Dazed and confused.. Could use some suggestions for a CPU upgrade.

Hi, I have the Gateway P-6831fx gaming laptop and have been wanting to upgrade the CPU. I've done some research but to be honest I don't really know what I'm looking for. I've upgraded desktops years ago but of course I'm out of practice and a little confused since since I can't seem to find much on mobile CPUs.

I was told to look into the "T9300 2.5 dual core processor" but it seems to be hard to find and no longer made. I found one place that sells it but it was running $450+ and I figured I could find a newer one for close to that price.

I was also told to look into the "Core 2 Extreme X9000 or X9100", but again haven't had much luck.

I do a lot of picture and video editing on the computer but it's mainly for games like World of Warcraft and new 'high standard' games. If someone could give me some pointers or at least point me in the right direction I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you for your time.

 

I was able to find a few T9300s on eBay for around $150-175. It seems like it's the best bang for the buck.

 

here's a T9300 for $155: Mobile Intel Core2 Duo T9300 2.50GHz SLAYY Socket P - eBay (item 260708072354 end time Jan-13-11 01:09:09 PST)

 

What do you mostly need it for? And what are your current specs? A 2.3 GHz dual core to a 2.5 dual core won't yield much performance gain.

 

Looking at a review of your laptop from Cnet, your laptop runs a 1.6 C2D T5450. Your computer is equiped with an Intel GM965 chipset running with a FSB of 667mhz.

The 965 chipset will support an 800 FSB, so you can upgrade to a C2D 2.5ghz T9300 or a 2.6 ghz T9500. The T9300 is a much better buy on eBay as it can go for as little as $130 shipped (I have one on its way for my laptop). The T9500 can often go for more.

I would avoid the X9xxx processors for two resons. First, you probably won't get to play with any overclocking ptotential unless your BIOS is equiped for it, and second, they use a lot more power 44 TDP compaired to a T9XX at about 35 TDP. You will run into cooling issues.

The processor itself should be a good boost in speed, but the increase in Front Side Bus speed will be very noticable.

If you have a free Mini PCI express socket in the computer, you might want to add an Intel turbo memory, which should help boosst boot times and access programs. They are available in 1, 2 and 4GB versions. I think the 965 chipset only uses 1 and 2 GB versions.

 

If they offered Core 2 Extreme laptops, the cooling system should be able to handle it.

I thought after a certain point Cache and MHz don't really make much difference?

 

Wrong and wrong.

You can overclock extreme CPUs with throttlestop:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...unlock-core-2-extreme-multiplier-windows.html

No need for bios options.

Second, the TDP is the same if you run the CPU at the same frequency and voltage.

The only problem is the price.

I would get a T9300 and pinmod the PLL (should be 9LPRS365BGLF):
http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...pll-pinmod-overclocking-methods-examples.html

 

Wrong look up throttlestop, it lets you adjust multipliers in extreme CPUs with no need for bios support. Also the only reason the X9000 has a 44w tdp is because of the unlocked multiplier. I had a X9000 in my Gateway 6860fx and got to 3.6GHz.

OP if you want the best price/performance go for the T9300 but if you want all out performance go for the X9000. My X9000 @3.6GHz kept up with mobile i7s.

Also the X9100 will not work in the 6831fx.

 

T9300 CPU will give your laptop a noticeable boost in performance compared to T5xxx CPU.

 

Yes it will, the stock CPU in the 68xxFX models holds the 8800m GTS back.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/gateway-emachines/504306-t5550-vs-x9000-game-benchmarks.html

 

Yeah, go for it, a T5450 is too weak to handle any intensive stuff, especially if you do any sort of encoding/decoding/rendering or gaming, a T9300 may be a little bit old, but it is still on par with a modern i3-350m.

 

Thank you for all the tips. Not sure why I didn't think about using ebay before *slaps forehead*.

(With your help) I've narrowed it down to the;
* Intel® T9300 Core 2 Duo 2.50Ghz SLAYY Processor CPU ($155)
or
*Intel Core 2 Extreme Mobile X9100 3.06Ghz 6M QS CPU ($225)

I'm fine with spending the money on either CPUs, and to be honest I don't imagine I would try to overclock or mod the system in anyway (again I'm not the greatest about doing that kind of modifying so wouldn't want to take the chance of messing something up).

I use the computer for many different tasks but the main reason for the upgrade would be really be fore gaming. Is it certain that both of these CPUs are compatible with my computer? And if so is one much better than the other?

Again thank you very much for your time and help. You've given me more information than what I found from a few hours of research.

 

X9100 won't work with 965 series laptop as your limited by 800MHz FSB CPU's.. it will have to be T9300.

Panther214

 

i would get the T9300, the Extreme C2D is not worth the extra money given the relative amount of speed increase in relation to its price.

 

The X9100 will NOT work. The 6831fx can only use CPUs with a FSB up to 800MHz.

If you don't overclock the extreme CPU then it is not worth it, but if you do you could get 1GHz+ over the T9300.