Upgrade Dell XPS Gen 2

Hi,

I hope someone can help me. I would like to upgrade my recently bought XPS Gen 2 but I'm not sure it's possible. I would like to upgrade the processor to at leaft 3 Gig and also the graphics card to something like a NVidia 7800. Is this possible and if so does anyone know the model and parts numbers I would need to order. I include a DXdiag of my machine:

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System Information
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Time of this report: 6/21/2008, 13:56:34
Machine name: USER-77A8D88E56
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_qfe.070227-2300)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Inspiron XPS Gen2
BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A05
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 2.13GHz
Memory: 1024MB RAM
Page File: 480MB used, 1980MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode

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Display Devices
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Card name: NVIDIA GeForce Go 6800 Ultra
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce Go 6800 Ultra
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_00C9&SUBSYS_019C1028&REV_A2
Display Memory: 256.0 MB
Current Mode: 1920 x 1200 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Default Monitor
Monitor Max Res:
Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.8360 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 1/19/2006 08:43:00, 3952512 bytes

thanks in advance.

 

The graphics card in a laptop cannot be upgraded. So you're gonna have to keep your Go 6800 Ultra, which by the way is a nice performing card.

You say you want to upgrade the CPU to 3.0 Ghz, and that's simply not possible. Your CPU seems to be a Pentium M 770, and the latest Pentium M is the 780, at 2.26 Ghz. The upgrade is simply not worth it for only 113 more Mhz.

The one thing you could upgrade would be the RAM. You have 1 GB, I would upgrade to at least 2 GB. You should show a CPU-Z screen so that we know the setup of your RAM, and how many slots you have available though.

 

Thanks for that.

How do I get a CPU-Z screen?

Also can I overclock? The reason I ask is that I am trying to play Age of Conan who's min requirments is 3 gig processor. I thought the graphics card would be OK but whenever I try to run AoC it tells me that the driver I have i ubstable and I should upgrade to 169.21. I have downloaded this from NVidia but whenever I try to install it I get an error saying that no hardware is compatable. Perhaps I am doing it wrong as I am no PC expert.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

Well let´s hear from a real XPS M170 owner myself instead of the incorrect answer above.

1. You can upgrade the graphics card to a go 7800 GTX. Which is considerably faster than a 6800 Ultra.

2. The CPU is max a 2.26 GHz as said above, though you can if you are a little hardcore pinmod a 1.8 GHz CPU with a 400 MHz bus and get that CPU up to 2.4 GHz.

3. Max 2GB Ram

 

Thanks.

Is there any mileage in overclocking? As I say I am trying to play Age of Conan which needs a min 3 Gig processor or so it says. Also is there any reason why I can't upgrade the driver to 169.21 which is what the game keeps telling me I need though when I try to install it the nvidia controller tells me that no hardware is compatable with the software. As I say I am not well versed in laptops.

 

first of all its not a gig processor, its a ghz which stands for gigahertz. ghz is a measure of frequency. gig, is a measure of space and ram. and i think u can play just fine on what u have albeit it will not be top notch settings. u will have to upgrade ur gpu if possible to the stated 7800 gtx.

 

Well, you learn something new everyday.

Thanks all for the advice.

 

3GHz they mean a P4 of course. Your 2.13 Pentium M same as mine is equal to a 3.4 GHz Pentium 4. So don´t worry. At least upgrade to the 7800 GTX.

Well my 7800GTX I had overclocked for 2 years to 445/1200 though my card has bricked I had a defect heatsink so the card ran hot everyday. No wonder it bricked, though it lasted for 2 years at least.

I will get a new one even if I have the newest XPS M1730 in my signature. I think my XPS M170 ran games beautifully even today´s games.

But I ran Crysis with Medium settings at 1280x800 and with some tweaking with an average fps of 33 running the benchmark test

Test Drive Unlimited I ran at 1920x1200 at 30 fps

World in Conflict no trouble running almost maxed out effects at 1920x1200

Ran most games at 1920x1200 though with reduced effects for some of course.

Timeshift 1680x1050 Well I can make the list long long of how the games ran. But fire up youtube and look for my nick Magnus72 or search for Test Drive Unlimited 1920x1200 I have posted vids of 2-3 games I ran on my M170 and how they run.

 

3Ghz pentium processor.....not near as good as say 2.0Ghz Dual core...they mean pentium....obviously because Age of Conan is not like the most system taxing game out there. no game that i know of requires (as you say -at least- a 3ghz dual core processor....i don't even think they go that high without going to the quads and at least would be > or = and that is definately not necessary with dual core)

ps....> means greater than






And overclocking will get better performance if you know how to do it. But if you overclock to an unstable state then you will do more harm than good. so just leave it alone if you dont know how.

 

@smcveigh1: you'll definitely see an increase in performance if you double your ram to the 2gig max. also check to see what speed (rpm) your hard drive is. standard is probably 5400rpm, but if you upgrade to a 7200 you get a little better performance there too.

@Magnus72: any recommendations on where to get a 7800gtx? the one in my M170 is dying so I may be looking for one.

 

Ebay has 10 of the go 7800 GTX. Though they cost around $364.

 

If you want to go with ATI you can use the Dell Inspiron 9300 X300 128MB W5379 Video card in your Dell XPS Gen 2. You can buy new cards for around $110 on ebay. I bought one when my 6800 ultra card died. Haven't done any performance tests yet but it should be as good.

I've seen other posts online that recommend swapping the heat sink if you use the X300. I tried that and noticed that the 6800 ultra heat sink does not fit perfectly so I just left the X300 heat sink on. There is only 1 fin where the 6800 ultra has 2 fins but the X300 runs cooler so I don't think there is going to be a problem.