Upgrading Studio 1737 - Questions (graphic card+processor)

cfitz94

Hi, I want to upgrade the processor and graphics card for my Studio 1737 Laptop. Im not too sure what to get at the moment and am wondering do I just buy any or do I need to get specific ones that will work with it? I would like to play new games, like Battlefield Bad Company 2 and other high demanding games.
My current graphics card is ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650
My current processor is Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T6400 @ 2.00GHZ (2 CPUs), ~2.0GHz
Any help would be appreciated.
I would probably like an Nvidea card because I hear they are better but anything helps
Thanks in advance.

Solitaire

You said "laptop"

I say "Buy new one"

cfitz94

If I go for a new "one" it will defo be a desktop. On yahoo answers ppl were saying that you cant upgrade the Laptop

Solitaire

99% of the time you can't (other than memory and drives of course).

So the inevitable questions follow:

1. What's the budget for the desktop?
2. Do you have anything to contribute (read: salvage) from an old build to cut costs? Operating system, drives, case, peripherals etc. And if you already have a monitor/TV that the desktop can use what's its maximum resolution?

cfitz94

Well I want a good gaming computer but if possible I would try to keep it about 1000 euro or less. I was looking at the Studio XPS and there not too expensive. I also was looking at the Alienware M11x for €829 and if I could upgrade it or make it better it would be awsome, but im not 100% sure what I would need.
But I wouldnt want to make the same mistake and buy this laptop if its not going to be good in the long run.
If I bought it would I be able to replace some parts with ones from my Dell Studio 17?
I was looking at something like this for €1,127.78. Is this any good? Or am I much better off going for a Desktop?
Thanks


Components
COLOUR CHOICE Alienware M11x - Cosmic Black
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo SU7300(1.3GHz,800MHz,3MB)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
SERVICES AND SUPPORT 1 year of coverage included with your PC
LCD 11.6-inch WideHD 1366x768 (720p) LCD
MEMORY 4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048]
HARD DRIVE 500GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
GRAPHICS CARD 1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 335M
PRIMARY BATTERY 8-cell 63Whr Lithium Ion battery
BLUETOOTH Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Module - European
WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY Intel Pro Wireless WI-FI 5100 (802.11a/g) MiniCard Russian

Solitaire

Really good gaming notebooks are usually around €1400 A laptop that could run a game okayish would start around €650, mostly as Dell do some i3 laptops with integrated HD5650s. But you can't really upgrade these machines either. If you want something upgradeable you're looking at a desktop.

cfitz94

What would you recommend for a desktop then? Im not sure what are good processors or graphics cards, all I would presume is, dearer=better
And what would be good ram ect. id say 1 terrabite would be well enough too

Solitaire

Completely depends on how much you have to spend. €500-600 would do for a basic build that could handle Full HD gaming well with current titles, and quite possibly ties with a €1200-odd laptop for performance A €900-1000 gaming PC will take any laptop on the market out of contention. But bear in mind that if you need an OS and monitor as well as the PC itself that adds at least another €200 to the cost of the machine

cfitz94

Well if I could manage to get a screen another way,or use tv, can I use windows vista from my laptop? or do I not get Windows 7 free? or am I miss understanding "OS" operating system if thats what it is. I would probably want to spend no more than 1000. What processor/graphics card/ram ect would you recommend for the Studio XPS if thats worth using?

Solitaire

If you are building a new gaming desktop and don't have a free and transferable (Vista and 7 OEM licenses aren't ) OS license you have to buy a new one, to the tune of €70-100 for a fairly basic OEM copy of Win7.

A decent desktop screen will set you back another €110-150. And both of these costs are on top of what you'll need to spend on the PC itself.

duffman85

cfitz94 wrote: »

Well if I could manage to get a screen another way,or use tv, can I use windows vista from my laptop? or do I not get Windows 7 free? or am I miss understanding "OS" operating system if thats what it is. I would probably want to spend no more than 1000. What processor/graphics card/ram ect would you recommend for the Studio XPS if thats worth using?

Windows isn't free, it's just built into the cost of your laptop when you bought it. If the version of Windows you have came preinstalled on your laptop, it is(usually) an OEM version and it is tied to that laptop. You would have to get yourself a copy of Windows 7 - about €90.

While the XPS meets the spec for Bad Company 2. The ATI Radeon HD 5450 would be at the bottom end of ATI's current range.

cfitz94

Would something like this work?

StudioXPS 8100 - Intel Core i7 Processor 860 (2.80GHz, 8MB)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit- English
8192MB (4x2GB) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel Memory

That is already €1020. If there is anything that is un-nessecary, what would you recommend? I am also confused about the memory...

4096MB 1333 MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048]
4096MB 1333 MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [4x1024]
8192MB (4x2GB) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel Memory
8192MB (2x4GB) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel Memory

Whats the differance between 4096MB 2x2048 and 4x1024?
The same with 4x2GB and 2x4GB?
Would 8gb memory be too much, or will it be better to get for futureproof for a while?

About the graphics cards... there is also a 1GB ATI® Radeon™ HD 5670 graphics card. Are ATI better than NVIDEA? From what my friends say NVIDEA is better because some games dont play on ATI Raedon, but nothing I know but I wouldn't like to regret anything.

And finally, I dont exactly understand what a "good processor" is, all I could do is compare it to something on the back of a game requirements box and try get something higher, or dearer :P

Fitzy

Blazer

4x2GB means 4 sticks of 2GB ram. So all the memory slots are populated.
2x4GB is 2 sticks of 4gb ram.
For now 4GB would be loads (as long as you're using a 64bit version of windows).
The card is only ok..for that money you'll build an extremely nice PC which would keep you going for quite a while.
I'd build the specs of one for you but Solitaire is the master at it

As for what your friends say I'd take advice from a chimpanzee than from them
ATI are now better than Nvidia..better performance per euro etc and less power hungry at the top range.

As for processor...it's fine..any i7 will power any game for the next 3-5 years no problem.

cfitz94

That would be cool if you had time to show me a nice build, as I said, try keep the price range below €1000. Just another question about the memory, what would the performance difference be between 2x4GB and 4x2GB? My best guess would be that 4x2 would let you use 4 programmes with 2gb memory usage max? or something along the lines of that.
Im hoping the get a new pc in the coming months, with birthday coming up and lots of money, this laptop is coming to a sad end I thought I would have gotten more out of it. Do you know anything about trading laptops into places? Like get a few hundred euro of something?
Thanks

Solitaire

cfitz94 wrote: »

Just another question about the memory, what would the performance difference be between 2x4GB and 4x2GB?

Both let you run the same stuff at the same speed. 4x2GB would be less stable under pressure and require either slightly lower speeds or slightly higher voltages; its more of an overclocker's problem anyway. 2x4GB is, however, much more expensive

cfitz94

Solitaire wrote: »

Both let you run the same stuff at the same speed. 4x2GB would be less stable under pressure and require either slightly lower speeds or slightly higher voltages; its more of an overclocker's problem anyway. 2x4GB is, however, much more expensive

Any chance you can show me a good build?

Solitaire

Phew!



Roughly €925 shipped, but including a new monitor and Windows 7

cfitz94

Solitaire wrote: »

Phew!



Roughly €925 shipped, but including a new monitor and Windows 7

:O Im not sure if I will be able to put it together, and I dont know anyone who would tbh :S I was going to get one from Dell.ie

Would it be alot cheaper to have one built? I have to say, I googled the tower case and it looks cool Can you bring the parts somewhere and get it assembled?

Solitaire

You can get HWVS to do it for you, IIRC it adds €20 to the overall cost

cfitz94

Solitaire wrote: »

You can get HWVS to do it for you, IIRC it adds €20 to the overall cost

HWVS + IIRC = what and where?

Solitaire

HWVS = Hardwareversand.de - site I got those prices from
IIRC = if I recall correctly

cfitz94

Solitaire wrote: »

HWVS = Hardwareversand.de - site I got those prices from
IIRC = if I recall correctly

So they have it built and just add €20 to the overall cost?
So the sites German... does this not make it alot harder to order ect. ?
And would you trust this site?

cfitz94

How do you tell all the parts will fit in the motherboard and are compatible?

Solitaire

Compatible? Check specs for the platform. An LGA1156 mobo needs an LGA1156 CPU and DDR3 RAM. PCIe is the standard for graphics cards nowadays, as is SATA2 for internal drives. ATX (and variants) is the standard for case, mobo and PSU form factor.

Measurements? Use mobo as the template; for example a full-size ATX mobo is something like 244x292mm and an ATX case is designed around that standard. Check the length of graphics cards and compare against mobo (for a guide) and the case (if card is much longer than the mobo is wide). Check the CPU cooler against the depth of the case; even without precise measurements you can tell that the average full-tower cooler (eg. Hyper 212 Plus or most things with a 120mm fan) is going to (just) squeeze into a case that has a 120mm fan at the back next to the I/O shield, as those things total >160mm high (the 212 Plus for example is 159mm high). Most other bits of kit are pretty standardised in size.

And yes, everything in my list should fit together