oppss... i was trying to keep it low until i get the instructions ready.. loose the element of surprise.. haha

no worries.. hope u can gain something from those pics.

probably yes, because 180.44 is stable for me. 180.48 is the one causing all the bluescreens. try using driver sweeper to clean ur pc after u uninstall the nvidia driver to make sure all old files are removed properly.

no, just express card

im playing at max resolution (1440x900) with all settings high except AA (OFF) and shadow (LOW). getting average 25-30fps (monitored using FRAPS). Driver 180.44. graphics looks pretty good here.

what happened is that ur GPU underclocked (275/200) after a couple of minutes. this is a driver issue. what version of driver are u using? even 180.44 has this problem once in a while.

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Added on December 1, 2008, 7:09 pmi will try to get the instructions up ASAP, kinda busy lately.. sorry guys.

This post has been edited by alexnvidia: Dec 1 2008, 07:09 PM

i noticed that when the GPU's temperature is about almost 70C, the downclocking will start to happen randomly..

probably because i OC that's why my temperature is higher.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Happy New Year 2009 to all Inspiron users!

the guide will come next week. sorry for the delays

u can buy T7xxx or T9xxx processors online, and since u r in london, u can get it off amazon or ebay. just make sure when u choose the T9xxx series processor, it is the santa rosa refresh version, NOT the montiviena version. our laptop can only support 667 FSB. replacing the processor is pretty straight forward. just remove the heatsink, unscrew the lock, reapply thermal paste (a paste that helps conduct heat from CPU to heatsink), assemble it back and u are good to go. (more on this in the disassembly guide next week).

as for 320GB HDD, there are quite a few makers out there. u can choose from Western Digital, TOshiba, Samsung, Fujitsu, Seagate etc.. i personally own Toshiba, Samsung and Fujitsu 320GB HDD respectively, and i would not recommend you to get samsung one (unreliable). fujitsu seems good, and toshiba is average. WD and seagate ones are easier to find though.

as for RAM, u can get either 3GB or 4GB config. 32bit vista will have problem addressing all 4GB of those RAM. any DDR2 RAM that is 667MHz and above will do just fine.

This post has been edited by alexnvidia: Jan 2 2009, 09:01 AM

Sorry mate, i think i might have made some confusing statement last night. u can choose a T7 or &9 processor with 800MHz FSB BUT memory support is 667MHz. so when i said 667MHz, i quickly assume that it's memory speed that we are talking about. that said, u can also install cpus like T7500, T7300, etc.. (refer intel's table for core2duo mobile CPU, look for santa rosa and santa rosa refresh). i would not recommend u getting T7 with 667 cpu FSB, try looking for one that supports 800 cpu FSB. T7300 at 2GHz would be quite ok for your demanding tasks, if u've got the extra $, u can also opt for T7500 or T7700.

This post has been edited by alexnvidia: Jan 2 2009, 04:12 PM

a quick disassembly guide is now online. sorry for all the delays. if you have any questions, just PM me or ask any of the gurus in this forum. anyone of us should be able to help you. be careful, have patience, and have fun. the (thermal) results can be rewarding.

just buy one and plug it in. as long as it is a SATA drive, it will run. no extra setup needed. just fresh windows installation and u r good to go.

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Added on January 27, 2009, 5:30 amHappy Chinese New Year to you all!!

This post has been edited by alexnvidia: Jan 27 2009, 05:30 AM

im looking at 500GB too.. real tempting, but kinda expensive.. i think 5400RPM 2.5" drives now are almost as good as 7200RPM drives minus the added power consumption, so there isnt any good reason to get 7200RPM other than if price is almost the same..

This post has been edited by alexnvidia: Jan 27 2009, 10:16 PM

i've been using this since the first day it got released, quite stable, supports most of notebook features, but noticably slower than the 180 series desktop mod drivers. definately a keeper for those who require proper driver support for laptop.

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Added on March 19, 2009, 11:00 pmhahaha, u r right

This post has been edited by alexnvidia: Mar 19 2009, 11:06 PM

wow, this thread has survived the test of time! sorry guys, havent been around for a while. some updates on my 1520, still using it, strong as ever. upgraded to windows 7 ultimate RTM for a few months now, also a spanking new T9300 2.5GHz 45nm Penryn CPU (sweet!...), added 2GB RAM for a total of 3GB now, and a couple of extra 320GB HDD. am lovin it! running on nvidia's 186.81 driver now.

here's the link for win7
http://us.download.nvidia.com/Windows/186....tional_whql.exe

and for vista users
http://us.download.nvidia.com/Windows/186....tional_whql.exe

and lastly, for xp users
http://us.download.nvidia.com/Windows/186....tional_whql.exe

@ziggy87, welcome to the club! ur lappy might need a CPU upgrade and if u can find it, a 8600M GT will be a better performer too.

next target, 500GB or 640GB 2.5" HDD!! few recently played games, NFS Shift, Fallout 3+5 addons, COD4 & 5, Operation Flashpoint 2-Rise of Dragon, looking forward to COD6/ Modern Warfare 2 due to release 10 Nov 2009!

So how's everybody??

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Added on October 21, 2009, 8:30 pmCheckout the W860CU if 15" is ur cup to tea, otherwise the W870CU is nice too.

This post has been edited by alexnvidia: Oct 21 2009, 08:30 PM

haha! it's been a while mate.. got the cpu from my friend who agreed to swap it with my equally capable T7500 2.2GHz CPU because she didnt really need that extra speed. i know what u r thinking, but heck, every MHz counts for a power user, if u know what i mean. hehehe..

ah.. now to business.. was looking at 500GB 7200.4 Seagate Momentus with G-Force protection at first, but now i looked at it, it seems getting a WD 640GB 5400RPM is a better choice because at 640GB (or 320GB per platter density), the performance of this drive will be equal or possibly better than 500GB 7200RPM (at 250GB per platter density). and you get an extra 140GB. you dont have to take my word for it, early benchmarks have confirmed my speculations showing WD 640GB 5400RPM winning/equal to SGT 500GB 7200RPM, with only access time a bit slower than 7200RPM. so looks to me we have a winner!

kinda disappointed though, i was expecting 1TB 2.5" HDD to be available before the end of 2009. (before anyone says anything, wait, im talking about 9.5mm Z height HDD). at this rate, we'll be lucky to see that coming out during the end of 2010. my best guess will be around 800GB, but who knows what will happen next.

im going to use win7 64bit soon, just need to get some stuff sorted out first. i would go for 500GB 5400RPM instead of 320GB 7200RPM if i were you. same performance, bigger space.

actually i've been eyeing around for a new 1520 replacement, have been looking at M860TU, then the alienware M17X, M15X and now the W860,870, which are all worthy successor to the trusty old 1520.

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Added on October 27, 2009, 3:05 amim on kaspersky 2010 too, but not KIS, just KAV. prefer something less intrusive

This post has been edited by alexnvidia: Oct 27 2009, 03:05 AM

You can get wifi card and cpu from ebay or online retailers. there are lots of them available. just make sure you get the parts that fit into a santa rosa platform. dont think you can get one from lowyat (not sure about this though, havent been to lowyat for few years now). as for the only GPU option, which is the 8600M GT, call up dell and see if they can sell you a refurb one. im sure they have them. memory and hdd are easily available in most computer stores.

yes, any desktop thermal paste will be good for you laptop, just pick a better one like AS5 or AC MX2, etc.

This post has been edited by alexnvidia: Oct 29 2009, 10:53 PM