Upgrade Dell Studio XPS13 CPU and GPU?

Hey everyone,

I'm a bit new, but I had a few questions.

I have a Dell XPS13 and I was curious about upgrading the processor and possibly the GPU.

I mainly use my computer for 3-dimensional modeling (Solidworks and Pro-Engineer), Finite Element Analysis, and numerical programs like Matlab/Scilab.

Currently, I have a P8700 processor, and a 9500m GPU (I think...).

I have 8GB of DDR3-1066 RAM.

What I really want to do is improve the rendering ability, and computational speed for the work I do every day. I was thinking an upgraded CPU and GPU would be a good place to start.

Typically, I would just use a desktop (which I have at home), but my needs demand portability, and a laptop is just the ticket for that.

So, what do you guys suggest?

I had been thinking about using an X9100, but was turned off by the high temperature and power demands.

I know very little about processors and GPU's, so I'm not sure where to begin or what to look at.

Thanks for your help!

 

Hi there! And welcome to the NBR Forums!

Fire away those question.

Those programs are quite a heavy load.

Do you have switchable or not? The 9500M GE is a 9400M G and a 9200M GS working together.

CPU is upgradeable to any P or T series CPU from the Montevina Platform, those are the ones using a 1066MHz FSB.
GPU is not upgradeable, sorry. The only solution is an external GPU via a ViDock if you are willing to get one, using the ATI 5750HD which is tons of times better, other than that the GPU is non-upgradeable.

I suggest you my Intel Processor Information Guide for information on CPUs.

I have a question for you, how does the cooling system manage the heat from the P8700? If it is not series, a T9900 is the top you might be able to get in there.

 

U can upgrade your CPU to any P9000 series one or T9400/9600/9800/9900.. i personally recommend T9600.. as for ur GPU , you cannot upgrade it. Your stuck with this or you can try the DIY Vidock which might not work..

 

i'd recommend either buying a workstation class laptop, or upgrading to the P9700 or T9600

 

Long story short, you can upgrade your CPU to any Socket P Core 2 Duo, up to and including the T9900 at 3.06GHz. Quad-cores and Core i7 processors will not work.

As for the GPU, no, you cannot change that.

 

I second this. Solidworks and Pro-Engineer work better with professional grade GPUs, such as the FX 770M and the V5700M from NVIDIA and ATI.
My best suggestion is the W500, since Pro-Engineer works (for some strange reason) a lot better under ATI...

 

might be a good time to snag a bargain on core 2 duo/quad workstations since the i7 variants are getting close to launch (dell's 17" one is already available).

the M6400 is going for about 1500 at the outlet, and the M4400 is less. I saw someone on this forum with a used hp elitebook 8530 for sale for 800ish

 

OK, no biggie on the GPU. Why aren't they upgradeable, though?

Why do some recommend the T9600 or P9700 over something like the T9900?

I don't really want to upgrade to a workstation laptop. This one is compact, and performs pretty well. I don't see any reason to dump $1000+ into buying a different computer that wouldn't perform any better than this one with a better processor.

On the pro-E vs. Solidworks, I do about 99% of my CAD modeling in SW.

I initially wanted an x9100, but was told by many it would be too hot. The T9900 has almost the same specs, but runs a little cooler (10W drop in TDP).

How would a T9900 or other compare in battery life to the current P8700 that I have?

 

GPUs are not upgradeable because most notebook manufacturers are mean, selfish people .

More seriously, most companies attach GPUs using proprietary sockets, forcing you to buy replacement parts from them. Apart from the monetary aspects of this, there is some technical justification for this; notebooks often have somewhat tight thermal tolerances, and the chances of people putting in a card that runs too hot or would otherwise ruin the notebook can be rather high. There is a more universal format being pushed, the MXM format, wherein cards that use the MXM connector can be swapped for another card using the same MXM format, but this has not yet been universally adopted.

As for the T9600 over the T9900, it's probably mostly due to price. You can get a T9600 for around $200-$250, while the T9900 will run you about $300-$350. Only you can decide if the extra speed is worth an extra 50%.

The other reason to upgrade to a workstation notebook is often build quality and support. Performance may not be quite as high, but workstation/business notebooks are generally designed around more of a 5 year life cycle under average use, compared to a consumer notebook that's designed for more of a 2-3 year life cycle. This is not to say that a well-taken care of consumer notebook (like a car) can't last longer than that, but it's "planned lifetime" is less, and thus warranty/technical support and build quality often reflect this.

 

Allowing for upgradeable GPUs makes the laptop physically larger a little heavier and more expensive. That's why.

Getting a workstation laptop is mainly so that you would get the right GPU. 'Pro' GPUs come with drivers that greatly accelerate CAD apps, in addition to just being computationally faster.

As for the CPU, you start paying more and more towards the top of the range for tiny clock speed increases. At some point, you are better off selling your current laptop, getting an i7 based laptop (even if you have to wait for it) because it is faster than the fastest Core 2 based mobile CPUs, regardless of the base clock speed.

I can understand not wanting to upgrade your laptop, but in the same breath you are mentioning some pretty expensive chips that will overall not really provide that much of an improvement in SW over the cheaper CPUs, but it's your dime.

 

What kind of "workstation" laptop would you recommend given my requirements?

 

HP Eltebook 8350w
Dell Precision M2400 or 4400
Lenovo W500

 

Holy smokes, those are all huge!

Portability is crucial, so I'll probably stick with the StudioXPS for a while and just upgrade the processor.

Another thought on the GPU, the StudioXPS13 did have an option of an NvidiaG210M. Is there any possibility of getting one of those to replace the 9500M I have?

 

it's soldered on to the motherboard, which means to upgrade you have to fork out like 500 bucks for a new mobo. it's about the same performance as your hybrid setup but with just one chip, not really an upgrade. battery life should be better though.

if portability is important then you have very limited options. mid-range workstation gpus only appear in 15 inchers.

 

Got it. So there really are no options for GPU upgrade, even though Dell supplied some XPS13's with the G210M.

On the grand scale, how is the 9500M?

And is upgrading from the P8700 to a T9X00 going to be some majorly drastic change?

The current speed of my computer is "adequate", but maybe "adequate" is just my impatience, and it's actually quite fast. My windows performance score is a 5.2 (limited by the Aero test), with the CPU at a 6.2.

Will an increase in RAM (from 4GB to 8GB) improve graphic performance?

 

Graphics is a GPU thing...sorry.

Do you have a SSD? That will speed it up

 

No SSD, just a 320GB 7200RPM WD Black harddrive. I had considered an SSD, but they are too expensive in the capacity I'd need at the moment.

So unless I source a 210M motherboard, I'm out of luck. Oh well, that's not a huge issue. FEA is more processor intensive, apparently, than GPU intensive. I had thought it the other way around, what with the enormous amount of matrix math required, but that doesn't appear to be totally the case.

 

no choice but to buy a new laptop then.

 

Meh, I'll just "suffer" with the 9500M then.

If I stumble on a good deal for a T9900, I might make a move, but until then I'll stick with the P8700 and 8GB of RAM.

Thanks for all the help!

 

So another question:

P9700 or T9800/9900?

What is the difference?

 

http://processorfinder.intel.com/List.aspx?ParentRadio=All&ProcFam=2643&SearchKey=

That's the link to intell processor finder which shows details for all processors. The quick difference is that P series of processors are rated for 25W TDP (amount of heat they give out at max load) and T series are rated for 35W.

In practice most users will very seldomly saturate the CPU, and the difference in TDP may be 4-5 W, and CPU operating temperature may be 3-4 degrees Celcius lower in the P series.

 

PS Studio XPS 13 might actually be a notebook where this may make a difference since some have the nasty overheating Nvidia GPU, so heat dissipation comes at a premium.

 

So which would you recommend?

The P9700 is a 2.8GHz while the T9800 is a 2.93GHz. That, and the slightly higher TDP of the T-series are the only differences I can see.

I put a fairly high demand on my CPU with the amount of FEA and flow-analysis and such that I do, I want the best performance with the greatest reliability.

 

T9800 will be faster if you stress the CPU, if not the P9700 could be enough. Which one is cheaper?

How much do you stress it? For how long? And what temps does your CURRENT CPU hit?

 

They are both about the same price, right in the $350 to $370 range, depending on the day.

I'd say about 20% of my average usage sees the CPU working hard above 80%. I don't have any idea what my current CPU temps are.

If I were to replace with some kind of workstation, how do you guys feel about the i7 Alienware 15" computers? They are kind of pricey (and a little funny looking...) but they seem to cut the mustard when it comes to performance.

 

get the T9800.. with CPU undervolting , the temperature difference and power consumption should be the same...

 

Download HWMonitor or CoreTemp to check the CPU the max temps it reaches when being stressed. I have mine running and CPU is almost on idle with temps of around 50 and they drop down to 31 if not doing anything.

 

Looks like I get around 140F on each core using CoreTemp, so I think that's about 60C.

That was during a "normal" FEA, not nearly as intensive as some I've done in the past. I expect at those times, core temps get in the 160 to 170 range.

 

Tj.Max is around 221F (~105C)

Both cores nearly maxed out

 

Use CPUID Hardware Monitor... gives more temps or even speedfan... it draw temp graphs...

 

Thats not bad at all. Kinda warm, but for the load it is not bad. I think your laptop can handle a tad more, but...

How is your fan?

How is the case?

Can you use HWMonitor to check temps too?

 

The case is warm to the touch and the fan is running, but I don't know anything more.

 

Note: I ran the same FEA I did for the CoreTemps screen shot.

I just let the "Max" record the high values and took a shot after it was done doing it's thing. All of the high values were set at "full loading".

 

If I were to replace the XPS13, what would you guys think:

Another XPS13 with the OEM P9600 processor, 8GB ram, and the G210M?

An XPS16 with the i7820QM, 8GB ram, and the ATI Mobility RADEON® HD 4670 – 1GB?

An Alienware M15x with the i7920XM, 8GB RAM, and the 1GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M?

Which would be best for me?

 

I strongly suggest the What Notebook Should I Buy? Forum and filling in the FAQ for this matter, please, update us with the link here.

 

I'll do just that.

Thanks!

I think I'll probably go with the XPS16. It's still got an i7, a monster GPU and a good bit of RAM.

The M15x is more than double the weight of my XPS13, and seems hardly portable. The 16 is a bit heavier and a bit larger, but overall seems like it would better suit my demands... I hope...

 

Sure, but I was wondering if you were interested in workstation laptops due to the nature of your usage?

 

I'm not really sure. I looked at some of the Dell Workstation laptops and they all seemed so large with so little focus on the stuff I'm doing.

I couldn't find much advantage to something like their M2400 over the other three options in the "home use" sector.

The one that would be absolutely "perfect" is the M6400 Covet, but that came out to almost $7800. Even the M6500 comes out to $6500. I don't think I could possibly justify that, no matter how hard I try.

 

the M15x will do everything u need easily... another way cheaper option is the asus G51... it comes with core i7 720qm , NVDIA GTX260M , full hd screen etc... price starts from $1499 and is lower on some online stores...

 

Does it have to be Dell? Please the FAQ would help me a lot to suggest something.

Out of my head the M4400 is not a bad option at all, and the HP 8350w is also great, but I am not sure what are your limits.

I vote against the M15x. It is large, heavy, non-portable at 9 pounds, and ugly IMHO. not to mention some problems with throttling GPUs and some problems.

If you can shed the money, I would say the Sager NP8690 if you want an i7, or the Sager NP8662 if you want C2D and a better battery life.