Upgrading an HP Pavilion ze4500

[Londoner]

Hi,

since my desktop has bitten the dust lately, a relative has given me their Hewlett Packard Pavilion ze4500 laptop to use.

It seems pretty good and should be a good stand in while I figure out what my next system or build will be.

The spec seems to be ok -
First question - does anyone have any experience of this laptop? What is it's pro's and con's?

Next question - I would like to upgrade it a little, if possible and would like to know if I can do that myself safely or if I have to get some specialist to do it for me.

Third question - upgrade suggestions, please. I assume I can put some RAM in here, can I?
What about the graphics card, as far as I can tell this is an onboard card (it is a Radeon IGP 320m) and it seems to take it's memory from the system RAM (is that right?) - since the system RAM shows as 446, and the Graphics card RAM shows as 'approx' 64.

The Bios is Phoenix Bios 4.0 Release 6.0 - any knowledge of this?

Thanks for reading.

[AnotherMuggle]

I have a pretty similar its the ze4801ea.

Whats the full spec on the one you have there?

Look at the bottom of the laptop and you will most likely see there are a few panels that can be easily removed...one covers the hard disk, one the RAM and possibly one for the CPU too.

The easiest, cheapest and probably most useful upgrade would be a RAM upgrade. I managed to get another 256Mb stick on eBay for £10. Seems to be working perfectly fine and made a big difference from the factory fitted 256Mb.

[Londoner]

OK, I added the full spec to my sig for easy reference, but here it is too:
My Laptop spec:
Hewlett Packard Pavilion ze4500 (D5440E)
BIOS: Phoenix BIOS 4.0 Release 6.0
Processor: Mobile AMD Athlon XP2500+ mmx, 3dnow, ~1.9ghz
Memory: 446 RAM
Display: Radeon IGP 320m ATI Technologies (chip type: U1 AGP)
Approx memory: 64 RAM
Hard Drive: 40gb

[cashman]

your ram is bugly so is your hard drive upgrade those your self if you know how to

[Londoner]

Originally Posted by cashman your ram is bugly so is your hard drive upgrade those your self if you know how to

What does 'bugly' mean please?

And from my thread I think it is pretty clear I don't know how to, otherwise I wouldn't be asking is it possible and how.

[AnotherMuggle]

Yes I was right, those specs are increadibly similar to mine.

If you have the laptop there...see if there is a panel underneath with a screw and RAM written beside it. Open it up and have a look what you have in each of the slots and if there are any spare slots. Also have a look at the sticker on one of the RAM sticks to see if it has any information about them.

[Londoner]

Thanks for your post.

There are a bunch of small panels on the base and I don't see RAM next to any of them - but I don't have a screw driver that size just now anyway so it'll have to wait til I can buy one tomorrow - is it that easy?

What about graphics card?

[AnotherMuggle]

The graphics card is built into the mainboard...and there's definately no option to upgrade it. That's one of the main problems with a laptop!

Hard disks and RAM is about all you can do with a laptop...unless you REALLY REALLY know what you are doing I suppose.

[glc]

The only feasible upgrade is more ram. It has 2 slots, maximum memory is 1 gig, you can put 256mb or 512mb modules in. There is an access door on the underside of the laptop right in the middle, you will need a small Phillips screwdriver. Unplug it and remove the battery first. It takes 200 pin PC2700 SO-DIMMS. Expect to pay around the equivalent of $80 US for a 512mb module.

Graphics are not upgradeable. Hard drives are, but generally not worth it.

You can download the service manual from HP if you want.

[Londoner]

thanks for the posts.

I'll buy a screwdriver tomorrow and take a look and report back.

I read somewhere about allotting more memory to the on board graphics card in BIOS - somehting about how there is no dedicated RAM so it is allotted which explains the odd amount - anyone know anything about that?

Overclocking too?

[glc]

64 megs is the standard amount of shared memory with a Radeon Express chipset. I don't think you can allocate more, but I think you may be able to allocate less.

I see where you are going here - no, you cannot turn that laptop into a gamer.

[Londoner]

Originally Posted by glc I see where you are going here - no, you cannot turn that laptop into a gamer.

You've been posting here a long time and you can see the signs, glc. That maniacal look in the eye, the moist brow, the chew marks around dried lips; a hint of shadow around the eyes and the red glow of burst blood vessels in the corners.

I wasn't quite stretching to 'gaming rig' but, yes, I thought that if I could up it a few MB of graphics card RAM I might just be able to make this rig do for a while.

I will try to find that thread (on another forum) where they were discussing overclocking or upping the MB graphics card RAM on a laptop. Maybe I misunderstood, or maybe they were just plain wrong - that is why I posted to this forum, I trust you guys.

What do you think would be the advantage of bringing it up to the full 1gb of RAM? Would that affect graphics atall?

[PnyK1d]

i know that on the intel gma 900, some highly knowlegable people have succesfully increased the amount of shared video memory, i was going to attempt it but was to confusing. i think it was on a dell form, not sure though.

[Londoner]

There's a thread here:

http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/showthread.php?t=266

in which it is stated (about the Radeon IGP series of cards) that:

"The RADEON IGP family uses a 64-bit system architecture and 266 MHz DDR memory interface, and is the first and only integrated graphics solution to support ATI's industry-leading POWERPLAY(TM) power management technology. The RADEON IGP family employs a scalable architecture with AGP 4X support, which allows the user to upgrade their system with a performance graphics board, such as ATI's RADEON(TM) 8500."

Does that mean I could change the graphics card in the laptop or have i misunderstood this?

[glc]

That's referring to the desktop motherboards with the Radeon IGP chipset. Those do have AGP (now PCI-E) slots for an upgrade.

You have a good performing video subsystem - by 2002 standards. In the gaming world, that's pretty bad now. You are at the GF4 MX level.

If you are even going to try to game on it, you need the full gig of ram. It needs all the help it can get.

[Londoner]

Well spotted, GLC.

I checked out some RAM prices in Tottenham Court Road at lunch time today but they are around the £60 mark for 512mb. So I think I'll order online and save a few quid as you suggested.