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Couple Inspiron 9300 and Vostro 1700 questions

post #1 of 10
10/6/07 at 10:09am
Thread Starter 
Hello, y'all. Semifrequent lurker, have started trawling through old threads and had a couple questions spring to mind.

First, for any Vostro 1700 owners: anyone done a dual-250GB config either factory or upgrade?

Second, how far can I take my non-SATA 9300? I've been reading some of the parts-swap threads and getting some ideas, as shown in my sig. What's the top CPU I can drop in, and was there a 9300/XPSGen2-compatible (well, retrofittable, anyway) version of a GeForce Go 7800GTX? Also, anyone using Sound Blaster Audigy Software Edition on one of these big beasts?

TIA, y'all.
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post #2 of 10
10/6/07 at 10:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diamondback View Post
First, for any Vostro 1700 owners: anyone done a dual-250GB config either factory or upgrade?
What's the actual point of your question? Are you asking if it's possible, or if it runs hot, or what? I've got a 250/160GB combo...
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post #3 of 10
10/6/07 at 10:26am
wow dude you're looking to poor way too much money into an already aging setup. I would think you would be better off putting that money towards a vostro 1700 / inspiron 1720. The vostro's 8600m gt might not be quite as fast as the 7800gtx, but the upgrade to dual core should make it worth it, plus the upgrade to sata hard drives, you'd have a new dell warranty etc.
BTW, a new processor would really be a waste for the setup you have; the performance difference would be minimal.
My opinion is to sell off what you have now (maybe ~$600-$700), then spend that money (plus some) on a laptop from the dell outlet; right now they have a vostro1700/2.2 core2/3gb ram/8600gt/wireless-n for $989 (though I'm sure it won't be there long)
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post #4 of 10
10/6/07 at 10:27am
Thread Starter 
@Lancorp: Sir, I guess I'm asking is it technically viable, and if so, is it reliable? An overheating pattern would indicate "suboptimal reliability", but might still be in consideration--I guess I'm overcompensating for how I'm choking on my 9300's almost-full 100GB.

@Atwood7: I'm actually looking at upgrades for after this thing's kicked down to my "second-string" laptop. Aging, yes, seen a lotta hard use, yes, but I learned a hard lesson once about having a "primary" and a "spare" on critical stuff--and I'm virtually crippled without a laptop, even if it's just a "typewriter" model. (Why buy a whole new spare as long as I've still got a functional machine I can bump down to that role?) It doesn't help that I kinda tend to get attached to stuff when it's built to my specs...
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post #5 of 10
10/6/07 at 10:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diamondback View Post
Sir, I guess I'm asking is it technically viable, and if so, is it reliable? An overheating pattern would indicate "suboptimal reliability", but might still be in consideration--I guess I'm overcompensating for how I'm choking on my 9300's almost-full 100GB.
Yes, it is technically viable. I don't notice any real heat issues with my current configuration (see my sig below), except when using Vista DREAMSCENE (which is pretty cool, BTW, and you can find a bunch of DREAMSCENE's on the web for download), which then is working my 8600GT card. But, the hard drives stay relatively cool. Personally, I'd keep an eye out at the Dell outlet, which is where I scored my beast for an unbelievable price, and get you a nice new laptop for cheap!!! Not to mention, they ship same day, so no waiting!
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post #6 of 10
10/6/07 at 10:43am
Thread Starter 
I don't see Dreamscenes as a problem, I tend to try to keep my OS simple--too bad just doing XP Pro doesn't seem to be an available option...

(if you can call the "radar screen" from Red Alert 2's setup a "simple" desktop, that is...lol)
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post #7 of 10
10/6/07 at 10:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diamondback View Post
I don't see Dreamscenes as a problem, I tend to try to keep my OS simple--too bad just doing XP Pro doesn't seem to be an available option... (if you can call the "radar screen" from Red Alert 2's setup a "simple" desktop, that is...lol)
There are simple ways of getting XP PRO on the Vostro 1700. PM me if you are interested...
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post #8 of 10
10/6/07 at 11:02am
All I'm saying is it's simply not worth the price to upgrade the processor and videocard on your 9300; if you want to put a larger hard drive in it or mess around with the xps trim, that's all well and good, but beyond that you just need to realize you're getting a diminishing return on your investment.
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post #9 of 10
10/7/07 at 11:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by atwood7fan View Post
All I'm saying is it's simply not worth the price to upgrade the processor and videocard on your 9300; if you want to put a larger hard drive in it or mess around with the xps trim, that's all well and good, but beyond that you just need to realize you're getting a diminishing return on your investment.

I would think it would depend on the current configuration of the system in question.

Hypothetical;

Let's say you were able to acquire an i9300 like this;

1.6 533 Dothan
x300
60GB 5400
512MB system RAM
WUXGA

I've seen the 1.6 400 bus Dothans on the BAY for $25 Buy It Now. A pin mod later, it's running at 2.13GHz.

The $$ you'd spend on "XPS trim" would probably cover a good chunk of a 6800. Going further does get into "diminshing returns", I will agree with you there...

RAM for these is dirt cheap on the auction site too.

A bigger/faster PATA drive isn't all that expensive, which is "all well and good" from where I sit too.

I just picked up an i9300 with a 2.0 533 Dothan, 6800, 1GB RAM, 60GB 5400, and WUXGA for $583 shipped/insured on the BAY.... One might think a system configured as described above could be had for $500, or less.

Sure, it's not a dual core, but it's still not a "bad" system either. And Dupli-Color Plasti-Kote spray paint is a lot cheaper than XPS trim...

B.
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post #10 of 10
10/7/07 at 11:53am
First, I completely agree with you about said theoretical i9300; I too would upgrade it to 2gb, pinmodded cpu and 6800go.

But there is a big difference in upgrading that base model system and upgrading the system he has.
When you are starting with a 2 ghz chip to begin with, buying the 1.6 400fsb dothan doesn't make much sense as it's not much of an improvement. Even worse, if you don't want to do the pinmod, you would have to buy either a 770 or 780, which would cost you at least $150+
Then you have the 6800 -> 7800gtx upgrade. Yes it willl greatly increase your gaming performance but at what cost? The card itself runs $300+ on ebay, plus $40 for the 130W brick and $50 for the 9 cell (assuming you don't already have a 9 cell battery)
The upgrade to the 250gb 5400rpm drive is ~$170 I believe as well and I'm not sure how much it would cost to upgrade to wireless n (his other proposed upgrade)
Thus, without the xps trim or wireless n upgrade, you are still looking at possibly $700+ for the upgrade on a machine that is worth ~$500 to begin with. Of course those numbers are pretty much worst case scenario but you get my point.
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