Dell Studio 1555 Upgrade Parts

[itstomcat]

Interested in upgrading parts for my Studio 1555 since it has considerable slowed down since its purchase in 2009. I used to play video games on this back in high school like crazy, now I'm afraid to even have more than a few tabs of the internet open. I scan for viruses frequently, and defrag the hard drive like once a week with no luck. The computer runs extremely hot, I used a blow cleaner today which surprisingly helped a lot. I upgraded the battery to a 9v last year as well.

- I would like to upgrade the RAM to 8GB (If possible) I used Crucial.com but its like $239.00
It's 2015, is this a normal price for 8GB of memory for the Studio 1555?
- I'd like to upgrade the Hard Drive to 500 GB.
- I am all but lost when it comes to picking a processor that will work with this system. Any recommendations? Links?

Current Components:
Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU T4300 @2.10GHz 2.10
3.00 GB DDR2 Memory
64-Bit Operating System
218 GB of Hard Drive space with only 40 GB left.

Best,
Tom

 

[Unolocogringo]

It looks like a T6500 will work with a bios update. Same clock speed but 2 mb cache
A T7700 2.4 gig 4mb cache will work but you will get an unknown processor, no microcode installed message at every boot and have to press F1 to continue to boot.
Memory cost what it cost. DDR2 is no longer made so prices have gone up considerably when buying new. Ebay is a good option for used memory at a reasonable cost. A used processor from there will also cost a lot less than buying old new stock retail.

4 gig is the maximum amount of memory you can install so it is up you to decide if you want to replace the 1gig stick with a 2gig stick.
http/accessories.us.dell.com/sna/PfydFeaturedCategoryResults.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&mfgpid=202709

 

[itstomcat]

It looks like a T6500 will work with a bios update. Same clock speed but 2 mb cache
A T7700 2.4 gig 4mb cache will work but you will get an unknown processor, no microcode installed message at every boot and have to press F1 to continue to boot.
Memory cost what it cost. DDR2 is no longer made so prices have gone up considerably when buying new. Ebay is a good option for used memory at a reasonable cost. A used processor from there will also cost a lot less than buying old new stock retail.

4 gig is the maximum amount of memory you can install so it is up you to decide if you want to replace the 1gig stick with a 2gig stick.
http/accessories.us.dell.com/sna/PfydFeaturedCategoryResults.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&mfgpid=202709

Thanks for the reply,

So since I can only have 4gb, would it be better to have 2x2gb sticks instead of one 4gb stick? I've always heard that's the better route.
In the link you provided, its $115.00 for the 2x2gb from Dell and $55 from Crucial: http/www.crucial.com/ProductDisplay?displayCompatibleLogo=1&urlRequestType=Base&catalogId=10151&productId=10903&externalPartNumber=CT1017155&urlLangId=-1&scanId=EB78936231D926C3&langId=-1&storeId=10151

As for the processor, is this the correct one before I order it? Just checking cause its so cheap online!
http/www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core-2-Duo-Mobile-T6500-2-1-GHz-Laptop-Processor-CPU-AW80577GG0452MA-SLGF4-/361237577371?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item541b6ffe9b#viTabs_0

Also, at this time, I figure I ask also, but are the graphics cards or wifi cards on these upgradable as well?

Wifi Card - Intel WiFi Link 5100 AGN
Graphics Card- ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570.
I know graphics cards are limitless, but what would be a good one for mine to upgrade to for video editing, photoshop, and video games?

Best,
Tom

 

[Unolocogringo]

It only supports 2 gig sticks. a 4gig stick will not work or be recognized as 2 gig.

Order the Crucial it is faster memory and cheaper. The Dell link was to let you know only 2x2gig was supported, I should have been more specific.

Yes that is the correct processor and great price ,I usually see the $20-$30 range.

I will look to see about the other upgrades and reply back.

 

[Unolocogringo]

The Video card is not upgradable it is soldered on the motherboard on your model.
You can get usb wifi adaptors that are much cheaper and faster than the ones available for internal use on your laptop.
The model you get will depend on what router/wifi you will be connecting to the most.

I did find a refurbished 802.11 A/G/N series adaptor for it at dell. Which will use the antennae behind the laptop screen
http/accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=PW934&mfgpid=202709
But it is still an 802.11 A/G/N model like the one you have.

 

[itstomcat]

The Video card is not upgradable it is soldered on the motherboard on your model.
You can get usb wifi adaptors that are much cheaper and faster than the ones available for internal use on your laptop.
The model you get will depend on what router/wifi you will be connecting to the most.

I did find a refurbished 802.11 A/G/N series adaptor for it at dell. Which will use the antennae behind the laptop screen
http/accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=PW934&mfgpid=202709
But it is still an 802.11 A/G/N model like the one you have.

Finally getting back to this post, along with an additional question.

I bought two 2GB of RAM memory sticks from Crucial and have them currently installed. Before installing I backed up and cleared 100GB of the 250GB of hard drive space. It did make a difference and things do move faster. After doing a memory upgrade and not seeing the speed I'd like to see especially when starting up my laptop, I decided it's time to replace my current hard drive with a SSD SATA hard drive from Crucial as well.
My question is, before replacing my current hard drive what's the proper way to do a backup and reboot on the new hard drive without getting unwanted storage from my current drive?
I'm currently using Windows 7, and have Microsoft 2010 Word, Excel, Outlook etc. I don't have the serial numbers or CD's to reinstall these anymore either.

Best,
Tommy