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    Upgrading Notebooks

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by jtom, Jul 14, 2006.

  1. jtom

    jtom Notebook Evangelist

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    I got into an argument with my roomate about whether notebooks can be upgraded. He said that notebooks cannot be upgraded in any way except for the cd drive. I told him that you can upgrade ram, hd, and the processor. I just thought you guys could answer this so I could show him.
     
    jtom, Jul 14, 2006
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  2. mikkroik

    mikkroik Notebook Consultant

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    CPU is a lil hard,
    but ram and HD thats a peice of cake (if u kno what parts to get from ram)
     
    mikkroik, Jul 14, 2006
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  3. Amber

    Amber Notebook Prophet NBR Reviewer

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    It depends. On most manufacturers, you can upgrade Ram, HDD and cd/dvd drive. Dell is one of the few (if not the only one) that allows a video card upgrade. CPU - generally no, you can not upgrade it. The only exception is that you can upgrade if you have core duo to a higher processor (i.e. go from 1.73 to 2.13)
     
    Amber, Jul 14, 2006
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  4. m394byt3

    m394byt3 Notebook Evangelist

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    Yes ofcourse you can upgrade. RAM is the easiest to upgrade.

    You can even upgrade your graphics card on some laptops (where the GPU is not soldered onto the motherboard itself). Even though, it is not recommended in most cases. You have to keep in mind power usage, overheating, compatibility, etc.
     
    m394byt3, Jul 14, 2006
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  5. NetBrakr

    NetBrakr Notebook Deity

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    I upgraded my laptop.

    Previous:
    30 GB 4,200 RPM HD
    256 MB RAM
    24x CDRW/DVD Combo Drive.
    No Internal Wireless Card (MiniPCI)

    Now I have:
    80 GB 5,400 RPM HD
    1 GB RAM
    8x DVD+/-RW
    802.11b/g MiniPCI Card

    JC
     
    NetBrakr, Jul 14, 2006
    #5
  6. mZimm

    mZimm Notebook Evangelist

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    It really depends on the notebook that you have. For instance, the Inspiron 9300. You could buy one from the outlet with the bare minimum for example:

    WXGA+ LCD
    1.6ghz Pentium M
    512Mb RAM
    DVD-ROM drive
    40GB 5400 RPM HD
    ATI Radeon x300 128MB

    You could take one of those and upgrade basically everything in it. You could end up with something like this for just a few hundred after selling old parts to offset costs:

    WUXGA LCD
    2.4ghz Pentium M 745 (2.6ghz with a 755 if you were brave enough) pinmodded
    2GB RAM
    DVD+-RW
    100GB 7200 RPM HD
    7800GTX 256MB

    You could also upgrade the wireless card, add bluetooth, and other small things like that. You could easily take an incredibly low end 9300 and make it equivalent to an XPS.
     
    mZimm, Jul 14, 2006
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  7. compaq64

    compaq64 Notebook Consultant

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    I would have to say that it depends what you have for a laptop, but I think the cd/dvdrw drive is the easiest to upgrade, in my comp its 1 screw lol. Then The Ram, the the HD, Processer last, pretty sure you cant upgrade video in this compaq version, but my video cards fine for me.
     
    compaq64, Jul 15, 2006
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  8. NetBrakr

    NetBrakr Notebook Deity

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    The easiest upgrades for me were the RAM, MiniPCI, and HD. I having problem with the DVDRW. I cant remove the bracket of my old drive because of the two stubborn screws.

    JC
     
    NetBrakr, Jul 15, 2006
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  9. Lil Mayz

    Lil Mayz Notebook Deity

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    mZimm, can you really upgrade the screen on a notebook?!
     
    Lil Mayz, Jul 15, 2006
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  10. drumfu

    drumfu super modfu

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    southerngirl did
     
    drumfu, Jul 15, 2006
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  11. mZimm

    mZimm Notebook Evangelist

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    Yeah, the screen's aren't cheap, but I know numerous people who have done it. I believe the WUXGA is something like $300-$400. After selling your WXGA+ screen the upgrade price isn't that bad.
     
    mZimm, Jul 15, 2006
    #11