Upgrading Toshiba Satellite T5500

I have a Satellite T5500 purchased in 2007.
It has 2.5GB RAM, and 120GB hard drive.
I want to have more hard drive space and make it run faster to extend it's life.

1. I understand the maximum RAM it will take is 4GB. Is this correct?
2. Can I use DDR3-SDRAM to replace the DDR2 it came with?
3. What is the maximum size hard drive I can install? 500GB or more than 500GB?
4. It came with a hard drive whch runs at 4200RPM. Can the replacement hard drive be a faster one, say 5500RPM?
5. If I replace these parts, will there be a significant difference in it's performance while still keeping the 1.66ghz Pentium Core 2 Duo chip?
6. Would I need to replace other parts to achieve my goal?

Or would the most relevant question be, is there any point in spending the money on this, or should I forget it and buy a whole new laptop? I have a feeling this might be the case so I would appreciate any advice anyone with more knowledge than myself can offer.


Sincerely, Martin

 

1. I understand the maximum RAM it will take is 4GB. Is this correct?
If the chipset is the GL960 or above, the max RAM is 4GB. With a 32bit version of Windows you'll be able to use only about 3GB out of the installed 4GB. To use all 4GB you'll to install a 64bit version of Windows.

2. Can I use DDR3-SDRAM to replace the DDR2 it came with?
DDR2 only. DDR3 is not supported and won't fit.

3. What is the maximum size hard drive I can install? 500GB or more than 500GB?
500GB should work.

4. It came with a hard drive whch runs at 4200RPM. Can the replacement hard drive be a faster one, say 5500RPM?
I think you mean 5400RPM. You can install a harddrive with any RPM, as it's important. You can install a harddrive with 5400, 7200, or even 10000RPM. 10000RPM and above are expensive. There's no majour difference in price between 5400 and 7200RPM harddrives so go for a 7200RPM one.

5. If I replace these parts, will there be a significant difference in it's performance while still keeping the 1.66ghz Pentium Core 2 Duo chip?
It depends on what you are using your laptop for. A faster harddrive will speed your boot time and shorten the time you have to wait for an application to launch.
A faster CPU is good if you use CPU intensive applications such as video encoding, rendering and so on. Assuming that you have a socket P you can try to upgrade to a T7300. You can get one off ebay for £15. The only problem with toshiba is that to access the CPU it is likely that you'll have to take the whole laptop apart. See my sig for an example of a CPU upgrade on a toshiba laptop.

Since you have a socket M, your upgrades are T5600, T7200, T7400 or the T7600.

6. Would I need to replace other parts to achieve my goal?
It depends. Replacing the harddrive and installing a fresh copy of Vista will make the laptop feel faster. If you can upgrade to Win 7 that would be even better. You should start with an HDD upgrade first. If you feel that the laptop is slow then you should consider other upgrades.

 

By the way What's your laptop name? There no such thing in google as Toshiba Satellite T5500?

 

Hi Naton

It's Toshiba Satellite A100-Core 2 Duo (Core Duo Processor T5500 1.66GHz, 512MB RAM) but I believe it has 2.5GB Ram. 32 bit Vista on it but I was planning on ditching that for Windows 7 as you said.

My specs are as below except it's Vista not XP..

Toshiba Satellite A100-Core 2 Duo (Core Duo Processor T5500 1.66GHz, 512MB RAM) Specs - Notebooks - CNET Asia

At least it sounds like these upgrades are not too expensive to give a go.

Hey thanks so much for responding it is much appreciated.

Regards, Martin

 

Also further, must I buy a Toshiba hard drive / RAM chipset specifically for this model of Toshiba? Not so sure about the RAM chipsets but as I understand internal hard drives a mostly a standard size so I could purchase any standard drive according to my requirements, ie Seagate / Western Digital 500GB / 7200rpm.

On ebay a 500GB 7200RPM goes for US$60-$90
A 2x2GB RAM Chipset for about US$66

 

Martin,

What I would recommend as an upgrade (not just on your machine, but on any machine...) is the following in order of importance to maximizing performance:

1) Windows 7 x86 or x64 Pro.

2) 4GB RAM (whether 32bit or 64bit O/S - two matched sticks).

3) Scorpio Black 750GB HDD (properly partitioned).


The problem with the above 'wish list' is that the lowly 1.66GHz cpu and gpu will really show it's age with the above configuration. Don't get me wrong: it will be a huge and very noticeable upgrade - but... I don't think it will be cost effective.

If you take the $$$ of the O/S and hardware above and put it towards a new system - it will completely outrank your current system - even with all the 'upgrades' done to it.

If you do get a new system, you might only need to change the HDD (eventually) - but 'stock', it will still be faster for not much more money than the 'parts' list (I'm guessing about ~$400 retail for the parts...).

I cannot honestly recommend upgrading your current system even with less than the 'optimal' list of changes above - in the end your 2007 system will still be stuck in 2007 with a little bit of makeup and new shoes.

Here is an example of what a little more money can buy:

See:
Acer Aspire 5750-6439 w/ Core i3-2310M, 4GB, 640GB, DVD+/-RW, 15.6in HD, Win 7 Home Premium 64-bit at Memory Express Computers


And this is what the performance difference is with a quick and dirty benchmark:

Your current system:
See:
PassMark - Intel Core2 Duo T5500 @ 1.66GHz - Price performance comparison


My link above:
See:
PassMark - Intel Core i3-2310M @ 2.10GHz - Price performance comparison



So, for about 25% more $$$ than the upgrade to your system, you can get almost 3 times more cpu performance for your money (which will feel like 10x more performance in actual use). A new system with a 1 yr warranty.

And a nice welcome into the new, entry level, 2011 computing world.

Hope you find my ramblings of some use.

Good luck.

 

I've corrected my post regarding CPU upgrades. You can use the T5600, T7200, T7400 or the T7600.