Upgrading Dell Inspiron 1525

[batmanbob]

Hey all, I picked up a Dell inspiron 1525 off craigslist for 40 bucks here are the current specs:

CPU: Intel Moble Core 2 Duo T5550 @ 1.83 GHZ
RAM: 4 GB DDR 2
120 GB SSD
Intel Mobile 965 Express Chipset Family


I was just playing around on it and the processor is super east to access/ upgrade so It got me thinking.

I went on amazon and found quite a few decent upgrades for the CPU all for less than 15 bucks, what would be the best processor I could get? I originally ordered a T8550 for 8.75 but realized afterwards that that was a PGA 478 socket and my current is a PPGA478 so I dont think it would work...

Any suggestions would be nice, I appreciate your time

 

[delaro]

You can use any Socket P Core 2 CPU on 800 MHz or lower bus speed except the Extreme Editions, Max is a T9500 2.60 GHz CPU.

There is a list here

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_2_microprocessors#Dual-Core_Notebook_processors

Look under Dual-Core Notebook processors Core 2 Duo

 

[ChristopherG2001]

If you do not really plan on doing much with this computer, an upgrade may not be necessary. Seeing as how you already have a gaming PC, any changes made to your laptop here may be wasted. However, I'm not here to tell you what to use your computer for. First of all, your current t5550 is typically a low-end cpu. Fortunately, there are many possible cpu upgrades. If your looking for something more powerful, you may choose to upgrade to an x9000 (2.8ghz) which you can overclock. It's part of the Core 2 Duo extreme which is superior in performance to your current one. Despite this, I would recommend something more modest that maintains a clock-speed higher than 2ghz under stress. At any rate, since you are using ddr2 RAM, you should probably add an extra 4gb just to give your computer that extra kick upon start up. But I have to ask - what is your budget for upgrades? Perhaps a better cpu is enough since you already have an ssd inside your computer, which should boost performance considerable when compared to a standard hdd.

 

[batmanbob]

Thanks for the speedy response, I am just wanting to give it some extra kick, I only have 60 in it so far as I just ordered the t8550 last night and over nighted it. Ram might be worth it but that would mean 2 4gb sticks of ddr2 which will prob be costly.

My main use for this will be streaming my xbox one upstairs and playing around on it browsing the Web, etc. Just want it as fast as I can make it for under 100 total

 

[delaro]

For just everyday use moving from a 1.83Ghz to a 2.5ghz or better and adding more Ram makes a nice difference. I normally wipe Windows and go with a light Linux Distro like Mint, Linux Light or Lubuntu. From there a USB drive or Cloud drive with Kodi really makes these Older Units Shine. I've done a few as Chromebooks "CloudReady" as well and they are surprisingly Zippy.

Is it worth spending a little to upgrade these older Laptops? Absolutely they still have some usefulness in them, we are not talking Hardcore Gaming machines just something for Daily Use and Media Playback.

 

[ChristopherG2001]

Thanks for the speedy response, I am just wanting to give it some extra kick, I only have 60 in it so far as I just ordered the t8550 last night and over nighted it. Ram might be worth it but that would mean 2 4gb sticks of ddr2 which will prob be costly.

My main use for this will be streaming my xbox one upstairs and playing around on it browsing the Web, etc. Just want it as fast as I can make it for under 100 total

Sorry for the late reply. Anyway, if you already have 4gb of ddr2, adding another 4 will perhaps cost $50-60 US. If you cannot manage this then upgrade the processor and delay the ram upgrade till when you have spare money. Cheers.

 

[delaro]

Unfortunately DDR2 Ram support was a limited mess because of failure of Bios to support both version of SPD and multiply Ram Timings. You can find 8gb of the AMD version EPP CL5 fairly cheap around $20 or less but the Intel XMP is much more expensive mostly double the cost.