XPS m1330 Processor upgrade

Hi, i'm new to these forums and know VERY LITTLE about computers. i bought my laptop 2 years ago and cheaped out on the processor to save some cash. i want to upgrade the processor now because it is a little slow for my liking plus i want to be able to play some newer video games like BC2 and MW2.

my current processor is an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T7100 @ 1.80GHz

I dont know too much about computers like I said but im pretty sure I want one that can run at at least 2.4GHz and read that the T8300 ran at 2.4GHz in a thread but that thread was about 3 years old XD.

any suggestions on what to buy and where to buy it? of course i'd like to keep the price as low as possible. thanks!

edit: found an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T8600 @ 2.4GHz for $210. is that a good deal?

 

T8600? are you thinking of the P8600, this one would have the 1066fsb and will not work in your laptop, you need to stick with a 800mhz fsb chip, a 667mhz fsb will also work, yet not a upgrade

There have been several being listed of late in the market place area
Intel T9300 800MHz FSB CPU SLAYY
"a little high in price, yet maybe the seller will drop.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=462263

This thread had a T7500 that sold at $75 shipped
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=463627

I do recall a few other post there for others, may be worth a look.
Take your time, eBay can also provide some deals, do your research on pricing and be prepared to jump on a good buy it now deal as the come and go

Try to stay away from ES chips

Games are much more dependent on the GPU "graphics chip" than they are on the CPU

The problem is that M1330 of which i also own only comes with two video options, the lower option is trouble free, yet low end "integrated video"
The second option has the dedicated NVidia 8400 chip and those are time bombs failing do to a defect.

Which do you have? if you have the 8400 and you are still under warranty, you still have some time to maybe get Dell to replace/exchange the laptop for a newer model, read up on all the threads to get up to speed. If you are outside the original warranty, yet still within one year from the expiration of the original warranty, dell has a extended warranty for one year to replace the 8400 chip/motherboard if/when it fails.
At some point that replacement will also fail as there are no defect free 8400 video chips.

Point being, if you have the nvidia M1330, you have a time bomb that will fail an early death.

Maybe time to eBay it and find a replacement.

 

thanks for the response.

both of those processors are compatible with the m1330?

and yes, I have the NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS graphics card. ive had this laptop for 2 and a half years and the motherboard has failed 3 times......they fixed it all 3 times for free due to the warranty but that expired back in August (2 years from when I originally bought it). If you're correct about the 1 year warranty extension then i am still under warranty.

I am just waiting for the motherboard to fail again. You said I can replace/exchange the laptop for a newer model? I'll try to find those threads because im sure it is difficult to convince Dell to exchange this laptop for a completely new one.

 

I have to agree with cyber16. If have the nVidia GPU don't waste your money upgrading the CPU. Your laptop is just a ticking time bomb. You would be far better off putting your money towards a new laptop than a CPU upgrade.

He is also right about the extended warranty though. My M1330 is currently being repaired under it. But you are probably right about it being difficult to get Dell to replace your laptop with a newer model. From what I have read on the forums (there are lots of threads so you can check them out for yourself) Dell has been pretty good about replacing M1330's. But as you are no longer under warranty I doubt you could get them to replace it. (The extended warranty only covers the GPU.) You might consider putting the money would spend on a CPU upgrade on extending your warranty though. That way when it fails again you could request a replacement. Given that they have already repaired your laptop 3 times you likely get one. the real question is what you would get. Sense Dell no longer has a 13" SXPS/XPS laptop they would probably offer you a Studio 14/14z or a SXPS 16. In which case might best to just sell your M1330 on eBay and look something new.

 

As a fellow m1330 owner I would like to point everyone's attention to the news that NVIDIA has admitted to a major manufacturing screw-up, which is seeing thousands of its GPUs overheating, burning out and failing.

There has been a class action brought against the company in the United States and affected customers will be entitled to compensation, provided they have one of the affected GPU's. These are the 8400M and 8600M. A settlement was agreed in the courts only recently and it looks like NVIDIA got off pretty lightly, but only time will tell. As there are potentially many thousands more with this GPU outside the US there now is hope that we can finally get justice over this matter.

As a European citizen I would ask any European customers who have suffered the problems due to the fault, whether you own Acer, Apple, Asus, BenQ, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, LG, MSI, NEC, Sony, Toshiba (Yes, all these computer companies have used these GPU's) to make a lot of noise and keep contacting both your computer manufacturer and file a complaint with a consumer rights office in your own country. This has to be brought to the attention of the European courts for anything to happen here.

Here's a link to the official NVIDIA Settlement website:

The NVIDIA GPU Litigation - Home Page

Remember, so far this only refers to US customers so if you bought your system outside the US this does not cover you. The only way to get justice is to kick up a big fuss and to bring this to the attention of the European Courts. You can use the site to see which computer models have been covered in the settlement.

Here is a news article on the sorry story:

NVIDIA DISASTER: thousands of GPUs faulty


Finally, I would ask everyone affected to pass this information on by posting in forums, social networking sites, etc. This was a big surprise to me as Dell told me just a month ago that there is nothing wrong with the 8400M GPU although I have had my motherboard replaced 3 times since the summer of 2007 when I purchased my XPS M1330 for nearly €2,000.

Thanks

 

sparkletooth, I suggest not crossposting. Your best bet is to post in one place, otherwise you might run into trouble with mods.

 

Thanks for the warning moral hazard.

I just think people should be aware of this important development.

 

Thanks for the info, sparkletooth. I'm one of those affected users, but my system is still under warranty (not for much longer though). What would my best course of action be at this point?

 

Pray it overheats again and Dell will get you a XPS 14? lol

See if Dell will extend the warranty again, M1330/M1530 were plagued by the bad Nvidia chips, and as stated they are a ticking time bomb.

 

I've already had the video and/or the mobo replaced twice :'(

 

I just read the that nvidiasettlement.com site and only HP notebooks get fully replaced. For all others, only the GPU gets replaced. Oh well.

 

I've seen Dells been replaced. You have to talk to Dell. 1 person traded an M1530 for a SXPS 16 to a XPS 15 lol. Just talk to Dell.

 

Back to the original topic. So what's the fastest processor that one can feasibly drop in place of the original CPU in an M1330? Mine originally had a T7500, but I'm seeing an X9000 on Ebay that has an 800MHz FSB. Would that work? Would I need to do the "copper mod" to keep it within reasonable temps?

 

Yes you can put in an X9000, wouldn't recommend it as your cooling system cannot deal with the jump in TDP and M1330s already run too hot. I don't recommend copper shims.

I would recommend T7500, T8300/T8100 or T9300 if you want to drop that much on an M1330.

 

Check out this thread, LordRasta successfully did a X9000 replacement in his M1330:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/442393-m1330-cpu-upgrade.html