AMD cpu socket questions.

Hello all, new to the forums. This seemed to be the proper place for this inquiry.

I just ordered a Acer Aspire w/ Dual core M300 Socket S1 processor.

Once I get this in my hands, I am going to upgrade my current laptop. Which is a basic Compaq F565CA(well it is an LA but I installed American programs into it..LA is only for Latin America software), a little over a year old. With AMD Sempron 3500+ which from what I read & saw when I took it apart for new thermal grease & a good cleaning, that this also is a Socket S1...which EVERST ultimate also tells me(S1g1). I also upgraded it to Windows 7 & added 2GB RAM.

Now, I went onto AMD's website to look at all the Socket S1 processors available & my Sempron 3500+ is not listed. Is this just because it is no longer available?
http://products.amd.com/en-us/notebookcpuresult.aspx?f1=&f2=&f3=&f4=&f5=S1&f6=&f7=&f8=&f9=

I want to upgrade the Compaq because my wife uses it for her school & has a lot of Office docs & internet open, which makes it lag horrible. So I want to put a dual core in it.
I went onto the sites I know..newegg, tiger & geeks. All of them no longer have Socket S1 processors available. Considering from what I was reading the M300 processor is pretty new, but as it is a Socket S1..SHOULD work in the Compaq..no(no I will not swap them, just thinking i can order another M300, for simplicity sake)?

Problem is...I cannot find any Socket S1 processors for sale..ANYWHERE.

I have done all I pretty much can with this Compaq. The thermal grease(which was from what I saw never put on at the factory made the GPU & CPU run in the 100-110 deg range) & external fan got the temps down to the..as I type this with office open(4 programs plus internet) the CPU is at 64 & GPU at 80.
With minimal programs open I am running at 60% CPU usage & 85% Memory use.
I have tried all I can to get it lower, but it just cant.
I am also going to throw out the 5400 120G HDD & swap in a 7400 300+GB if I can find one.

I already weighed the pros & cons of just buying new. But here in Panama, A decent laptop(like i one i just ordered from the states) is over $1200.

So can anyone tell me where to get a Socket S1 for a laptop..all I can find are heatsinks for desktops..nothing else.
I am going to start calling around to all the PC places here but the number in the thousands & most have crap.

TIA

 

JagGuy,

Can't help with the CPU questions, but just want to mention with Win 7, 2GB additional RAM and the new HD route, this is what I would recommend.

What I want to clarify is; was Win 7 clean installed with the proper drivers from the HP/Compaq website? With such high CPU usage for such simple tasks (for the computer), it seems to me to be a drivers issue or a heavily infected computer (viruses).

Don't worry about the high RAM usage, this is normal. If you check closely, it should be saying how much is cached and how much is available - the available is the important metric.

I would recommend to ensure you are running the drivers specifically for your Compaq model and not newer drivers from elsewhere.

If the high CPU issue continues with Win 7 just 'idling', I would recommend a clean install with the specific model drivers from Compaq installed as the first thing after Win 7 boots for the first time.

I'm sure others will weigh in with their CPU knowledge soon, but maybe in the meantime you can rule out the possibilities I've suggested above?

You may also find this thread informative for the high lag your wife is experiencing with 'normal' even, light computer work:

See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5618226#post5618226

Good luck.

 

Yeah it was a clean install. I had those problems with Vista ultimate also. It got remarkably better once I installed 7. Out of the box it was completely horrible with Vista. As soon as Windows 7 RC came out I installed it..completely clean, with all Compaq drivers & whatever Windows recommended..because IIRC compaq didnt have all necessary drivers for it(still do not last I checked).
I was told & as I read, this system only supports 2GB RAM, anything more is a waste of money. So I only have it up to 2GB, didn't want to waste the extra $$ if I didn't have to. They have plenty in stock so if I can go 4GB will. I do however have a 4GB readyboost, that I KNOW works.

One problem I am having that I forget to mention is the WEI.
The graphics cannot be rated, it freezes every time I try to update the WEI, on something called "Windows Media encoding". This only started AFTER I installed 7.
But I know the graphics are good, because I can play Blu-ray converted DVD's hooked up to my Big LCD & the GPU never goes anywhere above 85 & has no lag at all.
It is with the installed MICROSOFT programs & shockwave/ flash that the problems come up.
I have tried reinstalling them, disk defrag, CCleaner, registry cleaning, no viruses, PC is squeaky clean, all updates installed. I tired to get the process down but anything less then 50 & crap stops working.
The 3rd party programs Like VLC, ConvertX, etc.. have no trouble doing what they need to do. I can have them all open & the computer does not flinch a bit. BUT when I open a PPT with shockwave or Word..BOOM, it lags something crazy(with Vista it would just completely freeze up. So I had to unplug it & pull the battery out). Also to note, I never got the BSOD. It would just stop responding to anything.
But, like I mentioned before, once I took it apart(when I say apart I mean to the bare case...everything came apart & cleaned), cleaned it up & actually put thermal grease on the CPU, the internal fan all but stopped(it was full bore before to the point of hearing it in the next room over) & it is running pretty good now, but not to where it makes you go..OK, now I can work safely.
I just think she would benefit from a dual core of equal or slower speed, then a semi-fast single.

 

There are three generations of Socket S1. Your Sempron 3500+ should be S1g1 while the Athlon M300 is S1g3. So, you wont be able to swap either of those processors. Newegg, TD wont generally carry mobile AMD processors. They are available sometimes but its not the best value. Your best bet is to try on ebay or elsewhere.

If you want a dual core for the Compaq, look for the Turion TL series or the Athlon TK series both of which are S1g1 cpu's manufactured on 90nm or 65nm process.

 

JagGuy,

It still seems like driver problems from here - unless it was a hardware issue, but it would be showing up differently if it was.

Here is what I would do:

Download all drivers for Win 7 for the notebook. Any drivers not available for Win 7, download the Vista drivers for the notebook - yes, even if Win 7 has 'newer' drivers use the drivers from the manufacturer - especially when facing issues like you are.

Try to find a guide on the order of driver installs as suggested on these forums, or as in the case of my VAIO, from Sony themselves.

Sidenote: I have always thought that the Chipset drivers get installed first, however Sony recommends the Audio driver, then the Bluetooth driver then the Chipset driver!

See:
http://esupport.sony.com/CA/perl/support-info.pl?info_id=507&template_id=1


Once you have assembled the above and backed up the notebooks data safely, do a clean install and pay particular attention to the order you install the drivers and the 'source' of the drivers too - the manufacturers drivers are made for your model to correct bugs and incompatibilities with other drivers on the notebook, or, to simply 'lock' the driver to your notebook because the firmware on the hardware of the driver in question is a custom firmware just for your model/make of computer.

I hope you get this issue resolved soon.

Happy holidays and Good luck.