Want to improve my M15X, Please Help!

Hi,
I bought my M15x just under a year ago and am satisfied with it but because of budget restraints I spent all my money on its GPU which means that it is a pretty poor laptop. It's got an Nvidia GeForce 9800M GT, 2 GB's of RAM, an Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 @ 2.10GHz and a 160 GB (actual 139 GB), 1900x1200 Resolution glossy HD screen and a 6-Cell battery. So I am looking to upgrade mainly my RAM and processor (whichever will most impact speed). I would also like to improve the fan, battery and internal hard drive. My price range is about £300-450. Now to get to the questions(please note I am a techie but not specifically in laptop upgrades so don't use too much jargon):
1.What should I upgrade?With what?
2.Will installing new parts be hard?How do I do it?
3.Does it void the warranty?Can I repurchase warranty anyway(almost out)?
4.What is the best way to go to fit my budget (£300-£450)?RAM,Processor,Hard-drive...?
5.Can I buy a new battery and replace the fan?
Thank you!
PS:If a processor is quad core (4 cores) and sais 2.60 GH'z does that mean (by adding all four cores at 2.60)its 10.4 GH'z?

 

You should sell it and move to an I7. Now is the best time to sell it because it if you're not satisfied with it's overall performance because within a year it's going to Devalue Drastically. But if you're satisfied with it then by all means keep it but I personally would not put a whole lot more money into it.

 

Do you mean the whole laptop? Also where should I sell(ebay?)?Also for what price?

 

If you're in the Europe Area you should get a good deal of cash for your system. You have a nice GPU, but your processor is so so. If you need just a bit of performance gain consider a t9500. But if you want significant gains you'll want to move to the i7 m15x or 17x depending on your budget. I personally think right now is the best time to sell an older Core 2 Model PC and make that move to an i7 because that price gap is only going to get further apart and as we go down the road less and less people are going to want Core 2 setups. I'd try to first sell on here, and then sell on Ebay.

I just payed around a grand for the same system you have about 2 months ago except with the t9500 and warranty support for the remainder of the year, which I did use btw to do a motherboard replacement. However, I didn't make the move to the i7 version because it's alot thicker and less portable, but it's also that much stronger. You'll want to guauge on the price of the new i7 m15x and make your selling price based on that. It's the easiest and best way to do it IMO, especially to get a quick sale, it'l be easier to sell based on something like that as compared to just a random number you or someone else may think it's worth, so start looking at m15x i7 either off the OUtlet or new.

 

http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnline...emId=ZB0W8FJ9&~lt=popup&c=us&l=en&s=dfh&cs=22

Here is one on the states that seems great place to start. But see my point is if you can sell yours for about a grand or so and pick one of these up for an additional few hundred or so you've done WAY BETTER then using those few hundreds to buy parts for your current. You get to move to DDR3 Ram, move to an i7, and get a decent Videocard and move to an LED screen, not bad. Of course things got a tad bit thicker because i7 cooling and the newer GPU's isn't easy but then again your current system has a troubled history of breaking 9800GT's after 1.5 years or so. The LIst of people with destroyed GPU's is far too long, don't get me started...

 

1.) Hey, your best bet is to upgrade your ram to 4Gb. Another speed increase would be to migrate from vista to win 7 (64 bit so you can use all 4Gb ram).

2.) upgrading the ram is very easy. You need to unscrew about 5 scrwes and youll have access to the ram. CHanging the fan is also easy. Changing the CPU becomes a bit more involving.

3.) you will not be able to extend your warranty since Dell took over . Installing new ram does not void the warranty. Neither does the fan (you can always swap the fan again before sending in).

5.) you might be able to pick up a battery from ebay. I dont know if alienware still sells batteries to the model, I doubt it, but you can try

PS: no, it doesnt add up that way. There are some overheads invilved with concurrency and other problems which doesnt make the performance gain linear. Some applications dont even use multiple threads, thus increases the number of cpu doesnt do you any good

I dont think it actually makes much sense for you to upgrade the CPU as you will not see that much of a difference.

unfortunately the M15x has some issue (heat + hinge). Youll probably be looking at about £600 - £700 for your system. Also, if that satisfies you, you probably should sell the system as you will run into a broken hinge sooner or later

 

I was wondering about a new option:
How easy is it to build a system?
I found many parts i want (including an i7 920 for £200, it was AN EXTRA £1000 on an alienware) on amazon and could do with just mixing and matching parts from my current system and selling the rest (don't really care about profit, just want a solid system!)
I have looked at buying another alienware straight from alienware but it's such a ripoff (e.g. the example up there) i won't unless I have more than £3000 (which i don't).
Please help, i want to do this quickly.
Also just to clarify (sorry i'm a noob when it comes to alienwares) its an are-51 m15x not one of the new ones and im in the UK.

 

no sadly an area-51 is not one of the newer ones, it's still a good machine but it's just not the highest standards. What games do you play or want to play, that'll also help the whole decision process.

 

Yeah, I've sent it back in 3 times already. On the question I am a hardcore pc gamer so I generally want to use the high settings with a good fps (around 30-40) so games like crysis and newer ones i guess.

 

yea probably best to sell and get a new model. but if you do want to upgrade, i suggest 4gb ram and a ssd instead of a new cpu.

 

Is a ssd a solid state drive and why would that be better?
Another thing, does it really matter if I put a component which is a desktop model into a laptop?
Also any recommendations?

 

yes ssd is a solid state drive, it will gave you better overall performance. since your setup is good for most games already. most people think there computer is slow because of cpu but in actually it is the hard drive that is bottle necking the system, once you get a ssd your system will feel totally different. although for gaming you do not gain any fps but load times will be much quicker. look into intel ssd and ocz those are some of the best right now.

 

Okay I've reviwed my options:
1. I stick with this system and upgrade it. If so with what? I have looked at SSD's and they are very expensive for the space they give so how do I get around that. If we say I spend £300 on it(I am looking on amazon) what should I spend the rest on. Should i go for more Ram and smaller things like trying to get the heat problem fixed with better fans or use it all for a i7. But ultimately, how do I do this? I have no idea on how change out a hard drive let alone a processor. Please help?
2. I sell this one and make a new laptop. This, as I see it, is the harder but cheaper option. I can get all the parts and have leftover money but how do I do it, I don't even know where to begin?
So thanks to all so far for the questions answered, but there are many more created! Keep all the good advice coming in.

 

Given your situation and you limited tech experience I highly advise you to purchase a new system. I say this because most of the upgrades you do require a good amount of tech skill to do, and if you don't know how to really do it more then likely you won't even really notice the difference after the install. A ssd will make dramatic differences in terms of overall speed of the system, however in the end it's Better and SAFER maybe not Cheaper for you to get a new system. IT DEFINITELY is the most cost effective thing for you to do. at this point in time not to mention easiest.

 

if your a total noob then maybe its better to sell it and buy a new laptop.

 

I really can't afford to buy a new laptop. I am not a total technology noob just never done this before. I did buy a technology bundle on amazon that came with thermal paste (I fix RROD'ed xboxes) that included a PC tool kit and a build your own PC guide. How hard is it too install install processors and hard drives.

 

SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE it doesn't hurt to save and try to find a good buyer for your current PC, you never know.

 

the hard drive is very simple, and cpu is not really that hard, the hardest part is getting to it pretty much. maybe look up some videos on youtube and also search for moo's guide on take stuff apart.

 

Well to be honest I doubt I could get more than 800 for my laptop, it has this half inch crack on the inside next to the mousepad and you know how people are with technology. Also I just got this a year ago, I don't wanna go through laptops in a year.
Anyone got any guides to do with changing CPU and hard drives so I can just see how hard it is.

 

Ok thanks a lot I will take a look.

 

Cosmetics are not as expensive as you may originally think, here: http://cgi.ebay.com/Alienware-Area-...ultDomain_0?hash=item56375635db#ht_2957wt_939 I do it all the time on my systems you get the investment and then some by doing this. People love it when they get a Like New Looking PC and pay TOP Dollar for it, and I always do the changeup before selling it.

 

also with your system i really suggest getting a good laptop cooler, there is nothing really you can do for the fans. i used to have this same system too but with alittle better specs and always run it with a cooler when gaming.

 

1) If you are pressed for money, SSD might not be the best option. You will only see gains in loading applications and disk intensive operation (e.g. compressing files, moving files ...). You will not gain fps, nor will your i-net browser go faster. For now, I would upgrade just the RAM, which will not be that expensive. All you need is 2x2Gb which will be about £70-£80.

2) Then I would just keep on saving for a new system. You will not be able to insert a i7 core into your laptop, and building one yourself is not an option, unlike desktop pc's.

also, as I already said, getting hold of a win7 copy will boost your performance by about 100% (Im not kidding) in case you are running V**sta.