Trying to upgrade a Dell Studio 14z - Owners Help?

[Interitus]

I'm trying to refresh this 14z to bring it back to usable status for school. I don't have the cash to drop on a new laptop right now, so I'm just trying to get this thing back to functional. There are a few issues with it that need addressing.

First, it needs more RAM. It has only one upgrade slot with 1GB soldered to the board. Currently it has a 2GB module in the upgrade slot. I would love to get a 4GB or 8GB module in there, but it is EXTREMELY finicky about RAM. I have tried a few different modules with no luck. Any suggestions for known compatible modules would be of great help. Seems there isn't a lot of data out there on what will work properly.

Second, the laptop has begun to ramp the fan to horribly loud levels even while browsing the internet. I'm looking into possible driver issues with the 9400m GPU that I've read might cause this, but it may need a new thermal pad or paste as well. I figure I'm going to have it apart anyways, so I might as well do it all at once. I have no idea what size pads this thing would use. I do have plenty of paste lying around that I could use if that would work. Fan replacement might not be a bad idea too if they're available. This is the single reason I can't use it at school. It's terribly annoying to have the laptop sitting there with the fan at full tilt while just typing in Word or looking at slides in Powerpoint during class.

Last, I planned on adding an SSD to replace the mechanical drive the laptop currently has. After some google footwork, it looks like any standard SSD would work just fine. Probably going to go with the Crucial MX or Samsung 840/850 EVO.

If anybody that has owned one of these could chime in with some advice or parts help I would really appreciate any suggestions.

 

[fralexandr]

your laptop most likely has lots of dust stuck in the heatsink. This tends to happen over time, so it's a good idea to open it up every once in a while to clean it out.

it is unlikely the paste is bad, but since you already have thermal paste lying around and you have to open the thing up to clean out the dust, you might as well clean off the old paste and use your paste. Most of the pastes you can buy are better than the stock pastes used.

crucial's memory tool
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compat...ell/studio-14z

kingston also has a memory tool, but doesn't have an option for the studio 14z

newegg's memory finder
http://www.newegg.com/MemoryFinder/#3tBB2Qr0e10ABD
crucial's options are cheaper though

anandtech's studio 14z review
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2862/dell-studio-14z-thin-and-light-done-right

 

[ArisVer]

+1 on the first reply about the temperatures. I recently took apart a notebook that the fan was always on at idle.
Temperatures before cleaning: HWMonitor: CPU 80/100 C, Mb 80/100 C, ATI 77/87 C
Temperatures after cleaning: HWMonitor: CPU 36/59 C, Mb 40/60 C, ATI 38/51 C
Also applied thermal paste since it was opened. Needless to say the fan went back to normal speed after this.

To have an idea, the air duct was like this but 3mm thick (maybe even 4mm). The picture below is from the web and not the actual machine.

 

[Interitus]

Thanks for the replies.

crucial's memory tool
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compat...ell/studio-14z

This is the first RAM module I tried (the 4GB one) and the laptop refuses to post with it. It tested fine in another laptop so I know it's not the RAM that's bad. I tried one from Kingston and another generic too. I have model numbers somewhere. I will post them here when I can find them. I assume the RAM problem is probably high/low density related or something, but I can't find any info anywhere that gives solid evidence of what works and what doesn't.

 

[fralexandr]

you could always try this then :\, kinda pricey
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Certified...tified+14z+ram

 

[RossMAN]

I'm trying to refresh this 14z to bring it back to usable status for school. I don't have the cash to drop on a new laptop right now, so I'm just trying to get this thing back to functional. There are a few issues with it that need addressing.

Have you considered a refurb or cheap entry level laptop?

If you're close to Fry's Electronics in Downers Grove, IL check out their ads where they feature several entry level under $300 laptops.

Also check out Lenovo and Dell outlets. Obviously stock changes by the hour.

Currently Lenovo Outlet has systems starting at $204.68 (personally I avoid this particular system):

• Lenovo Flex 10
• Processor: Intel® Celeron® Processor N2807 (1M Cache, up to 2.16 GHz)
• Operating system: Windows 8.1 SST 64 - English
• Display: 10.1" HD 10 point Multitouch Display (1366 X 768) w/720p HD Camera
• Graphics: Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator HD
• Memory: 2GB PC3-10600 1333MHz DDR3L / soldered to systemboard
• Hard Drive: 500GB, 5400RPM Serial ATA 2.5" Hard Drive
• Optical Drive: No Optical Included

Best of luck in your upgrade but a new/refurb machine with Windows 7/8.x, 2GB+ RAM, hard drive and some warranty for around $200-ish is pretty compelling.

 

[Interitus]

you could always try this then :\, kinda pricey
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Certified...tified+14z+ram

Might have to. I was hoping someone who owned of these things would chime in with an 8GB module they have had success with. Main reason I haven't gone the Dell route yet is the price kind of defeating the purpose of upgrading what I already have as Rossman says below.

Have you considered a refurb or cheap entry level laptop?

If you're close to Fry's Electronics in Downers Grove, IL check out their ads where they feature several entry level under $300 laptops.

Best of luck in your upgrade but a new/refurb machine with Windows 7/8.x, 2GB+ RAM, hard drive and some warranty for around $200-ish is pretty compelling.

I might give the refurbs a try if I give up on the 14z. Unfortunately I live near St. Louis so I only have Microcenter to work with. I browsed there awhile back but didn't really find anything competitive with going the upgrade route.

I had the 14z ordered with everything you could get on it minus the RAM upgrade (was $400 at the time, lol) so it's still pretty solid performance wise if I can just do some upgrades to it and get it sorted out. It has the P8600 CPU option and it came with the upgrade to Win7 so I'm not on Vista like some of the 14z's had.

 

[RossMAN]

Hopefully you can get the RAM sorted out, if you can then I would recommend:

1) Get rid of any possible dust bunnies.
2) Install SSD.
3) Reformat and fresh Windows 7 install.
4) profit?