Upgraded My Video Card & WOW...

Just WOW, W.T.F....

I ordered a 256MB nVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT a while back for my Dell Inspiron 1520 which was previously running the older 128MB nVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS, however due to crazy amount of workload and etc, I never got around to installing it into my laptop until today. And I must admit, there's a definitive difference between before and now, I had to delete a few wallpapers and started downloading HD videos as opposed the regular I was using beforehand because they just didn't look right anymore.

After this installation, the Windows Experience Rating increased significantly to the point where my Aero Space is at 4.6* (previously, 3.4) and my Gaming Graphics is at 5.4 (previously, 4.4). I improved my Memory (RAM) to 4GB (previously 2GB), but never got around to updating it until now and in that category it went from the 3.8 to 4.5, which is a significant boost. I don't really know what these numbers mean but it's just good to see them go up.

The only thing that's left is my processor, wwan card and the blu-ray drive.

 

Removing nortan will help too

 

seconded,

best boost ever had before got my mtron 16GB SLC SSD.

try AVG free

 

AVG Free? Blech. Get Microsoft Security Essentials or Avast! AVG used to be good but they've become a bit of bloatware these days. Still decent, but MSE and Avast are better as far as resources go IMHO. But glad you had a decent upgrade path. SSD will definitely give you an added boost overall as far as desktop performance.

 

Removing Norton? I guess, I have a 3-year thing for about 3 laptops, it expires at the end of this year. Anyway, I'll give it a shot...

I'm just waiting for Larger SSDs to become more readily available, I need space, I thought about the Seagate Momentus XT but that only offers 4GB of SSD and I don't know but if I have to spend $100 on another HDD, it should be a full SSD right?

 

no pictures ?

I switched from AVG to Avira, much faster.

 

Because you requested, I took a screenshot of my current WER and here it is, unfortunately, I didn't take a screenshot of it before I made the upgrades. I wish I did because that would have been an interesting Before/After, also keep in mind I am running Windows Vista, so I believe the ratings are out of 5.9, as opposed to Windows 7, where the ratings are out of 7.9, I believe.



As you can see pretty much my memory and graphics all have equally been maximized to their full potential, even though I'm going to be installing a T9300 in the near future, I don't think it will impact these ratings much as that will only push the processor rating up, with the RAM still intact. If there was a way I could install approximately 6GB of RAM, it probably would make sense for me to upgrade to the 64-Bit Version of Windows.

But I think I've been edging closer to pull the most I can out of my laptop when it comes to upgrades and cosmetics, as well. Although, the biggest improvements, I'll be making are the SSD (when it becomes available) and I am looking to install the slim-remote style USB 3.0 Express Card. Perhaps switching out the keyboards and putting in a new palmrest, simply cause mine is partially cracked maybe something to consider.

Another thing I am planning to consider is installing a WWAN Card to use Verizon's 3G Network when I'm out and about in Panera, Barnes & Nobles or in class where there is barely any WiFi. I am considering signing up for a prepaid plan because I am mostly around a WiFi, but when I'm not it just simply helps that I can access their network at will.

 

The 4GB of "SSD" is really just a smart read cache. It will accelerate boot times and any apps that you use most commonly, you have zero control over it. I wish they would stop calling it a hybrid drive because it's not. It's just a hard drive with a large smart read cache.

For $100 you won't get much SSD unfortunately. These days maybe a decent 64GB. 120-128GB seem to be the "sweet" spot now but not sure if that is adequate. You always have the option of getting a hard drive caddy to use in your DVD drive slot, but then you would need an external DVD drive if you use it. Then an SSD for boot and HDD for data and games, etc.

Then a 64GB would be more than adequate for Windows and all your basic apps.

Also, WEI (Windows Experience Index) is useless really. It doesn't really tell you performance of your machine in real world scenarios. It's just a synthetic benchmark.

Also, consider the amount of money you're spending to upgrade this thing because think of selling your laptop plus any cost of upgrades could probably get you close to a new machine with considerably better components.

The Sager NP8130 for ~ $1200 with i7-2630QM (quad core), GTX 460m, 8GB DDR3 RAM, DVDRW (only +$70 for a blu-ray), 500GB 7200 RPM HDD, 15" 1920x1080 (1080p) screen, 2xUSB 3.0 slots.

Or if you don't want that much GPU power and want longer battery life then consider the Sager NP5160 starting at ~ $800 with dual core i7-2520m or +$30 for i7-2630QM (quad), GT 540m, 4GB RAM, DVDRW, 15" 1366x768 screen.

Just a thought.

 

If that's the case, then I'll get it because everyone kept telling me it's a hybrid drive and well, I don't know much about SSDs/HDDs except for the fact that 7200RPM > 5400RPM (when both sizes are equivalent). The only thing I take issue with my laptop right now is the boot time/recovery time or when I am starting programs. My most commonly used programs will be Photoshop/Dreamweaver and a few others but mostly I run iTunes, Chrome and Office 2007 pretty much whenever I start up.

It's worth a thought but I don't know, I have the BluRay PATA Drive as I usually just rent most of my DVDs via NetFlix.

Well, I think I've spent about a good $400 on upgrades so far, I was able to get a 1920x1200 Matte screen for ($130), a faster processor T9300 ($110) and upgraded the video card ($35). The HDD I upgraded recently to a 500GB @ 7200RPM, like back in January for ($30), BluRay PATA Drive ($75).

When it comes to new machines, I am really picky and I don't really like the fact that most newer laptops aren't that durable. Durability is key because I am a careless person, as much as I try to improve, that's just the way I am. I have dropped this laptop downhill (while it was still inside a case) and it was fine as well as a couple of times off my desk (w/o its case), it still made it.

Now, had it been one of the newer models (let's say it's successor, Inspiron 15R), I don't think it would have survived, but this thing is pretty stubborn. I'll probably upgrade to the Dell XPS 15-line because that's what this line of the Inspiron really was, when I bought it. I like the way Dell laptops are built, it just so happens that their Inspiron-line now sucks.

 

If you're careless when the laptop is on, i recommend you get a SSD, as with a mechanical hdd when the computer is on, it will most likely sustain major damage if dropped. Or otherwise you can get one of those mechanical drives which has auto shut off when it feels it being dropped or such.

And don't forget the fun of upgrading the laptop, atleast i think it's fun to maximize the specs but only if i get a good deal on each component that can be upgraded.

 

For durability you might want to look at the business line notebooks, but be warned, they can be a bit more expensive. As an added benefit, though, it's also easier to get accidental protection for them, if you feel the need, and get easy replacements. Pretty much nothing compares to business level warranty and support.

 

Well Sager / Clevo is about as well built as you can get without going business line (although Sager is as tough as most of those) or Toughbook (virtually indestructible but expensive).

 

lol, I meant pictures of the chips, MB ... open laptop in general

Dell is OK, we got Latitude D630 here, running with no issues for 3 years already. I'm just gonna upgrade some parts on it, but in general I like the laptop. The one thing I dont like on it is that when the battery needed replacement, the laptop refused to run until a new battery was put. Mehh .. I need to find some BIOS hack for this next time.

 

you should try Avira. Free version works great, and no system-hogging...

 

I upgraded my 8400M GS to the Dell 8600M GT and it made a world of difference for my games and the heat increase was really minimum. 47.50 for a GPU upgrade, good thing I didn't upgrade it from Dell 4 years ago for 100 bucks lol.

 

Your Inspiron 1520 can run dual-IDA to get an extra CPU multiplier (166 or 200Mhz more performance). Should see a 0.2pt increase in WEI.cpu.

 

no offence bro, but if those are your ratings.. get a acer/gateway.. your ratings will look more like this..And im not even done with this thing yet. ITs a P7805 and in the next month or so im getting a P7915 motherboard for it to upgrade my video card, then dropping a QX9300 quad core extreme into it. Gateway has some versatile laptops when you get into the P-7XXX series. You should check it out man.

 

Ha I get 6.9 with my lowest being GFX (HD5730 @ 875/1100), once I get the 5850 I expect over 7.

 

At the time I was getting my laptop, I knew enough not to buy integrated video cards as they become obsolete quicker and that was my reasoning to choosing the 8400M GS, that and it was only an additional $25 for that as opposed to the $100 I would pay for the 8600M GT. We saved big, because the 8400M GS was recent enough you could slide by back then, but upgrading it now is almost essential.

I don't know, I mean with Norton 360, I get a great deal of everything else and I'm still locked into using them for the rest of this year.

I have a processor coming in this coming week, once I upgrade to that, I'll take pictures and make a similar thread, lol..

Yeah, its very difficult to find a dependable laptop, if I had to purchase anything, I might look at the XPS but the placement of the speakers really bothers me. Also, I have discovered that it's really easy to come by Dell parts on E-Bay, as I upgraded/fixed my current Inspiron. I'm not sure how well the Sager maybe in that category.

It's something I have been considering, I don't know what I will do but I like the idea of not having to worry about breaking my laptop. The only thing is most business-line laptops force choices that I don't really like and bloatware that I'm not truly fond of.

I think it's a very good way to understand how a laptop really works and my knowledge of software was always decent but now I feel much more enlightened by performing much of these upgrades myself. Maximizing performance was always a primary concern for me, and as my laptop ages gracefully, I'll probably replace its structural cosmetics (palmrest, bezel, bottom base and etc) with cleaner/newer versions.

None taken man, but as promising as those ratings look, I don't think you and I can fully compare because I'm still running Windows Vista 32-Bit and you are running Windows 7 64-Bit. The most I can get out of my ratings is 5.9 and the most you can get is 7.9, so theoretically, our ratings would be similar (w/mine being worse but not by much), if I chose to upgrade to 7 or you chose downgrade to my version of Vista. But I'll be upgrading to Windows 7 really soon so I'd love to see how I stack up against those ratings you have there.

I'm not a fan of Acers/Gateways because the only one I would really buy, if I was forced to get Acers, is the Ethos and even then much of what come standard with it I already have with my current laptop and thensome. Both the Gateways/Acers don't offer a method to easily build up your notebook and their standards are still USB 2.0. I utilize USB 3.0 w/an express card and I think the only thing I'm really missing out with newer laptops is the LED Backlight, which I can live without because I still haven't seen a decent argument for why I should have it. Most of what I use is Adobe Creative Suite and I think my current GPU (8600M GT) does more than compensate for my needs.

Then you have the problem with the Core i-3/5/7 processors which I don't really like, I guess what I'm really trying to say is that I'm just waiting for the right kind of laptop to hit the market. I don't even know if that makes sense, when I bought the Inspiron, I compared various models and when I made this laptop my choice, I was sure that I wanted this one.

 

I'm not sure what sort of choices you don't like, so I can't speak to that part of the argument, but most business notebooks I've seen are rather free of bloatware, especially compared to most consumer notebooks. Or, at least, my HP 8740w didn't come with any bloat, although I did a clean install anyway because I upgraded to a SSD.

The major advantages of a LED backlight are power savings, a longer time before the LEDs dim as opposed to the CCFL, and oftentimes a more even backlighting. This will vary with the quality of the panel, of course; it's quite possible to get a LED panel that's worse in these qualities than a CCFL one.

By the way... what problem with the core-i processors are you referring to? Or did you just mean that you don't like the core-i processors at all?

 

I mean if WEI is important to you (which it shouldn't be) go with the Sager I mentioned:

 

My uncle came to me with his business-line laptop, to be specific, it was actually two weeks ago and I came with a considerable amount of bloatware (like stuff he didn't need or it was just forced in). I asked him how long he had it, he said about a few days and that could just be my uncle who I know would just go into a best buy and buy something right off the floor.

I see, never really knew that about LED Backlight, I hear that they are some really good TVs but when they started putting them in laptops, I wasn't really sure what the big deal with them was. With Core i Processors, the simple fact that you can't undervolt them as I am currently running a T5250 undervolted at 0.9500 Volts and it's been perfect since I did this.

I'll look into it, I keep hearing that I should consider Sagers so I'll consider that as I look to get my next laptop, in the near future.

 

What you're doing manually (undervolting) the newer (1st gen) iCore's are doing automatically and the latest (2nd gen) iCore's are doing at a level that you can't touch.

Why?

Because instead of simply undervolting - they can actually switch off the part that is not needed at that moment.

What (small) advantage you might have is that (depending on what software you're using) is that you can force it to stay undervolted (but also underpowered...), something that you can't do (yet) with the newer chips.

Your reasons may have been valid when you bought your system - but as you can see, there is real progress made in all areas that suggest upgrading a system is simply a way to keep you in the technological past - and not a way of staying current, as you think you are doing with all these upgrades.

Having the power of a current (2011) quad core in a system that is able to run 6/7 hrs when used much more lightly is something that all of your upgrades will never match. Granted, you pay for this progress (much more than your upgrades cost), but if you want to play - you have to pay.

Another benefit of the W520 that is not specific to all SNB notebooks is the capability to run 4 monitors off of a single notebook w/dock. This may not be important to you - but it does show another aspect that your system is simply not capable of.

See:
Lenovo ThinkPad W520 - mini review - Keith Combs' Blahg - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

 

Ah, I see. Yes, sometimes retailers like to "add" things to the notebooks they sell. I bought my 8740w straight from HP SMB direct, so I didn't have to deal with that.

 

Now running an HD5850 Getting the replacement SSD on monday.

 

Another advantage of LED backlight is thiner and lighter panels. Not that laptop displays are all that big to begin with. A disadvantage with some LEDs is viewing angle. LED's by definition are a more directional light source than CFL. This is why you hear people complain on the cheaper panels that even a slight change in vieing angle can change the screen colors. This sometimes can even mean a percieved change to the outer edges of the screen you are looking at directly.

There are high quality LED backlights that avoid the directional issues, you just usually do not find them on cheap panels.....................

 

Right. LED backlights are good for desktop displays but horrible for laptops imho because of the directional issue. You're most likely to be setting up your desktop monitor to look directly at it most of the time. But laptop you open and close all the time, rotate slightly, stand up, sit down, etc.

I think the display quality of my new laptop is great but the vertical viewing angles sucks big time.

 

Maybe slightly off-topic, but mentioned further up... like Meaker said, I'd get rid of Norton; get MSE; cut your losses. It's faster, lighter, less obtrusive. I had Norton subscription left over too, but went for MSE based on advice from here.

 

It becomes really annoying, especially if you like to personalize stuff and God-forbid you ever have to restore to factory settings.

I don't know, my brother has a LED laptop, Samsung R580 and it's pretty bright I must admit but the directional thing is really annoying especially if you usually have one or more friends just sitting with you. It's a pretty energy-efficient and you can make the most of your laptop battery.

You are 100% right, because a monitor will stay stationary as opposed to a laptop which will always be on the move. I guess I could just get a monitor and connect via VGA Port to watch movies and stuff but I don't think there would be much of a difference.

I'll have to look at it, I don't know why but I am really hesitant from leaving Norton because I paid for it. I'll have to look at MSE, can you send me a link?

 

You realize your display did not change at all, right?

 

Yeah but the pictures look different after I installed it, so I just attributed it to that.

 

1 of 2 things happened:

1: Your color or something was at 8/16/24 bit.

2: Your smoking something illegal...unless its medicinal.


But its all cool...you upgraded, your happy. We're happy with you.

 

The chip could have a better DAC built into it.

 

I think you're talking about a free-fall sensor, right?

Mr. Mysterious