Pavilion dv4150us Upgrades

I bought this laptop recently in the summer, and I wanted to know if it was possible to upgrade the CPU on it, its presently on a Intel Centrino Mobile Pentium M, 1.6GHZ, and I wanted to upgrade it to about a 2.8-3.2 GHZ any type, is it possible, and if so where should I buy it, and what kind should I get? Also, the ram is presently at 512, and I wanted to put it up to 2Gigs. Are there any particular brands or types anyone would like to recommend for memory?

 

there is no such thing as a pentium M 2.8-3.2; the highest is currently 2.16.

crucial or newegg for ram

 

ok, i like crucial, if that high of a processor doesnt exist for the pentium M, what kind of processor does, what about an intel mobile pentium 4, and where can i buy processors, and do i get OEM, or BOX?

 

You can only replace a Pentium M processor with another Pentium M processor. Even if they are pin compatible a Pentium 4(any version) will not work in a socket designed for the P-M.

Also higher GHz does not mean better performance. The Pentium M processors can do more work per clock. Hence the lower clock speed.

A 1.6GHz Pentium M is more or less comparable to a 2.4-2.6GHz Pentium 4.

 

i seriously doubt you are straining the PM 1.6.

what are the main tasks you perform on your notebook?

 

Highest is actually 2.26ghz.

 

I dont know if its the processor, but my computer does tend to slow down. I play games, Guild Wars slows it down, I havent even tried Unreal Tournament yet. When I am not playing games, I am multi-tasking like crazy, commonly I have about 4-6 internet browsers, 1-2 Word Documents, or a picture editor. If i dont change the processor, would upgrading the memory take care of the problem? Also, the max Pentium M is equivalent to what level of Pentium 4. I know that the graphics card isn't able to be upgraded, so what can I do so that my laptop can play games, like really good games like Half-Life 2.

 

Yes, more RAM is going to help overall system performance especially since your laptop uses shared video memory which eats upto 128MB of your system RAM, so windows has only about 384MB for all programs, another reason might be the slower hard drive, if yours is equipped with a 4200rpm hard drive it is going to have an effect on the loading times of windows and other programs. Upgrading to a 5400 or a 7200rpm hard drive will improve performance to a good extent.

Modern games are heavily dependant on the video card, the GMA 900 is OK for non gaming purposes but to get the best gaming performance dedicated memory graphics cards are the way to go. ATi X600(or higher) or Nvidia Geforce 6600(or higher) with more than 128MB memory are considered as the mainstream mobile gaming cards. Other than getting a new laptop there is no way to increase the graphics performance.

The top end Pentium M should be equivalent to a ~3.4+GHz Pentium 4. Do remember that in some benchmarks the PM might be better in some the P4 might be better. But overall the edge stiil lies with the P-M as its power consumption is so low that in the case of a laptop it is one of the best processor one can get.

 

OK, I never thought about how much RAM the video card consumes. So, despite the integrated graphics card, do you think that with 2Gigs of Ram(crucial) and a pentium M 1.6ghz processor, that I can play some high end games; if not, would a higher processor help, or am I doomed to lug around a huge PC and screen to college.

 

Well, I wouldnt say the games would run super fast, but there will be some improvement. More RAM is going to help as will a faster processor but in the end it is all down to the graphics card. It has more(90%+) influence on 3D graphics. The processor can only improve your 2D performance and the RAM can only give more memory to play around with.

 

But games like half life 2, doom 3, or unreal tournament will be able to play?

 

Hmm..hard to say UT,HL2, doom3 might with all settings set to low but probably wont have high FPS since they all require a lot of graphics power. As I said before the RAM can only do so much the rest is down to the gfx card.

 

You'll definitely have a tough time with Doom 3...that's a very tough game for any video card to handle.

Remember to keep the settings on the bare minimum, and also the resolution...

One thing I might add - I wouldn't play games for extended periods of time with integrated graphics - they are integrated into the motherboard, and I've heard about the northbridge overheating sometimes. Just a word of advice

Chaz

 

the multitasking you are doing isn't straining the cpu at all. you would have to be doing stuff like rendering video for hours on end to really strain it. multitasking affects RAM much more than the cpu. the issue with gaming is your gfx card. no amount of RAM, faster HD, faster CPU will make up for a weak vid card. like miner said, the vid card is literally 90% of the equation or more.