ease of upgrading

looking to get a basic notebook and then just upgrading as i get the money. for swapping HD's theres just a little release switch and old one pops out new one goes in right? but for ram, how is that done? and how hard would it be for somebody whos never worked on a laptop b4?

 

I had never worked on a laptop before I installed RAM in my ThinkPad. The TPs are relatively a pain because you have to remove the palmrest to get to the sockets. I still had it done in less than 15 min. No problem.

I had installed RAM and hard drives in a desktop before, but really it's doable for anyone.

Chris

 

Hard:

Replacing processor/applying thermal compound, replacing LCD

Medium:

Replacing hard drive

Easy:

Upgrading RAM, replacing keyboard



"Easy" means that a person with some knowledge of what computer components are should be able to do it relatively easily with some prior research. "Hard" means there's a high chance that you'll mess up, and you should only attempt it if you know what you're doing.

 

For the ram upgrad you should check the user guide of your laptop.

Most of the time it's just matter of turning the laptop over, opening the ram cover and swapping around the existing two modules with higher capacity ones (i.e. dell latitude d510).

Other times, you can access only one of the modules easily (button on the laptop). In this case the second one is located under the keyboard, therefore to upgrade both module you need to take away the keyboard (i.e. Compact presario R4000).

Finally, someties both memory sockets are underneath the keyboard (i.e. samsang v8000)

 

I'm planning on upgrading the processor in my Dell 9400 soon from Core Duo T2400 to Core 2 Duo T7400 but from what Fren says it will be a hard job. I hope it isn't. I've just upgraded my ram to 2gb and that was easy to do but is it really that hard to install a new processor and apply artic silver 5? Please explain what the difficulties are.

 

Well its not easy cuz it doesnt take much to damage a processor. The pins are easily bendable which were a pain to straighten and could be even harder if the pins are now on the motherboard (used to be on the CPU). Removal and installation of the heatsink and fan is dependant on what other components such as heatpipes also need to be taken out. You need to apply the right amount of thermal compound and ensure that the heatsink is placed tightly (but not too tight as I dont think these CPUs have heatspreaders and you could crack the core) Im guessing if a heatpipe does need to be removed, then you will have to open up more panels to get it off.

I would suggest you find a manual or instructions on what to do before you start or even before you buy your C2D so you know what you will get yourself into. RAM is designed to be user replaceable but the CPU was designed to be replaced by a professional.

 

QFT

search here and google...
You can also find tutorials for most popular notebooks doing just about anything you want to do online.

 

Thanks for the advice and I know there are tutorials about installing processors. But my main concern was how hard it is to do this which has been answered. I guess if I go ahead I will have to take my time.

 

As long as you are careful and have done your research, n51773, you should be fine. Read about the processor upgrade, try and find sites that give tutorials (or better yet, provide pictures!) of the processor upgrade on your type of computer (the Latitudes are pretty popular, there should be plenty of guides).

As SideSwipe said, there are a lot of things that can go wrong if you're not careful. You can damage the processor by bending the pins, you can destroy your computer by getting gunk into the socket and ruining the entire computer, you can apply AS5 incorrectly and damage the heatsink and overheat the processor, etc.

And -- you will definitely void your warranty.