My dell xps m1330 came with a nvidia geforce 8400m gs, can i upgrade

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

airforcefiredawg

Distinguished
Jan 10, 2012
9
0
18,510
I have had this computer since 2008 with no problems. Played games just fine. I recently got SWTOR and my frame rates are atrocious. I have been reading forums about how to combat this problem and I am looking to upgrage some components such as a SSD and 8 gb of ram opposed to the 3 that came with it. I am wondering if the NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS that is currently installed is upgradable as well? Also, I considered upgrading the CPU. Its the T5750 2.0 GHZ. I know i would have to be able to add cooling and was considering a good laptop cooling pad? I have never had any of the overheating issues Ive read about. Any help and advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
 
Looks like your lapatop will support CPU's with 667MHz and 800MHz BUS speed, so you can upgrade to something like a T7800, whcih is 2.6GHz Core2Duo with 4MB cache. Your laptop will only take a 4GB RAM max and only up2 667MHz. With regards to the SSD, there are youtube vids showing your machine with an SSD drive, so no probs there. You might be able to upgrade your CPU but be warned, this aint gonna be cheap. I think its a PCI-E card and not soldered onto the m/board, so might be able to upgrade, not 100% sure. RAM, CPU and HDD can all be upgraded.
 
SSD & RAM no problem CPU & GPU not likely both may be soldered and dell are unlikely to provide a bios update if needed for the CPU and the CPU & GPU are never cost effective to change in a laptop.
 
You can definatly upgrade your CPU, it is not soldered to the m/board. Dell should be able to tell you the CPU support list for your machine but as I said in my first reply, your machine can take upto a T7800, possibly higher. Looks like you cannot upgrade your GPU though, cannot find anything on Dell's site or google. I think you will find the GPU is soldered to the M/Board but CPU is def not. Best bet is to ask Dell if your BIOS will support higher CPU's and if so, what is the highest clock CPU.
 
Thanks for the input. I asked Dell about the CPU and I can get up to a T9600 so I ordered one. I installed the maximum 8gb of RAM and ordered a WD SSD. I can't upgrade the GPU but hopefully these upgrades will be enough to run the game with a decent FPS. I'm still searching to see if someone produced an aftermarket motherboard without a soldered in GPU. Again thanks for your help.
 
Always happy to help, if you have any further questions, don't hesitate to PM me or post a new thread.

I don't think you will find an 'aftermarket' motherboard but worth a try, never heard of one myself to replace a dell board!?

If you like my answers, why not vote them the best!
 





Hi again, I just installed the T9600 that Dell told me was compatible with my setup. It fit perfectly, locked in I put new paste on and hit power. It made the usual sounds then it just shut off. I put the old one back in and it runs just fine. Someone recommended resetting CMOS? What do you think? Bad processor?
 
You will need to update your BIOS to the latest version. Go to Dell website:
http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/04/DriversHome/
Input your service tag, this should then bring a list of drivers/software for your machine. Locate BIOS downloads and proceed to download the latest version (A09?) You will need a floppy or USB device to install the BIOS I think, it should tell you. Once installed try your new CPU again and let me know how you get on.
 


Sorry, thought you could still vote on advise people give, perhaps not.

Thanks for the heads up!
 
Looks like A15 is the latest!? Strange, your CPU is supported with your laptop and BIOS, read lots of forums about your laptop and the new CPU you have and they all have it working fine.

Double check the CPU is seated OK and locked down. Check the underneath for marks, scatches, dirt or any sign of damage. If it still don't work, go back to the seller and tell them it don't work and get a replacment CPU.

Keep me posted on your progress.
 


People can vote but you won't get a 'Best Answer' award because this is a discussion thread not a question thread, the quotation marks to the left of the the thread title on the front page are the indicator FYI.
 




The CPU is refurbished but it is immaculate otherwise. I will try one more time and then contact the seller. I really appreciate your help.
 
I ended up sending the CPU back to get a refund. Got the SSD in and the computer works faster than ever. Also discovered that no matter what components I upgrade it doesnt improve the gameplay of SWTOR. It is GPU dependent. Thanks for all the help.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom