Possible Processor Upgrade

Chavways

Hi,

I have an Asus G60vx gaming laptop but at this stage its over 3 years old.Its able to run most things well but I'm having trouble running newer games. I was wondering if the processor could be upgraded.I've done some research and there seems to be conflicting answers about the possibility of adding a quad core to the machine.

Specs are:

Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.13Ghz

4GB Ram

Windows 7 64 bit

NVidia GTX260M Graphics card.

I also do a good bit of video editing so any way of decreasing render times would be a benefit.I would appreciate if someone could tell me if a processor upgrade is possible and around how much it might cost.If you require any extra information please ask.

cherryghost

first off the quad cores available for your laptop are nothing short of terrible. Personally you should try scoop out a T9400 from somewhere. 2.53ghz Core 2, you'll notice a fairly decent jump in performance.

Chavways

cherryghost wrote: »

first off the quad cores available for your laptop are nothing short of terrible. Personally you should try scoop out a T9400 from somewhere. 2.53ghz Core 2, you'll notice a fairly decent jump in performance.

Would it be a complicated job to switch the processors or could I do it myself? Would anything need to be soldered or anything?

Would it be risky buying a used one?They seem to be 50-60 euro on Ebay which I'd have no problem in paying if it'll keep me going for a year or so.

P.S: Hopefully it'd make BF3 sexy aswell:D

cherryghost

Depends on the bottom of the laptop. Most of the time its a simple job of taking the bottom panel off and screwing off the heatsink. Then its just a simple case of turning a flathead part to unload the cpu, and attach the new one. You might need thermal paste though. If the CPU doesn't come with it that is.

Chavways

cherryghost wrote: »

Depends on the bottom of the laptop. Most of the time its a simple job of taking the bottom panel off and screwing off the heatsink. Then its just a simple case of turning a flathead part to unload the cpu, and attach the new one. You might need thermal paste though. If the CPU doesn't come with it that is.

And the T9400 will definately work? I've seen on some websites that new processors wont work with some of the motherboard models of the G60. If everything works I might order one at the weekend.Would Ebay be the best place to get one?

cherryghost

Well the Asus G60vx has a different model that supports it so I don't see why not :P Yeah ebay or adverts.ie is your best bet. 50 euro will probably be the hovering price. Then sell your current for about 25 or so. :P

Chavways

cherryghost wrote: »

Well the Asus G60vx has a different model that supports it so I don't see why not :P Yeah ebay or adverts.ie is your best bet. 50 euro will probably be the hovering price. Then sell your current for about 25 or so. :P

Thanks a million for the help

cherryghost

Actually a T8300 might do the job too. It's a 2.4 Core 2, bang on minimum requirements.


EDIT: From what I see, the laptop supports any of the series mobile CPUs, all the way up to T9900, a damn fast mobile CPU. Good luck trying to find it though as Intel made limited models.

Chavways

cherryghost wrote: »

Actually a T8300 might do the job too. It's a 2.4 Core 2, bang on minimum requirements.


EDIT: From what I see, the laptop supports any of the series mobile CPUs, all the way up to T9900, a damn fast mobile CPU. Good luck trying to find it though as Intel made limited models.

Ive found some of them for sale.

This was the cheapest new T9400 I found:

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/New-Intel-Core-2-Duo-T9400-Mobile-Processor-2-53G-CPU-/260821890705?pt=CPUs&hash=item3cba323691

Its in China though.

Then the T9900 is a lot more expensive:

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Intel-Core-2-Duo-T9900-OEM-3-06Ghz-6Mb-34W-CPU-upgrademonkey-best-PM45-CPU-/160767106012?pt=UK_Computing_LaptopMotherboards_CPUs_CA&hash=item256e775bdc

Torqay

cherryghost wrote: »

T9900, a damn fast mobile CPU. Good luck trying to find it though as Intel made limited models.

~250 Dollar on Ebay, pretty much the same as a Core i5-2540M, which is more than 60% faster... so much for "damn fast".

Some investment for an old laptop and the old GPU will still be a bottleneck when it comes to new games.

jumbobreakfast

BF3 likes multiple cores, are you sure that a quad core wouldnt be a better choice for that game?

cherryghost

The only compatible quad core is a Q9000, a 2.0ghz quad processor. It's seriously slow and performs worse than the mid-end to high-end mobile Core 2 Duo CPUs.

cherryghost

Torqay wrote: »

~250 Dollar on Ebay, pretty much the same as a Core i5-2540M, which is more than 60% faster... so much for "damn fast".

Some investment for an old laptop and the old GPU will still be a bottleneck when it comes to new games.

It's damn fast because as its the fastest compatible Core 2 CPU on the market for his laptop. No point even comparing the i5. That said I wouldn't pay that much for an older gen cpu either

GTX260M is fine for BF3. I have a slower GPU and it does the job fine. It's the CPU thats the bottleneck and not the GPU. Even OP gets around a 2.4 Core 2 then its a finely balanced laptop that'll do him for a while.

Torqay

cherryghost wrote: »

Even OP gets around a 2.4 Core 2 then its a finely balanced laptop that'll do him for a while.

Now we're talking 50 Euro for a T7700 or so... big difference.

Chavways

I need some advice.I'm torn between going for a T9400 for 65 euro or a T9550 for around 75 euro.

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Intel-T9550-Core-2-Duo-2-66Ghz-6Meg-Cache-SLGE4-Mobile-Processor-Laptops-/330697749344?pt=UK_Computing_LaptopMotherboards_CPUs_CA&hash=item4cff1f3360

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Intel-Core-2-Duo-T9400-SLB46-2-53-GHz-1066-MHz-FSB-6M-Cache-CPU-Processor-/160742483449?pt=UK_Computing_LaptopMotherboards_CPUs_CA&hash=item256cffa5f9

Would the extra tenner be worth the extra performance of the 9550 or would I even notice a difference?

grindle

Chavways wrote: »

I need some advice.I'm torn between going for a T9400 for 65 euro or a T9550 for around 75 euro.
...
Would the extra tenner be worth the extra performance of the 9550 or would I even notice a difference?

You wouldn't notice the boost, really. But it is only a tenner...

Nope, not worth a tenner.

cherryghost

Well personally I dont think its worth the extra tenner. 2.53ghz should be enough to balance out your laptop neatly.

cherryghost

Here's a T9550 for 61 euro excl. postage

Chavways

cherryghost wrote: »

Here's a T9550 for 61 euro excl. postage

I was looking at that one but theres another where the seller has almost 5000 positive ratings so I was swaying towards him but I doubt I'd return it if it didn't work anyway.Might go for the T9550.I have a feeling if I dont I might regret it in a few months.