In need of a bit of advice computer-wise if someone can help.

 

Just been given my folks' ageing laptop, a Fujitsu Siemens "AMILO D SERIES" notebook. As I'm more than a bit short of cash at the moment I was wondering if upgrading it might be a) do-able and b) economical.

 

If it's possible to (maybe) swap the Motherboard, add a lot more memory, give it a faster CD/DVD drive and a faster processor then it could be the ideal thing to take on-stage to use to run samples off and other things. If it's the case that it would be cheaper to actually buy another laptop I'll have to give it a miss.

 

Here's the current run-down of what's on there:

 

Manufacturer FUJITSU SIEMENS

Product AMILO D SERIES

Version R01-A1A

 

 

Name Intel Pentium 4

Codename Northwood, A80532

Specification Intel® Pentium® 4 CPU 2.40GHz

Memory type DDR

Manufacturer (ID) Hyundai Electronics (AD00000000000000)

Size 256 MBytes

Max bandwidth PC2100 (133 MHz)

Part number HYMD232M646A6-H

Serial number BA082704

Manufacturing date Week 09/Year 03

 

Motherboard Name FUJITSU SIEMENS AMILO D SERIES

Motherboard Chipset SiS 645DX

System Memory 253 MB (PC2100 DDR SDRAM)

BIOS Type Phoenix (12/10/02)

Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)

Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)

 

Video Adapter MOBILITY RADEON 9000 (64 MB)

Video Adapter MOBILITY RADEON 9000 (64 MB)

3D Accelerator ATI M9

Audio Adapter SiS 7012 Audio Device

 

Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive

Disk Drive TOSHIBA MK2018GAS (20 GB, 4200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100)

Optical Drive AXV CD/DVD-ROM SCSI CdRom Device (Virtual DVD-ROM)

Optical Drive QSI CDRW/DVD SBW-241 (DVD:8x, CD:24x/16x/24x DVD-ROM/CD-RW)

 

Network Adapter SiS 900-Based PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter

Modem Lucent Technologies Soft Modem AMR

 

Windows Version Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)

You can upgrade the RAM, CPU possibly to 2.8 or 3Ghz, hard drive no problem, cd not really worth it. Laptop motherboards aren't to a set standard and are completely different for each manufacturer and model, well some models share but would be expensive to buy a higher spec board if it existed.

 

your looking at around £40 for 1gig memory £12 for cpu about £40 for a 80 gb hard drive.

 

If its just for internet and general use I would keep it as it is, as uprading it won't really make that much noticable difference. The ram would give most usuable benifit.

Basically no.

You might be able to swap the CPU but you'll find it very hard to get one at a price worth doing and it probably won't be much quicker.

You can possibly add more RAM but it won't make much difference.

Not much you can do with laptops really.

Thanks chaps :)

 

TBH, swapping the RAM for a 1 Gb module and changing the HD to 80Gb and the processor to 2.8 or 3Ghz would be ideal if those prices are attainable. In my borderline neo-Luddite mind it was the first two items that I thought would make the most difference, particularly as I'm looking to use it on-stage as a sampler, so would need more storage and for it not to run out of memory at a crucial moment...or have I got that wrong??

 

My next questions would be...if it is possible/economical/worth doing...what model/make of RAM/CPU/HD should I be looking for (as I imagine compatability is a big issue) and where should I be looking for the best deal (I tend to default to Dabs or Overclockers!)?

 

BTW, Chris, did you get chance to put a price together for a hosting package? No real rush chap, I only mention it as ideally I was looking to finalise everything this week one way or another. Cheers! :)

I just priced those bits up from microdirect as i tend not to use ebuyer

 

Ram will be 2 x 512 ddr pc 2100 sodims unless it will take a single stick of 1GB but they werent very common until now and maybe compatability issues

 

Cpu just have a look on ebay for a "working" pentium 4 2.8 or 3.0

 

Hard drive is pata(ide) 2.5" notebook spec. they are quite pricey now so would probably go as big as you can afford as it works out cheaper per gig

 

now unless there is a hatch on the base plate giving access to the cpu it might need a full strip down which is fine if your ok with this sort of work but is quite daunting to the novice.

 

HTH

I'd say the RAM is definately the weak point of that spec closely followed by the HDD. The processor should still allow things to be reasonably quick running XP. http://www.crucial.com/ helps you work out a recommended RAM upgrade ;) I'd leave the processor alone and upgrade the RAM and HDD. Should be easy to do and quite cheap :)

Thanks chaps :)

 

TBH, swapping the RAM for a 1 Gb module and changing the HD to 80Gb and the processor to 2.8 or 3Ghz would be ideal if those prices are attainable. In my borderline neo-Luddite mind it was the first two items that I thought would make the most difference, particularly as I'm looking to use it on-stage as a sampler, so would need more storage and for it not to run out of memory at a crucial moment...or have I got that wrong??

 

My next questions would be...if it is possible/economical/worth doing...what model/make of RAM/CPU/HD should I be looking for (as I imagine compatability is a big issue) and where should I be looking for the best deal (I tend to default to Dabs or Overclockers!)?

 

BTW, Chris, did you get chance to put a price together for a hosting package? No real rush chap, I only mention it as ideally I was looking to finalise everything this week one way or another. Cheers! :)

 

I'll get back to you tonight :)

 

Can't see you noticing any difference upgrading the processor.

The RAM might help a little and a bigger drive will give you more storage but I wouldn't be expecting to see much of a change for your money.

Laptops are so cheap now you might be better off selling it and putting the £100 towards a new one.

Thanks for the help guys :)

 

I'm a definate novice when it comes to these things but I'll have a go! :D

looks like I "might" be in luck as I found the following on the back...

 

 

Right...if I'm going to do this it looks like it's just going to be a RAM and HD upgrade.

have a look here for the maximum ram it will take.

have a look here for the maximum ram it will take.

 

Now that was helpful! :D Looks like it can take up to 2GB of Memory in total (er...not that I can afford 2Gb of memory at the moment! :( ). 1Gb is definately do-able though...cheers for that! :)

Not wanting to appear dense but...are these the same modules?

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000V6UL1Q/nextag78-21/ref=asc_df_B000V6UL1Q356504

 

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=339131&sourceid=2459&CAWELAID=292738866

Indeed they are :)

Indeed they are :)

 

Excellent stuff :)

 

In which case, the module for Amazon is being ordered this afternoon! With funds being tight I'll go for just the one for now taking me to about 1.2Gb and see how she copes with all the audio gubbins.

 

Just need to sort the HD now. Finding a low-cost to high storage PATA example turns out to involve a bit of hunting! Would you (or indeed anyone! :)) mind casting your eye over these two to see if they're suitable and to say which is the better of the two (if indeed there's anything in it! Quite fancy the first one myself as it's from Scan and it's a Samsung):

 

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/160-Gb-Samsung-HM160HC-Spinpoint-M80-25-IDE-(PATA)-5400-rpm-8MB-Cache-12-ms

 

http://bigmaggot.co.uk/120Gb-Hitachi-2.5In-Pata-Hdd-30085-pr-6272.html

Also:

 

http://www.advancetec.co.uk/acatalog/info_242.html

 

and

 

http://www.advancetec.co.uk/acatalog/160GB_Western_Digital_WD1600BEVE_Scorpio_2.5in_IDE_PATA_5400_rpm_8MB_Cache_12_ms.html

 

...though these are a bit price-ier.

Sorry to be a PITA but if anyone has the time to cast their eye over the HD's I've found it would be great to know if a) they'll fit and b) which one is the best (if any of them! :)).

 

Cheers,

 

Leigh.

Pick which ever is cheapest and in stock. You'll need a new PC before the drives die!

Pick which ever is cheapest and in stock. You'll need a new PC before the drives die!

 

So all those I've singled out are compatable? Just wanted to double check as this is definately not my area of expertise! :D

Yes, they're all the same. The only possible problem that you might have is if the laptop's BIOS doesn't want to read disks that large. Shouldn't be a problem ,but if it is you should be able to download a new BIOS patch from Fujitsu Siemens' site.

Yes, they're all the same. The only possible problem that you might have is if the laptop's BIOS doesn't want to read disks that large. Shouldn't be a problem ,but if it is you should be able to download a new BIOS patch from Fujitsu Siemens' site.

Just got back from a weekend away hence the delayed reply! Cheers for that chap, I'll be ordering one today then! :D