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hakemon
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05 Oct 2009, 6:56 am

Who says a laptop can't have it's CPU upgraded. :P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUEq6H6CzKA

I changed my laptops CPU to an older Pentium 4 core, as the older core was faster due to a shorter pipeline.. Gah, Intels "horror" days.


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kc8ufv
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05 Oct 2009, 7:39 am

I don't think I've ever heard it's impossible, however, frequently it is quite impractical. Most laptops I've seen have their CPU soldered, and modern laptop cpus are in BGA packages, which are dificult to work with without professional equipment. I'd even dread desoldering a PGA cpu.



hakemon
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05 Oct 2009, 7:44 am

kc8ufv wrote:
I don't think I've ever heard it's impossible, however, frequently it is quite impractical. Most laptops I've seen have their CPU soldered, and modern laptop cpus are in BGA packages, which are dificult to work with without professional equipment. I'd even dread desoldering a PGA cpu.

That's not at all what I've seen. I used to work in PC warranty repair for desktops and laptops, and every modern laptop had a socket, from what I saw. Even the old Pentium II Dells had a socket, though nonstandard.


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kip
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05 Oct 2009, 9:26 am

I've not had trouble with it, it's the bios you really run into a problem with. It's usually set to recognize a select few processors unless you end up with one of those HP/Compaq clone stamped parties.


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05 Oct 2009, 9:14 pm

I seeme to remember some surface mount CPUs, but I go back a long way...;) Ordinarily, upgrades are waay expensive, and more and more aren't particularly upgradeable, but that's me.

Yeah, usually you're looking at the system board at a minimum, and I recommend a deft touch; they're fragile inside. Might just be easier (and cheaper) to get a desktop or new laptop, depending.


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gamefreak
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05 Oct 2009, 9:21 pm

Depends, most expenive quad-core lappies have the room and the same for a lot of older PII's III's and 4's.



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06 Oct 2009, 3:22 am

My 2 cents....

Upgrading any CPU is limited to what the MB is capable of supporting. Often, the upgrade options are not worth the effort or cost.

I intend to build my next PC with a MB that will support the best CPU I can afford but handle a much faster CPU that I can't afford right now. That way I could make a significant upgrade in 2 years or so.



peterd
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06 Oct 2009, 4:46 am

Quote:
I intend to build my next PC with a MB that will support the best CPU I can afford but handle a much faster CPU that I can't afford right now.


Me too. Except that I'm fairly sure they'll have come up with a new architecture by then that will, (shock, horror), make my "best I could get" motherboard look like an antique. Again.



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06 Oct 2009, 10:00 am

hakemon wrote:
kc8ufv wrote:
I don't think I've ever heard it's impossible, however, frequently it is quite impractical. Most laptops I've seen have their CPU soldered, and modern laptop cpus are in BGA packages, which are dificult to work with without professional equipment. I'd even dread desoldering a PGA cpu.

That's not at all what I've seen. I used to work in PC warranty repair for desktops and laptops, and every modern laptop had a socket, from what I saw. Even the old Pentium II Dells had a socket, though nonstandard.


Yah, everything I work with uses a socket these days. On a few models, the CPU is even accessible without you needing to take the case apart. As someone said, the difficulty is mostly with getting the machine to recognise the new CPU (and run it at a reasonable frequency - when I've messed about trying different CPUs, they'll often run, but at an emergency-low clock speed.)


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gramirez
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06 Oct 2009, 3:18 pm

My PowerBook G3 has both the processor and the memory slots on one convenient pull-out card.


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Pikachu
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10 Oct 2009, 3:44 am

it is possible for some laptops (modern ones) to have the CPU changed, however it would be wise to obtain the service manual for the laptop in question, try Google searching for one :)


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Keith
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11 Oct 2009, 4:47 am

I would be sure that all modern laptops will have socketed processors as it makes it easier for the manufacturers to just make them and vendors to put them in their models. Works out much cheaper. There are models of laptop I have come across where the laptop series sometimes has a better board higher up the line. Maybe higher RAM capacity, or more video memory. Nothing wrong with getting the highest in the line.

I think the most difficult part about building a computer for the true enthusiast is the motherboard. If your current one dies, you'll more often than not have to reinstall your operating system. The board being so complex in a way that being the foundation on which the computer is built is more likely to have bottlenecks if the chipset is of a small company. Even so with cheaper models, the quality could be much less and have a shorter lifespan, seriously hampering the true speed the rest of the components can run.
That's the trouble I face. I try to stick with vendors I know are good. I avoid those that are too cheap as it is true when they say, "you get what you pay for" Unless it's for a cheaply built computer. I will avoid manufacturers I've never heard of.

My current board supports the AMD Athlon x2 6000 @3GHz On the website, the highest in this range supported is the 5200. But I saw the frequency of others and was confident, if it wouldn't recognise it as it was, it will run it at full speed. I'll need to check the HT throughput to ensure it's able to push it all out.



steeviebops
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12 Oct 2009, 5:05 pm

Back in 2003 I had an Acer TravelMate 240, it came with a 2.6 GHz Celeron processor (400 FSB). I checked it one day and noticed that it had a standard desktop s478 processor (which explains why it always ran so hot!) so I replaced it with a 2.66 GHz Pentium 4 (533 FSB) and it worked perfectly. From then on it reported itself as a TravelMate 250, it seems the only major difference between the two models was the processor type.

My current laptop, an Acer Aspire 7730G, is modded to the gills, it was the following:

Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 @ 2.26 GHz
4GB DDR2-667 RAM
2x320GB 5400rpm Hitachi SATA disks
TSST DVD RW drive
Intel 5100 wireless
German model, therefore a German keyboard layout.

I replaced the processor with a P8600 @ 2.4 GHz, replaced the RAM with 4GB DDR2-800, changed the main hard disk with a 7200rpm Seagate, installed a Hitachi/LG BD-RE and replaced the wireless with an Intel 4965 (it works much better on my 5 GHz wireless router than the 5100 does). I also replaced the keyboard with a UK English type. Most of these parts I just had lying about so said I'd put them to good use.



Keith
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12 Oct 2009, 6:18 pm

steeviebops wrote:
I replaced the processor with a P8600 @ 2.4 GHz, replaced the RAM with 4GB DDR2-800, changed the main hard disk with a 7200rpm Seagate, installed a Hitachi/LG BD-RE and replaced the wireless with an Intel 4965 (it works much better on my 5 GHz wireless router than the 5100 does). I also replaced the keyboard with a UK English type. Most of these parts I just had lying about so said I'd put them to good use.


I would say that a 7,200rpm hard drive will use more battery power. You can order a keyboard specific to the country. According to what you have written, is Ireland. I will presume this is the same as EN-GB They should exist. Not sure about getting hold of one. I had trouble getting one for little money



steeviebops
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12 Oct 2009, 6:24 pm

I don't really use my laptop on battery power anyway, I simply have it as I can't fit a desktop PC in this apartment. In Ireland we use the same keyboards as the UK, the only differences between UK and Irish layouts are that the Irish one allows accented characters - á é í ó ú but they're never printed on the keyboard itself.



Keith
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26 Oct 2009, 5:21 am

On that note then, UK and EIRE are the same ... My keyboard/OS allows those too áéíóú