CPU upgrade-which route to go

I have had this G50VT for one and half year, so far the performance has been good enough for me, my only complain is the P8400 which struggles in CPU intensive games like Dragon age, starcraft 2, etc, overclocking it helps but it raises my GPU temp as well because they share one and only system fan inside the case. I can't do it 24/7, especially during the summer. Since I am very happy with the performace of the GPU(9800M GS), I decided to upgrade to a better CPU to make this thing last a bit longer before I hook up with a new laptop with the next generation GPU, say ATI 6xxxx.

A few options spring to mind: T9900/X9100/T9800, the question is which one should I go with. Out of the three, which one has half multiplier? I would have a CPU that doesn't have half-multiplier so I would have a much easier time undervolting it. And I suppose T9900 should run much cooler than x9100?

So out of the three, which one would you recommend? Just checked, T9900 is also the most expensive. Thanks for your advice!!

 

Before you pour $150 or more into a older machine, do some math.

A new build machine with an i3 or i5 cpu, faster graphics, faster ram, better screen, can be had for approx $550-.

So take your upgrade budget, add some notional price for what you could sell your current machine for, and then decide if putting money into a machine that is out of warranty the best move.

 

yep, agreed.

 

I would agree that buying a new computer would be better than a cpu upgrade, since upgrading a P to a T would just create more heat. But I would venture a guess that your gpu is heating up because you're using it(rarely will the cpu be the bottleneck), not just by absorbing the cpu's heat. Thus I'd recommend using an external cooling pad before doing a complete cpu swap, especially since you seem to be under the impression that the stock fan isn't nearly enough for your current notebook.

 

Faster CPU? Perhaps. Faster graphics? better graphics than 9800M GS along with I3/I5 and better screens for $550? You got to be kidding me.

Sensible.

I have a Zalman nc-2000 to help the temp to cool down a bit, I always undervolt the p8400 when I don't overclock it. I can overclock the cpu to 2.8Ghz whenever i need to, but it also means higher temp(high 80 C, sometimes close to 90 C while gaming) for the GPU. Instead of upgrading to a better CPU, I even considered overclock the CPU all the time and just leave the GPU temp alone, a lot of people would find any temp under 90 C perfectly acceptable. In fact I am still debating whether to upgrade to a better CPU or just to overclock the P8400 24/7.

 

can i suggest something? Keep ur P8400 and overclock it. Then using the riva tuner tweak below , u can undervolt the GPU to decrease load on fan under load.. it worked quite well for me but if u get BSOD , then i suggest u do a BIOS flash and undervolt GPU permenantly..

http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...-rivatuner-better-powermizer-alternative.html

This is really ur best option if u plan on waiting a while to get a new laptop.

 

That's what I intended to do before the upgrade idea popped up in my mind, I have had the P8400 overclocked all the time for almost half a year, and both CPU and GPU temp has been fine. But it's getting hotter and hotter here in the summer and the GPU temp just keeps escalating, it gets as high as 90 C on some occasions. It's the high temp that really worries me, and strangely some games keep crashing on me for no reason.

Perhaps I should just stop overclocking the CPU untill the summer is over, and overclock it as usual once it gets cool in here. Also the link you provided is just an improved version of powermizer, it will not help reducing the GPU temp while it's under heavy load, eg. gaming. Thanks for your advice though.

 

lol it does undervolt... limercill tried doing it as it forces high performance 3D settings to run at 2D voltage so in a way undervoltiing.. he was OCing GPU so it just crashed...

 

A laptop with a i3 or i5 and a more powerful gpu than the 9800m for $550? Where did you find this deal?

Anyways, I would just keep the p8400 and just hold out until you get another laptop. The increase won't be that much for the price you are paying. Instead, if you don't have one already, you can buy a SSD. That will give you a noticeable performance increase and you will be able to use the SSD in the new laptop you buy.

 

Ya don't bother upgrading, maybe dedicate it to a SSD, that will really affect system performance in a positive way.

 

I say go for a t9900 or a X9100. The temp difference will be minimal at the same clock/voltage. The reason the X9100 has a 44w rating is because it can be overclocked. A SSD will not help you in CPU intensive games so if you are looking to improve your games go for the CPU upgrade.

 

I never said that an SSD would improve CPU intensive games. I just said that the price is, in my opinion, not worth it for the minimal upgrade. You will probably get a few fps in only some games since most games are more GPU intensive anyways. You will not notice much of a difference for the most part.

 

Thank you guys for the replies. A SSD will help the overall system performance, but it won't help me in CPU intensive games like ERIK said. And it's also very costly.

The games/programs I often use are all very CPU-dependent, eg :dragon age/starcraft/ PS2 emulator. And I did find very noticable FPS increase when I overclocked the P8400. But it can only be done to an extent.

@Erik:
How is the temp of your x9000 running at 3.6Ghz? load temp and idle temp? Thanks.

 

My load temp when gaming is around 79c but stress testing can push it into the 80c range and it idles around 30c. My laptop has separate heatsinks/fans for the CPU/GPU though.

 

hmmm, that seems a bit too high, even for a overclocked x9000. My p8400 running at 2.7Ghz, sometimes at 2.8Ghz usually sits at 56 C maxed while under heavy load in games(ambient temp: 30 C). Since the my laptop's GPU is cooled by the air that just cooled CPU, so it's quite important to keep the CPU temp low, otherwise the GPU temp will suffer too.

Also anybody knows that x9100/ T9900 have half-multipliers? I would like to have a CPU without half-multipliers so I will have a easier time undervolting.

 

My x9000 stock or at 3.0 maxes around 55c. Just when I start to turn up the multi and voltage the heat goes up.

 

Ahh, that explains the high temp. Do x9100/T9900 have half-multipliers?

 

Yes, 11.5x.

But with the X9100 you can use throttlestop to increase the multi, so you can go to full multipliers if you want, 12x, 13x, 14x...

 

Thanks,moral hazard! just to reassure, x9100 should be working for my laptop without a hitch since it's one of the penrny family just like P8400/p8600?

T9900 and x9100, which one would you recommend?

 

Depends on the price, I would also suggest looking at an E8335 and E8435.
They are also socket P.

I think there is no difference between the T9900 and the E8435 (except the TDP), you might get the E8435 for a lot less money.

 

Ain't E8335/8435 desktop CPUs? I am not familiar with desktop stuffs, but do they even work? I would still prefer to get either x9100 or T9900.

 

They are mobile CPUs that are used in mac desktops.

They are socket P and should work fine.
If you search this forum you will find some threads where people have tried those CPUs.

You can sometimes get the E8335/8435 for $100 less than a T9900.

But I don't see any good ones on ebay right now.

 

hmmm, thanks for the explanation. I think I will just stick with T9900 or X9100 then. And am I right to suppose that x9100 runs much hotter than T9900? Assuming both run at stock speed 3.06Ghz?

 

At stock speed they should run at the same temp.
They are the same chip, just one has an unlocked multi and the other has a locked multi.

 

But doesn't X9100 have a higher TDP than T9900?(44W vs 35W). If they tend to run at the same temp, there is no reason to get the more expensive T9900.

 

If the T9900 is more expensive (which it shouldn't be), you should definitely go for the X9100.

They must have taken into consideration the fact that you can overclock the X9100 so they show a higher TDP.

In real life, if you run the X9100 and T9900 at the same voltage and multi, they will have the exact same TDP since they are the same chip.

 

Like I said in my first post and as moral hazard stated, they should run at the same temps at the same clockspeed/voltage. I would get whatever is cheaper.