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    Is it worth it to upgrade my Inspiron 1545 from it's T4200 to a P8700?

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by Slick 6MT, Feb 23, 2010.

  1. Slick 6MT

    Slick 6MT Newbie

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    I'm in love with the computer but it seems to be lacking a bit in speed. I usually use my desktop that has a Q6600 along with 4 GB of RAM. I do use this frequently though while on the road and while it's fairly quick I notice that it gets a bit bogged down at times. It currently has a T4200 along with 2 GB of RAM. As with all of my new computers I formatted it it upon delivery with Windows XP Pro SP3 so it's not a matter of bloatware and such. Is it worth it to upgrade the processor? Would bit be a significant difference in speed? If so could you please suggest a processor that would be the best bang of the buck? I stated the P8700 because it's the fastest processor that Dell offers but if there's something better please don't hesitate to offer a suggestion.

    Thanks in advance,
    Anthony
     
    Slick 6MT, Feb 23, 2010
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  2. WildmanCAL

    WildmanCAL Notebook Consultant

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    What are the speeds of the 2 procs and what is the cost to upgrade?
     
    WildmanCAL, Feb 23, 2010
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  3. oblomschik

    oblomschik Notebook Evangelist

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    You could put in T series proc, like T9600, that should work as well. Also, upgrade that RAM to 4GB and install Win7 64-bit.

    Buy the procs on ebay. You will lose the warranty most likely.
     
    oblomschik, Feb 23, 2010
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  4. Slick 6MT

    Slick 6MT Newbie

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    T9600 is the way to go? Looks good!


    Anyone else have some opinions?


    Thanks!
     
    Slick 6MT, Feb 24, 2010
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  5. Slick 6MT

    Slick 6MT Newbie

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    Anyone else?
     
    Slick 6MT, Mar 1, 2010
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  6. iLLuSi0N

    iLLuSi0N Notebook Consultant

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    Yes! a faster processor will help, but upgrading the ram to 3 or 4GB will also make significant difference if you have integrated graphics.

    P8700 seems like a great choice, it will be good for the battery life of the system, you will get the performance boost as well and it is not that expensive on ebay.
     
    iLLuSi0N, Mar 2, 2010
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  7. oblomschik

    oblomschik Notebook Evangelist

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    There is even P8800 now, i believe, which is 2.66 vs 2.53 for P8700 (not like that matters). The 9000 series chips do offer larger cache buffer (6mb vs 3mb), but that's largely immaterial except for a few specific applications. Power usage is also not as straightforward, since the 35W TDU for T series chips is guidelines, you will likely get very similar battery life for either.

    Completely agree on RAM count, and go for 4GB so you keep dual-channel for a bit of performance increase.
     
    oblomschik, Mar 2, 2010
    #7