Upgrade CPU 5230E

Hi,

I'm actually posting for my neighbour.
He has this laptop, very cheap one, maybe the cheapest ever?! lol
anyway :

Acer Extensa 5230E-571G16Mn (Celeron M 575 - 2Ghz)

He wanted to play with lowest details ever, everything set as Performance instead of quality, etc etc...

Off course i told him, he cant make a race Horse with that comp...

So, i was thinking if i get to upgrade his CPU to some random C2D will he be able to play like i said before, i mean cause right now, he can "play" BUT the games are UNPLAYABLE, like really reaaaaally low FPS... and since u cant change the G.card on these laptops, some T4XXX or T6XXX could be enough to at least play reasonably ?

Thanks.

 

Probably not - games rely far more on the GPU than on the CPU. Even a Core 2 Duo won't help your neighbour's Extensa play games any better.
Tell him that it's better to save the money and time he would've spent upgrading the CPU and put it towards a new laptop with a discrete graphics card.

Oh, and welcome to the forums!

 

thanks )
Well actually, he's kinda broke, and hes some "game" addict guy. usually he doesnt play on computer, he just bought this one last year to use MSN exclusively. But recently he wanted to play Prototype, i told him not to buy it cuz it wont work anyways... still yesterday he asked me to install the game...
Well honestly for some "nerd" like him, even with 10FPS he PLAYS.. so if he could get more than 40 FPS by buying some T5500(i can buy one tomorrow for 40$) he would...
I know the GPU is important, but if the proc sux (celeron like the one he has) for sure the game will suck as well...

im not stubborn, if you tell me its pointless, then its pointless, but for 40$ upgrade from single stupid core, to some "okay" c2d isnt so bad i guess, IF ITS COMPATIBLE(thats the other point of this topic).

thanks again

 

Well, the Extensa 5230 series uses the Intel GL40 chipset and Socket P. The GL40 isn't certified to be able to use a Core 2 Duo, so upgrading might prove to be unsuccessful. It can use dual-core CPUs...just dual-core Celerons. :s
Plus, the Core 2 Duo T5500 won't be compatible - it uses Socket M. Unless you were referring to a T55 50, which does use Socket P and might be compatible.
Have you considered using a Pentium Dual-Core instead? Same core as a Core 2 Duo, just with less cache on-board the chip. Might be more compatible.

Just use Wiki to make sure you're getting something on Socket P, and avoid Core 2 Duos with a 1066 MHz FSB - those are certain to be incompatible, because the GL40 chipset can handle only 800 MHz at best.

Oh, and upon further look, the Extensa 5230 actually has an Intel GMA 4500M graphics card. Still integrated, still kinda dumpy, but might be able to run something. Just max out the RAM so it has access to more.

 

thanks a lot, i will look for more informations tomorrow! thanks a lot you are really helpful !!

Edit :

http://ark.intel.com/Compare.aspx?ids=29759,36680,

Is it a good "upgrade" ? it seems ok to me, maybe the 31->35 watts thingy might be a problem?!!(since its ACER... lol)

 

Those extra four watts are because of the second core being active, probably. Celerons are just Core 2 Duos with the second core permanently disabled due to instability.
I don't foresee it being a problem - just back things up and be very careful in case things go awry. I honestly don't know if this'll work, but it's highly likely IMHO.

 

As a gamer who actually played prototype I can confirm that this upgrade will absolutely be useless with prototype because it is utterly CPU intensive my friend's laptop with T9550 & Nvidia 9300M GS gets an average of 20-25 FPSs especially in the street fights where there is a lot of chars, vehicles & smoke

as a piece of advice it is not worth it

 

alright, you guys were really helpful and realistic, i'll tell him to give up on playing that game, i'll lend him my comp with gt240 i guess it'll be enough LOL
thanks a lot!!!