Ram & Processor Upgrades - Sony Vaio

Hey all - this is my first post here.

I recently got a laptop as a graduation present. I am pretty good with computers but my parents arent - long story short I want more performance from the laptop.

It is a Sony Vaio NR240E

Ram i have pretty much figured out.. I plan to put in 2gb of gskill. The max allowed in this apparently is 2gb. I found a good price on newegg and my targeted one has gotten good reviews.

As for the processor, I'm not to fimiliar with the mobo types and processors going around these days - especially for laptops - since this is my first one.

What i have now in now is a 1.6ghz Intel pentium dual core T2330

From that info - can anyone tell me what socket the MOBO is ?

even further , which intel processors can i replace it with? Any of the Duo ones? Im looking for some good performance.


Thanks all!

 

Welcom to the forums.

The motherboard is Socket P, but you only have a GL960 chipset, so you are limited to Pentium Dual Core processors, as all the Core 2 Duos have faster FSBs than is supported by it. It is pretty hard to find Pentium Dual Cores, and they only go up to 1.86GHz, so it probably isn't worth it.

Just curious, what are you running, I have a similar spec Acer that's only got a Celeron and it runs Vista Premium pretty well. Are you running the stock Sony Windows install or have you cleaned it up?

 

You might be able to put in a Core 2 Duo - provided the BIOS recognized it - but it wouldn't be worth it. It would be downclocked proportionately to the difference in FSB speed between your chipset and the Core 2 chipset (yours being 533 MHz, the newest Socket P being 800 MHz) - that is, a 33% downclock. So even the fastest Core 2 Duo would run at 1.73 GHz, slower than the fastest Pentium Dual-Core. Even if you consider areas other than clock speed where the Core 2 would have an advantage (ex. L2 cache), it would likely have no greater performance than the Pentium Dual-Core T2390 - the best PDC - and would be in no way worth the cost.

The T2390 would give a 16% clock speed boost - whether that's worth the cost and trouble to you, I don't know.

 

The T2330 is a 64-bit processor, but the FSB is 533 MT/s. The MOBO will not support santa rosa or penryn processors.

You use everest home, or cpu-z and check the MOBO manufacturer and MODEL NO. and compare it with the ones with core duos and EARLY core 2 duos [ T5200, T5500, T5600, T7200, T7400, T7600 ].

Your MOBO might support the core duo line up.

 

The Core Duo processors are all Socket M; they wouldn't work with Socket P. The early Core 2 Duos you mentioned also are Socket M and would not work with Socket P, which is what rmt99e has. They might work as replacements for some of the earlier Pentium Dual-Cores - but not the T2330.

The Santa Rosa processors in all likelihood wouldn't be supported, but they might well run fine, albeit downclocked. But the downclock percentage would be so significant that it certainly wouldn't be worth putting one in.

 

Download CPUz and Everest Pro..both..!! and upload screenshots if possible....
Only then it is possible to say anything about the chipset and socket..!!
Some of the guys I know here who have upgraded their CPUs to T8100s and their laptops have GL960 chipsets (which is synonymous to the i965GM)..!!
No Core Duo comes in the Socket P form....but I found a comparison between the T2330 and the T5450....so it is referred to as the Pentium Dual Core.. and must be a socket P....!!
Here is a table listing all the Mobile Chipsets.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_chipsets#Mobile_Chipsets
Now the GL960....comes installed only with the Celeron Ms....
so how come the Sony N.. came with a Pentium Dual Core....anyway as it is based on the santa rosa platform....you should be able to upgrade to the higher core 2 duos..but it is best to start with the lowest and the cheapest, i.e. T5xxx and T7xxx....

 

Man almost everybody (except angad1608) could not be more wrong on this. It is a socket P. If you put a 667Mhz or 800Mhz FSB CPU it will adjust. It is Santa Rosa. The BIOS can be an issue. But going to a Core 2 should not be a problem.

 

The integrated graphics is a X3100, so it is a santa rosa. Sorry for missing it out.

 

Okay - so if i'm understanding right if it is a santa rosa - i will be able to use a core 2 duo provided i don't run into any problems with the BIOS?

the core 2 duo is a socket P -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819111316
there is a few that are socket M, though-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819111301

 

Yes...........

 

Thank you for your answers. How can i determine if it will cause BIOS problems? Is there any way or will I actually have to put it in to see what happens..

 

Yep....go for the Socket P one
Would advise you to start with the lowest one such as the T7100....or buy a cheap T5270 from ebay to confirm that your BIOS and mobo are able to support CPUs with 800MHz FSB..

 

I'll search around the net - I'm sure someone has tried it before. is the FSB the only thing that may run me into trouble with the BIOS ?

 

Not very sure....although the GL960 does support 800Mhz CPUs on other brands of notebooks....!! It is like Hit and Trial, you will never know unless you try it yourself....Because it depends upon Sony whether they have kept any scope for upgrading or not....!!

 

The T7400 is a socket M processor. The one you have is a socket P.

You can get a T7700.

I have a question to the other people posting here:

Is a manual BIOS upgrade to penryn feasible in this case ?

If yes, then getting the T8300 will be a better option.

 

I dont know what manual BIOS upgrade is..
since most are automated and achievable through windows itself....no need for boot-up disks and all....!! But logically it makes sense that if the laptop has an i965GM, and has a BIOS upgrade after JAN 2008, then the Penryns should work....That was the case I guess with the 5315s in th Acer Forum..
Yeah one could go for the T8300, but it is not worth the risk since there has not been a similar upgrade yet..!! But yeah it will have better performance in comparison to the Meroms..

 

Those boot disk stuff. I'm not sure if laptop vendors offer automatic BIOS updates..

 

Check out this discussion from a few months ago, it has some of the answers you are looking for:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=212097

Speaking from personal experience, I was able to upgrade my Sony Viao CR-120 with a T8300. Granted, my chipset is the 965 Santa Rosa. However, Looking through the specs for my sub-series, the fastest socket P that is officially supported on my bios is a T7700. The last bios update for the entire CR series was from March. It looks like Sony just took the same bios and tweaked for the different models in the CR series. There's a chance the same may apply to the the NR series. Good luck with the upgrade.

Ken

 

Awesome, thanks for the link! Where did you find out the highest socket P officially supported by your bios?

 

I figured out the "official" supported CPUs by using the latest bios update to the ENTIRE CR series as a guide. There were three different bios update executable files released, each for a specific subset of the CR series. I looked at the supported list of models for the bios for mine and found the highest model number listed. I then looked up that model on the sony support page. Once you get on the model specific support page, there will be a product spec link that will open up a pdf brochure. Of all the models listed, the T7700 was the highest. I then looked at the entire series and found the fastet CPU listed was a T9300. I know there are subtle differences in all the versions (like Bluetooth, different wireless card options, etc), so I took the gamble that the core chipset functions in the bios were all identical for the entire series. Also, since a bios update was released for all versions at the same time in March, I figured there was a good chance that all the latest CPUs were supported.

I had a hard time deciding between the T8300 and the T9300. In the end, I figured that the T8300 had a higher likelihood of working right and was a better value for the money. But, I had to give up the bragging rights, 3 MB of cache, and 0.1 mhz. If I had to do it again, I'd probably go for the T9300, just to see if it would work. I like nothing more than a good challenge

One last thought. Another thing to consider when trying to upgrade the CPU is how difficult is it to get to the CPU. I was very lucky with the CR series because it has a very large bottom panel that covers the ram, cpu, and most of the motherboard. The NR series might not be so fun to open up to get to the CPU.

 

Alright i got a screenshot from CPU-z..

 

So does this mean i definatly have santa rosa?

I'd like to get a core 2 duo either..

t8300 2.4ghz
t7700 2.4ghz
or the big dawg
t9300 2.5ghz

From what i've gathered I should be fine with the Mobo, It's just the bios compatibility that is in question

 

if you can get the T9300 at an affordable price, go for it, or else go for the T8300....

 

I dont know guys, I doubt the board is going to run a 533Mhz bus processor, 667Mhz bus processors and 800Mhz processors. The fsb jump from 533Mhz to 800MHz is a huge jump, I really dont think his board can take it.
I think the fastest processor you are going to be able to use is the fastest core 2 with a 667Mhz bus, which is the T5550 whih is 1.83 Ghz. (usually boards with 533mhz bus processors have no problem using 667Mhz bus processors)

Your only real option, is to find a friend with a socket P 800Mhz bus (T7xxx, T8xxx or T9xxx) processor and ask them if you can test their processor in your laptop. If the cpu doesnt work than its no big deal, you give it back to your friend, install it and it will be fine. You can tell your friends, that their is no harm done to the processor by putting it in another notebook.

K-TRON

 

Yup you are right regarding borrowing the cpu and testing it....
But there are guys who have upgraded acer 5315s, which had celeron Ms to T8300s....and their motherboards easily took the jump from 533MHz to 800MHz....!! and the acer 5315 has no higher model in its family, which comes with a cpu better than a Celeron M....

 

heck i made the jump from a t5550 to a T9300 in both my old toshiba and my current lappy.

 

Okay guys, if it will work than that would be great.
I am not saying it will 100%, but their is a chance it will and a chance it wont.

The best way is to try and test it with other people's cpu's, so you can find out what works and what doesnt. Or you will have to do it the hardway and hope that it works.
Buying a cpu which doesnt work, will involve buying different ones until you find one which works, and returning the ones which do not work, which could become a hassle.

Where are you located, maybe someone here lives close an could help you out.

K-TRON

 

I upgraded my T2370 ( 533Mhz ) to T7500 ( 800Mhz).. @K-TRON you remember my thread with the broken pin?
Don't know about this Penryn thing though..

 

right buying and returning would become a hassle

i live in Danbury Connecticut

 

A guy in the Acer forum claims that he successfully upgraded his aspire 5315 (GM965),using the latest bios, to T9500.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3555492&postcount=93

 

why dont you see if any similar laptops like yours came with the processor you want to upgrade to thats the easiest way to find out if itll work or not

 

I will look into it more to see if any similiar laptops have core 2 duos. From whave ive seen most of them are pentium dual core

 

binnggo

Idk why i didn't try this earlier or why no one mentioned the idea.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-VGN-NR27.../B000ZOWV2G/ref=de_a_smtd/103-5346222-0377436


there is a laptop identical to mine except with a t5270 with a 800mhz FSB

the model of that is VGN-NR270N mine is VGN-NR240E


So it seems that i have enough information to say that I can upgrade my notebook to a core 2 duo of 800mhz fsb

 

Well that is a pretty big difference in model number. It is like comparing a caterpillar C12 engine with a C16, they are completely different, one is 350hp the other is 625hp. You will have to take a chance, but at least you have a 50/50 chance on it working or not.
If others have said that some notebooks will work with 533Mhz bus processors and 800Mhz processors, than you may have the same luck, but their is really no way to tell until it has been tested.
Unfotunately you have to be the pioneer.

Good luck man, I really hope it works for you.

K-TRON

 

It might very well work. Santa rosa supports FSB 400, 533, 667, 800. The T2330 [ T23xx series ] processor is a 64-bit socket P processor, both unlike the other T2xxx processors.

 

they both have the same stuff inside except the processor is alittle faster.


I'm just waiting to buy now. If i decide to go through i'll get the t9300

 

Sounds good, let us know what happens.
I think their is a 30 day return policy, but I would check the site you are buying from, incase it doesnt work.

Keep us posted, and good luck.

K-TRON