M1330 - Penryn bios out..

Enhancements
------------------
1. Updated Intel microcode to support Penryn CPU.
2. Added support for Blu Ray/DVD+/-RW Combo drive. <----------interesting.
3. Support newer version of Intel processor.
4. Added enhancement for thermal control.
5. Added enhancement for MediaDirect control.

 

Wow.. It this the A08 one?

 

Ah... Maybe they've been delaying Penryn announcement for a reason.. Blu Ray drive maybe?

 

The bios version is A09.

 

ohh..they skip A08 then?

 

*Punches the air*

Woo!

 

Anyone try it yet??? I am currently at work right now. For those of you who tried it..did you notice a big difference with the temperature? or even the whine??

 

my replacement i recently recived has bios A08 on it.

 

You can download the latest BIOS Firmware as well all other updated Manuals, Drivers & Utilities (for Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit) for your Dell XPS M1330 here.

 

i just installed it on my T9300 m1330 with no issues. The BIOS now shows the correct CPU speed (2.5 GHz was showing as 2.4 GHz). Cool beans!

 

I was brave and just installed it, haven't really noticed much a difference, but it does appear to be safe, so far...

 

If you wish to revert to the older BIOS revision for any reason, here is the A07 BIOS Firmware for you: M1330A07 Do tell me if you found it useful.

 

Cool!

I'm hoping that despite this thread's opinion, "older" M1330s will be able to make use of an upgrade to the Penryn CPUs without any concerns for Motherboard revision(s)...!

What do you all think? I'd love to swap out my M1330's Merom CPU in about six months' time with a Penryn

 

Can you check if battery life's been affected plz? The A06 BIOS seemed to have caused a loss in "longevity", perhaps in order to try to provide a workaround for the infamous CPU whine...

 

You can swap out the CPU on the M1330 to a Penryn?

I've been plugged into the wall with my laptop as I'm doing some uploading to my Zenfolio account. I'll give it a shot later and post my findings on the battery life.

 

I recently downloaded the A09 BIOS. Nothing's really changed to tell the truth...CPU whine is still there, although its seemed to "whine" less often now.

Theoretically, couldn't you call Dell and complain that your CPU is making a whining sound, and that you want a new processor that doesn't whine, i.e Penryn?

 

WTF...I cannot flash the BIOS. It keeps giving me error. Any suggestion.

 

Yes, you just need to buy one.

 

Now I just need to be able to find a Penryn chip....

 

Well that is fraud. And besides, not all santa rosa chips whine, they'll just replace it with another one. You're better off asking them to do this a little while longer down the line when they dont' stock santa rosa anymore.

 

I have to update BIOS using DOS!!! I have no idea why I cannot use Windows updating the BIOS. It used to work for me. As a matter of fact I did it last night going back to A06. Dell Tech does not know any shiet and was really useless. He dispatched on-site tech to replace my motherboard.

 

Penryn now available on US site.

 

How difficult would it be to do this? I wouldn't need a new motherboard? Is the speed difference significant? Would the whine go away? Wondering if it would be worth it...

 

wow expensive upgrade

T8300---$275
T9300---$400
T9500---$675

 

I ordered my m1330 on Sunday and got the t7500. I noticed that they aren't offering that cpu anymore. Do you think if I called them and asked if I could upgrade my cpu to one of the new penryn's they would let me? My system is still listed as "in production" on my order status.

Also, does anyone happen to know what number I'd call to do this?

 

They would ask you to cancel and reorder. Dell doesn't change orders usually. Even the slightest change requires a reorder (unless its an accessory where you can place a second order for it).

 

$275 is over the base processor though. T8300 is $175 over the price of T7250. Still expensive ...

 

I really don't want to do that, since when I ordered on Sunday there was the $799 instant savings going on which isn't anymore. I think I'll give it a shot, worst case scenario I'm stuck with the T7500 which isn't so bad.

Does anyone happen to know how much more the T8300 is over what the T7500 cost? Just in case they do let me upgrade I'd like to know how much extra I'd be paying.

 

I'm not certain, but the odds are in our favor.

What I can tell you is that the 45nm Penryn uses the exact same socket (S-479P) as the Meroms but use less voltage, of course. Voltage regulators are std equip. on (modern) motherboards but that's just one of many requirements and the original M1330 motherboards may or may not be compatible... AFAIK, the mobile versions will not use DDR3 memory, so that's a moot point too.

I can also tell you that my 18mth-old ASUS P5B Deluxe [Desktop] motherboard can handle 45nm cpus and just needed a BIOS upgrade...

Last but not least, my local HW-parts provider labels the Penryns as Santa Rosa "Refresh", whatever they're implying with that.

 

The Mobile Penryn's will support DDR3 starting with the Montevina Chipset later this year.

Penryn is known as a Santa Rosa Refresh because they work on the existing chipset (Santa Rosa) but replace the processor (Merom)

I believe there is at least one user on this forum who has already installed Penryn on a older M1330 successfully.

Come to think of it I think he posted on this same thread!

 

I'm just hoping that the Blu-ray drive comes out. I'm not sure if I want to wait for Montevina tho....

I'll prolly end up waiting another month before I pull the trigger on the M1330.

 

Yep.. Montevina is way too far away... If Dell takes this long to implement it .. Could be July/August before we see Dell's based on Montevina platform.

 

I received my m1330 a few days ago with the t7500 processor. I called dell CS to complain about the whining noise and they gladly ordered me a replacement system with the t9300 penryn processor without having me pay for the difference. I am very impressed by Dell's CS. Being a business customer may have helped as well.

 

Upgrade prices just went down:
From T7250 upgrade cost
T8300---$75
T9300---$200
T9500---$475

From Base:
T8300---$175
T9300---$300
T9500---$575

The $499 off deal is really not that bad... since you are not overpaying for Dell RAM.... Does anyone know how to use the $499 off for a crimson red?

 

Who, Duffy...?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=2944109#post2944109

 

ehh, installed the new bios and i don't like it already. it made my xps whines louder to a point that it's not bearable - at the southbridge. and it seems like i hear more 'clicking' where the cpu is located. so i reverted back to ao7

 

That is what I am trying to decide. Going to send my Santa Rosa m1330 back, and see what comes.

 

Has anyone heard anything about the Blu-ray drive? I'm hoping for a slot loading one, but I haven't seen any, and I don't believe theres any small enough to fit in the m1330 that have been announced or are on sale as of yet.

 

With this Bios update.. it has to be around the corner. I personally wouldn't pay upwards of $300 (or much higher) to play blu ray discs but it should definitely be coming soon.

 

As I have the M1330 already I am not about to upgrade the CPU... right now I presume the main benefit is lower power consumption and cooler running (how much more time would the machine run on battery??).

In the future I am hoping it also means faster cpus can be installed. For the existing cpu putting a higher clocked unit in would presumably cause overheating... but presumably the Penryns will slowly increase in clock and starting from a lower power consumption and temperature base it will be possible to put something substantially beefier in? Any ideas what these Penryns will be developed up to?
(Of course without faster memory one won't get the full benefit)

I am thinking after 3 years or so one might change the HDD to a flash drive, and step up the cpu for a faster and longer-running notebook.

 

The Anandtech guys got about 50 mins extra on productivity apps and something like 20-30 mins on other stuff. That's with a same clock processor while getting about 10-15% more performance.

 

Thanks - that is quite impressive.

 

This blu-ray drive has apparently been around awhile, but I just found it:
http://www.blu-ray.com/images/drives/panasonic3.jpg

Could this be the drive that DELL is referring to?

On the other hand, many other DELL products have gotten the same improvements. Could just be boilerplate for all of the new BIOS updates. I highly doubt the Vostro will get bluray.

http://support.dell.com/support/dow...-1&impid=-1&formatcnt=1&libid=1&fileid=242502