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Modifying a really old Dell laptop


bristols

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Naah, I don't think that you will get a noticeable difference in everyday work putting on an ATA33 bus a 7200 RPM instead of a 5400 RPM one, BUT if the drive onboard cache is bigger, then you will notice it.

http://www.wdc.com/en/library/eide/2579-001043.pdf

http://www.storagereview.com/articles/9808...ataroundup.html

http://www.storagereview.com/articles/9907...oundup1999.html

http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200511/notebook_1.html

Please note that 7200 vs 5400 is a bit pointless, a "good" 5400 can have so similar performance to a "bad" 7200 that you won't be able to tell the difference.

jaclaz

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Yep, I agree with jaclaz.

Just keep your 5400rpm 40G HDD for your DELL, there is really no great improvment beside if you got a 16M cache 7200rpm HDD for it.

But I think that you better save the money to buy an external USB HDD for your DELL is more better (don't forget to buy an USB 2.0 Cardbus card to use with it).

Best Regards,

Ken-mkII

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But I think that you better save the money to buy an external USB HDD for your DELL is more better (don't forget to buy an USB 2.0 Cardbus card to use with it).

Which USB 2.0 Cardbus card would you recommend? I've heard reports about some that overheat.

Does anyone know whether a USB 2.0 Cardbus would significantly increase the CPU load, or whether the card's onboard chip would take much of the load?

Related to this, I've read that in a straight comparison, Cardbus DVB-T cards (for example) utilise the CPU less than USB DVB-T sticks (in systems that are USB 2.0 capable). This Dell laptop of course would require the card to enable USB 2.0. I wonder whether, using such a card to supply me with USB 2.0, I would suffer from the same high(er) load on the CPU, as I would with an already USB 2.0-capable system? The laptop's Pentium III is just 500 Mhz and struggles, for example, with Flash playback. I'm concerned that the benefits of USB 2.0 would be outweighed by the strain on my CPU.

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Hi Bristols:

Sorry for late reply.

Well, I am using an unnamed China made USB 2.0 4 port card base on VIA chips. Which is only US$8. (Similar as below pics)

laptopupgrade2090147463.jpg

For better performance and lower CPU usage, you can buy one base on NEC chips.

As Cardbus is based on PCI bus, the CPU usage is lower than 16bit PCMCIA card coz of its Bus Mastering function.

As mine, which will use around 10% CPU when full loading file transferring. Even the CPU is unweight to make full usage of the USB 2.0, it still faster than the built-in USB 1.1 alots. (For mine, around 20M/s, I bet NEC chips will faster).

Best Regards,

Ken Yaksa

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well, I am using an unnamed China made USB 2.0 4 port card base on VIA chips...

For better performance and lower CPU usage, you can buy one base on NEC chips.

Hi Ken,

Thanks for this, and sorry for my late reply.

Did you have any problems installing the USB 2.0 stack? Did you only require the drivers provided with the card, or was it necessary for you to use a Windows CD? Did you have to apply further windows updates (for example, by visiting Windows Update) before you had the most recent USBPORT.SYS, etc. etc.? Or perhaps, even though your laptop was USB 1.1, you didn't have to get any updates from elsewhere to update to the USB 2.0 because the necessary files already in your system?

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I have a Dell Inspiron 3700 (circa 1999), with an HFSlipped installation of Windows 2000

However:

I'm unwilling to buy RAM and/or a CPU upgrade over the internet. After a fruitless couple of years looking for components locally, I'd like to concentrate on any other hardware modifications and updates I could make.

I've got an Inspiron 5000, I thought that was old.

It also is on 256 MB RAM, and runs XP.

Haven't used it for a few months now...

Anyway, I gotta say: RAM. It makes all the difference. I upgraded a Thinkpad from 128 MB to 640 MB and it was a huge improvement.

I got bitten by some fake RAM in an auction, but it's worth shaking the dice if there aren't any local dealers.

Or a local PC/laptop repair shop that you can visit and ingratiate yourself, and get a deal on some RAM they pull from a dead laptop. That's where I get my "old" RAM now, they guarantee it's legit and working for at least a month; which is enough to test it out.

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Hi Ken,

Thanks for this, and sorry for my late reply.

Did you have any problems installing the USB 2.0 stack? Did you only require the drivers provided with the card, or was it necessary for you to use a Windows CD? Did you have to apply further windows updates (for example, by visiting Windows Update) before you had the most recent USBPORT.SYS, etc. etc.? Or perhaps, even though your laptop was USB 1.1, you didn't have to get any updates from elsewhere to update to the USB 2.0 because the necessary files already in your system?

Sorry for my late reply once again.

I don't have any problem to install my USB 2.0 Cardbus card. All you need to do is updated your WinXP to SP2 or later (SP1 doesn't support USB 2.0) before you plug the card in. After so, all necessary files (included driver files!) are lay in C:\Windows\I386 directory, & don't need to Windows CD. You even don't need the driver CD which come with the card since XP SP2 or later native support USB 2.0 (Otherwise, you may need the driver CD if you want to use the card under 2K or 9x).

Best regard,

Ken Yaksa

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