dell inspiron cpu and memory upgrade questions

violetblueskies

violetblueskies

Big Geek
okay so i'm at it again.. haha pretty much the same idea as last time.
i want to upgrade my laptop to the highest possible cpu and along with that upgrade max quantity of memory as well as max speed.
this is a dell inspiron 1501 with the amd sempron 3500+ processor and currently 2x512mb of pc2 4300 ddr2 memory.
dell's website doesn't really provide much information about the laptop or even its upgrade potential.
i've searched around for answers and have found some, but only to see that others had slightly different cpu's to begin with and that made me wonder if we even have the same type motherboards.
some people had semprons like me at different speeds and others had turions, etc in the same exact model inspiron 1501 inquiring about exactly what i'm wanting to do which is upgrade the cpu to its max.
from what i gather and according to ebay, the part number for my motherboard is the UW953.
haven't found much more than that. as far as the cpu i prefer... obviously not a sempron so moving up... turion or greater.
thing is, there are so many different turion processors that will make your head spin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_Turion

i don't know too much about these processors so maybe someone can shed some light perhaps cube? heh
it would be nice to get the x2 line which is dual core. it has the same S1 socket as the sempron uses although i don't know its full compatibility. looking at the wiki site above i would like to stay away from the 90nm chips as they get way too hot. the 65nm is a lot better such as the tyler. i don't know that the lion or anything below that will work though. i'm not even sure the tyler will work. i need someone to help me out with this.

as the cpu gets selected, so then will i want to upgrade the memory to its max and unsure but maybe the speed of the memory can go from pc2 4300 to pc2 5300. i did some searching and found for example, the laptops that came with tl-60 tend to have pc2 5300. anyways any input will help out and i appreciate it.

below are images of cpu-z of the laptop as of right now just to let you know what it has in detail.

1cpu.JPG


2cache.JPG


3mainboard.JPG


4memory.JPG


5spd.JPG


6graphics.JPG
 
just noticed cpu-z says my motherboard model is 0UW-744 instead of the UW953 that i was finding on ebay.
this is what i meant about different motherboard possibly.

they advertise on ebay that the uw953 fits in a inspiron 1501. if you were to look up a bios update for either motherboard, you would be looking up a bios update for the inspiron 1501 from dell's website and not motherboard specific. that tells me that they probably have the same list of cpu's that they support.

another thought... just because the socket size is the same does that mean i can go from a sempron single core to a turion x2 dual core? it just seems too good to be true yet others out there with the same model dell have tried and said it works. although they spoke of the tl-60, there are 90nm and 65nm versions of this cpu and so i'm unsure which one they tried out or if there is a difference in the 2 types other than the nm.

update:
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/p/19336010/19710413.aspx#19710413

one person seem to know that it goes up to tl-68 which pertain to taylor trinidad or tyler.
but again they started off with x2 processor in a 1501.

also...
Inspiron 1501 with 667 MHz DDR2 RAM only running at 533MHz max speed

because the frontside bus on the system is 533 MHz - the RAM cannot run any faster than that.

would this info about the system bus limit my cpu selection?
 
So far from what i've gathered, Socket S1 replaces socket 754 on older motherboards (read here). On Dell's support page, their manual shows the laptop having an "ATI RS485M / SB600" system chipset (page 131), which isn't exactly correct since CPU-Z shows that this is the South Bridge, while the chipset is actually a Xpress 200. According to wiki, these chipsets support socket 939 and 754.

So the dilemma comes in here: Do you have a S1 (638pin) socket or 754/939? My best advice is to simply open up the case, remove the CPU, and see for yourself. That way we can move on to purchasing you a brand new CPU! The Turion's produce less heat and consumer less power, while the Athlons do the exact opposite since they are desktop processors. This Turion is pretty nice (assuming you have a S1 socket). It has a 65nm micro architecture.

I'm not sure if ZM i supported for your motherboard. This one guy on this forum upgraded to a TL-60 with no problem. I have no doubt you can install the latest TL-68. Phil, over here mentions you need to stay within the TL family.

What's your question on RAM?

Edit: ZM's DO NOT work with your laptop. Check this out.
 
well if you look at wiki for info on semprons, based on cpu-z this is what i have...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sempron
Models for Socket S1 (638)

[edit] Keene (90 nm SOI)

  • L1-Cache: 64 + 64 KiB (Data + Instructions)
  • L2-Cache: 256 or 512 KiB, fullspeed
  • MMX, Extended 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, AMD64, Cool'n'Quiet, NX bit
  • Integrated 128-bit (Dual channel) DDR2 memory controller
  • Socket S1, 800 MHz HyperTransport
  • VCore: 0.950-1.25 V
  • First release: May 17, 2006
  • Clockrate: 1000–2000 MHz
    • 256 KiB L2-Cache (Sempron 2100+, 3400+)
    • 512 KiB L2-Cache (Sempron 3200+, 3500+, 3600+)
  • Stepping: F2 (Part No.: *CM)
according to this info, i would have to have the 638 or S1 socket.

i looked into the uw744 and found that this part number was mostly associated with the bottom base/bezel for the inspiron 1501 and not the motherboard.
uw953 / jn596 seems to be the only thing i can find on ebay as far as motherboards for the inspiron 1501
the inspiron e1505 is the intel version of the same looking model with a completely different part number.
i noticed this in the wiki link regarding the xpress 200 chipset.

Radeon Xpress 200

  • DDR-RAM support
  • 5.1 / 7.1 High Definition audio support
  • The integrated graphics are based on the ATI Radeon X300 GPU with full OpenGL 2.0 and DirectX 9.0 support
  • Later renamed as Radeon Xpress 1150 for AMD notebooks
also found this...

S271: Based on ATI Radeon Xpress 1150M, which is nothing more then Xpress 200 with support for dual-channel DDR2 in Socket S1 and slightly overclocked VGA core.
http://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=105180.0;wap2

here's something with the sb600 chipset that supports turion dual core x2
http://www.tri-m.com/products/iei/files/specs/pcie690s1_spec.pdf

just seems all these make it seem like this will allow for dual core support.
i may try to take it apart just to see what it contains just in case.
as far as the zm chips, i would think the reason why it won't work is the Hyper Transport speed requires a motherboard that can support a faster bus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_Turion

if you look above at the current sempron (code name "keene" socket S1) that i have in my laptop, the HT speed is 800mhz.
the zm chip you referred to (code name "lion" socket S1(g2) has a HT speed of 1800mhz.
Everything before Lion (Tyler, Taylor & Trinidad, Richmond, Lancaster) all being classified as S1 have HT speed of 800mhz with the difference being "Tyler" and "Taylor & Trinidad" have dual cores.
Tyler is the only one in the S1 (without the g2 ending) that has HT speed of 800mhz that is dual core and has the 65nm structure while the other 3 preceding it are 90nm as well as my current sempron.
Since my Sempron uses HT 800mhz instead of FSB, I'm assuming I should be able to use a Turion with the same HT speed.
I don't understand HT too much though. I saw the manual and it says the motherboard uses 533mhz FSB yet it contains a CPU that uses HT instead of FSB.
I know that the SB600 chipset must provide support for this, but I still don't understand it.

As far as memory, I was reading that ddr2 533 is the fastest it will support.
People have mentioned in the dell support forums that they had turions with 667 memory but it reports 533.
So I know that is the speed that it will run at max. 2gb is the max according to the manual, but with this in mind others have upgraded to 4gb with the newest bios which I have btw.
Maybe this 533FSB only pertains to the memory and not the CPU? Maybe you can explain it better cause I cant.
 
Yep, so we can confirm you have an S1 socket. And we can also confirm that you must stay in the TL line for Turion and TK lines for Athlon.

I ran into something interesting. The TL and TK lines are all S1g1 sockets, the g1 indicating Generation 1. The ZM, QL, and RM lines are S1g2 (generation 2). Look at this list of all the Turion and Athlon processors. Notice the S1g1 and S1g2 differences. I read all over other forums (here's one) that the main difference between the two generations is that S1g2 uses different voltages. Also, S1g2 CPU's are backwards compatible with S1g1 sockets. But you can't have it the other way around which is exactly why you can't install any of the ZM, QL, or TK lines. Your sempron is a generation 1.

Now that we've got that out of the way, all of our pendancies are answered here. "Cleverpseudonym" manged to stick a Tl-66 (the next best Turion processor next to the TL-68), and even managed to install 4gb of memory even though dell states that 2gb is the max.
FSB speeds can be confusing and i don't quite understand it myself, but you can read about it here. "Cleverpseudonym" also mentioned that the memory he installed was 800mhz, way above what dell listed as it's maximum.
 
Edit: I forgot to mention that when you do choose an upgrade to your CPU, you might have to flash the bios so that your system can detect the CPU. But taking a look at Dell's support site indicates that latest version is version 2.6.3, which you already have ;)
 
cube_ said:
Edit: I forgot to mention that when you do choose an upgrade to your CPU, you might have to flash the bios so that your system can detect the CPU. But taking a look at Dell's support site indicates that latest version is version 2.6.3, which you already have ;)
Click to expand...
I am also going to upgrade my Inspiron 1501. Does the Turion 64x2 TL68 work well with the bios v2.6.3? Some people say that the TL68 cannot be recognized. I am confused here. I upgraded my RAM to 2.5G, which works well. I am going to try 4G if the CPU upgraded. Thanks.
 
holybaboon said:
I am also going to upgrade my Inspiron 1501. Does the Turion 64x2 TL68 work well with the bios v2.6.3? Some people say that the TL68 cannot be recognized. I am confused here. I upgraded my RAM to 2.5G, which works well. I am going to try 4G if the CPU upgraded. Thanks.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure, me and violet when through a heck of a ride trying to figure out how a user would fair off from the swap. How is it so far violet?
And if you're going to upgrade to 4gb, get your hands on a 64bit operating system so you could save that 1gb and use it up ;)
 
cube_ said:
I'm not sure, me and violet when through a heck of a ride trying to figure out how a user would fair off from the swap. How is it so far violet?
And if you're going to upgrade to 4gb, get your hands on a 64bit operating system so you could save that 1gb and use it up ;)
Click to expand...
well i've put off on this project only cause other things have came up.
i decided that i was going to get the tl-60 65nm which is the 2.0ghz a little later after i free up some time.
i will post my results when the time comes.

holybaboon said:
I am also going to upgrade my Inspiron 1501. Does the Turion 64x2 TL68 work well with the bios v2.6.3? Some people say that the TL68 cannot be recognized. I am confused here. I upgraded my RAM to 2.5G, which works well. I am going to try 4G if the CPU upgraded. Thanks.
Click to expand...
i looked into it and found that people speak of the cpu running hotter and could cause an overheating issue over time if not right away.
if your model contains the sempron like mine, it has a cpu running 25w.
if you get the tl-68 it will run at 35w which is a big jump.
i had in mind the tl-60 because i read about people's success with this processor and its the highest you can go that runs at 31w.
anything above the tl-60 runs at 35w.

from another forum:
"Echoo Storm said...

I just got the TL-60 to replace my DELL 1501 sempron 3600. I didn't have the manual so I just used basic knowledge on how Laptops are built, plus I took apart my IBook several times now and that is no easy task. Anyways, I didn't upgrade the bios which is at 2.6.2 to the latest as I was too excited about upgrading the cpu. I followed normal procedure, extra carefull handling and Artic Silver. Now when I boot up it sits there at a black screen. Actually the bios doesn't even come up Could it be the fact that I didn't update my Bios? If it is I'll put the old one back update and start over.
January 28, 2010 11:49 AM
Echoo Storm said...

Update: I resolved my own issue. Rechecked everything was properly seated and tried again. Everything came up and I was able to flash the BIOS to the latest version available from DELL. What a difference the new WD Black 250GB 7200rpm and the TL-60 are. It should last me another few years. The 1501 itsef was given to me to fix and the owner gave up on it because of the LCD, replaced that and cleaned it up and it aint bad."

i also was thinking about creating some kind of cooling solution to counter the extra heat that this chip will create but i'm not sure about this solution as of yet.
even though sempron runs at 90nm and the turion tyler run at 65nm this doesn't necessarily mean it will run cooler.
it was designed to make the chip smaller and supposedly energy efficient, but the fact is the upgrade from a sempron to turion will run hotter.
another thing is i'm not too sure about the success rate of the tl-66,tl-68 chips. it may work but i can't guarantee anything.
also the price difference from a tl-60 to a tl-68 is like $50 and i don't think the 0.4ghz jump is worth spending. just the difference from the sempron to turion alone is enough of a jump imo.
 
I have exactly the same 1501 with the exception that I already put 4GB Corsair ram in it.
I have tried both a TL-62 and a TL-60 but no success. After a short while, either will fail memory test with
either the 4GB Corsair 8Mhz ram or the original 2GB 667 ram.

How is yours doing Violetblueskys?
 
I think ram is not a easy problem. But I could have 2*2 G for my 1501. I am using TL-68. The heat is a small problem but you can have a cooling pad for sure. I installed my TL-68 after upgrade my BIOS version from dell.com.
 
i still haven't tried the upgrade haha.
i've been meaning to get to it but have been busy with other stuff.
one thought was that maybe the 65nm versions of the cpu aren't compatible with the inspiron 1501 motherboard.
did you use the 65 or 90nm version of the tl-62 and tl-60?
make sure you are updated to the most recent bios before you install the new cpu.

also from what i remember researching, this motherboard with its southbridge will only run at 533mhz bus so even if you get faster memory it will slow down to the 533 speed.
 
Mine is 65 nm Turion 64X2 TL-68, 2.4 G. I asked people on Dell forum, they suggested me to try TL-68 after the new BIOS version installed. It is a little hotter than before. But I cleaned my fan and heat sink during my installation. And i have an extra usb fan to cooler this little guy.
 
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