Resurrecting a Dell XPS M1530 with a CPU upgrade

TL : DR. Maximum CPU for the Dell XPS M1530?

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About a year ago my Dell XPS M1530's battery died. For some reason I consigned it to the cupboard and forgot about it.

Specs:
Vista 32-bit
Core 2 Duo T7600
4GB DDR2 @ 800MHz
320GB 7,200rpm Hard Drive
GeForce 8400GS

It went in the cupboard because I became a laptop gamer shortly after buying it. I sulked at my stupidity of not getting the 8600GT option. When the battery died I went and bought something else.

However, I now have a new 9-cell battery and am considering the following options. I won't be using it for gaming.

1) Slap in a 240GB SSD. Worth it?
2) Upgrade the CPU.

I read in some places that the M1530 can only utilize an 800MHz FSB CPU, meaning that the T9500 is the fastest CPU. So why do I see so many on eBay with the 1066MHz T9600? Can it take a 1066MHz T9800 or T9900? What about the X9000 that I have read about? It's 45W as opposed to the 35W that the T-range CPUs are.

Also, Vista is a pig. I understand that with the latest BIOS (which i should have) you can have 8GB DDR2 and I could dual-boot Windows 7 64-bit and Ubuntu. Thoughts?

 

The fastest CPU you can use is the T9500. X9000 might work; I've definitely see them in 1720s, and there may have been other NBR members who have done it... that being said, I wouldn't sink any money at all into an M1530 due to the Nvidia BGA issue.

 

X9000 should work as it works in almost every Dell Santa Rosa platform. But it will generate an immense amount of heat to which the crappy cooling system in the M1530 cannot handle. Your best bet is to get a T8300. Personally I wouldn't upgrade the M1530 due to what Commander Wolf said, the Nvidia BGA issue.


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I know this an old thread, but I too have a Dell xps m1530. It is still hanging on strong and working very well with windows 8.1 media center on it. I have replaced the fan, battery, and keyboard over the years, but otherwise still works very well.

I am not sure the CPU cost is worth upgrading it, but I am considering an SSD upgrade, because I can always take it out later and use it in something else.

What are peoples thoughts on spending under $100 for a SSD and would it be a worth wild upgrade for this computer?

Thanks

 

In my opinion, adding an SSD is always a great improvement. If you are waiting for programs to load all the time and you can see the HDD light staying on solid, an SSD will help with that. While you can add a second hard drive for extra storage, make sure that the SSD that you purchase has enough space for you to install your usual programs comfortably.

 

gaidin43, absolutely worth it. Even hybrid drive will make it much better, but with current SSD prices there is absolutely no point in using one unless you have it lying around - so get a 120GB or bigger SSD.

 

cuzman, I would recommend you sell the system as-is. Unless all you're doing is surfing on that old platform.

Even then, a new platform will offer significantly better battery life and better performance too.

Doing anything to that 2007 era platform will only be for educational purposes and for any cash burning a hole in your pocket. Yeah, you'll see the 'snap' the SSD will provide. But you'll also see how the performance of the system didn't increase one iota either.

Buying the super expensive DDR2 RAM, upgrading the O/S to Win8.1x64 and adding an SSD worth buying (480GB or larger) is not the best use of your time or money for this platform. I have seen similar XPS setups fail after having been upgraded to the latest and greatest (including the MB). They just run too hot; the chassis is not properly designed (re: cooling).


gaidin43, the same applies to you of course, but an SSD for under $100 is less than a toy. If your budget doesn't currently allow you to buy a current platform, I would suggest to start saving and simply use what you have as-is.

The <$100 towards an SSD will not really be usable in a future system - even if it is usable on your current one. At least, not usable in the sense that it will increase the performance of a newer platform.

If you're looking at an SSD that is 2 or 3 years old, ~240/256GB is a good capacity point for those older models. If you're looking for a current SSD, ~480-512GB or larger is the capacity point that you need to consider for maximum performance. Don't forget the need to OP almost any SSD you buy. My usual 30% recommendation for OP'ing may be over the top for your situation - but, I don't know your workflow either.

Save the $100 and buy a new platform. An SSD doesn't increase performance. All it can do is offer some 'snap'.

Good luck.

 

I have to agree with Tiller.. There is no point putting more money in such an old system.. it's time to retire it and get a new one....

 

Could maybe use it as a media PC?

 

Could do.. You won't be streaming 4K though

 

Maybe not, but still not as bad as a Pentium 4 pressure cooker lol

 

Tell me about that ... Had a Pentium 4 desktop with Intel HD Graphics as my first gaming machine lol

 

So I ended up grabbing a 250gb ssd for 75$ and went through with a fresh install of windows 8.1. Huge difference in load speed and over all responsiveness of the system as a whole.

I ended up buying a dell venue 11 (returned due to odd screen size) and then a dell xps 13 (which my wife got to replace this old xps m1530 system) as a travel laptop for work. This old system does weigh a lot more then I remembered, or it might be just me comparing it to the new one, but it will work for me for now until the surface 4 pro or surface 3 comes out to replace it.

The SSD I can recycle to replace the 60gb ssd in my media center or keep it as a beater laptop. I was laughing when I realized today all I have put into to this thing. Replaced the battery, replaced the keyboard twice (once covered by dell), replaced the screen (cracked it closing it on headphones), replaced the wwan once through dell and upgraded to a Intel 6300, replaced the fan and thermal paste, upgraded from vista to windows 7 pro and now to windows 8 media center. This thing has been through hell. All these things happened about a year apart or more from each other so I didn't think much about the upgrade vs cost at the time. I still think it has been a great laptop and very surprised it's stilled running as smoothly as it is. I currently have been using a sager n9150 as my main laptop ( hence why the wife got the dell xps when she got me the sager ) which is great gaming system but sucks to travel with hence this whole pursuit for something smaller, lighter, and serving my basic needs.

I appreciate the advise from everyone though. For now it keeps chugging until a good replacement comes along.