D600 CPU upgrade

Hi All

can anybody please advise as to upgrading the CPU in my Dell Latitude D600?

I can't find anything onthe Dell website.

Current spec:

Intel Pentium M
Cores 1
Threads 1
Name Intel Pentium M
Code Name Banias
Package Socket 479 mPGA
Technology 0.13um
Specification Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 1600MHz

the motherboard is:

Manufacturer Dell Computer Corporation
Model 0G5152
Chipset Vendor Intel
Chipset Model i855PM
Chipset Revision A3

I have max RAM - 2gb

I would rather keep this machine working than replace it, just want it to feel a bit snappier.

Thanks in advance

 

You can upgrade it but I don't advise it. More "GHz" isn't going to make your laptop any faster.

What would be best would getting a new hard drive and a fresh Windows XP install. I recently got a free D600, and that made a world of difference.

 

Hi Tsunade

thanks for the swift reply.

I thought about a CPU upgrade from reading around on forums, I didn't think about a hard drive upgrade. Could you please suggest something suitable?

current drive is a FUJITSU MHT2040AH, ATA/ATAPI-6,40GB, 5400rpm

I have already done fresh XP installs, last one was probably nearly a year ago though. I will certainly consider that also.

Thanks

 

Any 2.5" IDE notebook drive will work.

Again you theoretically could, but why spend 100 bucks on a Pentium M that is say 400 MHz faster for maybe 5-10% performance gain. Not worth it in my opinion. Pentium M should be able to handle XP no problems.

 

Apparently this is the fastest IDE drive: http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...worlds-fastest-ata-ide-mobile-hard-drive.html

New, this drive will cost you around $55: Laptop Hard Drive 160gb IDE Samsung HM160HC - eBay (item 330405919647 end time Mar-14-11 12:05:20 PDT)

The fastest 5400rpm drive is this one: Samsung SpinPoint M5 160GB (HM160HC) 5400rpm ATA100 - eBay (item 290532420402 end time Mar-10-11 16:27:47 PST)

5400rpm drives run slightly cooler and don't use as much power. But it'll be a little slower. I'd go for the 7200rpm.

Or option 3 is to buy a 1.8" SSD and and an SATA to IDE adapter.

 

Hey there. Are you sure about CPU specs? Where have you got them from?
Banias have 1MB of L2 cache. D600 specs from Dell say L2 cache of 2MB - that's the Dothan.

I say 400MHz Dothan are well worth the upgrade from the Banias for a bit snappier system and a few bucks - I've done that in my D500, but perhaps not for the labor of disassembling, reassembling and always possible damages, although cleanup could be welcome too. Possible upgrades are the Pentium M 745 1.8GHz, 755 2.0GHz and 765 2.1GHz ranging in price from 30 to 80 US dollars on ebay.

CPU-Z to ID your Pentium M.
Latitude D600 service Manual.

I can't advise on the upgrade to SSD but many people say SSD have revived old PATA notebooks. However consider that could cost almost the same as a second hand dual core notebook.

 

If you really cherish your D600, upgrading it can definitely be worthwhile.

I'd make sure you have at least 1 gb of RAM, and then upgrade the hard drive. I would also recommend the Samsung HM160HC; its supposedly faster then any available PATA 7200 rpm drive. I have it in my Inspiron 8600, and its a pretty quick drive.

Dothan Pentium M's can be had for pretty cheap. I upgraded from a 1.4 Banias to a 1.7 Dothan for about twenty bucks shipped, and that was 2 years ago. Just make sure the processor has a 400 mhz fsb.

 

You can get a 1.8GHz Pentium M 745 for $25: Intel Pentium M 745a 1.8GHz 400Mhz 2MB Laptop CPU SL8QZ - eBay (item 330511606896 end time Feb-21-11 17:32:11 PST)

You could sell your old Pentium M 725 for about $8 shipped.

I think, it would be best to just get the hard drive upgrade. Your laptop is like 5 or 6 years old. No sense in spending $100-$150 on it.

 

$500 will get you a new machine, 17" screen, i3 cpu, 4 gb ram, 500 gb disk drive, etc, etc.

And a new machine warranty. Depending how you pay for it, that warranty can be as long as 2 years.

Always be careful when spending $$$ upgrading an old machine.

 

Not everybody lives in America and has access to cheap laptops. VAT and import taxes can skyrocket the cost of laptops exported to other countries. I've seen a 500 dollar laptop sell for 1700 in Turkey...

Since he already has 2 GB of RAM, I would just suggest a new hard drive.

 

Hi

thanks everybody for taking the time to post replies. After reading through them all and looking up details on the net, I have decided to go ahead and upgrade my HDD, as intially suggested by Tsunade.

I'll go with a Samsung HM160HC as suggested by The Joker (thanks for the links). It seems the most sensible and cheapest route - in the UK 2nd hand laptop parts are not as cheap as the US.

I'll post an update when I've got a new drive and installed it.