Inspiron B130 only supports running RAM at 400mhz

Didn't see anything about this on the forum, so thought I'd open up a thread.

Many of us have started receiving our B130's, and it is now certain that the machines only run their DDR2 at 400mhz. You can put in 533mhz ram, but it will only run at 400mhz.

Dell rep's are stating that the mobo uses a 910 chipset, but this is very confusing because intel's site states that this only supports the Celeron M, not the Pentium M:
http://indigo.intel.com/compare_cpu/showchart.aspx?mmID=7690,100,7419&familyID=7&culture=en-US

Additionally, the 910 chipset is not supposed to support SpeedStep, which I see actively working on my B130. The 910 is also supposed to support only 400mhz front side bus, and I see my Pentium M 740 running at 533mhz front side bus as expected.

This is the thread in the Dell forums where folks are talking about this issue:
http://forums.us.dell.com/supportfo...ssage.id=205882&view=by_date_ascending&page=2

There is also some discussion on the fatwallet forum:
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/mes...6529&highlight_key=y&keyword1=b130&lastpage=1

I'm hoping that this is either a configuration issue that simply needs rejumpering, or else a bios issue and they will release an updated bios.

As of now, Dell appears to have no plan to address this issue, so I'm hoping all of my B130 purchasing brethren will give them a call to express our dissatisfaction at being mislead and our desire for a fix.

Thanks!
-Adrian

 

Thats odd considering they come stock with PC4200 (533mhz) ram. But, that makes sense since the FSB is only 400mhz.

 

The FSB is actually 533 according to CPU-Z, it is specifically just the memory controller <=> memory that is 400mhz.
-a

 

Ok

Pentium M = 533mhz front bus.
Celeron M = 400mhz front bus.

end of story. Look it up on Dell.com it says the same thing. I'm sorry, but it appears those people werent paying attention when they purchased their laptop. Pentium M is a higer end CPU, therefore it makes sense has it has a 533mhz front bus, while celeron doesnt.

Now as for the Chipset, in order for the Pentium M to run 533mhz front bus speed and support Dual Channel, IT MUST BE on a 915G chipset, any lower chipset would not support those two things.

This is also a brand new product with Dell, and it could be possible that some Dell Reps are still learning about it.

 

xbandaidx,
I'm not sure I understand your comment exactly.
I, like everyone else in those threads, bought a B130 equipeed with a Pentium M 740 (1.73ghz, 533mhz FSB). I did not buy the Celeron.
Maybe I missed it, but were there folks in those threads that opted for the Celeron and them complained about 400mhz FSB or RAM speed?
The issue is of course not what the FSB speed is (since all signs point to it running at 533mhz with the Pentium), but what the RAM speed is (since all signs point to it running at 400mhz).

FYI - The reason I assume that my memory is running at 400mhz is because:
1)Bios reports it as so
2)Cpu-Z reports it as so
3)Sandra memory benchmarks seem much more in-line with 400 than 533

I agree that according to Intel's information on their website, it absolutely cannot be a 910 and must be a 915. But Dell rep's are saying otherwise - they are stating that the mobo uses a 910 chipset. So I assume they are 100% wrong, UNLESS Intel's published information is not 100% accurate, and perhaps they have provided Dell with some uber-910 chipset. Sounds pretty far fetched to me though

So given that you are almost certainly right and it is a 915 chipset, the question then is why does 533mhz memory only run at 400mhz on this box? The only two other possible problems that I can imagine would be some kind of bad mobo jumper, or bad bios constraints. If it is a bad bios constraint (like I expect) then unfortunately this means that I am 100% stuck unless Dell releases a new bios with a fix. Since they are currently denying that there is anything wrong (since the 910 should have 400mhz ram), I'm worried they are not working on a fix
I'm sure you are correct that the Dell reps are still ramping up on it, since they have only begun arriving off the truck very recently.

So come join me in pestering Dell for a bios fix (assuming this is the issue)!

Thanks!
Adrian

 

I will tell you what, I've read up on a bit more, and I recall from another site that isnt dell that stated, what I have in the above post, so I know it has to be a 915G chipset, because thats the only mobile chipset Im aware of that the PM processor can run at 533 FBS.

Now, if this is a BIOs setting or whatever, I can bet you that if Dell doesnt take care of the issue, there will be someone out there who will probably be able to get around that BIOs issue, I always said that anything made by humans can be circumvented, because we aren't 100% perfect that means nor our products will be too.

I have ordered this Laptop last week Wednesday, and Ill be checking this information out when I recieve mine. I ordered mine through Small biz and I believe they treat customers differently in that division, so we'll see what happens.

However what I wasn't expecting with this laptop was the Toshiba 5400RPM 16MB cache harddrive, that was a surprise for me.

I keep getting the feeling that this will be a "hacking" notebook, that doing somethings to it, you will be able to get what you paid for out of it. Somehow I doubt that whole 910 thing. Especially after reading one post where the user stated that the integrated video uses 133MB of ram, when that has nothing to do with the memory being 400mhz instead of 533mhz

 

just checking this out as Im a little upset with dell on the memory issue.

Ahains, at least you got the toshiba drive..i didn't even get that lucky

 

You were the only one that got the Samsung Drive as far as I'm concerned Speedy.

Are you guys going around to every single forum out there about this issue?

 

Not all of them, only the ones I know about
I was reading around here before I got my B130, so I thought I'd post up now that I'm involved with this issue..

-a

 

yep..sure am. I want answers. why advertise a 533mhz bus speed and memory speed and not produce it? also the b130 manual online states the motherboard should be a 915 or 910 leading one to believe if you go with the m740 you get the 915...not 910. I think dell is up to something sneaky on this..maybe bait and switch? false adversting? cut cost to increase profit hoping the end user wont know they aren't getting what they paid for? to be honest, at this point im doing this based on principal. I like the laptop and plan on keeping it. I just don't like being mislead. if the manual had no mention of the 915 (which should be used for the m740) and stated the ram would only run a 400mhz, I would have been ok. but thats not what the information stated therefore i feel a little cheated.

 

I would think the chipset is actually 915 becuase of the fact CPU-z is reporting that information, however if Dell somehow made their machines report that information to software such as CPU-z and then tell customers that is 910. Sounds like a Civil Class Action suit is in the brewing.

Really what needs to be done is someone has to open their B130 and find the model number being report on the motherboard, take that number and TRUELY find out what it is, all I see so far is people relying on CPU-Z for the information. I mean JUST OPEN THE NOTEBOOK and write down the numbers. Post it here so we can look it up.

If it is 910, I believe that the 910 cannot support PM 533Mhz FBS, therefore a lawsuit is in order.

What someone should also do is do a Dell Chat, and ask them if the motherboard supports Dual Channel, if they say yes you caught them red handed as the 915 is the first intel chipset to support dual channel. Just make sure to have them say what chipset it is first, if they say 910 than ask the Dual channel question.

What I'm planning on doing when I recieve mine is to check this information out, they can be sure to expect something to happen. I understand the whole matter of principle, they cannot just after a few weeks of selling the notebook claim it was a typo or whatnot, especially when there are so many people reporting that Dell told them to send in their units so they can put in a 533Mhz ram.

mmm... Civil Class Action suit is in the air.

 

I got the B130 with the Celeron. For as often as I"ll use it, and for what I'll use it there was no reason to go with the Pentium's extra cost. It does have 512MB DDR2 533MHz memory. The computer is running at 400 MHz FSB as expected with the Celeron. The Everest program from Lavalys ( www.lavalys.com) reports the motherboard in my machine as a Dell model ME051 motherboard, Intel Alviso-G 910 GML motherboard.

I'd suggest getting the Everest program, the home version is free and it really has a great amount of detail on the components in the system.

Mine came with a Fujitsu HDD, 8MB cache, 5400 RPM, not too thrilled with the brand, but do intend to put a larger drive in soon.

I'll probably post some general comments in a more appropriate thread as a personal review of the laptop. I'm not disappointed, even with the Celeron. If I want to play Half Life 2 or Quake 4 that will be on my desktop. For general use and web browing, I am pleased, so far, with the B130.

I am a bit distressed, though, in reading here that with the 910 chipset, I won't be able to upgrade the CPU if I ever feel that's necessary.

 

I would expect the Celeron Version to be on a different chipset, as there is no point in having a more expensive motherboard in a notebook when you aren't gonna use its full features, they would just find one that fits the prosessors needs and save money.

Last time I checked Processors are more expensive than Motherboards generally.

The one in question is the Pentium M Version, which is being reported by software as it's bus speed is running at 533mhz, which's 533mhz FBS is something the 910 chipset cannot support, and it comes back to the same thing. If they are putting a CPU that has a 533Mhz FBS on a motherboard that is only supports up to 400mhz fbs, then they are just wasting money, when they could just use a prosessor that is already running at 400mhz FBS.

Now you can say that it's the Users thats paying for the stuff, yes thats true, however if you sell a product that has more features than what the motherboard can support, and PAYING for those extra features, and don't use them. The company is LOSING money.

Last time I checked, businesses are out there to make a profit.

Also what you have is the B120.

B130 = Pentium M version
B120 = Celeron M version

I am aware that a Celeron M version is listed as B130 on Dell's website, but looking at system specs, it's really the same as B120. Weird thing is, how the "B130 Celeron M" actually has lower Specs than its higher "B120 Celeron M" counterpart. It doesn't have integrated wireless nor the extra memory as the higher B120 configuration has.

Now if you take what I have said about the way businesses usually run, it doesn't make sense why Dell would take this approach and spend more money on a CPU and take a loss, so the best thing people can come up with is that, it's a BIOs problem.

Now remember, what I'm talking about only applies to the Pentium M version here.

Now that I think about it, maybe the reason why some people who are talking to Dell are getting the 910 chipset answer for their Pentium M B130 is because of that confusing "B130 Celeron M" version. (which really should be B120) The Dell Reps are probably looking at the B130 Celeron M version information to use to assist customers.

If that's the case, it could also be possible that they used ONE BIOs on both CPU versions, when they really should have created two different BIOs because they each have different motherboards. That's just a theory of mine. Probably isn't right, because chances are the same BIOs cant work on two different motherboards.

 

FYI - one fellow in the Dell forum is stating that he checked and found his Northbridge to be a FW82910GML, which has the 910GML memory controller (so 400mhz limited). He also describes where it is located physically if you want to check yours:
http://forums.us.dell.com/supportfo...ssage.id=205882&view=by_date_ascending&page=4

ttyl,
Adrian

 

I agree with you, xbandaidx. Since Dell started offering the B120 and B130 models right after Thanksgiving, they have had an almost daily change in the configuration and prices of the two models. It's one of the things that has left me with a sour taste over my whole Dell experience.

Trying to find good, in detail specs for these models is impossible almost. Today, what is listed as a "mid-range" B130 is, with the exception of the 15.4" screen, lower in specs than what the B120 has.

I'd originally ordered a B120 and cancelled that order when I found no less than a half dozen different prices on the Internet for that same version and features. Depending on how you got referred to the Dell site, that's the price and features you were shown. I've actually seen one link showing the Celeron version of the B130 at $1011!

I reordered a few days later, and the B120 I had looked at was no longer available, but I was able to get a supposed B130 for just a little more. It has the 15.4" screen, the 512MB memory in 2 DIMMs and the wireless included. I was not given the option on my order to upgrade to the Pentium CPU.

As I said above, I am disappointed to learn that my supposed B130 has a motherboard that won't allow me to upgrade the CPU down the line should I ever find it necessary. Right now, it's enough for me, but needs do change. It's the first time I've ever bought a pre-built computer, I've been building my own desktops for a dozen years.

I don't think Dell has been forthright with the customer on exactly what he's getting when he buys one of these two models. For those of you investing more money in the Pentium version, you really should have been told somewhere in the specs of your purchase what motherboard and chipset you were getting. Had I known those details, I'd have opted for the 915 chipset at more money, just for the opportunity to upgrade later if I wanted. Since the online specs across the whole line were essentially the same, with the exception of CPU upgrades, wireless, memory amount, etc., I figured they were building all B130s on the same foundation.

Had I ordered a Pentium upgrade as most of you have, I'd be packing it up for a refund if I found I had spent money on a CPU upgrade in a motherboard that would never let the processor live up to its full potential.

Do I feel I got a good buy? Hell if I know now. As you pointed out, it looks like I got a B120 with a B130 label on it, and that's deceptive. For you with a Pentium CPU and expecting a 533 MHz FSB but getting only 400 MHz, it looks like many of you got the same thing, B120 guts with a B130 label on it.

I'm pleased with what I'm getting out of my Celeron based machine right now, but I am very unhappy with the whole purchase experience I had getting it. It was my first Dell purchase, and it will be my last Dell purchase. Your posts and those users in a similar situation as you have convinced me even more that, instead of a well-informed purchase at the best price I could get, it was more like playing a slot machine, maybe you'd get lucky and get the right motherboard, the right hard drive, etc. It's as if the Dell assembly line was putting in random parts. I should have a feeling I, and you, got a set model with certain basic standard components. It looks like it was a game of chance. I don't need a $500 computer purchase to satisfy the urge to gamble.

I hope all of you with Pentium machines and expecting a FSB of 533 and who did not get it will get some satisfaction from Dell. As you said, they are a business, in business to make money. But there are honorable, respectable ways to make money, and a company does not make money if it loses a customer's trust for future purchases. Good luck to all of you battling the Dell business model.

 

I guess the moral of the story is: You get what you pay for. I believe the B130 is an excellent sub-$600 laptop. Of course, I haven't received mine yet. But even if the FSB is lower, it is still a pretty well featured laptop. I must admit, however. that Dell's customer service is inexcusable.

 

I've been following your posts here, AngryLlama. You haven't received your computer yet? I think you and I ordered at the same time, you might have been a day earlier. I got mine delivered yesterday. I know how eager you have been to get your computer.

I agree, though, it's a nice computer for the price. I only considered a laptop lately because so many basic ones had finally come down to a reasonable price level. So far, the two things I would like to get to improve it - more memory and a better battery.

 

I don't know if I want to cancel my order now or what.

I don't know if its even worth it now.

 

Think about it for awhile, xbanaidx. It's still a decent computer, or so it seems, and if you got a good price on it, it may work out for you.

When I ordered my first, the price was VERY low, but I saw all the prices on the same thing, got frustrated and then cancelled. I couldn't find the same deal a few days later and had to get as close to the original order as possible. I regretted being hasty and cancelling the first. I did that more out of frustration and confusion, and a bit of bad temper.

I'm going to give my Celeron B130 a try for a few days, and if it's a stinker, I'll send it back to Dell. You can do the same. I think for now, though, it looks good toward keeping it. Once I get a bit more than the 512MB memory it comes with, I think I'll be running well.

I knew I wasn't getting a gaming or multimedia rig for less than $500. If I want to play a game, I use the desktop which has a good graphics card, 5.1 sound and good speakers, a fast CPU, 2 gigs of memory, 750 gigs of hard drive space.

If I want to get away from my desktop and sit outside when the weather's nice, or watch a DVD while waiting for an appointment, that's what I got the notebook for.

With the Pentium system you bought, and the hopefully better motherboard, I think you've got a lot of potential there for a nice system. I'm trying my hardest to not let my bad taste dealing with Dell ruin my pleasure with their product. Of course, if it breaks down or worse in a few days, I'll be unhappy with it all.

I think the notebooks we've bought, be it B120 or B130 are as good as, if not better, than what 2 or 3 times the money would have bought not that many years ago.

I'd at least try to get a definitve statement from Dell about the contents of your machine and its capabilities and potential. Seems a lot of us are not able to answer our questions because there is virtually no good documentation or reviews available yet for these two models.

I can say that at the end of November I went to one of those little Dell kiosks at the Mall. Dell was cranking out the Inspiron 2200 at a lowball price and I wanted to see one before ordering. THey did have a B130 next to it and I kept glancing at it thinking how much nicer it looked and felt than the 2200. There was no price, so I figured I couldn't afford it. I'm satisfied with what I got, though I'd have been thrilled to get a Pentium processor, but couldn't afford it. At least you have a 21 day trial period from Dell to assess the machine you bought. Hope you make the best decision on what to do that will be best for you and your circumstances. Your posts have been very helpful information here and appreciated.

 

Yeah, I was gonna go to Dell website and cancel.

However, something unexpected happened, it shipped out already, I wasn't expecting it to for another 3-4 days. So I figured I might as well try it out and see how it goes. If I don't like it I could just return it.

I wouldn't imagine the 133 Mhz differnece is that significant, but however I was holding onto that possibility of processor upgrades like you were. We'll just have to see how it goes. However, if you decide to send yours back, be sure to post here why you made the decision.

Which annoyed me greatly was the Dual Channel thing, Apparantly I was wrong about 915 being the first chipset of Intel to support it, apparantly 910 does as well according to intels website.

EDIT:

I actually went ahead and canceled it anyways, now I just gotta wait for it to get here, than call them up to request a return. ANyone know if they have a restocking fee or some stupid thing like that?

 

Hey guys i upgraded my b130 (1.73) to 2 gig 4200 ddr2 533 and is only running at 400. Thats kinda messed up. Its stupid if they are using mobo only capable of handling 400 on memory.. Not happy with this.

 

I still wonder if the question has been answered about what chipset is used in the B130. In reviewing the messages here and on the Dell forums confusion seems to reign. The user manual refers to a 910 or 915 chipset. One person commented that the 910 must be for the B120 and the 915 for the B130. It is a multi-model manual, for the B120/B130/1300.

Although I did not order the Pentium M CPU upgrade, I did not want to lock myself into the Celeron chip in case my future demands on the computer changed. I don't like to buy hardware that has no upgrade potential. At this time the Celeron performs well, but there might be something down the line that will want me to upgrade to the Pentium M model.

In my build, I got two Hyundai brand DDR2 memory modules, running in dual channel, with an advertised speed of 533MHz. This memory type led me to believe that I could eventually use a Pentium model at 533 MHz. The memory is running at 400 MHz, to be expected with the Celeron.

I've used four different programs trying to firmly identify the chipset. Did I just get a B120 with a B130 nameplate? Can I upgrade? I'm curious. Even the Intel chipset ID utility says it is either a 915 or a 910. Everest reports the motherboard as a 910, Dell name ME051 model Rev. 3. The latest CPU-Z is telling me it is a 915 Rev. 3 board Model 0GD366. Is CPU-Z just picking up on part of the ID string that shows two 915 models and one 910 for this family of chipsets? SiSoft Sandra is telling me it's a 82915PM/GM/GMS 82910 Host Bridge. It looks like the motherboard ID string contains all the models in the family, or these programs are picking up ID info from inf files driving the chipset. Sandra also says it's a 0GD366 model. The only reference I can find to that model is on a Japanese website referring to the Inspiron 1300 model (in Japanese). The 1300 and the B130 are supposed to be the same, but that site is also using a Celeron processor instead of a Pentium in it. A machine translation of the Japanese seems to show that person asking about CPU upgrade potential or lack of potential.

I'd like to find some specs on the 0GD366 Dell model motherboard. Another question, after seeing xbandaidx's comments that these are, indeed, 910 chipsets; is there any internal difference at all between the B120 and B130 other than display size? To me they're all looking alike, the Pentium CPU running below its rating and the buyer's expectations.

I'd still like to know exactly what we all bought, what the differences are between the 120 and 130 designations. Do we have 915s as CPU-Z says, 910s as Everest says, or left wondering which one as SiSoft Sandra and Intel Chipset ID say? From the variety of replies and solutions that Dell techs have offered, I don't think they know either for sure.

Speaking of the display, has anyone seen a monitor color profile file for this thing? I can only get an ID that it's a Plug and Play monitor and has no associated .icm file to actually help the monitor display colors properly. My colors are washed out and need some saturation (and I usualy decrease saturation on my monitors). Red, in particular, has an unpleasant brownish cast to it and all colors look a bit faded. It just may be the quirk of the display showing colors like that, but I've never had a display be quite so "off" expected colors.

I'm hoping there'll be an answer soon from Dell on what is in these computers. It's a mystery that seems to have quite a few people trying to track down details that should have been available when the monitor went on sale.

 

I'd return the ram and just get one that is running at 400mhz, save yourself a few bucks.

I didnt cancel the order, I think I'll give it a try after all. I just felt swindled over. I can probably say it will be my last Dell as well. I'm looking forward to the Intel Powerbook anyways.

Well you could use the Adobe monitor calibration program thingy, it might be able to fix your screen colors. What I'm thinking is that the B130 uses a different mobo, so far everything we heard from is from Celeron M users. I am getting my laptop on Friday, and rest be assured I'm opening that thing up and taking a look inside, I'll take pictures to post here well.

Like I have said before, why would they put a pricier CPU in a mobo that cannot support all of its features (which leads me to believe its gotta be a 915 chipset to make it justified), it seems like they are losing profits because they have to purchase all them CPUs anyways, and to put it in a budget laptop whereas instead they could put in a CPU that can be fully used and save money?

Beyond my comprehension I guess?

I'm thinking this Laptop might not be that bad after all.

Things I wanna do to it are.

1) send the screen in to PixelBright for High Gloss put on LCD screen.
2) take out the current wireless card, and put in a Atheros card (lower power comsumpion, and better wifi card. Should increase battery life. Just hope I can remove it and its not sholdered in.)
3) buy two of the lowest latency 1GB ram sticks to put in dual channel.
4) Upgrade harddrive space.
5) I read somewhere that the 2200 8 cell li-ion battery was reported by a Dell Employee to work in this laptop as well. (6-8 battery life?)

When time comes to sell this laptop on Ebay, it certainly will stand out from the others, mostly because of it has a high gloss screen which isnt EVEN an option through Dell.

I will admit one reason why I like this laptop, it has something that many others dont have. the Express Card slot. I know there isn't currently any cards for it right now, but it makes the laptop future proof at least in SOME areas of it.

I think, I'll probably end up keeping it, considering if it's quick, has a good screen and hopefully luck out and get the Toshiba 5400 RPM 16MB cache HDD.

You have to admit, Dell does kinda somewhat make up in other areas on this laptop for it being a budget pc.

 

FYI, here's the service manual, if it's of any use to anyone:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1300/en/sm/index.htm

 

Good, I was going to respond to sjrnv and say we need somebody to look at the guts. Take lots of pictures.

I've been building my desktop computers since 92 so hearing about people putting in faux or inferior parts sends chills down my spine. However, it is my first laptop and I'm VERY excited about trying my computer out.

I believe you are correct. This laptop should end up being a very nice machine. Especially for the price paid. I'm interested in seeing if the wifi is actually a module. I'm also looking forward to upgrading the battery. Be sure to take several pictures of the battery from different viewpoints. Hopefully someone with a 2200 can compare it to their battery. I'm assuming the color won't match (A charcoal gray vs. jet black), but I'd use it.

 

Humm, compare the batteries shown in these two manuals:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1300/en/sm/begin.htm
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins2200/en/sm/begin.htm

Doesn't look like they would be compatible.

However, the cpu looks like it is easily replaced:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1300/en/sm/cpu.htm#wp1084976

 

I was just using Everest to check out system details and I think I may have lucked out with a Toshiba 5400 RPM 16MB cache HDD, and 1x512MB DDR2-SODIMM instead of the 2x256MB that was supposed to be configured. When i saw the HD information I thought it was just some sort of error and that I had maybe an 8MB cache HDD at best.

And I can confirm that the 2200 battery is incompatible with the B120/B130. I have the 2200 also and the form factor is different.

 

Good to know, I'd just rather they have a 8 cell instead of 6 cell. I'd like to get a crapload of battery time.

Yes, I'm hoping the Wifi card is something I can take out and put in my own.

I'll try and take pictures asap. It's really an xmas present, sooo....I dunno when it will be though. I might get it eariler?

Faux or Inferior products? I'm confused.

 

FYI - The wi-fi card is mini-pci and is user accessible. The user manual has a section on replacing it.

On the B120 if you don't order a wireless card then you don't get an antenna installed, so that is a pain for some folks. Not sure if the B130 is the same. I opted for their wireless.

-a

 

Finally, I knew that dell originally had an option for 512MB in one dimm. I remember seeing that option on the weekend after Thanksgiving. Did you order at that time?

So thats pretty sweet, stick another 512MB in to have a GB and take full advantage of DDR2. Well, except for the bus running at 400mhz

 

What is the difference about the drives, (samsung vs toshiba)?
my wife is making me wait till christmas to open it. I ordered the celeron, with 60gb and 512mb.
mh

 

The drives differ in technology and the quality of the components. Toshiba is bottom of the barrel when it comes to hard drives. Cheap bearings and motors = hot and noisy drive. They also don't feature a lot of noise supression, etc. technologies that other manufacturers employ. Samsung's drives are much improved over Toshiba's - better bearings, and also they have more advanced technology, including a quieter seek.

Western Digital's, Hitachi's, and Seagate's are top of the line.

 

I recieved my replacement b130 today. I'm sad to report that it still has the mobile 910gml motherboard/chipset with the pentium m740. If you have purchased a b130 and you didn't get what was advertised, please feel free to message me. perhaps together we can get this issue resolved.

 

If Toshiba's are bottom of the barrel, why are people on this thread talking about being lucky to have gotten the Toshiba vs other alternatives?

 

Well, I can't answer that for you, but perhaps they didn't have any experience with another hard drive brand.

They are fortunate to have gotten the Fujitsu's, etc. - I am actually surprised Dell installed them in the B1x0, those are middle range hard drives - quiet and decent quality.

 

I was glad to know that about the Fujitsu, you referred to it in another post of mine. I'd never bought what I considered an "odd brand" drive for my desktops, leaving the Hitachis, Fujitsus, Toshibas, and Samsungs out of consideration.

When I got the B130 and found a Fujitsu in it, I didn't know whether to be happy or sad. Your posts on that brand have reassured me.

And, the drive is quiet, as you said, and seems to be quick, too.

 

Folks are happy about the toshiba drive because:
1) 5400 rpm
2) 16mb cache

Both of these parameters are better than I expected. The latter by a long shot.

-a

 

I see that my B130 has a Samsung, but since this is my first laptop I don't have anything to compare it with. Did I get a dud? (My desktop PC is a Pentium 2, which explains the upgrade...)

 

1) The 5400ropm drives are good. Not many can be seen at the the price range of the B130.

2) Well, having more cache is a good thing, but anything over 8mb cache in smaller drivers does not translate into better performance...
http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/06/06/a_new_toshiba_100_gb_notebook_drive_at_5/page4.html
You can see the Seagate and WD 5400rpm HDD's with 8mb cache keep up and also beat the Toshiba 5400rpm with 16mb cache.

They are decent. Might not offerthe best performance but are quiet and more than capable for the average user.

 

hi xbandaidx
thanx for a lot of info u provided us.
actually i've also bought a B130 so just worried whether i got wat i paid for.
anyways u didn't post the pictures here.
n r u happy with it???
just keep us updated.

 

With the system that came out of the box, how can I check which drive I have? Is it listed under some properties?

 

You should be able to go into the Bios and check what kind of drive it is.

 

How do I go about doing that?

 

I've just checked Dell's website and it seems that they decided to relist the Pentium M 740 with a fsb of 400 MHZ,...

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/pro...&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn&~tab=specstab#tabtop

thats certainly one way to resolve this issue...


Additionally, does anyone know if it is possible to install more than 1 Gig of RAM? The product spec lists that there are 2 dimms,... but it also says that the RAM is upgradable to 1 gig,... is this a physical limit for the machine or is this simply what Dell is willing to install?

 

My B130 came with 512 MB memory in two sticks. I bought a 1 GB stick from Newegg. Took out one of the 256 MB Dell ones and added the 1 GB. Am running 1.25 GB right now with no problem. Am planning on another 1 GB stick order next week. I certainly hope it will take 2 GB.

Very interesting that they are listing the Pentium M chip at 400 MHz now. Sad for the people spending the premium for the Pentium and what they thought was a 533 MHz FSB.

 

Thats great news, please post the results when you get the other RAM module in.

Another interesting / strange note is that, on the Dell outlet page, they are listing the Inspiron B130 with the option for the pentium M 740 with a 533 MHz FSB!

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/compare.aspx/inspn?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh&~ck=mn

 

As requested, I got the second 1GB module from Newegg today. Took out the remaining 256MB one, the computer notified me that I had a different amount of memory, went into what Dell calls the "BIOS" settings and rebooted. The 2 gigabytes are working fine, a small improvement in memory benchmarks as the matching modules are doing their dual channel thing again.

Of course, the way Dell seems to change the specs on these computers, as you noted above, heaven only knows if 2GB will work for everyone, especially if Dell is saying there's now a 1GB memory limit.

I'm still curious about Dell now saying the Pentium M CPU is only running at 400 MHz, when they most certainly sold the first B130s with that CPU as a 533 MHz running part. I only got the Celeron, and expected 400 MHz, but I did want some upgrade path in the future if I wanted it. I've yet to see much online about the benchmarks of the Pentium M vs. the Celeron M. About the only site with any detail implied there wasn't a lot of difference between Pentium M models and similar speed Celeron M chips, noting the expected improvement with the Pentium's larger cache. It said the Celeron and Pentium were the same processor with half the cache and the Speedstep disabled for the Celeron. Other than that, the dies were the same. Of course, a faster bus Pentium would outperform the Celeron, but it sounds like the use of the Pentium and Celeron names for these processors is confusing, as most people make the comparison with desktop processors that used the same trade name.

Not to start up the confusion again about exactly what motherboards came with the B130, but I did run across a very curious statement on the Intel website in its description of the 910 chipset, which is what we all think we got instead of the 915.

The statement is: "The Mobile Intel® 910GML Express chipset is optimized for the Intel® Celeron® M processor. The Mobile Intel® 910GML Express chipset supports up to 2 GB of single channel DDR 333 MHz or dual channel DDR2 400 MHz system memory at lower power, and PCI Express* bus architecture for the latest industry peripherals like ExpressCard*. A common mobility board can be designed with the Mobile Intel® 915GM Express chipset and Mobile Intel® 910GML Express chipset to facilitate a scalable mobile platform."

What I've highlighted in bold and italic letterings sounds to me as if some kind of a hybrid board can be designed using 915 and 910 components. Is that what I'm reading, or am I befuddled by age again? I'm still wondering exactly what was put in those early B130s that were using 533 MHz FSB parts, CPU and memory. The discussion on the Dell site has gone fairly dead, with no answer from Dell other than the recent change of the system specs on the purchase configuration page.

 

SJRNV,
What kind of improvement did you see with the 1Gb & 256mb modules in vs. 256x2? I also have 512 in two modules. Right now everything runs well, except for a cd label-making software, "exPressIt", that runs really slow.
mh

 

Hodgepodge,

My system originally came with the two 256 MB modules for a 512 MB total memory. For general purposes that ran OK. However, I did notice some programs running slowly, remember the video memory comes out of that 512 MB, and the onboard graphics can call for up to 128 MB of system memory for video use. That doesn't leave a lot for the operating system and other applications you might have running.

I particularly noticed a slowdown and stuttering when running some video files from the hard drive, especially the new high definition WMV videos Microsoft is pushing.

I put in one 1 GB module and left one of the 256s in the other memory slot. I didn't have the video problems anymore and things ran much smoother on 1.25 GB of memory. I believe I lost true dual channel performance with the unmatched memory sticks, but I don't think it's anything that anyone really notices. I say that after adding another 1 GB stick and there was no obvious performance increase with the 2 GB running in dual channel over the 1.25 GB.

To be perfectly honest, as I use the computer now with the 2 GB, I think that amount is really overkill. I could have done just as well with the 1.25 GB and saved myself the cost of the extra memory module. I do like to have a lot of programs open at once, but don't even come close to maxing out memory, even on my desktop where I run some newer games.

Since the B130, because of the video chip in it especially, will never be a gaming machine, I think adding a 1 GB memory module to one of the 256s already in it is more than enough. I imagine if you're going to use memory intensive programs on the B130, like video editing or conversion, or Photoshop, on 2GBs of memory most of the time that second gigabyte is going to sit there unused. The dual channel performance I noticed on one quick run of benchmarks appeared to give so little an increase in performance as to not even be a factor, at least for me. That was one of the main reasons I ordered a second matching 1 GB module, thinking I'd gain something getting dual channel back. If I did, I'm not noticing it yet.

Please take my comments as my personal opinions and observations. You may have uses for your computer and memory needs that are far different from mine. My notebook is basically just an extension of my desktop machine, and my notebook isn't stressed by high demand programs, I use my desktop for those.

 

sjrnv,
thanks so much for your response! That helps me make up my mind about getting just one 1gb module and add it to one 256mb.