What to do with Latitude D610 s? SSDize?

More popular than ever, but some are still very noisy.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

Post Reply
T K
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Jun 18, 2013 2:32 pm

What to do with Latitude D610 s? SSDize?

Post by T K » Fri Apr 03, 2015 7:53 am

Greetings!


Things have un-folded so that I happen to be faced with 2
Latitude D610 lap-tops...

#1 has
- battery that works
- Hard disk drive - Hitachi HTS721060G9AT00 (60 GB) that
- - proDuces significant high-pitched noise when not reading-writing
- CPU - 1 x Intel Pentium M processor 1.86GHz (1862 MHz)
- Video adapter - ATI MOBILITY RADEON X300 (64 MB)
- Motherboard - Dell Inc. 0C4708
- CD drive - TSSTcorp DVD+-RW TS-L632H
#2 has
- battery that remains at 0%
- Hard disk drive - FUJITSU MHV2040AH (40 GB)
- CPU - 1 x Intel Pentium M processor 1.60GHz (1596 MHz)
- Video adapter - Mobile Intel 915GM/GMS,910GML Express Chipset Family (128 MB)
- Motherboard - Dell Inc. 0D4571
- CD drive - SONY DVD+-RW DW-D56A
each has
- System memory - 512 MB (256 MB + 256 MB)
- Monitor - SEC3450 (14.1")

Seems reasonable to attempt to do something meaningful with them. Perhaps com-bine and up-grade into one that works palatably.
Hopefully any major new parts could also be usable else-where.
Obtaining and then installing an SSD looks like a bene-ficial way to go. What kind would be reasonable for such a computer? Are any caveats or bottle-necks to be expected? ...Eg have read about some 120GB limit for SSDs.


Thank you for advice!
Last edited by T K on Fri Apr 03, 2015 10:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

SebRad
Patron of SPCR
Posts: 1121
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2003 7:18 am
Location: UK

Re: What to do with Latitude D610 s? SSDize?

Post by SebRad » Fri Apr 03, 2015 12:02 pm

Hi, I would suggest that it depends on what you want to achieve from said laptop. I would say that even for just browsing the Internet they wouldn't be great, depending on your experience/expectations anyway.

The biggest problem is I think from the HDD models you gave is that they are using IDE drives. Last time I looked, long ago, there where no cost effective SSD solutions for 2.5" IDE. Lack of SSD combined with the relatively slow CPU and limited RAM capacity are going to make a sluggish experience.
Unless you are going to run Windows pre XP, i.e. Windows 98 and use it for running old/legacy apps or games it's going to be slow. A while back I looked in to Linux for an old PC and even that was looking like 512MB RAM minimum, with 1GB recommended. You're laptops could be upgraded I think to 2GB but...

You can buy a new laptop these days for £200 that will have a much more powerful dual core CPU, 4GB RAM, 320GB+ HDD and a battery that holds charge. If you want to run modern apps and/or surf the web my suggestion is refurb the laptops as best you can and sell them and use the money towards something new, that you could sensibly put an SSD in to. In fact some modern "bay trail" designs are fanless, combines with and SSD is SPCR heaven!

Regards, Seb

shaoyu
Posts: 36
Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2008 12:05 pm
Location: USA

Re: What to do with Latitude D610 s? SSDize?

Post by shaoyu » Wed Apr 08, 2015 4:38 am

There are SSD upgrades for IDE 2.5" now, for example two Aleratec mSATA adapters on Amazon (9.5mm and 7mm):
http://www.amazon.com/Aleratec-mSATA-Sp ... 00HZT4CFS/
http://www.amazon.com/Aleratec-mSATA-Sp ... 00U6TW37I/

But there are also cheap alternative adapter cards for laptops (mSATA to IDE 2.5") on ebay (search for mSATA 2.5" IDE) for $5, without mounting frame, but should work alright with laptops.
RAM needs to be upgraded to 2GB (around $10 from ebay looks like), so we are looking at $15 sink cost for each upgrade from ebay, then you can use mSATA SSD with these.

washu
Posts: 571
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:20 am
Location: Ottawa

Re: What to do with Latitude D610 s? SSDize?

Post by washu » Wed Apr 08, 2015 5:54 am

Those laptops are really too old to do much except retro computing or offline use. I know lots of people do, but I wouldn't use XP on the modern internet as it does not get security updates anymore. With the low RAM and CPU it would be rather slow as well. You could put a Linux distro on them, but that won't solve the performance issues browsing the web.

If you really want to you could upgrade #1 with more RAM and an SSD and run a modern Windows acceptably, if not particularly fast. I would not bother though, as it would be a waste of money. Investing in SSDs or adapters that can be used in a PATA machine is not going to give you parts usable elsewhere unless you are staying with old equipment. DDR2 laptop RAM was also not used for a long time, only late Pentium Ms, Core/Core 2 and some Atoms.

#2 is not suitable for modern Windows as its video chipset is not supported properly in Vista or higher.

It sucks given that they are only one model behind being usable, the D620 is a fine machine with a modern OS. If you can find any of those they would be much better suited to be used in a current way. They take SATA SSDs just fine.

xan_user
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 2269
Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 9:09 am
Location: Northern California.

Re: What to do with Latitude D610 s? SSDize?

Post by xan_user » Wed Apr 08, 2015 5:08 pm

i just put a 64gb PATA SSD in an old hand-me-down gateway celeon for a beater work laptop. at first it ran horribly, till i remembered to align the sectors. now its cooking.

sure the gpu cant handle youtube, but its just for work... perfect for toting up hillsides and rooftops (to install long-range wifi links).


http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss? ... c+2.5-inch

washu
Posts: 571
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:20 am
Location: Ottawa

Re: What to do with Latitude D610 s? SSDize?

Post by washu » Thu Apr 09, 2015 2:30 pm

The controller used in that drive (SiliconMotion SM2236) is meant for compact flash. It is no where near the performance of even a low end SATA SSD. From the limited benchmarks I have found it is barely faster than the old magnetic drives it is meant to replace and often much slower on writes. That drive is meant for ruggedness in industrial applications that have limited writes. It's not meant to run a mainstream desktop OS.

T K said he hoped any new parts could be useful elsewhere. A slow PATA SSD isn't useful in anything even slightly newer.

xan_user
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 2269
Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 9:09 am
Location: Northern California.

Re: What to do with Latitude D610 s? SSDize?

Post by xan_user » Thu Apr 09, 2015 4:49 pm

exactly. its perfect for tossing in my tool bag while still running, and hitting the road....or even accidentally dropping it off a roof.

not everyone wants or needs the same thing from a pooter....

-if the SD card slot worked on this lappy, id have considered just using that to boot from.

Cistron
Posts: 618
Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2008 5:18 am
Location: London, UK

Re: What to do with Latitude D610 s? SSDize?

Post by Cistron » Thu Apr 09, 2015 11:43 pm

Unless you need portability (which with 0% battery retention ... nope) these things are helplessly outmoded. I daresay a 35 bucks raspberry pi II would be a lot more versatile.

I don't like throwing things away either, but considering the D610 was released about 10 years ago.

T K
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Jun 18, 2013 2:32 pm

Re: What to do with Latitude D610 s? SSDize?

Post by T K » Sun Apr 12, 2015 11:10 am

Thank you for replies and advice
  • SebRad
  • shaoyu
  • washu
  • xan_user
  • Cistron
!
SebRad wrote:The biggest problem is I think from the HDD models you gave is that they are using IDE drives. Last time I looked, long ago, there where no cost effective SSD solutions for 2.5" IDE.
There seem to be IDE <-> Sata converters for ~7€ but would such fit in-side?
Could some SSD-like thing be housed internally but be conNected via USB?
Lack of SSD combined with the relatively slow CPU and limited RAM capacity are going to make a sluggish experience.
Unless you are going to run Windows pre XP, i.e. Windows 98 and use it for running old/legacy apps or games it's going to be slow.
Currently running WindowsXP, slowly.
A while back I looked in to Linux for an old PC and even that was looking like 512MB RAM minimum, with 1GB recommended. You're laptops could be upgraded I think to 2GB but...

You can buy a new laptop these days for £200 that will have a much more powerful dual core CPU, 4GB RAM, 320GB+ HDD and a battery that holds charge.
Are any of those also mostly noiseless when turned on?
Eg found a supposedly quad-core...
- Packard Bell ENTG71BM / 15,6" / Intel Celeron N2920 QC / Intel HD / 4GB / 500GB / no DVD / BT / HDMI / USB3.0 / SD reader / Cam / Win 8.1 / ~259€
If you want to run modern apps and/or surf the web my suggestion is refurb the laptops as best you can and sell them and use the money towards something new, that you could sensibly put an SSD in to.
Not sure how well that'd work, accounting for whether there'd be any-one wanting those and the cost of trans-port to the right place and arrangement comm-unications.
Could perhaps work as a gift, without monetary payoff intent.
Or as some-thing else than laptops.
It may be reasonable to consider a new one anyhow, especially if upgrading would be in-efficient.
In fact some modern "bay trail" designs are fanless, combines with and SSD is SPCR heaven!
Haven't found many such fan-less SPCR angels or com-ponents of heaven here though, mostly just tablets and others with non-positive reviews.
Perhaps a fan could be good for safety, as long as it won't be used trying to fly away too much|often and in a noisy way.


All the Best!

SebRad
Patron of SPCR
Posts: 1121
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2003 7:18 am
Location: UK

Re: What to do with Latitude D610 s? SSDize?

Post by SebRad » Sun Apr 12, 2015 11:50 am

Acer Aspire E11 (and V11) are definitely fanless.
Acer UK page

There is a thread on fanless laptops, not looked in detail to see what is listed.
here.

Seb

washu
Posts: 571
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:20 am
Location: Ottawa

Re: What to do with Latitude D610 s? SSDize?

Post by washu » Sun Apr 12, 2015 4:50 pm

T K wrote:Thank you for replies and advice
Could some SSD-like thing be housed internally but be conNected via USB?
No. At least not in any easy way. Using USB connected storage internally is not really feasible. First you would need to find some way of hacking in USB. Even making the assumption that there are accessible internal USB ports (which is a big assumption on such an old laptop) you would be looking at soldering in some kind of USB storage. This is something I have actually done, but on a newer machine that had the USB solder pads available. Then you have to worry about USB booting in the BIOS. Finally your OS has to support this, something XP is not good at without a lot of hacking.

The only laptops that can easily boot from an "internal' USB device have expresscard slots, which almost always implies they can also use regular SATA SSDs.
Currently running WindowsXP, slowly.
As I said before, unless your uses are offline I would not use XP on the public internet anymore. No security updates are just too great a risk.
Are any of those also mostly noiseless when turned on?
I have an Asus T100 which is completely fanless and completely silent. It was a bit under $400 CAD, but that includes the 64 GB SSD boot drive. Much faster than the D610 and runs 8.1 just fine.
Perhaps a fan could be good for safety, as long as it won't be used trying to fly away too much|often and in a noisy way.
As I said above, an Asus T100 is a bay-trail laptop/tablet combo device which is completely fanless. There are other similar devices which are also fanless, but I don't have personal experience with them.

If you are so concerned about fanless, why are you even considering using the D610s? They are not fanless, and any modern use would push the CPU hard, causing the fans to run loud. I've used and worked on several D610s in my career and while they are not screamers, I would not call them quiet.

T K
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Jun 18, 2013 2:32 pm

Re: What to do with Latitude D610 s? SSDize?

Post by T K » Sun Apr 19, 2015 8:07 am

SebRad wrote:Acer Aspire E11 (and V11) are definitely fanless.
When initially saw 11" Aspires, wondered whether they were like those (not meant)|(hard to use) for productive endeavors.
Seems they could be well-usable to eg write|program and read.

Found such specific offers...
  • Acer ES1-111 CMD-N2940 11" /4/500GB W8.1 NX.MRKEL.005
    238,00 € (up from 233€ few days earlier)
  • Acer Aspire V3-111P 11.6" Touch LED, Intel Pentium Quad Core N3530, 4GB DDR, 500GB, Windows 8.1, NX.MP0EL.001
    279,00 €
N3530 rates faster than N2840 at
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/721/In ... N3530.html
.
Are any of those offers recommendable & reasonable?
washu wrote:If you are so concerned about fanless, why are you even considering using the D610s? They are not fanless, and any modern use would push the CPU hard, causing the fans to run loud. I've used and worked on several D610s in my career and while they are not screamers, I would not call them quiet.
For one, thought it could be an inter-mediate stage for the time taken to thoroughly reSearch newer models.


Wish you the best!

TK

Post Reply