Ram upgrade on 10 years old DELL LATITUDE E5440

[SKRDPTSGL]

It's worth to upgrade ram to 16gb?It has 2gb graphics card(gtx 760),an i5 4310u for cpu a 2'5 SATA III ssd and can support ddr3l 1600mhz 16gb.I've find this kit : https://www.skroutz.gr/s/10084735/S...chytita-1600-gia-Laptop-SP008GLSTU160N02.html Is is suitable?Also is there anything else i can upgrade with low cost?

 

[lexluthermiester]

You should be able to find a replacement battery too.

And for about the same price. Here stateside, a quality battery can be had for $35 to $45. I buy them frequently. Sadly, the OP is in a region that has more challenging access to spare PC parts. Still, they should be able to find something at a reasonable price and breath a few more year of life from that system. Very much worth it IMPO.

Then SATA3 can be changed for M2...which is quicker!

As shown here;

Dell Latitude E5440 Series Owner's Manual | Dell US

www.dell.com

With the NVidia GFX, there is no mSATA port available. It's a SATA only system, and while I'm citing the US Dell support page, the specs for that laptop model are generally consistent world-wide. So what they have is good.

 

[KLiKzg]

You are right, I was looking to another version os Latitude 5440...Dell makes it hard, by reruning of numbers!

 

[Wirko]

If the battery is dead, you might want to remove it. It can swell and cause interference with components inside the case. You should be able to find a replacement battery too.

Good idea. The OP should inspect the battery pack and, if it's visibly swollen, remove it from the notebook - and from the house.

 

[SKRDPTSGL]

And for about the same price. Here stateside, a quality battery can be had for $35 to $45. I buy them frequently. Sadly, the OP is in a region that has more challenging access to spare PC parts. Still, they should be able to find something at a reasonable price and breath a few more year of life from that system. Very much worth it IMPO.


As shown here;

Dell Latitude E5440 Series Owner's Manual | Dell US

www.dell.com

With the NVidia GFX, there is no mSATA port available. It's a SATA only system, and while I'm citing the US Dell support page, the specs for that laptop model are generally consistent world-wide. So what they have is good.

By the way,because you mentioned the graphics card.Can i use a better one?

 

[Marcus L]

By the way,because you mentioned the graphics card.Can i use a better one?

if it is MXM there's a slight possibility you could in theory, however finding a compatible one for your laptop would be hard to do and expensive, then you may have to update the firmware etc, it would be worth more hassle and $ than the laptop is worth, short answer, possible, perhaps, worth it? absolutely likely no!

 

[SKRDPTSGL]

if it is MXM there's a slight possibility you could in theory, however finding a compatible one for your laptop would be hard to do and expensive, then you may have to update the firmware etc, it would be worth more hassle and $ than the laptop is worth, short answer, possible, perhaps, worth it? absolutely likely no!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/39544997...Wcyjefu6BS/oNPdLH/n6tCAA==|tkp:Bk9SR8KL4LnDZA Something like this?I don't care if it has to hang outside the case.You know here i have to pay at least 600 euros for an ancient laptop with graphics card.

 

[Marcus L]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/395449976924?_skw=nvidia+geforce+gtx+770m&epid=1268962319&itmmeta=01J8DSR0PWNQZ2KHP2XHH0DF8Y&hash=item5c12a7c85c:g:AL8AAOSwe7ldFIZc&itmprp=enc:AQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx+KZ9MfhVJKlnJGnGBj1ynGaeS/1tfIBG10vcsPAG5VOOx9cKxxKwkuqtxjQYYxwOx7wtE5r6sepbnN5SMn26rcKBFwuyY/Mz85wlzflhhRd1f9vkNQr5u5XA3AakyPMcNoV9YGdXWMjTfbgZFGy+LUpgdnPa9Bs0YfvjnVBurICsDGqaJkop88z0Equ69TqhlkaY4n1kHQtVYA126zn6QqAE3mfCF9cUAhHHeLBS6H25f6P3wu0jehYK6ZTeocP5MYonA03sRX9N+SPWNCT3xb3F+ufUV7Wcyjefu6BS/oNPdLH/n6tCAA==|tkp:Bk9SR8KL4LnDZA Something like this?I don't care if it has to hang outside the case.You know here i have to pay at least 600 euros for an ancient laptop with graphics card.

Then you are getting into territory where it is better to buy a used workstation/newer laptop, is it worth risking paying $160 on top of RAM upgrade, SSD etc so $200 worth of upgrades, for a minor upgrade in perf at least in today's world of GPU's and having to mod your bios etc risk bricking it, or go down the route of a used workstation and adding a dGPU?

You can buy a used x58 workstation for the same amount as the GTX770M and then throw in a dGPU and be more happier fir a few more years..

 

[SKRDPTSGL]

Then you are getting into territory where it is better to buy a used workstation/newer laptop, is it worth risking paying $160 on top of RAM upgrade, SSD etc so $200 worth of upgrades, for a minor upgrade in perf at least in today's world of GPU's and having to mod your bios etc risk bricking it, or go down the route of a used workstation and adding a dGPU?

You can buy a used x58 workstation for the same amount as the GTX770M and then throw in a dGPU and be more happier fir a few more years..

x58 workastation?Tell me an example if you can.

 

[Marcus L]

x58 workastation?Tell me an example if you can.

Literally loads on eBay, Dell, Lenovo, HP old workstations with 6c/12t chips in a workstation desktop chassis, some with lots of storage and RAM that can be had for sub-$200 prices, add in a mid range used GPU and they make really good gaming PC's for cheap, there is a thread somewhere on TPU of old workstation builds, probably worth checking out to see what kind of models to look for

Factor in maybe $150+ sale for your laptop for a GPU upgrade and it would be much better than spending more money on that laptop, the RAM upgrade is worthwhile, just not an MXM GPU upgrade, so if you are leaning to that, my suggestion would be money much better spent

 

[SKRDPTSGL]

Literally loads on eBay, Dell, Lenovo, HP old workstations with 6c/12t chips in a workstation desktop chassis, some with lots of storage and RAM that can be had for sub-$200 prices, add in a mid range used GPU and they make really good gaming PC's for cheap, there is a thread somewhere on TPU of old workstation builds, probably worth checking out to see what kind of models to look for

Factor in maybe $150+ sale for your laptop for a GPU upgrade and it would be much better than spending more money on that laptop, the RAM upgrade is worthwhile, just not an MXM GPU upgrade, so if you are leaning to that, my suggestion would be money much better spent

Ok,thank you!

 

[KLiKzg]

By the way,because you mentioned the graphics card.Can i use a better one?

No, you can't...that laptop has "integrated nVidia chip" on motherboard, as well as the CPU...so no change in CPU or nVidia chip!

Only change of motherboard, if you want to do that...but that is too expensive!

Just do the RAM & maybe SSD...that is it, or go to new laptop altogether...

 

[lexluthermiester]

You are right, I was looking to another version os Latitude 5440...Dell makes it hard, by reruning of numbers!

Yeah, it can be confusing which is why I cited the info instead of just stating experience. For that model run, there were no less than 7 variants which need proper sorting through to understand what is workable.

By the way,because you mentioned the graphics card.Can i use a better one?

As was mentioned above, that is a soldered on GPU, which means it can't be upgraded. However, it should be said that Geforce is still a solid GPU and will grant good gaming performance as long as you turn down some settings in newer titles. Older titles should run fine even at higher settings.

x58 workastation?Tell me an example if you can.

Dell T3500, T5500 or T7500 are good and solid X58 systems. However, they are a bit dated at this point in time. You would be better served by something in the X79, X99 or X299 range.

 

[dgianstefani]

As was mention above, that is a soldered on GPU, which means it can't be upgraded. However, it should be said that Geforce is still a solid GPU still and will grant good gaming performance as long as you turn down some setting in newer titles. Older titles should run fine even at higher settings.

I mean, the laptop 760 is about half the speed of an eight year old desktop 1060 3 GB, so I'm not sure you can say it will grant "good" gaming performance.

It's also a 2 GB card, so good luck finding newer titles that work in anything above 720p.

It seems OP is keen on upgrades, CPU, GPU, SSD, RAM etc, but it's just not a good idea on a 10 year old laptop, even if anything other than RAM were even possible.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I mean, the laptop 760 is about half the speed of an eight year old desktop 1060 3 GB, so I'm not sure you can say it will grant "good" gaming performance.

I'm sure. When a GT 525 1GB GPU can still deliver good performance and playable gaming experiences on a 1600x900 screen, newer laptop models can do the same or better. The age is irrelevant. The actual performance is what counts and I've recently done that kind of testing. I have a Dell Vostro 3750 with a GT525 that still grants reasonable performance and that is a MUCH lesser GPU than the one the OP has. Neither one are going to render super-high-end performance on recent AAA titles and that's not what I'm saying. MOST games being released currently are aimed at lesser hardware because devs are smart and try to engineer their games to reach as many gamers as possible. Will they have all the "pretty" enabled? No. Is it needed to enjoy a game? No.

So when users come here to TPU asking for help, being objective and offering reasonable input is key. Being a "new hardware" and "elite performance" snob is not helpful. Some people can't afford newer hardware(especially in this post-pandemic economy), but they can afford upgrades that will help them get the best from what they have.

It seems OP is keen on upgrades, CPU, GPU, SSD, RAM etc, but it's just not a good idea on a 10 year old laptop, even if anything other than RAM were even possible.

That is your opinion. Not everyone agrees and for the reasons stated above.

 

[dgianstefani]

I'm sure. When a GT 525 1GB GPU can still deliver good performance and playable gaming experiences on a 1600x900 screen, newer laptop models can do the same or better. The age is irrelevant. The actual performance is what counts and I've recently done that kind of testing. I have a Dell Vostro 3750 with a GT525 that still grants reasonable performance and that is a MUCH lesser GPU than the one the OP has. Neither one are going to render super-high-end performance on recent AAA titles and that's not what I'm saying. MOST games being released currently are aimed at lesser hardware because devs are smart and try to engineer their games to reach as many gamers as possible. Will they have all the "pretty" enabled? No. Is it needed to enjoy a game? No.

So when users come here to TPU asking for help, being objective and offering reasonable input is key. Being a "new hardware" and "elite performance" snob is not helpful. Some people can't afford newer hardware(especially in this post-pandemic economy), but they can afford upgrades that will help them get the best from what they have.

It's not being a "snob" to suggest throwing money at a 10 year old laptop isn't smart.

It's called managing expectations, and not using words like "good" gaming performance to describe a 760M in 2024 with current games.

The guy could drop $100 on any used market and get a laptop that performs at least twice as fast, without 10 years of wear and tear.

Bottom line is the specs were already fine, SSD, 6 GB RAM, it's more than good enough for that performance tier.

Any hardware he buys that is compatible, is incredibly obsolete, so cannot be reused in newer computers, unlike most upgrades.

Money down the drain.

I guess if your GT525 "good" performance with playable framerates was done with solitaire? Because lying to people isn't "helpful", when they come to a tech forum, relatively clueless, asking for advice.

Secondly, why is it smart to spend a (assumingly) limited budget on upgrading a 10 year old laptop when the OP has this PC?

 

[lexluthermiester]

It's not being a "snob" to suggest throwing money at a 10 year old laptop isn't smart.

Some would view it that way. Hardware that does what the user needs it too is ALWAYS worth investing in, especially when the costs to improve and restore are low.

It's called managing expectations, and not using words like "good" gaming performance to describe a 760M in 2024 with current games.

Again, that is your opinion. Not everyone agrees. There are other perspectives. When I can get good performance from an OLDER model, a newer is capable of better. High end? No. Playable and enjoyable? Most certainly. This of course greatly depends on the game in question and the settings used. The term "good performance" is entirely subjective and will be up to the OP to determine.

 

[dgianstefani]

This of course greatly depends on the game in question and the settings used. The term "good performance" is entirely subjective and will be up to the OP to determine.

There you go, the words you should have used in your original post, teased out of you.

This is what you actually wrote.

However, it should be said that Geforce is still a solid GPU still and will grant good gaming performance as long as you turn down some setting in newer titles.

You can say things like "subjective" and "opinion" if you like, to make meaning more vague, but it's generally accepted that anything below 30 FPS 720p is unplayable, and we're talking bare minimum console "peasant" level of standards here, this isn't subjective. Perhaps you can show me some 2024 AA/AAA games (no indie 2D titles) that can run better than that on a 760M, regardless of settings.

Lets remember this is a GPU that doesn't have support for many modern technologies, at all (it's a DX 11.0 card) even after considering it's rasterization performance is roughly half of a 1060 3 GB.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I guess if your GT525 "good" performance with playable framerates was done with solitaire? Because lying to people isn't "helpful", when they come to a tech forum, relatively clueless, asking for advice.

And this is where you just lost the debate. You made it personal with snide remarks clearly showing you're not being objective. I'm out.

 

[dgianstefani]

And this is where you just lost the debate. You just made it personal with snide remarks clearly showing you're not being objective. I'm out.

There's no debate here.

Just someone making promises of good performance from an 11 year old mid range laptop GPU, without evidence, and someone with a realistic, fact based approach.

 

[lexluthermiester]

There's no debate here.

You're right, there isn't. The OP made their choice and it wasn't in line with your narrow sensibilities.

 

[dgianstefani]

You're right, there isn't. The OP made their choice and it wasn't in line with your narrow sensibilities.

"narrow sensibilities".

To emphasise for other people reading, OP has a 10 year old laptop with a dead battery (hence defeating the entire purpose of a laptop, being portable), and you, and others, have just advised the owner that their plan to go and spend money on improving it's gaming performance is a good one (questionable, since RAM is extremely unlikely to be the bottleneck when dealing with a 4310u and a mobile 760 GPU, and 6 GB + SSD is more than enough for light desktop use).

When they already have a desktop that is significantly faster.

Good idea. The OP should inspect the battery pack and, if it's visibly swollen, remove it from the notebook - and from the house.

This is a rare example of good advice given in this thread.

That means you have one 4GB module and one 2GB module; I'd find another 4GB model. 16GB for older games and nothing else is a bit overkill, 8GB will be fine if the module is cheap enough, which they should be.

Also reasonable, if the budget is something like $5. Any more than that and you're, as someone put it, "sending good money after bad".

Run Speccy, if you are staying within 6GB there is no benefit to having more RAM

More good advice.

Everyone gets the upgrade itch, but it's really not wise in this instance. There's plenty of people that will be happy to say "yeah, just spend your money, more hardware is good", but it's not their money.

The ~$30 that went to a RAM upgrade could have been put towards a newer machine, or just saved or used on something more fruitful.

I mean, you could likely go to any electronics scrapyard or dump, or the "broken" laptops people throw out or leave behind, and pull a 4 GB DDR3 SODIMM out of it if it's really so important. But spending $30?

You can buy an entire machine for close to that, and I didn't even look hard, first page of ebay search results.

Here's another one, ignore the postage, I'm in the UK and the seller is USA.

Obviously it's not recommended to buy an 11 year old machine, but the point stands. $30 just for some more RAM for a machine of that age is insanity.

 

[eidairaman1]

Nothing wrong with kicking old hardware up a notch, just lay off.

Gpu upgrades are typically limited by a laptop motherboards bios whitelist due to thermal and power constraints.

 

[Deleted member 223428]

"narrow sensibilities".

To emphasise for other people reading, OP has a 10 year old laptop with a dead battery (hence defeating the entire purpose of a laptop, being portable), and you, and others, have just advised the owner that their plan to go and spend money on improving it's gaming performance is a good one (questionable, since RAM is extremely unlikely to be the bottleneck when dealing with a 4310u and a mobile 760 GPU, and 6 GB + SSD is more than enough for light desktop use).

When they already have a desktop that is significantly faster.


This is a rare example of good advice given in this thread.


Also reasonable, if the budget is something like $5. Any more than that and you're, as someone put it, "sending good money after bad".


More good advice.

Everyone gets the upgrade itch, but it's really not wise in this instance. There's plenty of people that will be happy to say "yeah, just spend your money, more hardware is good", but it's not their money.

The ~$30 that went to a RAM upgrade could have been put towards a newer machine, or just saved or used on something more fruitful.

I mean, you could likely go to any electronics scrapyard or dump, or the "broken" laptops people throw out or leave behind, and pull a 4 GB DDR3 SODIMM out of it if it's really so important. But spending $30?

You can buy an entire machine for close to that, and I didn't even look hard, first page of ebay search results.

View attachment 364505

Here's another one, ignore the postage, I'm in the UK and the seller is USA.
View attachment 364506

Obviously it's not recommended to buy an 11 year old machine, but the point stands. $30 just for some more RAM for a machine of that age is insanity.

God damn, bruh.

Not a good look.

 

[Marcus L]

it's almost like people enjoy hardware of all ages and like to keep older pieces, you could even say it's like a hobby, I bet they even frequent tech sites to talk about hardware and technology, how crazy does that sound /s *shock horror* , some people have older hardware than the OP and spend money on it to get the best out of it, and if he has a system that is much newer than that then perhaps he has this for a specific use case and wants to get the best out of it, you literally think 1 way and that all people only play the latest AAA games and nothing else, you trash talk anyone who disagrees with you, you write pages of guff just to keep making the same point over and over again, people don't agree with you, they get tired of trying to debate with you and leave you to the sound of your own KB tapping away, which you must love the sound of, spending a few £ on RAM isn't going to break the bank, I would stop at considering a GPU replacement however as it's likely more than what the machine costs, same as with cars when you spend more on repair than the cars worth it is no longer economically viable, however if you have to service it once a year and do the odd bit of maintenance on it should you just scrrap it? but yea throw it into landfill and buy more to do the same with in a couple of years time, you linked 2 laptops that were no better than the OP apart fvrom having 2GB more RAM and a weak ass IGP and say buying RAM is a waste of money

 

[Ahhzz]

This is a rare example of good advice given in this thread.

Don't be rude.