Just got my first notebook and I'm looking to upgrade some stuff...

I just purchased a Dell E1705 with the intel core duo 2ghz, 1gb ram, 80g HD etc...I was only able to afford a lot of the stock components, but now I have a bit of extra change to spruce it up a bit. I definately want a new graphics card, but I noticed the E1705 is already a bit warm so maybe something in the upper-mid area that doesnt run too hot. I also would like to upgrade ram to 2gb and perhaps get an external HD. I'm pretty new to computers so ANY recomendations for these upgrades and hardware would be appreciated.

thanks,

Isan

 

Eww your not going to lie this but you cannot upgrade graphics card in a notebook.

 

if you have a x1400 in your e1705, then you can upgrade to the 7900gs, if you got the intergrated intel crap, then you're out of luck since that requires a change of motherboard

 

You can upgrade the RAM without fear of voiding your warranty. I do not know if Dell allows for HDD upgrades in their warranty language. A CPU upgrade will kill your warranty. This is assuming you are doing this on your own, which is a very bad idea since it involves opening up your laptop. So will a GPU change, unless you do it by them I believe. As said before, unless you have an X1400 or whatever their second to last graphics card option was, you are out of luck for upgrades.

 

I called dell and asked them about upgrading the graphics card and they said it was easily upgradable from the intel graphics **** that it comes with...

 

If you have the integrated video card, then you would have to replace the motherboard first with one that doesn't have an integrated video card, then purchase a video card ( has to be an X1400 or Nvidia 7900GS GO. If you're going to pay DELL to do it for you then it'll cost you an arm and leg. In this case, you better off selling the system and getting another one, or if you got the notebook less than 21 days then try returning it and get a better one. Try asking here in the forum before you make your purchase so you don't get stuck like this.

 

The Dell rep. must have thought you were talking about a Dell desktop. I've got a tough time believing any notebook seller would say it's easy to upgrade a laptop's video card -- because it's false. Upgrading a laptop gpu is almost impossible to do, with rare exception. And even if possible, usually prohibitively expensive.

It sounds like you want to do several upgrades. My advice -- get rid of your current laptop, buy a new one. Because trying to upgrade a gpu, hard drive, and ram will cost you 50% of the price of a new notebook, at least.

 

I'm probably going to stick with what I have and just do a ram upgrade. I don't think that would cost too much. I'll probably sell my laptop this summer and save a little cash to go with the dell XPS or something. I wish I had done a little more research into this...but then again, I'm not that into gaming that much. I play a bit of WOW and Diablo 2 LOD but thats about the extent of it. I'm guessing those would run fine on my current setup?

I'm also looking into this game RF online... here are the specs:
RECOMMENDED SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
Windows 98/98SE/2000/XP
Processor: P4 1.5 GHz
DirectX 9.0c
256 MB RAM
Free hard drive space: 3.5 GB
GeForce FX5200 or Radeon 9600 SE Series or higher
DirectX-compliant Sound Card
Broadband Internet Connection 512kbps or higher

would this be OK too?

thanks for the help guys,

isan