guys that their bios update gone bad and the laptop can't boot up just black display and lights on.
You can find in internet how to solve the problem too.
As I remember you should extract from the bios exe file the hrd file also rename it to CORA09.HDR move it on an empty usb and put in the laptop after you should hold "end" key and press power button.
What's all you must wait while your laptop find and apply the file from usb.

Anybody did PLL unlock on the 1520?I didn't find any manual about how to make on this one.
Just found on the forum for 1525 but definitely this one is different.
The clock generator is CK505 that says schematic for 1520 but what must I do?

 

I can't recall seeing anything about anyone doing a PLL unlock on the 1520 here. I think I do recall seeing the 1525 thread a few years ago, but as you said that would be different. Though you have more info with the clock generator than I've seen before, so perhaps someone with more know-how about PLL unlocking will be able to tell you what to do with that info.

1520 and Vostro 1500 motherboards are compatible and component-interchangeable, as long as they're either both dedicated GPU or both integrated, right?

 

Heh, amazing.

Only reason i replaced my 1525 is because the intel x3100 GPU became too slow for my needs. Got me a Lenovo Y410P for a nice price ($800), and i can upgrade it later on to a Broadwell CPU (Haswell successor that uses the same CPU slot) with dual 750M cards.

 

Yes.Components of the laptops working good between each other.

Have wasted the night to make things clear about PLL unlock on 1520.
I just found the pll chip under video card there was a black film thing over the place and I took it off.
The chip or whatever calls CY28547LFC.I used search on the forum and successfully found info.
The same chip have XPSM1730, Inspiron 1720 and I believe Vostro 1500, 1700.
To do pll unlock you must mod 32pin via 10k resistor to ground this will disable TME and allow to overclock the PLL.
Info found over here PLL Pinmod Overclocking Methods and Examples
I post some pictures to more clear it up.

 

Cool, always better to verify before buying.

Nice discovery! Are you going to try to PLL unlock it? That would take it to 2.66 GHz on yours, right? That would be pretty fast for a 1520.

 

In theory yes it is.Should be 2,66 because of 266 fsb clock.Nowadays came to me a russian-building RoverBook with HDD problems so I'm busy with it.Will post my discovers with 1520 later
---
About upgrading options for a processor unit in 1520.
Will work also any T4XXX and T3XXX.These processors are very cheap you can find especially the T3XXX series.
Currently I've installed in mine T3400 it's a merom processor with 2,16 frequency both cores, fsb speed 667 and then 1mb l2 cache.While browsing temperature always arround 50c so it's not hot.

 

Strangely enough the symptoms are similar to what I had last week. It turned out one RAM chip was corrupt. Run MemTest86 just to be sure, or if you cant then try running with one of the chips and then change - thats how I got it

Might be irrelevant but to me its worth it to just check - takes 5 min.

 

:thumbsup:hi I have been lurking around this site for a while now, and it has given me the info I needed to upgrade my wifes old dell 1520.
the specs
intel t8300
2gb 6400 ram

it sould be running at 2.4ghz but it is slow is a snail, when I did a cpuz test it said it was running at 398 mhz
CPU-Z Validator 3.1

btw the bios is a02
cannot seam to upgrade it?
can you help pls

 

Hi tanabe,

Are you showing us the specs before you start to upgrade, or are these the results?

I think the multiplier should be set to 12 (because 12 * 199.43MHz = 2.4GHz). I have no idea why yours is set to '2' (especially if you're not futzing with software typically used for overclocking - though I'm not sure a T8300 even allows that).

I'm sure the experts will chime in but until they do, a few possibilities to consider:

- Do you have a 60W or 90W adapter? If you have a 60W, perhaps the CPU is being throttled (there's a warning for this but it may be disabled in your BIOS).
- It looks like you're mixing memory sticks (512MB @ 5400, 2GB @ 6400) - I'm not sure that's a good idea - maybe remove the 512MB?
- Are you using the latest Intel chipset software?

Finally, please provide more detail about the problems you're having upgrading BIOS (presumably to A09).

Have you had a chance to get back to this? I recently did some motherboard surgery (needle, conductive ink pen, SPDtool) and got my wife's 2003-era BenQ Joybook 5000 running with a Pentium M 760 @ 2Ghz. I'm now feeling over-confident and ready to try something similar on a Vostro 1500 (assuming somebody else goes first, that is ).

 

Thanks for the prompt reply, the upgrade has been done. I have looked at the dell power supply and it is a 65w, I removed the 512 memory stick.
just finished upgrading to win7 64bit checked the speed again and it running at 2455 for a bit then back down to 398.
I have installed the latest Intel chipset software.
I have tried to install a09 trough windows and I cannot get it to work ?
any advise would be appreciated.

ok flashed the bios still only running at 797mhz

just done some stress tests and it seams the cpu is running at 2.4 ghz until it hit 70c them it resets itself to 399 MHz

 

That's not right.Your processor based on a Penryn core, it's have limit in temperature to 105 degrees of celsius, then only close to this temperature it's should reboot or just turn to off your laptop.
The 512mb memory doesn't make any bad because of Intel Flex mode.You can mix up all size types of memory you wish.
Also I've used 2gb+512mb/1gb in mine without a problem.
Do you have the Intel x3100 graphics?
The discrete graphics(Nvidia) needs in 90w adapter while soldered in mobo(Intel) needs only in 65w.
Well I can advice you to buy an adapter with 90w or a proccessor like Intel T4xxx model just for recognize your problem both very cheap or better to wait an answer from more experience guys than I am.

Unfortunately nope.The laptop I gave to my brother

 

RussianEnthusiast is correct - when the CPU gets too hot it just shuts down (as I learned watching the temperature cross 212F in HWMonitor).

Sorry Tanabe for the bad information about mixing memory (size + speed).

Another shot in the dark: Is SpeedStep enabled or disabled in BIOS? Whichever it is, you might want to try the opposite and see if the behavior changes.

 

Wow, I hadn't realized how big this thread got til now.

Just dropping in to let you guys know that I'll be attempting a final upgrade on the Inspiron 1520.
I recently got my hands on a Samsung EVO 840, so I'll be trying to put that into it and see where it takes me from there.
I haven't had any SSDs put on here before and honestly, it's going to be my first SSD.
But I will most likely do a before and after statistic comparison to see how well it performs.

Stay tuned!

 

Wanted to say thanks for this thread Mihael.

I don't know much about hardware, but after reading this I decided I could risk upgrading my 6 year old Inpiron 1520.
(Worst case I get a new laptop. )

I upgraded from a Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, 2.2GHz to a Intel Core 2 Duo T9500, 2.6GHz.

I don't know how to measure it, but is sure seems to run much cooler as you indicated.

My Windows Experience Index scores.

Before:
Processor: 5.5
Memory (RAM): 5.5
Graphics: 4.8
Gaming graphics: 4.6
Primary hard disk: 5.3

After:
Processor: 6.2
Memory (RAM): 6.2
Graphics: 4.7
Gaming graphics: 5.9
Primary hard disk: 5.3
[Note: After the new CPU was installed the graphics card (256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT) found an update it could use which increased the Gaming graphics score.]
[Note: Someone mentioned updating the BIOS and I did that to version A09.]

I also got a 250GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD for Christmas and installed it.
It replaced a 160G 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive.

After SSD:
Processor: 6.2
Memory (RAM): 6.2
Graphics: 4.7
Gaming graphics: 5.9
Primary hard disk: 7.7

My 6 year old Inspiron 1520 is now running cool, fast, and virtually silent.
I'll get a few more years out of it now.

I appreciate the information about Engineering Samples.
I wouldn't have known about those and I made sure not to get one.

Thanks!

Dave

 

Hi Mihael, I used your thread 2 years ago to upgrade my CPU to your suggested T9300. Your info was SUPER helpful, as I had worked with many desktop building before but never a laptop. My only issue out of it is that I got an Engineering Sample when I got it off Ebay and I can't track the temperature, but otherwise my laptop is way faster and I haven't had any overheating problems yet, and it runs at 2.5 GHz.

Did you get a 500GB EVO from Newegg for 320$ this winter sale? I wanted to do it, but it only lasted a day or 2, and some people reported speed problems with it in the comments section. Please let us know how it turns out!

Happy new year!

 

Hi - Did you end up upgrading your Wifi to an N card if so which one did you go with the 6300, 5300 or 4965 ?

Thanks.

 

Hi, upg'd to 6gb ram not detected running 32 bit win xp, do i need to upg to 64 bit?

 

You will indeed mate.

 

I did use an Intel Ultimate-N 6300. It was working perfectly, even considering I was under XP. Recently I tried the 6300 + 1520 under Arch Linux - also worked flawlessly. Ive never seen another consumer grade laptop with 3 antennas....

 

As so many before have said, I would also like to extend my appreciation to Mihael and everyone else who has contributed in this thread to share the love for the 1520. I've read every page, and while laptop internals are new to me as of now, I'm not afraid to delve into upgrades. That being said, I'll get into the issues I'm facing, questions, and upgrade options.

Current Config:
Windows XP Pro SP3 32-bit
BIOS A09
T8300 2.40GHz
4GB RAM (2GB x2 - DDR2-SDRAM PC2-5300 / 667 MHz)
Mobile Intel(R) 965 Express Chipset Family Video Card
Western Digital 320GB HDD 5400RPM
Dell Wireless 1505 Draft 802.11n WLAN Mini-Card

I havent used this computer very much in quite some time. I ordered it I think in early to mid 2008 with just about as many bells and whistles as I could cram into it as my aunt was paying for half. It was primarily used for school and then web browsing, videos, downloading movies (torrents), etc. Once I got a job after graduation I primarily used my work computer. With this computer having sat for probably two years without regular use the battery (6 cell) seems to have taken a crap. I ordered this battery today and this adapter to go along with it as I get a BIOS warning when booting about my current 65W adapter. On the previous page I read about the CPU being throttled because of low power input. I'm hoping that this is part of the problem and the new battery/adapter fixes part of my issue, because when I used CPU-Z and received these results. Battery/adapter will be here Tuesday and I can report back.

1st question: Is it worth upgrading from the T8300 to the T9500 for just the .2GHz and extra 2MB cache? There are listings on eBay for the T9500 for ~$70. If not...as I said, I'm not a gamer, but would it be worth the extra expense and effort to upgrade to the X9000 and mess with overclocking? I'm kinda leaning towards no, but input appreciated. This would give me a chance/reason to open up my machine and do any necessary internal cleaning maintenance which has only been done once when i replaced the keyboard a few years ago

2nd question: As XP is losing support from Microsoft this year, I will eventually upgrade to Windows 7 and would probably prefer to go with 64bit for improved performance, are there any other changes that need to be made in going from 32bit XP to 64bit windows 7? Obviously this would allow me to upgrade to 6GB of RAM which would be on the to-do list shortly after.

Any other thoughts/suggestions (especially if inexpensive) are appreciated.

 

In my opinion, the most cost-effective upgrade you could make to the system you described would be replacing the 5400RPM drive with an SSD. I don't know how much data you have, but prices frequently dip down to $0.50/GB, so you could (for example) get a 180GB SSD for $90.

Getting an SSD would be a perfect opportunity to install Win 7 64-bit which will allow you to use all of the 4GB RAM you currently have (3.25GB -> 4GB = 23% increase).

Maybe not what you wanted to hear, but given that your configuration doesn't have a discrete graphics card, I wouldn't put too much money into this system; it seems unlikely that you'll see much improvement from more RAM or a faster CPU. That being said, some other upgrades to consider (though somewhat more ambitious than the ones listed above):

- Motherboard: You could replace your motherboard with one that provides discrete graphics for maybe $50 (again on eBay), and then pick up the graphics card itself for around $10
- Screens: Used screens with resolution up to 1600x1200 can be had for as little as $35 on eBay

 

Hi rockfrawg,
My personal experience ( post #290) would lead me to agree with mumpsimus. If I could do one thing it would be the SSD.

You can get the Samsung Electronics 840 EVO-Series 250GB for around $155.

Definitely go to Windows 7 64-bit.

 

A couple of days ago Newegg had Crucial M500 240GB SSD for $119 with free shipping, no tax, no rebates (and because your laptop will never see SATA-III speeds, you can safely ignore the endless debates people have over the performance of one brand over another).

EDIT: The abovementioned deal is back at NewEgg as well as Amazon.

 

Thank you all for your replies!

The new battery and adapter arrived today and seem to have immediately fixed the throttling problem: CPU-Z Validator 4.0

So, it's running much better (obviously). It's actually fluctuating between x12-x13 multiplier. Very happy that the first step was an easy/cheap fix.

Now...for the harder decisions...

I've been doing research based on info in this thread and the replies I received and here's what I've determined upgrades would cost.

Description	Manuf	Part Number	Price	Source
Motherboard	Dell	KU926	$48.95	eBay
Graphics Card 256MB	Nvidia	8600M UW390	$9.99	eBay
2.6Ghz Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo	T9500	$69.00	eBay
RAM 2GB Single 800Mhz	Crucial	CT25664AC800	$29.59	Amazon
RAM 4GB Single 800Mhz	Crucial	CT51264AC800	$92.67	Amazon
240GB SSD	Crucial	CT240M500SSD1	$129.29	Amazon
Windows 7 64-bit	Microsoft		$89.99	Amazon
			$469.48

So...if you include the new battery, that would be right at $500 invested, and I guess I could try to sell some of the parts taken out to recover some of the costs. I also havent checked through my work, but I believe we get a decent discount on Microsoft software which could be a few dollars saved. I could also save about $50 going with a 120GB drive instead of the 240GB as on board storage isn't all THAT important to me and I prefer external/network storage as I primarily use it for movies through a media player.

I know I could get a brand new laptop for that much or less, but dont have a problem upgrading either...just kinda torn on what to do. Would going ahead with all these upgrades provide me with a better machine than I'd be able to buy for about the same money?

I love my Inspiron and think it would be kind of a waste getting rid of mine for the prices they're going for. If I could get another few years out of this one I'd probably be equally as happy as with a brand new one that would need upgrading in that same timeframe.

Thoughts and input appreciated!

Edit: For comparison - $700
http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-15r-5537/pd?oc=fncwu1173sw7&model_id=inspiron-15r-5537