DELL XPS15 L501X - Upgrade RAM e HDD

[Jiannn37]

Hi everyone!

I'm an enthusiast owner of first gen XPS15 L501X.

After two years of glory, I would like give new power to my notwbook. I want to upgrade HDD and RAM.

Now the questions are:
1. It mount a SoDimm DDR3 1333 ram, right? It is the maximum frequency that l501x can reach?

2. Talking about HDD, the motherboard chipset is an Intel HM57 it would be SATA2 or SATA3?

I am interested to buy a Samsung 840, but if I buy a SATA3 it would be compatible with SATA2's specs? What will be the performance?
Is the 840 basic good enough or can I get the best experience by a 840 pro? (the prices are quite different...)

Thank you for your help!

Jiannn37

 

[Prostar Computer]

I'm not sure about the memory frequency on this system, but if you purchase memory with a faster clock, it will still default to 1333, so you can experiment without causing any issues.

It's Intel HM67 express chipset, and it does support SATA Gen 3 (or SATA 6 Gb/s). SATA Gen 3 is also backwards compatible, so a SATA Gen 3 will work on an older SATA controller, just at the controller speed.

I would advise against the 840 and recommend the 840 Pro if you don't mind the cost. The 840 uses TLC which is considered to be less reliable in terms of longevity. The 830 and 840 Pro use MLC, and the 840 Pro has the fastest read/write speeds out of all of them.

 

[Jiannn37]

Are you sure that the 1st gen xps15 isn't an Intel HM57 but is it an Intel HM67!?

 

[Legohouse]

Hi everyone!

I'm an enthusiast owner of first gen XPS15 L501X.

After two years of glory, I would like give new power to my notwbook. I want to upgrade HDD and RAM.

Now the questions are:
1. It mount a SoDimm DDR3 1333 ram, right? It is the maximum frequency that l501x can reach?

2. Talking about HDD, the motherboard chipset is an Intel HM57 it would be SATA2 or SATA3?

I am interested to buy a Samsung 840, but if I buy a SATA3 it would be compatible with SATA2's specs? What will be the performance?
Is the 840 basic good enough or can I get the best experience by a 840 pro? (the prices are quite different...)

Thank you for your help!

Jiannn37

Yes, it supports DDR3-1333MHz SODIMM memory. Though, Dell Officially recommends upto 1333MHz it is a known fact that it supports higher speeds like 1600MHz and 1866MHz. The higher the freq, lesser guarantee one can get or the probability of it not working is higher. Higher freq might work or might not work as DELL does not provide much room for users to set the memory freq and timings manually in the BIOS.

You can check the below link for a look at the compatible memory - http/www.memorystock.com/memory/DellXPSL501X.html
Also you can try crucial, Kingston or newegg the above link is an example but you can try the stores acc to your location. Anyways, good luck mate!!

 

[Prostar Computer]

Are you sure that the 1st gen xps15 isn't an Intel HM57 but is it an Intel HM67!?

According to Dell's site: http/www.dell.com/us/p/xps-15/pd

You can use the program HWiNFO as well, or Speccy, or any other hardware monitoring program, and it will tell you info on the chipset.

 

[HarishKAtDell]

Hi Jiannn37,

It is indeed HM57. The Frequencies that have been tested on the PC is DDR3 1066 &1333 MHz SODIMM & the maximum amount of memory it would support would be 8 GB. HDD upgrade- I would agree with PROSTAR, 840 Pro would be a good option but it would be running at a lower speed ( SATA 2.0)
Prostar – Thank you for bringing the error on the website to our notice & we would be getting it corrected shortly.

 

[Prostar Computer]

Hi HarishK,

Thanks for the follow up. I see the page has been modified now; very prompt. +1 to you guys for that.

So in congruence with the info: the HM57 chipset supports up to SATA Gen 2 (3 Gb/s). You would still see a performance improvement but SSDs's true potential is seen with SATA Gen 3 (6 Gb/s).

 

[Jiannn37]

If I can't use the SATA3 (6 GB/s) and I have to use SATA2 (3 GB/s) could be the Samsung 840 Basic an easy way to save money with the same performance? or btw Samsung 840 Pro is better even in SATA2 mode?

 

[HarishKAtDell]

Hi Jiannn37,

Even though it would run at SATA 2, 840 Pro would be better compared to Basic due to reasons mentions by Prostar. But again it would come down to the cost & the reason for upgrade.