Advice needed regarding upgrades

Tsonga · ‎25-01-2008

Hi there!
I have a Dell Inspiron 5160 laptop with 512MB RAM memory. My son uses it to play PC Games on, but the system requirements are getting too much for the poor old laptop. Recently, there has been a smell of burnt plastic after a few minutes of playing, which I assume is the computer over-heating. I was thinking of getting some extra RAMs to help the laptop deal with the PC Games, but before I spend £100 on memory from Crucial, I would like to know if you knowledgeable people agree that the over-heating is likely to be caused by the insufficient memory. (The minimum requirements for that particular game were 256MB and the recommended were 1GB, but he spent several hours on it). What do you think?
I also have a Dell Dimension 4550 desktop with more memory, but the graphics card is too old. Do you have any idea which graphics card I would need?
Thanks for your help!

VileReynard · ‎01-09-2007

Was the laptop on a hard surface when it overheated?
Placing them on top of papers/mats etc can allow the heat to build up.
What OS are you using - if it's Windows it doesn't cope well with lots of installs/uninstalls of programs.
I would compare the cost of buying a new machine with the cost of adding memory, followed by some other upgrade.....
Same applies to the desktop - except that you can probably keep the same monitor.

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

Tsonga · ‎25-01-2008

It was on a desk. I use Windows XP. Any idea whether it is a memory issue?
Dell now have laptops for £369 (http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-inspiron-1545?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&ref=lthp&s=dhs). Seems relatively cheap for a laptop. Do they seem decent to you?
We're pretty broke right now so I'd rather not go for a new laptop if I can fix the problem at least temporarily with extra memory, but obviously I don't want my child getting hurt with a laptop catching fire!

MisterW · ‎30-07-2007

Quote
I would like to know if you knowledgeable people agree that the over-heating is likely to be caused by the insufficient memory

I would doubt it. If it's an old laptop is it's more likely to be dust blocking the heatsink and fan!!. Problem is you usually have to do some level of dissasembly of the laptop to get at them to get rid of the dust. The DELL website is pretty good for manuals though, you can probably find out how to get into it.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

Tsonga · ‎25-01-2008

It's four years old, is that considered old in laptop years?
The smell is actually on the side which is further away from the fan, so it sounds quite plausible.

James · ‎04-04-2007

Mine literally fell apart after 3

MisterW · ‎30-07-2007

Quote
It's four years old, is that considered old in laptop years

Yep, thats pretty old, my bet is that it could do with a good clean,

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

Tsonga · ‎25-01-2008

Quote from: Jameseh
Mine literally fell apart after 3

We've only just finished paying for it!

Tsonga · ‎25-01-2008

Quote from: MisterW
Quote
It's four years old, is that considered old in laptop years

Yep, thats pretty old, my bet is that it could do with a good clean,

OK, will look for instructions on the Dell website. Nervous about opening it, though...

Tsonga · ‎25-01-2008

Any idea where to look? I can't find anything about laptops, it's all about about cleaning desktop fans...

Oldjim · ‎15-06-2007

No help but a warning http://they.misled.us/archives/488
and how to do it for the 5100 model http://www.adinochang.com/archives/cleaning-dell-inspiron-5100-cooling-fan-part-1.html
This is what I found on the Dell site http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins5160/en/SM/index.htm

Tsonga · ‎25-01-2008

Wow! Thank you so much Oldjim, this is really helpful! Will try some time next week and will keep you posted as to how it went! Thanks again!

samuria · ‎13-04-2007

Lack of memory wouldn't make it overheat but graphic intense games would run the cpu @100% which wouldnt help. Memory is cheap I got 512 for my old samsung laptop for £25. You could try sticking something under the top corner of the laptop so more air can circulate all around it.
Are you running it off the mains as if you run it on battery it would slow down fans as the power reduced, If the game uses a cd/dvd coping this to the hd may help as if the cd and hd are both running its more heat

Tsonga · ‎25-01-2008

Quote from: Samuria
If the game uses a cd/dvd coping this to the hd may help as if the cd and hd are both running its more heat

Is there a particular method for copying the cd-roms onto the hd or is it just copy and paste?
Sorry, I realise this is very basic (put it down to the fact that I am just a mother ;))!

Tsonga · ‎25-01-2008

Quick update: I cleaned the fan last night using a mixture of the three links given by Oldjim. It took a good hour, but was not that big a deal in the end. It was quite dusty and blocked up in there, but it probably didn't help that a serial number label had come unstuck and was floating freely in the fan box!! Anyway, the problem seems to be solved. The smell of burnt plastic has gone and the computer seems generally quieter and more relaxed!
Thanks again very much for the advice.