Maintaining my computer

malikrthr said:
Good Evening everyone. I was hoping that I might be able to get a couple of opinions with my laptop. I am working on a DIY project trying to extend the life of my Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop. It is approximately 7 years old and still running strong. To prepare it for next semester, I have been thinking of upgrading the T3400 Intel Pentium CPU to a Core 2 duo T9900 CPU. That would be an upgrade from 2.2 Ghz to 3.1Ghz. I am also thinking about adding in a 256GB Samsung Evo SSD to replace the old 5400 RPM hard drive. Along with these upgrades, I am thinking about also putting Windows 10 on the Inspiron 1545. Would these upgrades give me a good boost in performance and speed? This laptop is only being used to work on projects for school and basic browsing. I thought this would be a good project to work on instead of buying a completely new laptop.
Click to expand...

The SSD replacement yes, but not the CPU unless it was an option on the original machine, the reason is heat.

http://dellrefurbished.com/laptops might have something.

Cheerio John
 
The last CPU that the Inspiron 1545 can accept is the Core 2 Duo T9900 @ 3.06Ghz. Right now, my Pentium T3400 processor and the T9900 Core 2 Duo processor both have a TDP of 35 watts. The Pentium T3400 has a max temperature of 100 degrees Celsius and the T9900 processor has a max temperature of 105 degrees Celsius. What would be a recommended CPU upgrade for the Inspiron 1545 from the default T3400 processor?
 
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Would a Core 2 Duo T9600 @ 2.80Ghz be the recommended upgrade? I read a couple of reviews and from what I read, it seems that the T9600 and T9900 run cooler than the default Pentium T3000 and T4000 series CPU's. Below is the procedure for how I was going to upgrade my Inspiron 1545 laptop.

1. Download Windows 10 onto a disc and delete the Linux partition on my laptop.

2. Once deleted, replace the old HDD with the 850 Evo SSD.

3. Boot Windows 10 from the DVD.

4. Once Windows 10 is set up, update my bios to the latest version. I think it is A14.

5. Power off the laptop, unscrew back panel and heatsink and CPU

6. Clean off old thermal paste from heatsink and Pentium T3400 processor.

7. Apply Arctic Silver 5 thermal past to surface of CPU (T9600, P9700, T9800 or T9900)

8. Mount CPU and heatsink.
 
The Samsung 850 Evo SSD arrived for my laptop. At first, I made the terrible mistake of installing the SSD with the battery in the laptop. I hope the SSD is not damaged. Right now, I am trying to properly install the SSD drive but I think there might be an issue because after booting, the laptop displays, no bootable device found, try reseating. After slightly pulling up the back cover of the laptop, I noticed that the SSD was at an angle and was not aligning with the SATA port. I have an SSD 7.5mm to 9mm spacer on the way so I hope that solves the alignment issue with the SSD.
 
malikrthr said:
The Samsung 850 Evo SSD arrived for my laptop. At first, I made the terrible mistake of installing the SSD with the battery in the laptop. I hope the SSD is not damaged. Right now, I am trying to properly install the SSD drive but I think there might be an issue because after booting, the laptop displays, no bootable device found, try reseating. After slightly pulling up the back cover of the laptop, I noticed that the SSD was at an angle and was not aligning with the SATA port. I have an SSD 7.5mm to 9mm spacer on the way so I hope that solves the alignment issue with the SSD.
Click to expand...

If the drive works, then there was no issue. Unlike regular hard drives, SSDs are less forgiving on things like this.

If your SSD is not seated properly, that will definitely prevent it from booting. The spacer will help keep the device from disconnecting from the SATA port.

John
 
Re: #143 I am not familiar with this particular laptop but over the years I have repaired and rebuild sufficient computer to know that the majority of laptops are a pig to work on and it is not uncommon to be left with a few pieces when you believe you have it back together. So I would suggest making lots of notes, photograph every stage and change the BIOS battery while you have it in pieces.

Taking your procedure literally, you can 'download' i.e. copy Windows 10 from computer to a DVD but you cannot reinstall it from a copy. To reinstall it you need bootable media and that needs to be created from an image of Windows 10 not a copy.

Being as the laptop is a few years old I'm also assuming Windows 10 is an upgrade from perhaps Windows 7 or 8.1 and if that is the case Windows 10 may not like you changing the CPU as it frequently sees hardware changes as suspicious activities and may believe you are installing to an additional machine.

Therefore it may be prudent to clone your HDD diectly to your SSD and ensures that works first. Then find the product key of Windows 10 which will be different from that of any previous version of Windows, before changing the CPU and should you be ask for the key for verification you will have it. It also means that you are testing between each step. Change everything and then it doesn't work is it the SSD, CPU, Windows, or the piece laying on the floor you unfortunately dropped. Peter
 
Pets, smoking, women with hairspray, and general dust can prematurely wear out components by causing excessive heat. Cans of compressed air work great. Having a case with removable filters is great. I have an open air bench style case so I have to clean it weekly. I no longer have any pets or smoke in the house so the dust is manageable.

I can't seem to upload a photo of my computer but google "strike x air" images to see the exact same case
 
I would like to thank everyone for helping me out with my laptop upgrade. The upgrade was successful. Earlier today, I installed the spacer. The Samsung 850 Evo SSD was immediately recognized by the laptop. Afterwards, I replaced my old CPU with the Core 2 Duo T9600 CPU and applied Arctic Silver 5 thermal paster. So far, with the CPU and SSD, my laptop is running like brand new. Almost as fast as my Trainz desktop. Afterwards, I was able to successfully upgrade to Windows 10 within minutes. Lol, my 7 year old Inspiron 1545 has been through an SMS, rebuilt and overhauled.
 
Thank you. It was definitely worth it to upgrade the laptop. It takes about 15 seconds to boot up. I hope that I can get another 5 or 7 years with this laptop.


I am thinking about making another upgrade to the desktop that I use for Trainz throughout the summer. Right now, I get smooth fps in TANE if the VSYNC is set to half, shadows are off, and details are set to medium with Antialising set to x2. With these settings, I'll get very little stutter once in a while which is okay for me but the GTX 570 gets hot while using TANE. I have been reading about the latest graphics cards and heard about two good cards that seem interesting. The NVIDIA GTX 1070 and the AMD Radeon RX 480. I also heard read about AMD's Vega architecture which should be similar to GTX 1080 performance. I am debating whether I should upgrade my GTX 570 card or upgrade to the new GTX 1070 or one of the Polaris cards, or should I wait for the VEGA architecture to be released? How does TANE run with AMD cards? I have had two NVIDIA GTX cards (GTX 570 and GTX 550Ti) and they have both handled the earlier version of Trainz well but I have to lower the settings on TANE for it to run smoothly and cooler. I am thinking of upgrading to a powerful GPU that runs efficiently with low temperatures and can handle some of the shadows, details, draw distance and antialiasing turned up, with all the details and textures, I think a 4 - 8 GB card should be okay to handle all of the textures. Can I please get suggestions on a possible graphics card upgrade that is within my budget and can handle TANE well with shadows, high detail and low temperatures? My budget is $350 for a graphics card. Below are my current specs.


CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 B.E. @ 3.7 Ghz (cooled by Hyper 212 Evo)
GPU: EVGA GTX 570 1.28 GB GDDR5 (Main) & EVGA GTX 550Ti 1GB GDDR5 (PhysX)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A UD3 ATX motherboard.
Memory: 16GB DDR3 Vengeance RAM @ 1600Mhz in quad channel.
PSU: Ultra LSP Limited Edition 700W PSU.
Case: Corsair Obsidian 650D ATX Midtower
Storage: Samsung 850 Evo 500GB SSD (boot & Trainz) & Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB hard drive (storage)
Display: Viewsonic 21.5" LED monitor @ 60Hz
 
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Good Evening everyone. For the past couple of days, I have been thinking about a graphics card upgrade for my computer to run TANE. Currently, I am running Trainz A New Era build 82718 with my older EVGA GTX 570 card. So far, TANE is running great but I do notice that when I increase the antilaiasing, detail, and shadows, TANE begins to stutter or microstutter in areas that have alot of scenery. For me, it is not really a problem but I would like to get the smoothest gameplay possible. think as I add more to the Major Tri State Area and expand the route, the GTX 570 won't really be able to handle all the detail as smoothly. I recently heard about AMD's RX 480 graphics card and thought that it would be good to try something different. I have never used an AMD card before. How does TANE handle with an AMD graphics card. Are there any problems with Trainz and AMD graphics cards. In the past, I have heard not so great things on AMD graphics card drivers. Has that been solved. Can I please get help or suggestions on a good graphics card upgrade? My budget is $275.Initially, I was going to purchase the GTX 1070 but then I thought that it would be good to try something different. Based on what I have seen from the Computex event, the RX 480 seems like it would be a great upgrade to my GTX 570 as far as VRAM, performance and temperatures go. From benchmarks and results, it seems that the AMD RX 480 is somewhere between the GTX 980Ti and the GTX 1070 in terms of performance which is still a great upgrade to my GTX 570. Below are a couple of the questions that I have before purchasing a new graphics card.
Below are my questions on TANE and the upgrade.

1. Initially, I was going to purchase the GTX 1070 but then I thought that it would be good to try something different. Based on what I have seen from the Computex event, the RX 480 seems like it would be a great upgrade to my GTX 570 as far as VRAM, performance and temperatures go. From benchmarks and results, it seems that the AMD RX 480 is somewhere between the GTX 980Ti and the GTX 1070 in terms of performance which is still a great upgrade to my GTX 570. Below are a couple of the questions that I have before purchasing a new graphics card.


1. I have a monitor that I purchased 2 years ago from ViewSonic. The "VA-2246m". This LED monitor has a DVI and VGA port. I noticed that the AMD RX 480 card has 4 display ports and one HDMI port. If I used a DVI to display port adapter, would I lose or notice any performance because I am using a converter? Would there by any noticeable difference compared to using a monitor that does support display port?

2. With purchasing an RX 480, would I get more performance for less compared to purchasing a GTX 1070?

3, Would it be better to wait for the AMD vendor cards with aftermarket coolers or is the reference card the same in terms of cooling?

4. Has anyone ran the RX 480 and Trainz A New Era? How does it perform?
 
1. You probably wouldn't notice it, but there would be a slight degradation in performance. (More annoying would be the ugly extended plug array at the adapter end of the cable.)
2. The GTX 1070 completely outclasses the RX 480 - but at a higher price. They are not really comparable. Upcoming Vega GPUs from AMD might potentially be fairer competitors for the likes of GTX 1070 and 1080 cards .
3. Absolutely. The reference card reviews I've seen so far indicate thermal issues under load with the AMD cooler.
4. Launched yesterday - can't be too many out there at the moment in the hands of T:ANE owners.

Overall, the 14nm FinFET process and low price bodes well for this AMD card's future - it will be very popular and competitive at the current MSRP price-point (and cannibalizing sales from stablemates such as the R9-380X for example, and way better than a R9-270) but won't be of much interest to existing AMD 290X or GTX 970 and above owners.
 
Overall, the RX480 seems to be a great card for the price, definitely within my budget. I think it would run TANE and OpenBVE well. Definitely a big performance increase over my GTX 570 because an RX480 is probably the equivalent to a GTX 980Ti. My current monitor runs at 1920x1080 at 60hz. I could move the adapter away sothe cable wouldn't really be noticeable. I am going to wait around 2 or 3 weeks for more aftermarket variants of the RX 480 to become available. In a couple of months, I think I will look into getting a freesync monitor to get rid of any stutters. If TANE supports crossfire, the good thing is, two RX 480's would offer better performance than a GTX 1080 for less.
 
Agreed that the RX 480 is a great performer for the price - but it is nowhere near a GTX 980Ti beater or equivalent - it roughly equates to a GTX 970 in most of the independent tests conducted so far, sometimes faster - and just as often slower - than the 970 and/or R9-390.
That still represents great value for money, but I'd definitely recommend waiting until the 3rd party vendor solutions (with better cooling and power management) come out before buying one.
 
I will definitely wait for the vendor solution variants of the RX 480. I have heard a couple of problems with the stock card as far as overclocking and it possibly overpowering the PCI-e slot. That could potentially fry the motherboard. I recently saw an ASUS ROG Strix version that looks promising with 3 fans.
 
Within the next couple of days, the NVIDIA GTX 1060 6GB and 3GB variants will be released. From a couple of benchmarks and comparisons, it looks like the GTX 1060 performs better than the RX 480 and it should be around the same price range as the RX 480. Lately with the reference cards, some of the RX 480's have a problem with utilizing too much power from the PCI-e slot damaging motherboards over a period of time. I know that aftermarket RX480's will be released soon but I am not sure if that would really solve the PCI-e power problem. The aftermarket RX 480's look good but I do not want to risk damaging my computer with the RX 480's power problem. I use TANE for a couple of hours almost everyday so I don't know if there would be a heat or power issue with using an RX 480 for a long period of time.

I am using an entry to mid level ATX motherboard, "Gigabyte GA-UD3 970A" from 2012 and an Ultra LSP limited edition 700w power supply. At first, I was thinking of trying out something different, using an AMD graphics card but then I said to myself, that the GTX 1060 should perform better because of the higher clock speeds. What is the max amount of VRAM that TANE can use? I would like to run the Major Tri State Area Project with a bit of antialiasing, details set to high, draw distance at 6000m and shadows smoothly at 1920x1080 resolution. Would it be better to get a graphics card with the higher clock speed or with the higher VRAM, 6GB aftermarket GTX 1060 or 8GB aftermarket RX 480? I know that aftermarket RX 480's will be released soon but am not sure if that would really solve the PCI-e power problem.
 
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It looks like the first of the Aftermarket RX 480's will be available next week. I think the Sapphire Nitro RX 480 will be a good card to purchase, getting the most bang for the buck. Does TANE take advantage of crossfire? Looking forward to running TANE with this card.
 
Good evening everyone. So far, I am still using TANE on a GTX 570. By the holidays, I will be purchasing a new GPU, Right now, I am debating between the 6GB EVGA GTX 1060 SSC and the 8GB XFX RX 480 GTR hard swap fan black edition. Both cards look great. The way I have been thinking, in terms of performance, the GTX 1060 will outperform the RX 480 and is 1 tier above the RX 480. The GTX 1060 performs similar or slightly better than the GTX 980 and the the RX 480 should have around similar or slightly better performance than the GTX 970. The RX 480 looks great, but I am not sure how it would perform in TANE. Has anyone used the RX 480 with TANE? I like that the RX 480 right now is around $30 cheaper than the GTX 1060, it has a nice design and backplate and the fans are hard swappable and feature cool LED lighting. Even though the SSC GTX 1060 doesn't have a backplate, I like how it has a much higher clock speed than the RX 480, it has dual fans, uses less wattage, and features an LED light. If anyone has either of these cards, can I please get a few opinions on how they perform with TANE?
 
I have a GTX 970/4GB and it does a very nice job with T:ANE. As the GTX 1060/6GB is something like 4% faster (G3D Mark) I would guess within an identical setup it would perform extremely well. However, what you see on the screen is only as good as the weakest link putting it there. An inadequate computer power supply, a monitor with a poor response time or even a badly terminated video cable can reduce perfection to something inferior to what you already have. Happy shopping. Peter
 
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