Upgrading CPU & RAM on Inspiron 1545. Is it worth it?

[Chinnay]

Hello guys. So I own an inspiron 1545 that's almost 4 years old. I don't want to buy a new laptop until about 4 years from now so I'm looking into upgrading it. Will an upgrade to 8gb of ram from 4 and to the T9600 from the Pentium dual core one be a worthwhile investment to extend the power & life of my laptop? (The ram would cost me 175 on amazon and the processor 30 on eBay)
Thanks.

Edit: Ok, thanks for the input so far but I must clarify some things. I don't have 4gb, I have 3gb of ram. Also, my pc can run 8gb of ram (it has been done) as long as it has 64 bit os, which it does. Normally I have chrome launched with many tabs (30+ lol), rainmeter running, gimp and word open. Idk what type of usage that constitutes as. Whenever I saw my activity, the ram was what ran low (it was used up) while my processor was ok. From the feedback and additional research I've done, I'm considering instead 4gb of ram, a 256 ssd, and the processor (only because it's so cheap). What do yall think?

 

[Michael_10]

Hi I have a dell inspiron 1545 and have done the following upgrades

1) changed the cpu to intel(r)core (TM)2 duo cpu p8800 2.67.........from T4500
2)change to 6 gb RAM from 3 (replaced the 1 gb stick

These upgrades were very easy to do and took no more than 30 minutes. I paid £35 for the RAM (new) and £13 pounds for the cpu (pre owned). No bios updates were required .I am pleased with the results ,the windows score is still 4.2 because of the graphics limiting the performance, however the cpu performance has increased to 6.3 and so has the Ram performance both from 5.2.

A marked improvement in speed has been noticed and boot up time quicker . Definitely worth the effort and relatively small outlay . Next will be a 120gb ssd probably a Samsung.

 

[Matthew_46]

Welcome to Tom's!

According to this:
http/accessories.us.dell.com/sna/category.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&category_id=4325&mfgpid=201357&chassisid=-1&stype=1&Tab=Parts
that laptop only supports a total of 4GB of RAM (2x2GB), so your plan to increase the ram will not work. While the CPU upgrade will help, I don't think that it will improve much because you can't add more RAM. Sorry!

 

[Matthew_46]

That isn't entirely so. I did some research and if you up the processor to the 9600 which is a higher end processor it will boost the memory type to DDR3 from 2 and if you are running windows seven or above you can have 8GB of memory.

 

[Antilope]

I have a Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop made in 2009 with an Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 cpu (it came with a Pentium Dual Core T4200 but I upgraded that for $20 a couple of years ago. An Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 cpu with 6mb cache is now on order for $7.95), 4gb ram and a 160gb hard drive are currently installed. It will accept up to a T9700 or P9900 Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 8gb ram and a 500gb or 1TB sata hard drive. Check Ebay for some really good parts deals as a lot of these computers are being parted out and sold there. This laptop shipped with Windows Vista just as Windows 7 was coming out, so it was upgraded to Windows 7 for free in 2009. It came with 2gb of ram, but an additional 2gb of DDR2 PC2-6400 800MHz non-ECC 200-pin ram is currently only $10. Check the Dell website and make sure it has the latest bios installed. Check out YouTube for many upgrade videos. The cpu can be changed in about 15 minutes and ram added in less than 5 minutes.

I recently installed, as dual boot, Linux Mint Cinnamon 17.2, 64-bit. The old computer really flies running Linux. Give it a try. Windows 7 (upgraded to 64-bit) takes 30gb and Linux takes up about 10gb of the little 160gb drive. It has LibreOffice installed in both Windows 7 and Linux Mint (Linux Mint comes with LibreOffice and Firefox browser). I downloaded the Linux Mint ISO and created a bootable USB flash drive from the ISO using Rufus. Don't mess around with a DVD install, a USB flash drive will install Linux in about half the time.

I didn't have to add one driver in Linux. All of the Dell hardware was automatically detected and drivers installed. Wifi is working great on the original internal Dell installed Wifi card.

My wife also has a Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop made in 2010 with similar hardware upgrades that I installed. That computer is running Windows 10 x64, and really well. It upgraded without any problems.

So those little old Dell laptops have a lot of life left in them.

 

[Hyperion888]

Welcome to Tom's!

According to this:
http/accessories.us.dell.com/sna/category.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&category_id=4325&mfgpid=201357&chassisid=-1&stype=1&Tab=Parts
that laptop only supports a total of 4GB of RAM (2x2GB), so your plan to increase the ram will not work. While the CPU upgrade will help, I don't think that it will improve much because you can't add more RAM. Sorry!

Thats not right mate, its only the official version. I am running the 1545 with 8 GB and its working really well!

 

[SteveCo]

Welcome to Tom's!

According to this:
http/accessories.us.dell.com/sna/category.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&category_id=4325&mfgpid=201357&chassisid=-1&stype=1&Tab=Parts
that laptop only supports a total of 4GB of RAM (2x2GB), so your plan to increase the ram will not work. While the CPU upgrade will help, I don't think that it will improve much because you can't add more RAM. Sorry!

 

[hydrologic]

I just retired a 7 year old 1545 because of dead spots on the display and sketchy keyboard. Before I retired it, I purchased another from ebay for $25. Before the LCD and keyboard gave up I upgraded to 8GB RAM, 223GB SSD, and a T9600 CPU running Win 10 Pro. It ran beautifully with very quick start up. I had never seen Photoshop start so quickly! Swapped all of my upgrades to the new old 1545 with the same result. Crucial is on point with the RAM and SSD, though I did have a little trouble fitting the drive properly. Anyway, it works and will continue to work. Just for comparison, my wife bought a Toshiba with 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, and duo core processor loaded for $600 brand new. My inexpensively upgraded (6 year old) Dell outperforms hers on every level except graphics and sound. Not a bad deal.

 

[Drranderson]

I recently had my ATI card die on my 6 y/o 1545. This laptop has done and continues to do all i need. I bought a referb motherboard on ebay for $75, upgraded to 8 gb ram, and upgraded from the P8600 to the T9900. My next step is to add in a 250gb SSD and use an optical drive HDD caddy to move my 500gb WD so I can run the OS and Programs on the SSD and the file storage on the old HDD where the DVD used to be.

http/www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F6K9M4E?colid=1B9ZR28BRD0W3&coliid=I3NDPUFZ0EWMDM&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl

So far my 1545 barely underperforms my 2 year old desktop at work. although Im upgrading that to an i73770s so that wont last long

 

[mythbuster]

Yeah read that specs wrong. Its ok to put 2 by 4 gb in there. As long as there is 2 slot each can have a 4gb card in it. Unless u have one slot like an older model(1525) than its 4gb total. It caped out at 8gb but 4 to 8 isnt a big change and it's not worth 120$.
Another thing is to consider a cpu upgrade it's easier and better solution because 4gb is enough to run program its 3 more gb than the pc remember the pc only require 1 gb for some to work. I disagreed with the guy who said cpu wasn't a good one because it can run a t9800 cpu which is just as fast as any new cpu.
Update : I found a 500gb Uefi drive sitting in my Hp 2000 so I pull it out to put in my 1545. Why? Because my hp isnt working, it need driver to work and disc for installation. Working on it. Also I found 4gb ram sitting in my sony laptop which fit perfectly. I have 3 laptop only dell is working so I say it's worth the upgrade. Well I have all the upgrade at home. It accept the new drive yes. Currently it's running on window xp dont tell people it can't just because u never done it. I already build several computer so I say it's possible, don't pretend to be a tech if u never fixed a computer.

 

[mythbuster]

Welcome to Tom's!

According to this:
http/accessories.us.dell.com/sna/category.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&category_id=4325&mfgpid=201357&chassisid=-1&stype=1&Tab=Parts
that laptop only supports a total of 4GB of RAM (2x2GB), so your plan to increase the ram will not work. While the CPU upgrade will help, I don't think that it will improve much because you can't add more RAM. Sorry!

 

[Christopher_98]

well i have this laptop aswell the inspirion 1545 with a t6400 windows 10 pro 32bit and 4 gb ram and 2 hdds it works so fast its unbelievable im thinking of upgrading cpu but keeping it at 25 watts

 

[AboutToRegenerate]

Hello guys. So I own an inspiron 1545 that's almost 4 years old. I don't want to buy a new laptop until about 4 years from now so I'm looking into upgrading it. Will an upgrade to 8gb of ram from 4 and to the T9600 from the Pentium dual core one be a worthwhile investment to extend the power & life of my laptop? (The ram would cost me 175 on amazon and the processor 30 on eBay)
Thanks.

Edit: Ok, thanks for the input so far but I must clarify some things. I don't have 4gb, I have 3gb of ram. Also, my pc can run 8gb of ram (it has been done) as long as it has 64 bit os, which it does. Normally I have chrome launched with many tabs (30+ lol), rainmeter running, gimp and word open. Idk what type of usage that constitutes as. Whenever I saw my activity, the ram was what ran low (it was used up) while my processor was ok. From the feedback and additional research I've done, I'm considering instead 4gb of ram, a 256 ssd, and the processor (only because it's so cheap). What do yall think?

I got my RAM upgrade here, second one down, two modules. It's running on the laptop I'm typing this on, a Dell Inspiron 1545 I was given years ago. Despite the irritating things Dells do, such as not picking up an external optical drive as a boot device unless you physically rip the internal one out, it's outlasted newer computers I've bought. I've installed 8GB of RAM, which has made a very significant difference in performance. Crucials and Offtek both tell you that you can double your RAM, don't believe a word Dell tells you - they aren't supporting older machines for Win 10 (no biggie, it's malware of the worst kind) and barely support it properly for Win 7, despite shipping later issues of this model with that pre-installed. Offtek are way cheaper - the total cost, including 95p for Royal Mail signed for (it came the next day), was £128.15 just one week ago. It takes a minute or two for the BIOS to pick up the extra hardware, so don't panic about the first boot being unusually slow, be patient. I'm running Win 7 Pro 64-bit and looking at upgrading the CPU next

https/www.offtek.co.uk/dell/laptop-memory-upgrades/inspiron-notebook-series/inspiron-1545-ram