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    latitude d830 hard drive, video card swaps

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by bongoz, Feb 10, 2008.

  1. bongoz

    bongoz Newbie

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    Hi...would anyone have info on a diy hard drive/video card upgrade for a Dell laptop? Am in need of a configuration which would be able to run Sony Vegas Pro 8 for video editing. Most of Dell's configurations that are within my budget of about $1400, leave me a little short on either hard drive speed or video card capabilities. Was curious as to the difficulty of an upgrade like this, or if it's even worthwhile. Any recommendations for other options /brands would be appreciated.....Thanks & aloha
     
    bongoz, Feb 10, 2008
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  2. Johnny T

    Johnny T Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    5400rpm should be fine (its the standard speed for notebooks)...but upgrading a hdd is very easy, a few screws and just push the hdd in :) But you'll need recovery discs etc...brands...Seagate and Hitachi are popular options.

    The video card on the other hand is not upgradeable as with most notebooks :)
     
    Johnny T, Feb 10, 2008
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  3. The_Punisher

    The_Punisher Notebook Evangelist

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    No way you can upgrade the GPU on that thing. You don't mention if its and IGP or a GPU, but it'll bet that in the end it can't be done. Your left with little choice here but to splurge on a good GPU. Maybe you can cut down on other parts.

    The HDD is a different story. Just buy a new larger HDD somewhere you want to and clone your existing HDD to it. Then switch HDD's and your good. You could also switch HDD's right away and do a fresh install. Whatever you want. Works either way.
     
    The_Punisher, Feb 10, 2008
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  4. Johnny T

    Johnny T Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    You cant upgrade the GPU in the D830 in any way, The only GPU available is the NVS 140m nothing else...

    My advice is that dont buy ram from dell, get the minimum amount from dell and upgrade yourself, that way it will save alot of money and so you can get a bigger and/or faster hdd :)
     
    Johnny T, Feb 10, 2008
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  5. The_Punisher

    The_Punisher Notebook Evangelist

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    What Johnny says. Buy your own RAM and HDD. Save money on those when buying from Dell.
     
    The_Punisher, Feb 10, 2008
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  6. NotebookYoozer

    NotebookYoozer Notebook Evangelist

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    how is it that you expect to buy a computer with a strict budget and then buy a GPU on top of the price of the computer?

    that doesn't make any sense.
     
    NotebookYoozer, Feb 10, 2008
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  7. pitz

    pitz Notebook Deity

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    Just find an alternate channel to buy your Dell D830 through if you're being challenged on the price -- the Dell website tends to be fairly expensive. For instance, I saved roughly $1k by buying my laptop off of eBay instead of through dell.com.

    For video editing, I doubt there is a material difference in performance between the Nvidia NVS140M, the 135, or the X3100. Video editing is not 3D graphics by any means, and the Intel solution works just fine for 2D.

    Replacing the HDD in the D830 is a matter of removing and replacing 4 screws; 2 that affix the hard drive tray to the laptop chassis itself, and another 2 that affix the hard drive to the hard drive tray.
     
    pitz, Feb 10, 2008
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