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Upgrade on inspiron 1521


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#1
dj duckett

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Hello I am wondering if I was to try and upgrade my standard CPU on my dell Inspiron 1521 to something a lot better like AMD Phenom II X2 560 Black Edition Callisto 3.3GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Desktop Processor would it match up and be able to work? If not can you point me to the best one i can get that is around 100$ that is compatible with my system. Right now the standard AMD Athlon 64 X2 TK-55 638 pin Socket S1 (S1g1).
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#2
Digerati

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Generally speaking, if you want a computer you can upgrade, don't buy a notebook! At best, most notebooks allow you to add more RAM, but often that has restrictions too. This is because notebooks, in the makers' attempt to make them unique, lighter, thinner and with longer battery life, use proprietary parts and production/assembly techniques, and tiny cases, which prohibit many upgrades.

In ANY event, regardless if notebook or PC, you cannot slap in any old CPU on to a motherboard. The motherboard's chipset, socket, and power circuits generally support a small family of CPUs, and there are many families. In your case, the existing motherboard uses a 938 pin AM2 socket and the AMD M690T chipset. The X2 560 requires the 941 pin AM3 socket and AMD 880G/SB850 chipsets. So that CPU would not even mount correctly, let alone run on your motherboard. And the X2 is considerably more power hungry, meaning the notebooks power supply and regulator circuits were not likely sized to support the added demands either.

According to the specs I have seen for your notebook as seen here, it comes with 2Gb of RAM. By far, the best bang for your money will come by increasing your RAM to 4Gb. The performance gains would be readily apparent. If you have already maxed out your RAM and you are still not happy with the performance, it is time to shop for a new computer. And if you want a computer you can upgrade over the next several years, allowing it to evolve to stay current, get (or build) a PC.
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#3
dj duckett

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I have already upgraded the ram to 4gb but im trying to find a new processor to run my board as it seems mine is dieing due to the fact is will not run over half of the maximum clock speed have checked all the basic stuff like powernow! and battery power options and booting without charger and so on and so forth. I have even completely dis-assembled the computer in question and rebuilt it and cleaned it no help.
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#4
Digerati

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Well, usually CPUs don't run at half speed on their own. It is more likely your motherboard's bus speed has toggled down, either due to some fault, a setting in the BIOS, or due to heat.
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