Ok a ton of upgrades, need help.

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Hello everybody I'm new to these forums, and I have questions for those willing to answer, thanks.

I was recently given a Dell Inspiron 9400 (e1705 in us) that had a dead hdd (well actually no hdd) and no battery.
The rest of the components seem intact. It has the following specs e7100 c2d @ 1.8 ghz 800mhz fsb, 2gb ddr2 ram at 533mhz,
ati mobility x1400.

Main Questions
1. Would upgrading from the x1400 to a 7900gtx be worth the trouble?
2. Can I put a penyrn (t9500) in later on?


Forseeable problems
3. Can I overclock the frontside bus to reach penyrn speed?
4. How would heat dissipation work out with a 7900gtx in there?
5. Should I get a larger battery to compensate for the extra power required?


1. I would obviously like to have the extra muscle of the 7900gtx and I've read that it is compatible with my model.
Would it even fit into my laptop? Would it melt (get to hot to run basically)? Is it easy to install? (the farthest I've gone is upgrading my xbox's ram)

2. Simple question, it's a socket p like the T7100 so it would work right?
3. Can I OC my fsb to the Penyrn's 1333mhz from 800mhz?
4. Would I need to purchase aftermarket cooling setups like new and better copper heatsinks for example?
5. The ebay seller says a 130w power "brick" is needed versus the stock 90v, where would I acquire one? And would a 9 cell battery be enough for gaming? or would I need a 12 cell? (if it even supports one).

Thanks so much to any that help, I appreciate it.



edit: #3 Didn't realize that the laptop penryn has a 800mhz and not a 1333mhz fsb, but can I still oc my fsb to 1066 to get a
2:1 ratio with the ram?

edit2: Is there a better solution than the 7900gtx, for example would a x1900 work or even better, a 8800gt? (yes I know that there are two different connection types for the video card I think I have the one that starts with an m.

If I did upgrade to a 7900gtx level card, would the performance be worth it? The games I play are pretty much every source games, Crysis, Bioshock, Oblivion, Morrowind, Gears of war, and COD2 and 4. I already have a powerful desktop for main gaming, I'm just looking for a portable solution to play games on medium with the native res (1440x900 or 1280x1024 for you 5:4 folks).


Wait wait one more thing...Since the hdd is easily removed could I dual-boot with Ubuntu and XP Pro each on their own hdd that I swap when needed, and is 20-30gb enough for ubuntu?

 

don't know about the hdd stuff but laptop gpu cannot be changed out due to the specific cooling required. why didn't u just get a new gateway from bestbuy? those things kill crysis.

 

Main Questions
1. Would upgrading from the x1400 to a 7900gtx be worth the trouble?
2. Can I put a penyrn (t9500) in later on?

1) Only if you play intensive games, that answer would be yes.
2) No, only the Core Duo and first gen Core 2 Duo processors work.

Forseeable problems
3. Can I overclock the frontside bus to reach penyrn speed?
4. How would heat dissipation work out with a 7900gtx in there?
5. Should I get a larger battery to compensate for the extra power required?

3) No, maybe some overclocking with SetFSB...but not that much.
4) The 7900GS (or GTX) should have a different cooling solution that you put in the laptop. I'd recommend the 7900GS as it was used on the e1705 and the GTX only in the (slightly different maybe) XPS model.
You are also stuck with the GPUs offered on the e1705/XPS as Dell uses a custom part. So other cards will *not* work.
5) You shouldn't need a more powerful battery, just a more powerful AC adapter.

 

Ok for one don't reply if you don't have the knowledge or the ability to capitalize at the beginning of each sentence.
Most laptops GPUs aren't upgradable, however some are, like in the case of my 9400.
Why didn't I purchase it from gateway? Easy one, any of those would easily be 1000+, do you know what I payed for my 9400? Nothing, I work in IT and it was given to me because it was deemed broken.

Thanks everybody so far...except wywern
Edit: The ebay seller said the 7900gtx was compatible with my 9400 would he lie?
Hell I could just take the savings from going with a 7900gs and get a 280gtx, but still my questions remain the same.

 

Even if they had the same fsb, socket type? I'm sure a bios update would fix that, or am I wrong?

They are not the same socket types. There are two sockets used (old, new) that have the same number of pins but are not compatible with each other. Core Duo, Core 2 Duo T7200/7400/7600 will work. There are some others that work, but I don't know them off my head. If it is a processor offered in a current notebook (T8xxx, T9xxx), it will not work.

es I know that they are different cooling but is there anything else I could do, to lower the overall ambient temp? I was also going to ask about the 7900gs, it's 150 opposed to the 7900gtx (300). Am I correct in saying that if the two gpus (x1400 and 8800) use the same "custom" part then it would work? (ie MXM vs AXIOM I have mxm)

You could get a notebook cooler. The 7900GS performs very well for its price, anticipated battery life, and it is cooler than a GTX.

This is not exactly the MXM format, which is why you have to get a part from-Dell, for-Dell...but you got the right idea. Dell changes the 'format' for the card pretty much every generation, so I can guarantee you right now that newer cards will not work...either because the slot needed is physically different, or it isn't compatible with your cooling solution, etc.

What about having the ability to go longer just on battery and it having a longer life?

For that you just get the largest e1705 battery you can. The batteries are all able to handle the load of the e1705 if it is made for an e1705. If you want longer, buy larger. The 7900GS (not GTX) has a much better battery life and may be a good choice for you if you need battery life.

The ebay seller said the 7900gtx was compatible with my 9400 would he lie?
Hell I could just take the savings from going with a 7900gs and get a 280gtx, but still my questions remain the same.

The GTX probably works, like I said it might use a slightly different cooling solution. See if you can find something who modded a e1705 with a GTX online (Google). If you want to play it safe...7900GS.

 

Also just a hypothetical question...lets say I had a rather large glass of water sitting on my desk and it uh kinda spilled all over the keyboard, and lets say the computer was on...Ok look I'll just assume I'm looking at a new mobo at least, right?

[I]YOU ARE BIDDING ON A NEW VIDEO CARD FROM DELL (REFURBISHED) THESE CARDS GO THROUGH A DEMANDING TESTING PROCEDURE BEFORE I SELL THEM. IF THEY DON'T PERFORM EXCEPTIONALLY WELL, I WON'T SELL THEM. BELIEVE ME YOU WILL VERY HAPPY WITH YOUR NEW PURCHASE. TURN YOUR OLD INSPIRON 9400/E1705 INTO AN XPS/M1710. THE NVIDIA GEFORCE GO 7900 GTX IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL CARDS YOU CAN GET FOR THOSE COMPUTERS. THANK YOU FOR LOOKING. ALSO, I WILL GIVE YOU A REBATE OF UP TO $35.00 FOR YOUR OLD CARD REGARDLESS OF CONDITION. JUST EMAIL ME AND WE CAN WORK OUT THE TERMS FOR THE REBATE THAT YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH.


DELL SELLS THESE CARDS AS REFURBISHED WHEN, IN MOST CASES, THEY ARE NEW.


LINK TO UPGRADE VIDEO CARD IN INSPIRON 9400/E1705: .[/I]