P4 swap

Hello,
I have a Gen 1 Inspiron XPS.
3.4GHz Prescott
2 GB ram
mobility radeon 9800
60 GB HDD

I am very dissatisfied with its performance when it gets hot. For being a gaming laptop it certainly cannot play games, heh, it even struggles with flash games when it gets warm. I have already cleaned it out real good, and I also replaced the dell thermal paste with as5. It constantly is at 70+°C. The only time I can actually play games is when its winter time and I stick it on the window ledge, window open.
From what I understand, the only way to solve this heat problem is a cooler processor. As far as I can determine this leaves me with the following choices:
-Swap it for a Northwood P4 (3.4GHz)
-Swap it for a Gallatin P4 (3.4GHz EE)

Which of these will run faster? I know at first it seems like a stupid question being that the EE has the 2MB L3 cache, but the Prescott beats the Northwood in L2 cache by double and it most definelty is not faster in a laptop due to the extreme heat. I would think the EE would be faster, but, is it only going to be faster when cool or will it be faster all the time? Its pretty sad that my 300MHz think pad kicks the crap out of this laptop when it comes to microsoft streets and trips, due to the heat. It will literally stop refreshing in streets and trips due to the extreme slow down caused by heat. So.... reccomendations?

 

Your best bet would be to get a modern laptop, the cpus in question are desktop models,and all will run hot, presscot cores will be the hottest. The G1 XPS was a fine gamer in its time, its time has passed though, your best bet would be to save your money and invest in a dual core system with a NV 7600/ATI x1600 or higher video card. You could try undevolting/underclocking , but that will kill performance in demanding games, and probably wont have a huge overall impact.

 

I am planning on buying a new laptop at some time, but I need something to tie me over. I cant get a laptop thats half decent for $150 like I can get a processor. Which of the 2 processors will give me the best performance when at normal temperatures? I plan on bumping to the M1710 or the M90 (we get on average 30% off of through our dell rep for precision stuff, 20-25% for non) but it is still quite a few months away. Which of these 2 processors would be my best choice in the mean time? The prescott just isnt doing it. (It can't even handle CS 1.6 when its warm). Even though when its cold it rips pretty good for how old it is (1134 3dmark06, 3676 3dmark05, 8619 3dmark03, warm it was in the hundreds for 3dmark06) http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=632043 pretty good for not having a penmod.

 

Well... Due to the lack of valuable input I bought a 3.4EE for $130 with a 1 yr warrnaty. I will post on my findings whether or not this solved my issue with a complete worthlessness when operating temperature is reached. It should be here in a day or 2. Hopefully it can run streets and trips because I need it for a trip in 2 weeks!

 

Good luck, its still going to run awfully warm, though possibly not quite as much as your current chip, as stated above, its still a desktop part, that runs hot even in a large well ventilated case with a huge cooling apparatus, crammed into a notebook, with a much less robust cooling scheme, even the coolest running desktop P4's will be a heater, you really need a machine with a true mobile CPU designed to run with less power,giving you a cooler running chip with much improved battery life.

 

Battery life isn't an issue for me as everywhere I go there is a plug-in everywhere I use it (even in my car! :-D) Well, I swapped the 3.4EE in and it Idles 20°C cooler (under 50°C), tops out 10°C cooler(under 65°C), and doesnt slow down nearly as much when it gets warm. Still have yet to benchmark it yet. I still have to wait for the AS5 to set to see how cool this baby really gets. I no longer burn my ahem... valuables... when it is on my lap. It still is warm, its just not on the edge of spontaneous combustion any more.

 

Since you are always near a power outlet, consider getting a laptop cooler. It may be a bit of a hassle lugging it around, but your boys will thank you.

 

ROFL. Thanks for looking out for my future! I got one from my girlfriend for christmas, I love it. Its the targus one. There are definetly better ones out there, but that was the only one that we could get without ordering (she doesn't have a credit card) that wasnt a bajillion dollars. It does its job though!

 

FWIW, my 3dmark05 went from 1977 to 3676. And I posted a 3dmark06 at 1165. The fastest published XPS gen 1 in 3dmark06 as of right now.

 

congratulations on a successful upgrade to extend the life of your machine!