Advice on upgrading a studio 1537 CPU

Hi, new to the forum, so please go easy on me being a noob.

I hope I'm not going over old ground here, but previous threads I've seen are pretty old now.

I'm looking into replacing the current T5800 CPU with something a bit more up to date.

I would like to know if it is worth it and what some of the forum experts would suggest.

Let me know if you need any more info.

Cheers,

Andy

 

You can go up to a T9500, but I'd recommend a T8100 or T8300. You can't use 1066MHz FSB processors.

 

Thanks Commander, I will look into it.

 

I'm running a T9600 & love it.

 

Actually, 1066MHz CPUs are supported on the Studio 1537 - Montevina platform. They are not supported on the 1535 - Santa Rosa refresh.

So, any Core 2 Duo Socket P CPU should run in the 1537.

 

You are right. Somehow I thought the revision was only for a new GPU or something of the sort.

 

It's all good. Dell is confusing people on purpose with these tiny model changes. I think they were selling the 1555 and 1557 at the same time, and there was no way of knowing which one you got besides looking at processors or the model number after you ordered.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Next question: How straight forward is it to change the chip? I couldn't find a link to the Dell maintenance page.

Thanks,

Andy : )

 

Documentation

... and specifically:

Documentation

... so only a couple screws, really.

 

Thanks Wolf.

I've removed the heat sync assembly before, so that should be fine. Is the actual cpu chip easy to take out?

 

If you'd look at the documentation, it's only one screw too:

Documentation

 

Sorry, I just found that page of the documentation. Yes, that does look easy. Nothing to stop me ordering myself a new CPU then

Cheers!

 

Yup the actual CPU screw is very easy. Make sure you follow the order to remove the heatsink (they should be numbered). Just make sure you rescrew the ZIF screw, otherwise you won't POST and will have to redo all that work!

 

Hi again.

Ok, so could I go up to a t9900? Would it be worth the extra £50 from the t9600?

Getting a bit confused when looking at the various types of CPU.

What cpu would you guys recommend? Something that will give me a noticeable difference from the current t5800.

Sorry to be asking silly questions; it's just a big purchase for me.

Cheers,

Andy

 

You cannot use either T9600 or T9900, they are both 1066 FSB Core 2 Duos. You are better off with a T9300 or T8300, the extra speed isn't worth the money as many benchmarks have shown unless you are rendering then you are better off saving up for a new machine anyway, your chipset limitations hurt you more.

 

I thought it was possible going from this post:

It's a PM45 chipset which seems to support the 1066 FSBs from what I've found after trawling the internet for info.

either way, do you think I would see a significant boost in performance from the current T5800 chip?

Again, I really appreciate everyone's feedback.

 

Err sorry misread that, disregard my last post.

T9x00 series processors are pretty expensive, I would go with a P8700 and leave it at that.

 

Any T8xxx, P8xxx, and T9xxx will be significantly better than the T5800. The T9xxx have 6MB L2 caches while the T8xxx and P8xxx have only 3MB. The difference between the T and P designation is supposedly related to power efficiency. The P series Core 2 Duos are binned such that they use less power and provide better battery life; however, undervolting the T series chips can often yield the same result.

 

Many benchmarks show cache has little to no performance gain in gaming and overall use. Just stick with a T8x00 or a P8x00 processors, T9x00 are too expensive to justify the cost.

 

^^agreed. Probably not worth spending over $100 on upgrading the Studio 1537. These machines are poorly built and who knows what else will fail.

 

Well if he plans on keeping it for longer by upgrading the processor, I have no qualms about that. ~150 for a processor upgrade is fine by my standards. But 300 for a T9x00 doesn't make sense. You can get an i7 for that much. Now upgrading a 5 year old laptop is a no-no unless it's RAM/HDD.

And that's is why I only buy business class notebooks.

 

Well as it happens I bought a t9600. I couldn't find a T8x00 or P8x00 for a decent price, so the T9600 ended up being cheaper. I'm not sure exactly how that works :s

I got the T9600 for about $140. It is just to keep the machine going for another year or so. I figure that $140 is really not much to spend for the sake of a year's increased performance. I will be looking at upgrading to a far better machine this time next year hopefully. I will no doubt be asking you guys for advice on that too.

Your feedback is much appreciated.

Thanks

 

Very odd, T9x00 series processors are overpriced as heck. If it works you got a heck of a deal. Did you perhaps get an ES version of the processor?

 

No, it's a standard OEM from a reputable seller on ebay. I was being picky and just looking at sellers in the UK and there just weren't many 8x00 chips available. It was very odd indeed, but I can't complain as long as the chip works ok.

 

Maybe it's because Core 2 prices are dropping with these Core i5/i7's floating around and Sandy Bridge around the corner.

Grats on the T9600.

@Tsunade_Hime: Dell's new business notebooks aren't much better... My new Latitude E6410's lid latch won't lock unless you forcefully mash the lid down. I miss my old, tank-like Latitude D800. They just don't make them like they used to. =(

 

Hrm well I just acquired a D620, and I love it except for the Alps touchpad (BLEH). I've also used my mom's E6400, not as solid as the older D6xx series but I find it acceptable. I've also own a Latitude 13 which I like it alot. I actually do prefer Dell's older business class notebooks (absolutely love my Vostro 1500).

Also make sure you torture test that CPU, nothing like finding a good deal on a defective CPU.

 

Good point! Use IBT - Intel Burn Test. Monitor temps and clocks with Hwmonitor and CPUID.

Next step...undervolting

 

Good find on the T9600. I think I paid double that for mine.