TheAbandonwareGuy wrote:
Nice. When do you plan to install custom firmware?
Actually the early PS3s with NOR flash are a PITA to hack, if I recall correctly. I have a CECHA01, and did a bit of research when I got it. It seems that all of the commonly available tools are designed for the later models with NAND flash. The only exception is if you got one whose firmware was never updated past 3.55.
Anywho. I bought a Dell XPS Gen 1 today. Ive been discussing buying this since early last year and I've actually forgotten which CPU and GPU it has in it. It'll be good regardless. It should have either a 3.4GHz Prescott or a 3.4GHz Gallatin (is there a major difference?). The GPU will be either a Mobility 9700 or a 9800. I think this one has a 9800 Pro. In theory the former can be upgraded to the latter anyways.
It has a 1920x1200 display which should be great for Infinity Engine RPGs. It's going to become my main XP portable. Not sure what else I'll play on it aside from of course Morrowind. Oblivion in theory would run but it would be like 800x600 @ Medium Low. I'm also not sure how the display on these things handle 4:3 resolutions. If they letter box it that's great. If they stretch it that's not.
That display would actually be the highest resolution display I own. It actually makes me wonder if the Pentium 4 can decode 1080p H264 @ 3.4GHz. I imagine this would depend on the player but my gut tells me lower bitrate files could do it.
Nice find!
If it's a Prescott, swap it with a Northwood immediately. Those things are furnaces even in a desktop, never mind with a laptop's cooling restrictions. You'll also see better battery life. Even if it's a Gallatin EE, I'd still change it out. I'm pretty sure the Gallatins had higher TDP than the Northwoods thanks to their L3 Cache. It would run much better in a desktop. Also, if you're cleaning out the inevitable dust, remember that it has a third fan underneath the palm rest that cools the chipset and then blows across the top of the CPU cooler.
Basically: Swap in a Northwood, throw the Gallatin in a desktop, throw the Preshott in the trash.
The Mobility Radeon 9800 is definitely the one you want - It's actually a cut down R420, out of the X800. The MR9700 is a little faster than a desktop 9600 Pro. Definitely not suitable for 1920x1200. If you do have the 9700, your best bet is scouring eBay for cheapo XPSes and running the service tags. That's how I managed to get mine - bare 9800s seldom show up, and are exorbitantly expensive when they do.
If it doesn't have a full 2GBs of RAM, keep in mind when ordering that it contains an honest-to-god desktop i865 chipset, and thus you should order DDR400 SODIMMs. It'll take the more common DDR333 sticks, but you'll take a performance hit.
I'd also recommend finding a 7200 RPM HDD for it. They generally came with 5400 or (barf) 4200 RPM drives, and it makes a world of difference.
I don't have it in front of me to check atm, but I'm fairly certain they have a 1:1 pixel mapping mode. Better still would be a "keep aspect" mode, for 800x600 -> 1600x1200, but like I said I don't know off the top of my head.