New Pavillion dv9650us

Hi all,
After much deliberation on what to purchase I have settled on the Pavillion dv9650us which I am very pleased with. Specs are as follows:

17"-diagonal widescreen WXGA+ (1440 x 900) BrightView LCD screen
Intel Centrino Duo mobile technology
Intel Core 2 Duo processor T5250 operating at 1.50GHz
2MB L2 cache
Up to 667MHz frontside bus
2.0GB of DDR2 SDRAM memory (2 x 1.0GB), upgradable to 4.0GB
320GB storage capacity on dual 5400-rpm SATA hard drives (2 x 160GB each)
HD DVD-ROM/SuperMulti DVD drive with Double Layer support (reads HD DVD; reads/writes DVD±R/RW, DVD-RAM, DVD+R Double Layer, CD-R/RW)
nVidia GeForce 8600M GS graphics with 256MB dedicated video memory, up to 1023MB total available

Just a few questions though.
(i) Does anyone know by just how much would the HP high capacity battery increase the battery life over the regular one.
(ii) I'm not using any cpu intensive programs such as Autocad and don't do a lot of gaming so would it make any difference to upgrade my RAM and if so how does one go about this.
(iii) Periodically the screen kinda blinks, is this a usual thing with Vista or should I be worried, doesn't happen too often

Any assistance as always is greatly appreciated

 

1. 16%
2. No point.
3. Disable UAC.

 

I have the same notebook and I am also very pleased with it, however; I am in the need to upgrade the processor on this notebook. As mentioned, it has an Intel Core 2 Duo @ 1.5 GHz (model T5250). I am looking to upgrade it to a T9300 @ 2.5 GHz. Would this new processor be compatible with my notebook?

 

You will be able to physically swap the T5250 for the T9300, as they are both Socket P. You may need to do a BIOS flash to get the computer to recognize the newer processor, but if it's a really recent machine you probably won't even need to do that.

 

You definately need to flash your BIOS to support Penryn chips. Remember to do this before you open up your notebook to swap the processors

 

thank you guys for the quick responses.
how would i go about performing a flash BIOS?
with a new processor installed, would you recommend that i upgrade my RAM as well?

sorry for the ignorance, i just have never upgraded a laptop before. plus, if there's anything else you would recommend that i do, please tell me! i would greatly appreciate all the help i can get

 

Look up your machine on the HP support site and it will give you the latest BIOS and instructions as to how to flash it. There should also be a service manual detailing how to remove the processor.

2GB of memory is generally enough to run Vista smoothly. Unless you're doing some heavy multitasking and/or gaming, there isn't much point in moving up to 3GB or 4GB. You'll also need a 64bit Vista to recognize all of 4GB of memory.

 

A BIOS update is quite easy. Go to the hp.com's drivers download page. Type in your serial number.

You should see the latest BIOS version on the drivers page

Download it, before you install it make sure you close all other programs and maybe even anti-virus program to reduce possible conflicts.

While flashing, you have to make sure it does not get interrupted. It should only take about 2-5mins. I suggest having your battery pack in

 

thank you for the help. I got the BIOS from HP and I think it worked out alright.

The people who will be replacing my processor told me that the compatibility between a T9300 and my notebook is a maybe. they can't guarantee it. Have you guys ever done this before with an HP dv9500 series notebook? I need to know if my motherboard will surely support the 2.5GHz processor and will my fan be able to handle it. will the external components be affected by this?

I know it's a lot, but I need a strong definite answer before I switch out my processors. otherwise, I'll stick to a T7500 @ 2.2GHz which is guaranteed to work.


thanks so much for the assistance

 

yes definately if you currently have a T7500 CPU w/ Santa Rosa chipset

You wont really notice much improvement in performance, though it will run cooler and use a little less battery. Not worth the money upgrading to a t9300 IMO

 

no, i don't have a chipset with a T7500. I'll upgrade to that processor if i can't get an answer to my previous post about the T9300.

 

If the T7500 definately works then the T9300 will also definately work. Same socket and platform