M17 GPU and CPU upgrade

I have an M17-R1 that I am looking to upgrade the GPU and CPU in. I have a Intel Core 2 Duo CPU P8400 @ 2.26GHz. My Video Card is a ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2. I have 4GB of RAM and I usually run Ubuntu, but sometimes I use Windows 7 Professional.

I have asked this same question on many forums and I get various answers. I can see many of you have already upgraded your M17s, so I figured this would be my final and last stop before I start shopping.

 

There are multiple CPUs you could upgrade to. The best option is likely the X9100 extreme processor, dual core 3.06GHz (if I remember correctly), and you should be able to pick one up on eBay for a decent price. (There are a few quad core options, but many machines had horrible stuttering problems with quad cores in them...it was literally a very random issue, some would have no issues at all. Not worth the risk.)

As for GPUs, very unlikely. The only upgrade from the 3870s was a pair of 4850s, but the 4850s in question were built specifically for the M17 and were very few and far between. The odds of you being able to find a pair for your machine are next to none.

 

if you can find a 9800m GTX it works but the performance gain will be VERY little.

4850's is the highest you can go.

Before I answer about the CPU may I ask what type of work you do on your laptop?

 

A 9800M GTX wouldn't provide a boost from crossfire 3870s.

 

I have an M17-R1 with 8gb of ram, a Q3000 extreme quadcore and dual 3870's. The 4850's would be hard to come by and likely very expensive. I do not have any stuttering issues but it was an issue with this system.

 

evne the 4850 would not provide any boost you would need dual 4850 to see any boost

a single 4850 is near 80% of the power of dual 3870

 

But it could be

I mis-worded the statement anyway..

fixed

 

Hey guys, thanks for the quick replies!! I only have 4GB of ram. Also, I do anything from PHP Coding, to playing World of Warcraft. I'm trying to upgrade the GPU for something better in WoW. And the CPU, I just figured I would do that while I was upgrading the gpu.

 

So you guys are saying two 4850s and a X9100 Dual Core should be good enough?

 

You might be able to put in a Q9100 (some ES versions are extreme), Q9200 (all ES and are extreme) and the QX9300 (extreme and OEM, high price)

You can overclock those with throttlestop past 3ghz.

 

yes /1000000

 

yes if you can get your hand on 4850 other wise a x9100 can be oced in hell with this laptop

and if you really feel like it put a QX9300 in it and break the 4.0ghz mandrake hit as a record