Best alternative for AMD Athlon X2 Dual-Core QL-65 2.1GHZ

Hi,
i recently bought a new notebook. It´s HP pavilion dv7-2160eg. All the specs are great, but the processor is the weak point so i was wandering about the alternatives and their prices... any suggestions?

tnx!

 

There isn't really a big performance difference for the cost between the Turion X2s or Turion Ultra besides the HyperTransport speed/dynamic throttling and the number of P-states for saving power. Undervolting the CPU would be very beneficial, but other than that the Athlon X2 is a capable processor so long as you're not running CPU-intensive games or multimedia editing.

source: http://forums.amd.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=34&threadid=115411

 

People always fail to provide the important detail: What do you do with your computer?
Chances are high that the upgrade won't make much difference in what you are doing.

 

Actualy i was wondering about the gaming performance... i use the laptop for personal purposes. Only gaming, surfing, movies and just a little multimedia editing via movie maker.
In 3dmark there is a deference between my older laptop and this one of about 1100points, is it much?
Im hoping to play GTA IV, even in all the lowest details if possible
All the details are in my signature.

Also, maybe i could get one or two more fps with some modded ati drivers. I´ll try googling it a bit, but as the gear is quite new there isn´t much written about it

 

GTA4 is a ridiculously demanding game:

source: http://www.gta4.tv/page/38/pc-version-specifications/

Unfortunately, neither your CPU nor your GPU even meet the minimum requirements for this game. I would recommend at least trying to run the game, but whether it'll run at minimum settings is doubtful.

 

I´m installing the game right now... as soon as it is done i´ll run the inside game benchmark test with all low settings on the native resolution (1600c900) if possible and report back.

 

So, just ran the ingame benchmarkt test... suprise suprise, at mostly low, some medium settings i got steady 24fps. gaming is smooth. am very pleased i must say.
processor runs at even 85degrees wich isn´t that hot.
Althou i think that even the slight improvement to the CPU would mean a great deal here..

so, 3dmark06 isnt that correct after all

 

I would not make the upgrade, I do not think the cost would benefit the gains. If you can OC your CPU and/or GPU I think it would be a better solution. Though your temps are a little high already.

What you really would need to get the most gains would be a quad core, which AFAIK, there isn't one for your laptop at the moment.

 

^ I agree with Hep.

I would also add that if you really want to run games in full glory without prohibitive costs, a desktop would be the best solution.

 

Yes i too agree, tnx for the input guys... As for the gaming performance, i really am impressed being able to play gta iv on a laptop. Now i like it even more

 

So, not to open a new thread... do you guys know which processor´s do actualy fit into my notebook?
Chipset is something like AMD K11 as i understand it from everest ultimate and the processor (QL-65) is 65nm technology based, if that is of any importance.
i can type some more detailed specs if required as soon as i´m home from work.
I just want to know what my options are, theoretically

 

Turion (RM-xx) or Turion Ultra (ZM-xx) are your options as they both use the S1G2 socket, with the latter offering the Turion Ultra ZM-88 running at 2.5GHz and a lower TDP. I don't think that any newer S1 socket CPUs like the Turion 2 would work.

Still, the performance gains would be minor and the cost would be disproportionately high.

 

Would i be correct if i assume that my current processor does not support DDR2 running on 800mhz? And that a ZM would? Also is there any performance gain from switching to ddr-800?
The last one i promise , would a ZM-84 be 70€ worth?

 

You can't swap out DDRx for DDRy, or vice versa. They're not even physically compatible interfances.

Increasing the memory speed from 667MHz to 800MHz wouldn't give you much in the way of performance, nor would upgrading to the ZM-84 for 70 euros. For that good money, you'd get +200MHz in clock speed, go from 512kBx2 to 1MBx2 L2 cache, and downgrade by -200MHz over the HyperTransport bus. Not worth it.

For reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_Turion_microprocessors

 

Ok tnx, i was meaning both ddr2-667 and ddr2-800 . I give up, the only upgrade will be a second 320gb hdd