Erika
11/08/2008
20:48:03
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Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
I have a Dell Latitude C510/C610. It has 1000mHz, 727mHz, and 256 mHz of Ram. Whatever that really means. I can't afford a new computer right now, but I need more everything. Is there a way for me to increase everyhting without buying a new computer, or would it be smarter to just buy a new computer? |
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Eric
11/08/2008
20:49:00
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
Hi Erika,
Although desktop computers can be upgraded almost limitlessly and very easily, laptops are unfortunately much more limited in the ways and the extent to which they can be upgraded. This is one of the tradeoffs that come with choosing a laptop over a desktop. There are however some ways in which you can upgrade your Dell Latitude C510/C610 laptop.
1) Adding more RAM
This is the easiest upgrade to perform and is the one that will give you the greatest performance boost. RAM is the memory into which your computer loads whatever software you are using at any given time. When your computer starts to run out of RAM it will begin using the hard drive as virtual memory which has an extremely detrimental impact on speed/performance and system responsiveness.
It would appear that the Dell Latitude C610 laptop can handle a maximum of 1 gigabyte of RAM whereas the Dell Latitude C510 laptop can handle only up to 512 megabytes of RAM (half a gigabyte). Both models have 2 slots into which RAM memory modules can be placed.
If you do not yet have the maximum amount of RAM installed (i.e. 512 megabytes or 1 gigabyte depending on which model you have) then you can increase the amount of RAM in your laptop up to the maximums specified above. The first step would be to find out if you still have one of the two memory slots available for adding RAM or if both memory slots are occupied with memory modules. To do so, simply remove the panel underneath your laptop that covers the RAM memory modules. You should be able to remove this panel by taking out 1 screw only. If there is there more than 1 panel underneath your laptop, the one containing the RAM is probably the largest one (so look for the largest panel).
If both slots are occupied, then you will have to get rid of one (or both) memory modules and replace it (or both) with memory modules that have a greater amount of RAM. If one of the 2 slots is empty, you can just place an extra memory module in that slot to top up your RAM to the maximum possible.
For the Dell Latitude C610/C510 laptop, you will have to purchase 133 mhz 144 pin SDRAM memory modules as this is the type of RAM that is compatible with your laptop. You can buy this type of RAM from almost any computer store or directly from Dell. It will come in sizes of 256 megabytes, 512 megabytes or 1 gigabytes. Current prices are about 50 U.S. dollars for 256 megabytes of RAM and 100 U.S. dollars for 512 megabytes of RAM, though you may be able to find significantly better deals by shopping around.
2) Adding more Hard Drive space
Hard drives in laptops such as the Dell Latitude C510/C610 can be replaced, however this is somewhat difficult to do because it would require you to remove your current hard drive, replace it with an new hard drive that has a larger capacity and then reinstall your operating system and all of your programs (and you'd have to backup all of your documents and other data and then copy them back over once the new hard drive is installed). A better option would probably be to just buy an external hard drive and to connect this drive to your laptop via a USB cable whenever you need to access the data on this hard drive.
3) Replacing the battery
If your battery is starting to have decreased battery life, you could replace it with a new battery. You'd have to buy this component directly from Dell (as every laptop uses a different kind of battery) and replacing it would be a simple matter of removing your current battery and slipping in a new one.
Other upgrades (e.g. increasing the speed of the CPU) would be either difficult or impossible to do.
Eric. |
Iris in California
1/24/2009
17:20:13
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
Can the operating system be upgraded to Vista Home Premium? It currently has windows 2000 but was designed for xp. |
Eric
2/01/2009
22:40:43
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
Hi Iris,
Microsoft has the following minimum system requirements for running Windows Vista Home Premium:
800 MHz processor and 512 MB of system memory
20 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space
Support for Super VGA graphics
CD-ROM drive
By default the Dell Latitude C510/C610 laptop seems to come with only 256 megabytes of RAM. So if that's what you have in your particular laptop then it will not be sufficient for running Windows Vista. As well, the Dell Latitude C510/C610 laptop seems to come with a 20 gigabyte hard drive which would barely be enough room to install Vista (although, technically, it would be sufficiently large).
To find out how much RAM is in your particular Dell laptop, right click on My Computer (on the desktop) and select Properties.
Eric. |
Pacabe
5/26/2009
03:36:55
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
Hi everyone,
I have a question, what is the maximum HD size that can handle C510/C610 laptop? |
Steve
7/14/2009
03:49:17
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
I am trying to install a new hard drive ,but it is not recognized by the bios. Is there some setting in the bios that needs to be changed? |
Lovo
7/23/2009
15:24:09
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
i need help just finding how to keep the laptop from always changing the module memory i get errors as in can not load enough is it just the ram? |
Ted
7/29/2009
22:24:09
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
My dell latitude is marked Model C510/C610
I wish to upgrade the RAM if possible
How can I tell which model it actually is? |
22vlad22
8/17/2009
16:45:44
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
"How can I tell which model it actually is?"
Go to www.dell.com -> drivers @ downloads -> tape your service tag @ system will determine your model. I just did it @ now I know that my model is c610, so I can install 1 Gb RAM :) |
Jim
9/10/2009
16:32:50
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
My 610 has 256MB on a single card. Can a 512MB card be added to the other slot or do both cards need to be the same capacity? |
Koil
9/10/2009
18:35:20
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
Another way to know if you have the 510 or 610 is by your CPU the 610 has a 1 ghz p3 the 510 has a celeron CPU, (you can check this by right clicking "my computer" and going to properties.) As for the RAM you can swap any 128, 256, 512 stick in either slot. I'm searching for how large of an HDD it can support myself. Make sure you get the right SODIMM SDRAm for it also, crucial is a good website to check out. Good luck, I'm glad some other people out there have the same P.O.S laptop that I do. |
marcel meadow
10/15/2009
13:47:34
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
does this model have a cd burner on it |
lau
10/29/2009
11:37:42
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
i can put a biger video card on dell c 610? what is the maxim video can suport? |
Grimthorne
12/11/2009
11:30:04
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
You can buy a cdr/dvd drive for it. No idea what they cost. I KNOW it can only handle 1Gb Ram, which you can find the right knid for around 18$ if you know where to look. As far as I know, it can only support 32Mb graphics. I've also heard that 120Gb (I was able to find a few for around 50$ a pop)is the biggest Hd you can cram into one ;-) If anyone knows otherwise, I'd like to know before I buy this junk to upgrade mine (I've got 4, and I really don't want to upgrade them twice, too expensive). I'm wondering if there are any other upgrades anybody knows about for these. Mine have all been pretty dependable, but they're ould and cranky. |
Grimthorne
12/11/2009
11:33:45
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
Oh, yeah, figured I'd put my sources for price on here, Crucial will SCREW YOU. But not until you've paid 80$ for some outdated Ram...
Ram
http://www.buy.com/prod/emartbuy-512mb-sdram-sodimm-144-pin-ld-133mhz-pc133-for-dell-latitude/q/loc/111/212311470.html
120Gb Hd
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350214570609&rvr_id=&crlp=1_263602_263622&UA=WXF%3F&GUID=36dc7cfd1240a0e202e5a695ffaca99c&itemid=350214570609&ff4=263602_263622#shId
happy hunting! |
dhesiry
1/04/2010
10:45:14
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
is it compatible with my laptop(dell latitude c510/c610) if i convert it to vista or windows 7? |
ghg
1/12/2010
04:35:21
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
Wonderful iPhone to music transfer can help you easily copy music to iPhone. It can not only copy music from iPhone, but also can copy iPod to iPhone. Moreover,iPhone copy music is prepared for Windows user, and iPhone Music Mac is for Mac user. |
Robert
1/24/2010
06:23:02
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
Hi everyone. I'm a PC Technician and I own one of these laptops which I use for my work. The reason being that I can remove the Optical drive (cd/dvd drive) and slot in a second battery doubling the battery life. But I have also done a bit of research into this laptop and upgraded it as much as possible.
My Laptop currently has the following setup:
1.2GHZ Pentium 3 CPU.
1Gb of RAM.
160Gb HDD.
Wireless Card.
DVD Read/Write drive.
Dual Boot setup to Run Windows XP or Windows 7 Operating System.
Here is a rundown answering some peoples questions and explaining how I set it up:
1. If you have the C510 you can upgrade the RAM to 512mb if you have the C610 (Which is what I have) you can upgrade the RAM to 1gb. If you have two slots and you want to add an extra RAM chip the chips do not have to be the same size (i.e if you have a c610 with a 256mb chip in you can add a 512mb into the second slot)Just make sure it is the same type of RAM (which should be 133 mhz 144 pin SDRAM) The RAM is located in the large removable panel on the underneath of the laptop.
2. Replacing the HDD (Hard disk drive)which is located on the left hand side of your laptop.Unfortunately I have not found out information for the C510 on this but would think it would be the same as the C610. The C610 has a maximumn HDD size of 60gb (although I have not tested this myself). If you do not know to much about replacing the hdd and reloading the Operating System and you just want more storage space than you are probably better of buying an exterior HDD. But if you do know what your doing then you can Upgrade you HDD to any size. What I did was buy an 160gb IDE laptop HDD. I then fitted it and Installed XP and then partitioned the drive into four 40gb drives.If you try to set it up as one large 160gb partition the bios will not be able to read it as it supposedly has a read limit of 60gb. So partitioning them to 40gb allows the bios to read each one and still gives you 160gb.
3. Optical drive replacement(cd/dvd drive). This is an easy one as the drive is what we call hot swappable meaning you can remove and plug it in when ever you want. The laptops usually come with an cd drive only capable of reading or a floppy drive (which is not really used much anymore) A quick look around usually on Ebay and you can find for around £45 an all in one CD read/Write and DVD Read/Write Drive for your laptop.
4.CPU chip. The C510 comes with a celeron chip unfortunately I have not found out the top CPU speed a C510 can take. But the C610 has a Pentium 3 usually 1ghz cpu which when running on Battery drops its speed down to 900mhz. What you can do is replace the CPU with a 1.2ghz cpu (which will drop to 1ghz when on battery power)again you can find these on ebay by typing Dell C610 LAPTOP CPU. To change the CPU it is probably best that you have some experience already of opening laptops up as you need to remove the whole bottom/lower casing of the laptop then remove the heatsink in order to replace the CPU. Not that diffcult compared to most modern laptops but still a bit tricky if your doing this for the first time so be carfull.
5. Wireless connection. I do not know if the C510 has a port for a wireless card but the C610 does. When you remove the large panel underneath the laptop you will see the two RAM slots a modem card and if there is not one fitted a wireless card slot. You can buy wireless cards from different places. (I got mine from Ebay) You then slot it in connect up the two cables onto the connectors on the card, replace the panel and power up. You system should detect the card and install it. If it does not you might need to look around for the correct drivers for your wireless card. If your not sure where to look try the Dell site or contact your wireless card supplier. Once done you will then have a laptop that can connect wirelessly.(assuming you have a wireless router)
6. And finally the Operating System. The laptop will happily run windows 2000 although this operating system is a bit old now but still being widely used. The laptop usually comes with XP which also will run happily. Some people have wanted to know about running windows Vista on it. Personly even with the upgrades I have previously mentioned I would not, as Vista is a very heavy (and some would say bloated) Operating System. So on a C510/C610 it would be very slow. I would say forget about Vista, As I'm sure Microsoft wish they could.
But windows 7 is completely different being a much lighter Operating System it will happily run on your C510/C610. The only downsides are that windows 7 Pro and Ultimate come with an virtual XP emulator which creates a virtual XP machine in a window allowing you to run xp programmes in it, which the C510/C610 does not have the capability to run and also High Defenition videos will also have trouble running on the laptop appearing a bit jerky and slow. But overall Windows 7 will happily run and be as fast (if not a bit faster in some parts ) as windows XP. On my laptop thanks to my large HDD I have it setup with dual Operating Systems which means I can choose to run Windows XP or Windows 7 depending on what I need to use it for.
Hope this helps answer some peoples questions.
Good luck and enjoy upgrading your laptop :o) |
TNAndy
1/26/2010
21:41:25
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
I can confirm a 120 GB PATA 2.5 inch hard drive can be installed in a Dell C510. Power off. Unscrew the screw on the access door located next to the PCMCIA slots. The hard drive pulls straight out. You must remove the contact adapter off the old hard drive and mount it on the new hard drive. Gently push the new hard drive into place; remount the caddy door.
Now comes the fun part: Reloading your operating system(s). You're on your own, here, but I can confirm you can dual-boot Windows XP and Fedora 10. I haven't found any hardware that won't work on both OS's so far.
If you upgrade the BIOS to revision A16, it will fully recognize the 120 GB hard drive. The very first boot screen tells you what your BIOS revision is. DANGER!!! YOU CAN RUIN YOUR COMPUTER FOREVER BY MIS-FLASHING A MOTHERBOARD BIOS!!! THIS IS NOT RECOVERABLE. KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO FLASH ANY BIOS!!!
Having said that, flashing my BIOS was not difficult. They give clear instructions on the Dell support web site. If you do try this, you will feel like it is taking FOREVER and something has gone wrong. Be patient. Go get coffee... brew a fresh pot... wait for it to cool off enough to drink.... Maybe by now your BIOS has flashed successfully. (Breathe a heavy sigh of relief that your computer is not a boat anchor.)
If the Dell representative I called had been willing to admit these laptops would recognize drives larger than 137 GB (or I had found the above post earlier), I'd have bought a much larger drive. (Hmmmm... If it will take a 160 GB hard drive, I wonder if it will take a 320 GB hard drive? This is the largest capacity I have found for 2 1/2 inch PATA drives. I may to have to find out....)
I can confirm 1 GB (2 * 512MB) RAM can be installed. (AFAIK, this is the maximum--if I had found larger capacity PC133 SODIMMs, I'd have tried them instead.) My C510's RAM has survived five passes of Memtest 86+ v3.2 with no errors. Replacement is easy. Power off. Unscrew all three screws on the central access panel on the bottom (the screw near the middle is the only one that removes fully). Slowly pry the panel from the two screw side; it may be very sticky--mine was almost glued down. GENTLY pop the old RAM sticks out; the catches are on the sides. Firmly seat, then gently tilt the new ones into place until they click. Replace the access panel. Test with Memtest. Done.
I can confirm an Intel 2200BG wireless MINI-PCI card fits on a C510. Using both Windows XP Home and Fedora 10 Linux, it works at the full 54 MB/s rate. This upgrade was also easy. Follow the instructions above for RAM installation, except you must also connect the two tiny antenna wires (taped to the inside of the compartment) to the antenna contacts on the mini-PCI card.
I had a hard time getting the Fedora wireless drivers to recognize the wireless card. I solved the problem by reinstalling Fedora 10 from scratch. (There may be an easier way--else back up ALL your files!)
There is a Dual Layer DVD Burner available for the Dell C-Series Latitude. This is the easiest upgrade of all. Release the current drive (or 2nd battery); the catch is on the bottom. Replace with the burner; it clicks into place. Boom. (Actually, I didn't know these were hot-swappable.)
I bought a Pentium 3-M 1.2 GHz to replace the current 1.2 Celeron, but there's a lot more to this than the other upgrades--this is brain surgery, after all--and I have "a round tuit" problem. Be careful: Pentium 3-M and Pentium 4-M CPUs fit on the same physical socket. If you mismatch with a P4-M, you can fry your CPU and motherboard to a crispy crunch.
I wish it were easy to replace the 16 MB ATI video card with a 32 MB nVidia GeForce 2, but from what I've read, that appears to be major, major surgery using donor guts from an entirely different model of Dell. Frankly, I'd start with a different model of Dell and build from there. |
TNAndy
1/26/2010
22:00:30
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
I forgot. The hard drive mounts on a caddy which slides into the laptop. As I recall, there were some screws on the bottom. Save them to mount the new hard drive.
Finally, if you got this laptop for free and have LOTS of time to carefully research and shop for upgrade parts, and you can do all the upgrades yourself, you might come out a little bit cheaper. On the other hand, if you buy a new Dell laptop, you'll spend an extra $100-200 to get something that isn't well on its way to obsolete. |
Lapitude
2/07/2010
10:14:50
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
Can anyone confirm the pentium III M Intel part number for the 1.2
GHz part on a C610. Is it SL6A9? My system already have a Tualitin
Pentium III M at 1.0GHz.
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Lapitude
2/07/2010
16:18:54
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
Looks like the Vcore is different 1.4v for SL6A9 and 1.5v for Sl5N5.
Does it matter? |
Lapitude
2/11/2010
09:28:21
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
Replaced Intel SL69V 1 GHz with a SL5CL 1.2GHz pentium III M
Tualitin core. Works great.
Simple to fit. Remove switch plastic, five screws to remove keyboard
4 screws to remove heatsink, fit CPU and reassemble. See manual at
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/latc610/en/index.htm
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SYL
2/14/2010
12:10:47
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
MERCI |
ivan
3/02/2010
00:50:35
| RE: Upgrading Dell Latitude C510/C610 Laptop
what hard drive can i put in this lap top |
