Processor upgrade?

Good morning, at least to anyone in the U.S. Good afternoon if you're in Europe.

Anyway, I was wondering if it is possible to upgrade my Studio 1535's processor (Intel C2D T5750, 2.0GHz). I cheaped out on most of the parts when I first bought this thing, as I was somewhat strapped for cash, so I went with the bare-minimum processor, but now I think I can do better.

So, is it possible to replace my processor? If so, what are some compatible models? I'm looking for at least 2.4GHz, for the record.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

You need to know your chipset. The Studio 15 actually has a number of board revisions with different chipsets. If you have a 965 series chipset, you can get any 800MHz FSB (or less) Socket P processor up through the T9500. If you have a 45 series chipset, you can get any 1066MHz FSB (or less) Socket P processor up through the T9800.

 

Groovy, and how would I go about checking what chipset I have?

 

Download and run CPUZ:

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

You can find your chipset under the "mainboard" tab.

 

If you have a T5250, you have a socket P processor. And can use any socket P Txxxx processor.

 

Not necessarily. If he has a 965 chipset, he won't be able to use 1066MHz FSB Socket P chips, T-Series or otherwise.

 

According to CPU-Z, my chipset is "PM965". What does that let me use? A full list would be nice, but I understand if that's too much effort.

Thanks for all your help so far, Commander Wolf and millermagic.

 

There's a guide in my sig with a full list. I can copypasta for you, though:

Core 2 Duo T5250 1500 2048 667
Core 2 Duo T5450 1667 2048 667
Core 2 Duo T5550 1833 2048 667
Core 2 Duo T5750 2000 2048 667
Core 2 Duo T5850 2133 2048 667

Core 2 Duo T5270 1400 2048 800
Core 2 Duo T5470 1600 2048 800
Core 2 Duo T5800 2000 2048 800
Core 2 Duo T5870 2000 2048 800
Core 2 Duo T5900 2200 2048 800
Core 2 Duo T7100 1800 2048 800
Core 2 Duo T7250 2000 2048 800

Core 2 Duo T7300 2000 4096 800
Core 2 Duo T7500 2200 4096 800
Core 2 Duo T7700 2400 4096 800
Core 2 Duo T7800 2600 4096 800

Core 2 Duo T8100 2100 3072 800
Core 2 Duo T8300 2400 3072 800

Core 2 Duo T9300 2500 6144 800
Core 2 Duo T9500 2600 6144 800

Core 2 Extreme X7800 2600 4096 800 (Unlikely to work, but look around)
Core 2 Extreme X7900 2800 4096 800 (Unlikely to work, but look around)

Core 2 Extreme X9000 2800 6144 800 (Unlikely to work, but look around)

Pentium Dual-Core T2310 1466 1024 533
Pentium Dual-Core T2330 1600 1024 533
Pentium Dual-Core T2370 1733 1024 533
Pentium Dual-Core T2390 1866 1024 533
Pentium Dual-Core T2410 2000 1024 533

Pentium Dual-Core T3200 2000 1024 667
Pentium Dual-Core T3400 2166 1024 667

Celeron M 520 1600 1024 533
Celeron M 530 1733 1024 533
Celeron M 540 1866 1024 533
Celeron M 550 2000 1024 533
Celeron M 560 2133 1024 533
Celeron M 570 2266 1024 533

Celeron 575 2000 1024 667
Celeron 585 2167 1024 667

Celeron Dual-Core T1400 1733 512 533
Celeron Dual-Core T1500 1866 512 533

Celeron Dual-Core T1600 1666 1024 667
Celeron Dual-Core T1700 1833 1024 667

Your best choice is probably a T8100, T8300, T9300, or T9500.

 

So from your list, I gather this thing is compatible with anything with an FSB of 800MHz or under...

I'm assuming that the first number after the processor name is the speed in MHz, and the third is the FSB speed...but what's the middle number?

e.g. "Core 2 Duo T9500 2600 6144 800"

Also, my mistake for not noticing that link in your signature. You'd think the title would be a dead giveaway... >_<

EDIT - also, is there any particular advantage or disadvantage of 667MHz FSB vs. 800MHz? I've heard that 800MHz can cause problems because the RAM can only do 667MHz.

And if that's not an issue, is there any particular benefit to a lower clock speed with a higher FSB as opposed to a higher clock with a lower FSB? e.g. the T5250 vs. the T5270. One is 1500MHz/667MHz FSB, the other is 1400MHz/800MHz FSB.

 

Yes, but you also have to make sure it's Socket P.

That is the size of the L2 cache in KB. You generally won't see too much a performance increase in an increased L2 cache.

A higher FSB means faster data transfer between the processor and the subsystem. Depending on application again, you may or may not see a noticeable difference in performance; usually it's negligible. No disadvantage of running a processor with an FSB of a different speed than that of your memory.

High clocks generally equate to more overall performance and faster FSB speeds generally equate to faster data transfer. You will see more benefit in higher clocks than higher FSB speeds.

 

Naturally. ^_^

Gotcha. What exactly does a bigger L2 cache do for me?

I see.

Out of curiosity, would any of this be affected by the fact that I replaced the stock 3GHz of 5-5-5-15 timed RAM with 4GB of 4-4-4-12, of the same type? (PC5300 667MHz DDR2)

(Sorry for all the noob questions, they'll stop at some point, I swear! )

 

In my memory slots i have two differant types of memory. Will I see any performance gains by going with another stick of whats in slot one? I'm getting ready to install the T9300 Proccessor. Sorry don't mean to hijack the thread but this got me wondering since I used the program

 

You don't take advantage of dual-channel if you have a different type of RAM in each slot. If you want maximum performance, you should have a matched pair of sticks in the slots.

 

Essentially a larger L2 cache means your processor doesn't have to access the main memory as much. So if you have a super memory intensive application you want to run, you will see some gains in a larger L2 cache.

Maybe in benchmarks, not in practice.

Again, maybe in benchmarks, most likely not in practice.

 

Thank you so much, you've been very helpful. Bit of green for you!

I think I'm going to go with the T9500 as soon as I figure out where to get it for the lowest price including shipping. Any particular recommendations for that?

 

Judgeing from the pictures, am I not running in dual channel? How do I tell?

 

You know, I've always bought most of my hardware from eBay; a lot of people don't trust the sellers there, but Paypal has generally been very good about refunding my money in situations where the seller failed to send an item or sent the wrong item. Just make sure you buy something with some sort of warranty on it; at least long enough such that you can test it and complain.

You should be running in dual-channel mode. Your machine should default to dual-channel mode as long as both memory slots are filled; I think the memory tab in CPUZ has an entry with which you can check.

 

You're running RAM of different speeds in each slot. It is technically in dual channel, but your motherboard is basically running the faster RAM at the speed of the slower RAM to make them even.

Ideally your RAM sticks should be matched in both capacity and speed.

I've used eBay plenty of times happily, but they only show three different T9500's, all of which are engineering samples from China, with no warranty whatsoever. These are powersellers that have been around for years with 100% positive feedback, but it still seems rather sketchy to me. I'd rather pay the extra premium for an actual retail processor than save a few bucks on an unwarrantied engineering sample.

 

Before I place the order for this thing...

How difficult is the process of replacing a laptop processor? I'm familiar enough with removing the bottom panel of my Studio 1535 to replace the RAM sticks, but that's really all I've done with the thing so far. Is replacing the CPU along similar lines of difficulty, or is it more akin to brain surgery?

 

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/studio1535/en/SM/index.htm

Specifically:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/studio1535/en/SM/cpu.htm#wp1179976

Also it voids your warranty. I think.

 

You truly are a hero.

And my warranty is already voided since I installed Vista 64-bit instead of the factory-included 32-bit, so says customer support. I've really got nothing to lose at this point, support-wise.

 

What? That's bull your warranty is fine. Dell may not support the x64 installation and related issues, but your hardware warranty is fully intact.

 

Hmmm...I need to check my chipset...I may upgrade to a P8600 (2.4GHz/1066Mhz FSB/3MB cache) instead of the T5800, if I can.

EDIT: SWEET, looks like I have the 45 chipset...I'll be putting in the P8600 instead then.

 

Sounds good...I wish I had the 45 chipset...would have given me so many more choices with upgrades.

Ah well. I'm pretty happy with my T9500.

Thanks to Commander Wolf and the rest for all your help!