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    T9300 or 8400m gs m1330 upgrade

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by sleepy35758, May 25, 2009.

  1. sleepy35758

    sleepy35758 Notebook Consultant

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    Looking to get my sister a m1330 for a graduation gift and right now if you spend $1300 plus on a M1330 u get 25 percent off. So i'm looking for ways to get the laptop to add up to $1300 and i can either upgrade the processor to
    Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 (2.5GHz/800Mhz FSB/6MB cache)
    from:
    Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8300 (2.4GHz/800Mhz FSB/3MB cache) [add $175 or $5/month1]
    or I could upgrade to a 8400m from an integrated graphics card. My sister won't do any type of gaming on this and I was just wondering what would be a better upgrade for her performance wise with such tasks as Internet browsing and word processing.
     
    sleepy35758, May 25, 2009
    #1
  2. idiotpilot

    idiotpilot Notebook Evangelist

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    The T9300 is a mild upgrade from the T8300, whereas the 8400 is quite a big upgrade form integrated graphics as it is dx10 compatible and has it's own Vram. That's the way I see it.
     
    idiotpilot, May 25, 2009
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  3. GL4662

    GL4662 Notebook Geek

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    Is the integrated video card a bottleneck in performance if one doesnt play games? Just using the computer to browse the internet, download music, watch movies, and word processing?
     
    GL4662, May 25, 2009
    #3
  4. sleepy35758

    sleepy35758 Notebook Consultant

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    yeah she's not going to be playing any games at all just the the stuff Gl4662 said
     
    sleepy35758, May 25, 2009
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  5. GL4662

    GL4662 Notebook Geek

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    Yeah im in the same boat, and since I dont play games I'd rather not risk dealing with the nvidia video card problems other people have been having, and it also saves 100 bones
     
    GL4662, May 25, 2009
    #5
  6. kkl1014

    kkl1014 Notebook Consultant

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    put the money into upgrading the warranty or accidental damage protection. T9300 isn't necessary for those tasks. 8400m can overheat and fail. Better off with neither.
     
    kkl1014, May 25, 2009
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  7. anothergeek

    anothergeek Equivocally Nerdy

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    What he said :D
     
    anothergeek, May 25, 2009
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  8. flipfire

    flipfire Moderately Boss

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    Do NOT get the 8400m GS, it will overheat and fail eventually. No gaming, no dedicated card needed.

    The T8300 w/ integrated x3100 is more than powerful enough for your sisters needs. Just increase the RAM if you can.
     
    flipfire, May 25, 2009
    #8
  9. RainMotorsports

    RainMotorsports Formerly ClutchX2

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    Unfortunately the 8400M is fail its a shame they dont offer something else. The cpu isnt a worthy upgrade. The only thing I truly needed my cpu upgrade for was GTA4.

    SO based on the available options i feel i have to third the above and say warranty or something else entirely.
     
    RainMotorsports, May 25, 2009
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  10. sleepy35758

    sleepy35758 Notebook Consultant

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    how about if i upgraded to a solid state hard drive? would i see performance boost?
     
    sleepy35758, May 25, 2009
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  11. MexicanSnake

    MexicanSnake I'm back!

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    DO NOT CHOOSE 8400GS I had that laptop, it was good for minor gaming but I had to sell it because it overheated WAY TOO MUCH!.

    Make you a favor dont even think of buying a m1330 with 8400GS.

    Do you want to have a laptop with GPU temps of 98C, CPU 87C, chipset 89C at gaming?
     
    MexicanSnake, May 26, 2009
    #11
  12. Ole man

    Ole man Notebook Evangelist

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    MY M1530 with 8400m GS gets pretty hot with stuff as light as full screen video playback, I don't even want to see what happens with gaming. I wouldn't recommend it.
     
    Ole man, May 26, 2009
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  13. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    That's not a bad idea at all. I would either do that, or upgrade/extend the warranty, as kkl1014 suggested.

    Going from a platter hard drive to a solid-state disk will definitely give you a tangible increase in overall system speed.
     
    Mastershroom, May 26, 2009
    #13