Inspiron 8500 video upgrade?

[RyanW2050]

I currently have a 4200 GO (64mb)

is it possible to go to a 6800?

or a 7800?

 

[bearxor]

It might be possible to go to a Radeon 9600 Pro Turbo, since Dell made those for the I8600. While they look similar on the outside there is a big difference between the i8500 and i8600. The connector could also be completely different for all I know, but I have not opened wither laptop. Best you could probably do is open up your 8500, check out how the video card connects, then find some pics somehwere of the Radeon 9600 Pro Turbo for the i8600, and see how it matches up not only connection-wise, but form factor wise. I think the heatsink in the i8500 would probably be able to handle the load of the 9600. There's no way it could handle a 6800 or 7800 Go. Those are also PCI-Express cards, not AGP.

I also don't think you'd see a big speed increase. You would get DX9 functionality though.

 

[Mike01]

Actually, you would see a very big speed increase going from a 4200 to a MR9600, even on DX8 games. It's just a more powerful card.

 

[bearxor]

Yea, I didn't think it would be that big of a difference, but it actually is:

http://www.rage3d.com/content/previews/video/mobility9600/index.php?p=5

It would depend on the amount of money though. If it's going to cost me $300 to buy a MR9600PT, that's a 1/4 of a 9300 with a 6800 Go. Sell the 8500, you could probably still get 500-600 for it, you'd be almost at buying a new laptop.

If you can find one for 100-150 though, it would be a great upgrade, if it would work.

 

[ShellGuy]

How good are you with a sodering gun? The older lappys arn't just the video that you plug in. and i doubt you would find that a 6800 or 7800 would work.


Will G.

 

[bearxor]

I wish that people would actually know what they're talking about before they reply.

The video module in an 8500/8600 IS removeable.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/s...500/sm/video.htm?c=us&l=en&cs=04&s=bsd

 

[win32asmguy]

The Mobility 9600 PT is a drop in replacement, but alot of people back in the day were doing cooling mods to it, as the heat it generated seemed to be a bit more than what the 4200go did. As cool as it may seem, its still just an upgrade to older technology. It would probably be more impressive nowadays to pick up an Inspiron 9300 and hack a 7800go (once they are out in a couple months) into it. Gaming wise it would allow for probably 3x-4x more performance than the Radeon 9600 PT..

 

[ShellGuy]

I stand corrected.


Will G.

 

[ajpa123]

I have an Inspiron 8500 that's over 2 1/2 yrs old and it always gets hot after a short time of using it. It gets very hot when gaming. I'm surprised the components inside haven't burnt out and died yet.

1) Anyone else have this issue. ?
2) Would a higher end graphic card (if found on the cheap) make it run even hotter ?
3) Was there ever an issue with the fan of the 8500 ?

Any help would be appreciated

 

[Abhi]

Have a Inspiron 8500 too.

Ryan: You CAN put the Radeon 9600 Pro Turbo in your 8500. However, It will require for you to do the GPU (Copper Plate) Cooling Mod

Discussed in Detail Here:
http://www.bay-wolf.com/8500video.htm
& http://www.bay-wolf.com/8500videoheat.htm

Ajpa:
1) Mine gets pretty hot too. Its normal, unless the heat cause freeze outs and crashes. You can make it run cooler by doing the copper plate mod.
2) Yes, 9600 will make it run even hotter.
3) Download I8kFanGui. You will be able to monitor the temperatures and get the fans to kick in at a lower temperature. That should help lower the temps.

 

[ajpa123]

Super Advice !!!
Will download the fan proggie. I'm too chickenSh1t to open my laptop tho... LOL

Thanks Abhi :beer:

Edit: Holy Moly.. The fan program keeps the laptop much cooler during normal use. It's unreal. All you inspiron owners should consider this.

 

[Abhi]

Originally posted by: ajpa123
Super Advice !!!
Will download the fan proggie. I'm too chickenSh1t to open my laptop tho... LOL

Thanks Abhi :beer:

Edit: Holy Moly.. The fan program keeps the laptop much cooler during normal use. It's unreal. All you inspiron owners should consider this.

Expect a 15 degree drop, if you customize the settings properly :beer:

 

[Abhi]

Also, use I8kFanGUI alongwith SpeedSwitchXP (CPU speed control) and you ll have a cooler, less noisier laptop.

 

[mdahc]

FYI...a 6800 or 7800 would be impossible since they're both MxM/PCIe whereas your 4200 Go is sitting on an AGP motherboard.