AMD processor upgrade

whizbang

I havent a clue about AMD processors!

but have a laptop using a Turion 64 x2 TL-58 processor, am looking to squeeze more life out of it.

Is it possible to upgrade the processor, ?? if so can anyone suggest anything usefull...

thanks

Overheal

Even if you could find a more powerful processor, the Turion and any laptop thats running a Turion is past its cost-effective lifespan. Meaning you'd spend more money and time performing the upgrade than getting improvement out of it. Besides, in most cases a faster processor would mean higher TDP (heat, energy) on the same system, which the current cooling solution isn't set up for.

Even if possible, I wouldn't try it. You can find windows enabled Atom CPU-based tablets that have higher benchmarks. Similar, but higher, and quad core. And touch. And new. For around the same price you can find new laptops that have easily triple or higher benchmark scores and that probably doesn't even at all factor in real world improvements.

The best thing to do instead is reduce system load: you can't really upgrade the hardware, so downgrade the usage. That is, minimizing how much you do on the machine. My laptop, once a struggler of things like Crysis on ultra low settings and WoW raids, is a glorified WebTV now. A lot of it has to do with the fact that software minimums change over time and utilities and security programs demand more system resources as they become more sophisticated. One thing you can do is install low-impact security software like Webroot, or remove security altogether, and run a lighter browser such as Chrome instead of Firefox. You can also ultimately ditch the Windows OS and install some variety of linux that will have an even lower impact on system hardware. It's probably not worth the cost to upgrade the OS, but say if you're on Vista, then 7 and 8 have comparably better performance. For the money, you're better off venturing into the free world of the penguin.

whizbang

lovely comprehensive reply, but a bit by the book i'm afraid

but anyway, it may actually be a Athlon 64 X2 QL-64. Windows doesn't seem to be to bothered.

Overheal

for the socket type (s1g2) the Turion Ultra ZM-88 seems to be the highest end unit that will fit in that socket, with less voltage and the same wattage. It's 2.5ghz with 2x1MB cache opposed to 2x512kb and 2.1ghz.

I don't see the ZM-88 on the aftermarket on first glance. Its lower end brothers are easily spotted, but it looks as though based on the evidence you're looking at €50-100 for such a CPU and the performance increases will still be relatively minor.

Capt'n Midnight

Overheal wrote: »

I don't see the ZM-88 on the aftermarket on first glance. Its lower end brothers are easily spotted, but it looks as though based on the evidence you're looking at €50-100 for such a CPU and the performance increases will still be relatively minor.

http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/K8/AMD-Turion%2064%20X2%20Mobile%20technology%20TL-58%20-%20TMDTL58HAX5CT.html - compare it with the CPU you'd get in an entry level laptop.

But you might not be able to upgrade unless the BIOS supports it,
You can't upgrade to one with a higher wattage unless you are sure the cooling and power supply is up to it. And then it will eat into battery life.

use cupz to id the exact chip http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html