Upgrading a laptop?

[SupremeCommander]

If you plan on building one...

Thing is, I now own a case and all the branded periphials if I want to simply strip it out and start fresh.

[Ad Bot]

[MrCookie]

Get an Alienware

You could probably build your own desktop and it would cost less.

[Kerog]

You could probably build your own desktop and it would cost less.

Better yet: Go onto the Alienware website and choose which parts you want in it. Then go to newegg or TigerDirect and find the parts you want and build it at a cheaper price.

[dkamm65]

Better yet: Go onto the Alienware website and choose which parts you want in it. Then go to newegg or TigerDirect and find the parts you want and build it at a cheaper price.

THISSSSSSSSSS

[Regulith]

I've decided not to buy another computer, if anything I'll sell this one and get another laptop.

Do you think a local computer store or computer specialist (?) would be able to upgrade it?

[Miga]

I've decided not to buy another computer, if anything I'll sell this one and get another laptop.

Do you think a local computer store or computer specialist (?) would be able to upgrade it?

Actually, upon more research, quite a bit of laptop processors are upgradable. What processor do you have? (example: Core 2 Duo T6600)

[Regulith]

"Pentium Dual-Core T4200 @2.00GHz (2 CPUs)"

[Miga]

It looks like the Pentium Dual-Core T4200 is a Socket P, which can be upgraded to a Core 2 Duo.

The cheapest Core 2 Duo is about $214 (which is a lot), but it's 2.26 GHz, has a bigger L2 Cache (3MB), and will perform much better than a Pentium Dual-Core.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819111010

Or for $5 more than that one, you can upgrade to a 2.4 GHz C2D, with the same L2 Cache of 3 MB, but will run a little faster.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819111009

[Regulith]

So between that and my graphics card (An ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400 Series) which would you recommend I upgrade, if I can even change my graphics card at all? Because no way am I going to buy both, especially with the processor at over $200, unless the graphics card is cheap, which I doubt.

If it's any consolation, Windows Experience Index (which I don't know the accuracy of) recently gave my processor a 4.9/5.9 and my graphics a 4.0/5.9.

[Miga]

So between that and my graphics card (An ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400 Series) which would you recommend I upgrade, if I can even change my graphics card at all?

Sadly, according to this link and this post on the Dell forums, your laptop doesn't seem to have upgradable graphics, so there's probably no way you can upgrade it without buying an entirely new motherboard.

EDIT: It seems the graphics card in some of Dell's laptops can be replaced, but it's a proprietary connector (not a standard MXM connector), which means that you could probably only get another Mobility Radeon HD 3400.

[Regulith]

Damn, I really don't want to spend $400-500 on that.

I guess I could get a new processor then, but I don't even know what would bring my computer up to the speed I want. Thanks for all the help anyway.

[SupremeCommander]

At prices like that, perhaps you'd want to consider a new laptop.