M15x pre 2011 upgrade questions

This question has probably been answered in depth but I need it explained in "normal" "dumb" people terms.
I am only looking to get another 2-3 years out of her if possible so nothing crazy. Plug-n-play only.

This is where I stand.
CPU - i7 Q720 @ 1.6GHz
GPU - GeForce GT 240m
HD - Seagate Momentus 2.5" 320G @7200
RAM - 4G DDR3

I'm just trying to give the old girl a little bump

Looking for a:
SSD at around 500G tha
A cheap bump to RAM and possibly the CPU and GPU

Trying to keep this project under $500

Again, I'm a simple idiot when it comes to this stuff although I did do a a09 upgrade today (boot USB and everything) all by myself so I can follow instructions

Thank you in advance!

 

Hi there. I am a complete noob too but i recently just upgraded my Q720 to a 920XM. I just read some posts on the forums here, so that was pretty easy to do. So I would definately go for that upgrade. Here is what I would go for:

920xm cpu upgrade
upgrade to 8gb ram
replace hdd with ssd (not sure if you can get 500gb version that will fit within your budget though)
240w psu (to be able to overclock the cpu)

Only other thing i can thing of would be to upgrade the gpu but you are already pushing your budget. Maybe do the above upgrades first then save up for a 970m. Your m15x should then fly and last you for 2 years only.

All the upgrades i mentioned are pretty much plug and play. I plan on upgrading to a SSD next week. Also need to look up a guide or go through this forum post to look how to overclock the 920xm!

Hope this post helps. I am sure someone with more in depth knowledge will be along very soon to add more options.

 

Can you send me a link to the 920xm I need to be looking for?

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Intel-Cor...132?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4623492214

 

That's a bit steep for 920XM.. I could get a 2960XM for that price... Your best bet is looking for parts on ebay.. A good upgrade would be the 920XM + 7970M and another 8GB RAM..

 

i got my 920xm on ebay for $100 shipped just the other day

 

Thank you everyone. I found a 920xm and had it shipped. I appreciate it. I'm looking at a GTX 460m for a gpu bump. The 6970m looks like its viable but hot apparently and I don't want this machine to become a project.

 

if you got the 920XM, get the 7970M.. You'll be perfect then..

 

Or go nvidia and run a cooler card

If I had the money I'd dump my 770m and get a 970

Looking for a 770m? Haha

 

Is the 7970 plug-n-play? Drivers and whatnot?

 

Yes it is plug and play. Undervolted at 0.975V at stock clocks it runs really cool and is 4x more powerful than a 460M stock vs stock.

 

Do not upgrade this laptop. It's not worth it. CPU will bottleneck your new GPU so you will have small performance increase for a big cost. Better buy a new one and sell this.

 

Found a 6970m for $100 shipped. I'll give her a go.

 

What the heck man GT 240M is 23W card and 6970M is about 85 W(!) you're gonna have a nice grill

But do what you want.

 

The 7970 that everyone seems to be In favor of is a 100w card. The 640m draws 72w (dell recommended) I'll see how hot it runs. I Don't mind reselling if need be. Would it run decent undervolted if need be?

 

No, your cpu will bottleneck GPU. Small performance gain. You have to do something with cooling if you want your cpu not bottlenecking gpu.

 

this is actually wrong... the cpu is fine for a single gpu. slv7 proves this with a 720qm and a 970m and pulls a 13k 3dmark11 score.

the 6970 and 7970 cards are both fine. they run a little hot but not too bad

 

Don't let yourself be swindled by fools that think you need the newest to make due... Trust me plenty of them out there... The type that'll tell you that you need a Ferrari to go to the store to buy milk.

EVERYONE around these forums on these exact systems runs 7970M's and even the new 970 and 980 graphics cards with no issues....

Personal experience, my 7970M runs COOLER than my 5850....

 

That's 3dmark, not game...

And yes I had i7-720QM cpu in Asus G60JX (sold long ago)

Do what you want. I won't bother you again then.

 

As stated in my inro, I am NOT smart with this stuff and appreciate everyone's input GodlikeRU (especially the outliers). It seems as UPGI2AYDD stated; plenty of people are running similar setups with results they are happy with, and have been for a considerable amount of time so I'm inclined to trust that. I do appreciate the "looking out" as well.
On another note I did finish upgrding my RAM to 8 GB and installed a 500Gb SSD which brought my Windows Experience Score from a 5.9 to a 6.4.
CPU and GPU are on the way!

 

congrats man. youll be plenty happy with what you have purchased

 

The memory and SSD will show you a lot of signs of improvement once you start noting boot times and application loading times. I waited until just recently to buy into the SSD hype... They're legit! SSD's make a very nice punch. Now get that CPU and GPU in and you are laughing... What did you settle on for those components?

 

920xm for $146 shipped
6970m for $139 shipped

 

Awesome! I was going to get a 6970M myself but managed to weizzel my way into a 7970m.

With what research I've done, make sure when install the 6XXX graphics card you pinch the tubing on the bottom of the heat sink so it can clear the capasitor clearly. Definitely do a few fitment tests with the car and heatsink in hand. This issue apparently gave a lot of people grief as far as temps went..

 

I'll take a look. Thanks

 

Update.
920xm installed
6970m installed
8gb ram installed
SSD installed

My 150w PSU has been running pretty hot so I ordered a 240w, just came today.
I now have a problem. My battery indicator lights are showing a charge but if my laptop comes off of AC power it immediately turns off. I've updated my battery drivers to no avail. The laptop will not even power on, on the 240w PSU. Presumably it needs to run through boot to recognize it.
Halp pleeeze

 

I think you need to mod the PSU and replace the ID chip for it to work properly...

 

where?

 

Ebay, from this user: http://www.ebay.com/usr/morisson_2m?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2754
Russian guy that just rips hardware presumably

 

I was under the impression that the 240w PSU would just step itself down but I may have been mistaken. The battery will still not take over when either the 150w or 240w PSUs are removed regardless. I may have a loose connection to re-solder but I cannot think of one that would allow the laptop to run on AC, recognize but not charge the battery (though it says charging), and not run off the battery at all.

 

Where did you get your 240W PSU from? Is it intended for Alienware/dell usage?

 

It is.

 

Strange. Many of us have 240W power supplies that worked fine out of the box.
Just for a clarification on your issue. Will it boot if you remove the battery and attempt to boot with only the 240W power supply providing power?

 

No it will not. It has been having some issues on the 150w and will not run off battery at all. It may be a bad/loose DC jack. I hope not. I do not want to do a complete break down. I believe I will probably break more things than I fix + no anti-static mat, etc.

 

The power controller for one of the cells within your battery might have gone (do you have another battery to test functionality with).

Do you have the most up-to-date bios?


M15x are extremely easy to break down and their is a complete teardown video series for the m15x on youtube by Alienware Service. An anti-static wristband will cost you less than $10 on Amazon, dont worry about breaking anything if you're careful....
But how did you install all your new components without an anti-static mat or wristband?

 

Very riskily
Yep bios is up to date and HWinfo is saying 11.7% wear on the battery. I might give it a shot this weekend.

 

Download and run Dell PC Checkup. See what it says.

 

Ran pc checkup with no issues. Laptop turned off, wouldn't turn back on so I completely broke it down to check the DC jack. It looks fine of course. Rebuilt. Won't power on.
Wondering if mb finally conked out.

 

Possibly.
Really the only way to know is to test your psu and batteries in another unit.
Perhaps someone else on here had an idea of what it could be.

 

Well, I'll call it tested; 1 battery, 1 150w psu, 1 240w psu.

well thats a shame. I think I'm just going to get me a m17x r4.
Anyone want a dead m15x with a 920xm and 6970m in it?
It may be a ac dc jack, it also may be a mb.

 

Just for the record I have opened my M15x countless times! Literally! I have never used a anti static wrist band etc. The danger of shorting something out seems very small. I have opened this machine over 50 times easily during the past 4 years.

Changed Gpu 3 times, 6990M - 7970M then 680M.
Changed HDD a couple of times
Changed ODD for internal extra HDD. Changed keyboards couple of times due to spill damage
Upgraded wi-fi
Changed ram once
Taken CPU out MANY times due to voltmodding it now and then. Changed it a few times too.

Hmm wrist band is not necessary....

 

Where are you based? Do you get any flashing caps/num locks when you try to turn it on?

 

Central NC
Nothing on the LED strip. I ordered a DC jack. If that's not the problem I probably will get a new board. I am really not interested in resurrecting a 6 year old computer though.

 

Yeah to be honest I dont use an antistatic wrist band except when dealing with cpu.
However better to be safe than sorry though and its a good piece of mind.

 

Mine did the same thing here this past week. New board came, didn't work. Put my old one in and has worked since. Can't explain it...