QX9300 Support For Sony Vaio Z11WN/B

Is it possible to upgrade my Sony Vaio Z11WN/B processor from "Core 2 Duo P8600" to "Core 2 Extreme QX9300" both processors support PGA478 socket.

 

Was the Sony Vaio Z11WN/B ever sold with a quad core CPU?
If it was not, then it is unlikely for the QX9300 to work since it is likely that the BIOS won't support it.

 

Sony Vaio Z11WN/B was never sold with a quad core CPU. Is there any way to modify the bios?

 

It depends not only on the BIOS, but also on the motherboard.

 

Beside the BIOS (the code inside the ROM chip), what are the components that are different between a motherboard for a dual core and one for a quad core CPU?

 

The socket and power conditioning components.

You can try it, it will *probably* work, but will definitely overheat if you don't know what you're doing.

BTW I have compared motherboards that have multiple revisions for quad support, I have seen missing power components with my own eyes so I'm not just making this up.

 

Wont work without a bios mod, even then you are going to stress the power circuitry a heck of a lot more than it was designed for.

Same goes for your power brick.

 

I didn't doubt you. I just wanted to know since some laptops are sold with one motherboard for both dual core and quad core CPUs.

Assuming the following:
- The Dual Core and Quad Core have the same power consumption and power dissipation.
- There is BIOS support for Quad Core.
- The cooling system and power brick can handle Quad Core.

Can the the power conditioning components of a motherboard initially sold with a Dual Core handle the stress of a Quad Core?

 

How long is a piece of string?

Also the quad ALWAYS uses more power, even if the TDP is the same.

It depends on the design Sony implemented, but if you are probably looking at maybe a 2 phase system and every quad I have seen at least uses 3.

 

My question is a general one and not specific to sony. Is it possible just by looking at a motherboard to know if it has two or three phase system?

thanks

 

Look for the power delivery system, the number of square inductors will tell you how many phases.

They will be all together, though sometimes the phases for other devices may be close by, so try not to include those.

You can see the three phases from my old 7738G here:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/Meaks/insides.jpg

Below the cpu, see how they are next to each other (there are also components the other side of the PCB, but the inductors are the easiest to spot).

 

Just to confirm, the inductors are the 3 grey rectangles below the CPU socket. Isn't it?

 

Yes, you will see little black devices round them too, they are mostly on the other side of that motherboard.

It can also depend on how well designed those phases are too.

Even though it had 3 phases, even when overclocked to above 3ghz the circuitry did not get hot, even without cooling, so it can depend on the components and layout too.

 

thanks for answering my questions