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    Upgrade Processor...Upgrade Battery?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by BeeSwifT, May 27, 2011.

  1. BeeSwifT

    BeeSwifT Notebook Enthusiast

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    If I am going to buy an i7-820qm for my R2, upgrading from an i5-520m, will I also need to buy the 9 cell battery? I have the regular battery I think...not entirely sure. thanks
     
    BeeSwifT, May 27, 2011
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  2. CptXabaras

    CptXabaras Overclocked, Overvolted, Liquid Cooled

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    i don't really know if you need a different battery, but i can tell you that going from your 520 up to 820qm wont make a big difference. I believe it would be better for you to get a 920xm since you are upgrading.
     
    CptXabaras, May 28, 2011
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  3. Azureal

    Azureal Notebook Consultant

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    Isn't there some advantage to the Turbo mode of a few of the i5 series chips? Like, they will turbo up to max speed on more than a single core?

    I don't know the details but I recall reading some topics about a few of the i5 chips being some of the most powerful, also a couple are even quad core without hyper-threading ...

    I suspect the larger battery may have been a requirement by Dell on the original order since the TPD of the i7 is higher? Maybe? I suspect it will work either way.
     
    Azureal, May 28, 2011
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  4. BeeSwifT

    BeeSwifT Notebook Enthusiast

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    I was just wondering because I know that the i7 takes more watts than the i5 that I have now. I didn't want to spend the money on upgrading the processor and then finding out that the battery couldn't pump enough watts. Also, you don't think the 820 will have any upgrade? I don't know if I was so excited about spending around $370 but instead only $260.
     
    BeeSwifT, May 28, 2011
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  5. aarpcard

    aarpcard Notebook Deity

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    I thought all M17x's had a 85whr battery (which is 9 cells) ON the bottom of your battery it will tell you what capacity it is in whr. If it says 85whr then you already have the 9 cell.

    And no you don't need a new battery if you only have a 6 cell which I don't think exists. All that would happen is your battery life would go down.
     
    aarpcard, May 29, 2011
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  6. juliant

    juliant Notebook Deity

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    There is only one model of battery as aarpcard specified... So, no worries about it.

    I too say that you should go with an extreme processor (even ES is fine, this is what I use), otherwise there is no point in doing it. It cost like $400 on ebay. I got mine from shirley on ebay (late 2010).
     
    juliant, May 29, 2011
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  7. juliant

    juliant Notebook Deity

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    Also, you should concentrate on rams (2X4 RAM @ 1333 Mhz), if you really want to see a difference in the performance...
     
    juliant, May 29, 2011
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  8. BeeSwifT

    BeeSwifT Notebook Enthusiast

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    Yes, I just bought the 8GB DDR3 1333Mhz G.Skill ram from Newegg few days ago. Only problem is the i5 supports only 1066, not 1333 so I got the extra 4GB but not the extra speed yet. Yeah I think I am going to lean towards the 920, just because it isn't all that much more expensive. "Shirley" sells reliable processors? I was just trying to find someone who did in fact sell reliable ones. Thanks.

    EDIT::

    It does say "85wh" on the bottom of my battery thank you aarp.
     
    BeeSwifT, May 31, 2011
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