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    Want to upgrade RAM and graphics card

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by nickturner03, May 23, 2009.

  1. nickturner03

    nickturner03 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I own a HP HDX 9300 with an intel core 2 duo CPU T8100 @ 2.1Ghz. 64 Bit operating system with 4 Gigs of RAM. I'm wanting to upgrade to 8 Gigs. Is there an option out there for me and if so where can I get it? I'm also running a NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS graphics with 512MB dedicated memory and wanting to upgrade to the best possible one available right now. Is that possible and if so where can I find it? Are the upgrades possible to do myself? I'm currently located in Iraq so any help would be great. Money is not an issue. Thanks for your time.
    Nick
     
    nickturner03, May 23, 2009
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  2. mechrock

    mechrock Notebook Evangelist

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    Tell me what you would be doing to ever use 8 gb of RAM. 4gb is all you need unless you are doing extreme photo/video editing at the same time.
     
    mechrock, May 23, 2009
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  3. JMS3096

    JMS3096 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Officially, the BIOS of your system can only recognise 4GB memory. However, I have heard of people making it run with 8GB. You would have to obtain two 4GB modules, which could get expensive.

    As for the video card, I don't believe the HP is upgradable in that area. I could be wrong though.

    As the previous poster said, there's not much point to having 8GB of RAM over 4GB unless you often find that your RAM is full. I seriously doubt that this is the case.
     
    JMS3096, May 23, 2009
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  4. mechrock

    mechrock Notebook Evangelist

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    Yes and if money is not an issue then why not buy a new laptop that can be upgraded later on if you so wish.
     
    mechrock, May 23, 2009
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  5. Gophn

    Gophn NBR Resident Assistant

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    you are not going to be able to upgrade the videocard module past the one you have... its not standard.

    as for RAM, you should be able to upgrade it past 4GBs
     
    Gophn, May 23, 2009
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  6. Bartlett

    Bartlett The Prophet

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    8GB would be quite a lot, don't think you would use that much.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220384

    $300 for that.

    Otherwise:

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231156

    4GB 800mhz 5-5-5-15 timings.
    But, what are your timings now?
    You can use pcwizard from www.cpuid.com to find out.

    Because I would suggest using memset from www.tweakers.fr to lower the timings which would increase RAM speed.

    With the GPU upgrade, the only upgrade you could do would be a 9600M GT, which is definitely not better than an 8800M GTS.
     
    Bartlett, May 23, 2009
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  7. nickturner03

    nickturner03 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Was just wanting to do some upgrading to my laptop if it was possible, i don't want to buy a new one, i love this one, just want to get the full potential from it if I didn't have it already, thanks for your reply
     
    nickturner03, May 23, 2009
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  8. nickturner03

    nickturner03 Notebook Enthusiast

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    So it seems that there isn't much RAM and Graphics wise that I can make better on this laptop. Is there anything that anyone recommends that I can do to make it better, or is that even possible? I"m just looking to get the full potential out of it and as I said before, money isn't an issue
     
    nickturner03, May 23, 2009
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  9. notyou

    notyou Notebook Deity

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    If you want faster loading times you could invest in an SSD (one of the good ones like the Intel X-25M).
     
    notyou, May 23, 2009
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  10. JMS3096

    JMS3096 Notebook Enthusiast

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    You might try upgrading the processor chip... the T8100, while a good chip, is certainly not the best out there. You'll want to look at the excellent tips and guides on this site to make sure you do it right though.
     
    JMS3096, May 24, 2009
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  11. weirdo81622

    weirdo81622 Notebook Evangelist

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    +1 for SSD. They're fast and reliable are are worth the investment (if you have the $ to pit down in the first place). I'd recommend the Intel X25-M - it's one of the most expensive, but also one of the fastest.

    Also for your CPU, I think you could go as far as T9500, which is 2.6ghz I believe.

    The memory upgrade is not worth the astronomical cost and I don't think you can upgrade your graphics.
     
    weirdo81622, May 24, 2009
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  12. nickturner03

    nickturner03 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Anyone know what's the best CPU that I can buy to fit this laptop?
     
    nickturner03, May 24, 2009
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  13. nickturner03

    nickturner03 Notebook Enthusiast

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    What is the largest FSB I can support?
     
    nickturner03, May 24, 2009
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  14. nickturner03

    nickturner03 Notebook Enthusiast

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    What is the largest FSB I can support?
     
    nickturner03, May 24, 2009
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  15. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    Download and run CPU-Z:

    http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

    On the "Mainboard" tab, it will tell you what chipset you have. Post that here and we'll tell you what you can put in.
     
    Mastershroom, May 24, 2009
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  16. DetlevCM

    DetlevCM Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Honest question:

    "I want to get the full potential out of my laptop" - there is no point upgrading certain components nowadays unless you need more RAM etc.

    Buying the best you can find yes - but upgrades only where specifically needed.

    About photo editing - Photoshop CS4 - in my experience he key slowdown is the temp file - my largest ever was 33-34GB.

    A SSD would improve boot and load times.

    More RAM would also mean more time spent pre loading the cache after log in...

    Also, if money isn't an issue - for real performance get a desktop - or stick with your laptop and wait a little at times.
     
    DetlevCM, May 24, 2009
    #16