new guy here... (e1405)

watsup people.. new to this forum but on many others.. first comp one though... i'm finally getting into the comp scene which i have been wanting too for the last 10 years (i'll be 30 soon) finally getting my A+ and starting all that.. jobs, time warner cable, is paying for it so why not and get a 5$ raise to boot... always wanted to dive into comps but once i got into the car scene it kind of took the back burner.. going to be building a tower within a few months but i'm on here now to learn some things from you guys.. first off, my wifes old E1405.. here are the specs

System Model: MXC061
BIOS Version: Dell Inc. A08
Operating System
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version: 5.1.2600
Service Pack: 3.0

Hot Fix: KB976098-v2
Genuine Intel(R) CPU T2300 @ 1.66GHz
Version: x86 Family 6 Model 14 Stepping 8
Speed: 1662 MHz
Ram 512mb
Total Capacity: 35.85 GB
Sum of Hard Disks: (C: )
Used: 12.96 GB
Free: 22.88 GB


aint she a beaut.. lol.. so the norm, moves slow at times, freezes up completely then will close IE.. freezes up a lot when i'm browsing and playing poker online.. frustrating as hell when i've got a good hand but then it freezes and folds my hand after the time limit.. after i build mines i prob wont be on this one anymore but i want to make it better for her.. she might start working from home after the baby girl is born (due april 8th)..well of course i searched and read a lot of threads but most of them were locked before some answers..

so i'll try the 4gb ram and of course a bigger harddrive..

should i update to bios A10?
should i upgrade to a diff cpu?
i'm still a noob so knowing which hardware is compatible with this system is tricky.. i'm learning more and more as the class and i study goes on.. plus the tech teaching is very noligable and has actually worked with a lot of the big names people awe over.. so i know all about the new sata drives n ram that can be used but i'm guessing i can't upgrade those into this one? maybe with an adaptor but whats the point if you can't use the full specs, right...

thanks in advance for answering these ?s again..

 

cpu usage isn't bad at all.. after start up with one page open it was at 2-4%.. had 51 processes going got it down to 48 though.. yea could/should get it lower huh..

 

Think about whether the money is going to be worth investing in the older laptop or saving towards a new laptop( or newer/used). There are some great deals in the marketplace. I'd go with RAM then HDD, and finally CPU. But to best upgrade, although quite pricey is a solid state drive. They reduce the bottle neck the mechanical HDD's cause do to read/write speed. But again it all depends on what you want to spend. Theres at least one $4K laptop going for $2800 in the market place, but that;s probably overkill, but just goes to point out that in the marketplace section of NBR, you can get a great deal.

 

Thanks for the input.. I'm looking @ the gaining more experience aspect of it aswell.. if I could build an engine, I shld be able to do this lol... it'll be good practice but if I mess up, I cld always buy a better one.. tell me more about solid state? Which brands are better? I've heard about them but haven't researched yet.. thanks..

 

Couple things: First, I'm sure you've probably already done this, but since you didn't mention it I thought just in case...Have you tried formatting/reinstalling Windows xp again (or if it still has a Dell built in restore option)? I've found that while WinXP was far better than any other previous OS, I found that reinstalling every 6-10 months kept it running smoothly. If you have an image app, this process goes much faster.

2. While I wouldn't really spend much to upgrade that machine, some more RAM wouldn't hurt--check eBay for prices. A quick google search showed 2gb to be the 1405's max, and a 1gb SODIMM (PC2-4200) going for around $25-30. That could keep the laptop as a perfectly functional machine for a while longer.

3. That Intel GMA 950 isn't a real performer, which may give you probs with *any* games. However, it shouldn't effect IE (any flash probs might be solved with the beta).

Either way, that hardware is more than enough for basic tasks with Windows XP. Your specs are pretty close to netbooks, and while they are now the bottom of the barrel in terms of power, it should still be enough for basic day-to-day tasks. (On Netbooks, XP Home runs smoothly on their rather anemic Atom procs with 1gb of RAM).

That being said, any notebook available today would be faster, and cheap-as can-be models start at a bit over $300 new. If you want a better bang-for-the-buck option, the Dell Outlet is a good option (with a coupon/free shipping) for a refurb. If you are thinking about gaming on it, go with a discrete graphics option rather than an IGP.

 

As far as SSDs go, I havn't done a whole lot of research on them as I'm waiting for 512GB SSDs to come out. I tend to use a lot of space. but here is a pretty good article on SSDS, although a bit old. From everything I've read, The intel SSDS seem to be the best SSDs out there, but can get pricey. The important thing you'll want to know when purchasing an SSD is if it supports TRIM. TRIM will help keep your SSD running like new, as the older models would slow down in performance over time. TRIM takes what you've deleted from the SSD, and later on when the computer is idle, it completely deletes it. Here is a good explination of trim. It also helps to understand how an SSD works. Rather then trying to explain it, here is another good link. Sorry for all the homework, lol, but it's much easier then having to type it all out as it can be confusing.

Also for more discussion you can use the search feature and pull up old forum threads. Theres a lot of insight to be found there.

 

It'll actually take 4G of RAM, but you can only use 3.24G of it. Ask me how I know. And the GMA 950 will do more than it's given credit for. You won't be playing new releases, but it'll run some older games just fine.

 

thanks for all the info guys.. crap i started another thread allready lol.. i'll get to reading more..

jeremysdad, you've basically maxed out on a 1405 huh? good stuff.. it's me and the wifes main comp for now.. mostly surfing a whole bunch (car forums mostly) and trying to play 2 diff poker sites at the same time is bad juju right now.. lol.. but eventually this will be just for the wife when she starts working from home.. so i want to give her a lil boost..