New Vostro Lineup (3350, 3450..)

That's exactly what I did, except I got a smaller SSD, since this isn't my primary laptop and I didn't want to load it with any data or large applications. And the HDD serves as a backup for my XPS. I also keep a 32 GB SD card in Vostro's built-in card reader - I use it to exchange data between the two laptops in case I need to work on something when I'm out with my Vostro.

 

Hey guys i'm a happy owner of the Dell Vostro 3750

Successful upgrade from core i3 2310M to Core i7 2720QM ES Q154 here !!!!!

Will post screenshots and benchies later ;-)

 

First i'm too lazy to disassemble the whole thing, you have to disassemble every single piece of the lap to access the cpu, f*cking pain in the as*. In short, not for me so i have cut the case from below to access easily the heatsink with a dremel 300 like a barbarian.

Some pictures of the slaughter :
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

Then Cpu-z and Hwmonitor screenshot :
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/706/tempfe.jpg/

Funny thing the cpu has 8mb L3 cache
Then the idle temps are damn low compared to the core i3 2310M, that's crazy i almost never hear the lap fan at idle anymore.

Turbo check :
First stressing two threads the cpu varies from 3ghz to 3,2ghz
Second stressing on four threads the cpu varies from 2,5 ghz to 2,6ghz
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/155/turbonv.jpg/

Weird numbers you said ? This cpu is some kind of a truncated Core i7 2820qm. But it doesn't have the perfs of a 2820Qm as you'll see in the upcoming benchies.

As for the benchies
Super pi 1M = 11s so no problem here
Cinebench = 4,9 so less than the core i7 2720qm notebookcheck score.
Cpu 3dmark06 is 4999 so again less than on notebookcheck.
Whole 3dmarks for HD 3000 is 3950 pts on 1280*800 so again less than notebookcheck score of 5200 pts on 1280*1024.
It's somehow a weak version of HD 3000 but i really don't care since i play on egpu.

I used this table for reference :
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html

That's all for the moment, don't hesitate if you have specific questions about the upgrade ;-)

 

Is there some vostro deliver problems in europe?

 

@ kaupo8: I don't think so, at least as far as Italy is concerned. I ordered my Vostro 3550 on 23 August 2011. The delivery was scheduled on September 13, but I received it on August 31 (eight days after the order). A very good job of Dell and UPS.

Unfortunately, I am quite disappointed as regards the build quality: the keyboard yields evidently towards right (especially the arrow keys are affected), and other details are not on a par with a business-level notebook (even if an entry level one).

 

If I read well your post Mkj, in Intel HM67 chipset:
Sata 3 (6Gbps) ports are:
-Port 0 + Port1

Sata 2 (3 Gps) ports are:
-Port 2, Port 3, Port 4 and Port 5

Reasoning that from the two Sata 3 available ports, the included HDD uses either port 0 or 1... there is still an unused Sata 3 port lying somewhere.
Which one is it? and is it somehow available (for an extension,etc) ?

 

Yes, apparently there is one unused SATA 3 port, but that doesn't mean there's a socket on the mainboard, like it would be on a desktop board. Only three out of six ports of the SATA controller have physical interfaces and the rest is not available.

 

However, the expresscard connects to the chipset at a level above the USB and Sata interfaces (Southbridge), more akin to the PCI, PCIe level (Northbridge).
Thus, allowing for comparative lower latencies and in 3450, 3550 and 3750 case, additional higher speed options.

There are expresscard to Sata 3 (to eSata 6 Gbps) adapters available.
eSATA 3.0 ExpressCard - 2 Port | SATA 6 Gbps | StarTech.com

On a side note, the expresscard 34 slot is why I had to sadly skip 3350's portability in favor of a bulkier 3450. DELL is missing customers with this omission and apparently hasn't realized yet...

 

Personally I never had a need for an ExpressCard slot, so I went straight for the smallest Vostro. And not having an external SATA 3 port is a pity, but as long as there's any eSATA port, it serves my purposes.

 

OpenGL fix for 3x50 users with AMD Radeon card is up:

IdeaStorm | Update Vostro 3550 AMD 6630/Intel HD 3000 Switchable Drivers

Updated BIOS/drivers up at dell.com drivers page for your laptop. PowerDVD may be updated through the PowerDVD update dialog:

Plug in the AC Adapter
Update Cyberlink PowerDVD
Update the Quickset Application
Update the AMD Power Express 4.0 Video Driver
Restart the Computer
Update the BIOs