T5600 vs T7600 - is it worth $120 for an upgrade?

Just wanted to get your guys advices though i know much about hardware.


I just found a T7600 for a very nice price $120, over here in EU, (usualy they are at $4-500 each).
What do you guys think, is it worth it? I could always sell my T5600 afterwards for atleast $60, i think. So it would cost me a total of $60 for the upgrade if i get that price for it.


I am one of those that just wanna upgrade everything until it cant be upgraded anymore. And the CPU is the last thing to do for me, even though my GPU is pretty weak and built in i don't need the power for games, but for cpu intensive tasks and just lower the overall systemtemp if i'm just using light tasking so to say, the T7600 probably won't need as much power to do the same calculations as the T5600.

Any opinion is welcome togheter with a motivation!

Thanks!

 

I'd save it and put it towards a new laptop... by the looks of it yours look like its an aging system

 

$120 is an absolute steal for the T7600 IMO, even if the performance boost is minimal.

 

um, yes.
Michel, that is an awesome deal.
I paid about the same for a T7400 and it was the best money I spent in a while.
The T5300 I used to have actually ran hotter than the T7400 because the die on the top of the cpu (T5300) was smaller, so it conducted less heat to the heatsink. Not only that the performance gain was incredible going from 1.73 to 2.16Ghz. I do a lot of cad work which uses the cpu power, so if you do stuff which uses 100% cpu power than it is definitely worth it.

Plus, you definitely cant go wrong with the T7600, its a beast of a cpu.

K-TRON

 

BTW Michel, where are you buying this CPU from ?

 

yeah, same question))) i got a friend who'd love to buy it at such a price

 

Absolutely, go for it.

 

Thanks guys for all the answers!

I'm going for it today or tomorrow then!

I thought the price was VERY nice, so putting it aside for a new laptop won't do much for me, i just bought the notebook in sign 3-4months ago for a very cheap price and i'm satisfied with it, exepct the CPU because it's running kinda hot and usualy goes up to 100% load most of the times because i multitask ALOT.

I actually couldn't believe my eyes when i saw it on sale today, so yeah i would say it's a steal too, even if the boost is minimal, 2MB more L2 cache and 500Mhz more power is always something


It was found over here in Sweden

 

Just called the seller and asked a couple of questions about the CPU.


He said that it runs kinda hot and that you need good cooling, and:
He said it can't be overclocked (that doesnt matter though but i never heard about a CPU not being able to OC with the correct motherboard)
He also said he bought it brand new and he sells it because of it going to hot in his Dell 1310.
He said that it wasn't any fault on it at all, nothing at all. Works perfectly otherwise.

Guys, anything that sounds strange here? Can't tell if it's smelling something funny.. Though he's in the mid 40's, so it feels like a guy in that age won't do any hassle. I'm suspect just because it's so cheap )

Got his home adress and all, so i'm picking it up tomorrow at his place.

 

Like what and how is the T7600 going to lower your system temp?

 

It has the same TDP as the T5600 and it obviously can do more calculations per MHz and it also has 2MB and 500Mhz more above that. I'm saying it is more effective than a T5600 if it dissipates the same heat.

 

Well with more frequency -> more heat. But every CPU undervolts differently.
My T7600 chokes at 1.0625V whereas the T5200 is stable at 0.9500V....

 

True, but i guess it's more effective per mhz anyways

I got my T5600 @ 0.95v stable as your T5200.. I'm holding my thumbs for that the T7600 will UV very good.


Does the average T7600 run rather hot?

 

well in my system the T5300 used to peak at around 145F wth the fans always running at full. This was with every multiplier undervolted to 0.950V
My T7400 undervolts to 1.0375V on the highest multiplier and at that point the max temperature is about 125F with the fans running at full.
So since the fan speed is constant I must say that the merom 4m is cooler than the merom 2m because of the size of the die which touches the heatsink.
You can see that size difference here:


I believe that the size diff is like 1.5 x as big, allowing for the heatsink to better cool the cpu. There is more surface area between the cpu and the heatsink, thus even the higher clocked cpu runs cooler.

Michel, you may bank out on this, your cpu may run cooler too.
I know that my battery life also increaed about 15 minutes after upgrading, because the fan needed to be used much less.

K-TRON

 

My T5200 has the same wide die as your T7400, so probably you got a dodgy CPU or a re-labeled Yonah ....

My T5200 is a gem of a CPU. $19, overclocks upto 2.3GHz - UVed to 1.0375V - max temp 70*C.

 

cpu-z reads both my T5300 and T7400 as merom cores.
And dell did not put a dodgy cpu in my system. My T5300 was very stable and very powerful
plus the yonah core is even smaller than my T5300 one.

The T2500 ran even hotter than my T5300 did, so I am thinking their is a correlation between cpu/heatsink surface area and operating temperature

T2500 Yonah on the right, T5300 merom 2m on the left




K-TRON

 

Hmm....Weiyaarrd! Probably yours is the US-version of the Merom-2M and mine is the UK-version.

 

Nice K-TRON I hope the DIE is bigger on the T7600 then, then it's really going to be cooler. I'm looking forward to the little nice christmas gift to myself tomorrow *evil laugh*


What about T7600 not being able to OC? He said something that it's SL9, don't know exact or S9L or something like that. Is there fully locked T7600 CPU's?


Andy, you're located in the UK?

 

The T7400 and the T7600 share the same size die.
Their are two versions of the T7600, the "T7600" and the "T7600G"
Now the T7600G is supposed to have unlocked multipliers. But i doubt it does
My friend bought a XPS1710 with the "T7600G" and when we operated on his system, replacing his mainboard, the processor was a standard "T7600". The only difference was that on the XPS1710 the "G" bought you a bios which allowed for overclocking.
Sorry I dont have the intel spec number, I will try and get a cpu-z shot from him.
here is an image of the T7600G, sorry its the only pic I have of it:

SO I think that the only way you can overclock is through the BIOS/3rd party oc'ing software. I dont know what the cooling is like on your sony, but i wouldnt overclock any laptop cpu.

K-TRON

 

Oh, you're buying that SL9SJ with the PGA adapter fitted ?

I know they are for sale on ebay pretty cheap, and should run fine, but no warranty.

Mine's an ES chip, just "QTCA B2" printed on top, bought it online, shipped from Taiwan, though its the latest revision and has an unlocked multiplier with a working DTS.

Yep, I'm in the UK.

 

Adapter? You need an adapter to make it fit? Hmm, isn't all T7600 with the same socket? I knew it was something funny with the price..


Ah i see EU, nice



K-TRON, no i won't OC, so that won't be a problem. I don't see the use on a notebook if you don't have proper cooling

 

The CPU will come with an adapter if it has the sSpec SL9SJ, as it is originally a BGA CPU.

 

This gives you what? I'm not saying don't do it, but I think the marginal value is very low unless you have a specific need to do CPU intensive tasks. Most everyday tasks like Office, Music, Internet, Movies, etc., will see little to no appreciable performance increase.

 

I see, that's good! But it gives the same performance as the other T7600? So it's still worth it i mean

I already answered that

I do more heavy multitasking than just idle-tasking hehe

Even if it's a small increase in performance (as i know) it's still a very cheap upgrade for the CPU, i think it'll cost me $60 in the end, when i've sold the T5600 that is So for $60 it must totally be worth it anyways, can be good if i really need the CPU to max it out sometimes in some apps that really needs it all. And if it gives improved batterytime as K-TRON says it's also a plus and totally worth it right there for that cash.

I appreciate your comments anyways, all motivations are good ones!

 

He says it is Socket 479m sl9sd t7600!

Getting confused here, it fits right? Seems like it when i'm googling and stuf, but i'm getting unsure after that you said Andy!

 

Oh yeah, SL9SD is fine. It is Micro-FCPGA.
And you should be able to overclock it. You can't overclock it by raising the multiplier, but you can up the FSB.

 

Like what?

 

Ok, nice nice
I aint gonna, but always good to know if you ever wanna. Great thanks to you dude I'll post later today/tonight how it turns out in the notebook!

VM-ware, Divx2DVD/DVD2Divx, or other decoding/encoding applications, while playing some light gaming like quake3 or starcraft or broodwar or worms armageddon sometimes (which i don't call real games really, as it's not taking up any resources)

Anyways, i can always sell the T7600 even if i buy it and change my mind later, i'll probably make a good profit if so too, can't seem to find this T7600 for less than $250, including fleebay (with shipping).





EDIT: I could also get a 7900GTX for $60 from this guy, too bad i didn't have changeable GPU Anyone else?

 

Okey, went and got it, bought it, installed it and booted the new CPU up a little while ago. Seems fine so far

Temps before was 56-60C idle with the T5600, very hot for a T5600 imho. Now the temps are only 45C and the cooling paste is brand new so i guess the temps will be lowered a little more when it's settled. Seems very nice.

It's at 1.163v @ 2333Mhz, which is nice, with my luck i thought i'd get a chip with 1.3v standard.
It draws 42W at idle, before it was 44W, i got a power meter, 75W load with the T5600 . Now it's at 80W load, so 5W more, not surprised though as it's more powerful.
Loadtemps are 85C with T7600, before it was 86C, strange enough. Alot cooler and this is not even undervolted yet.

The guy who sold it to me, told me that he bought the CPU for $700 not long ago hehe, i wonder why he sold it so cheap though.. Can't find anything wrong with it all........ .....yet


EDIT: Now undervolted to 1.05v (which is the lowest i could get stable @ 2.33Ghz). Now it draws 70W fulload. And maxes out at 79C. Not much heatdifference but under the "magic" 80C and a much lower powerconsumption.


EDIT2: 1.05v wasn't completely stable Orthos freaked out 1.0625v seems ok though. Still same loadtemps and 70W fulload.

 

Michel! Congrats on the upgrade .

Could you run WPrime and attach a screenie of the result, I wanted to see how it fairs against my T5200 (OCed ).

 

Thanks Andy I can't give you +rep yet, i tried last night, just so you know it's coming


Sure, i'll give you a screen very soon, just gonna fix the dinner for tonight
You don't need a T5600 CPU do you?

 

congratz michel.k
I am glad its running a tad cooler
I know on my T7400 I can undervolt from the 6x to the 10x multi to 0.950V, and that really helps cut the idle power draw.
82C is pretty hot, but I guess your sony doesnt have fan control. Thats my favorite part about the older dells, i8kfangui

K-TRON

 

Hahaha....not really. I have a T7600, but I've still not been able to get the freakin' screw out, so its lying back home.

 

andy, how about this: you ship your laptop overseas to me in New York, i will get that screw out, and I will send it back with a T7400 in the spot of your T7600. How about that

K-TRON

 

*cough*....*cough*..*cough* Oh, can't see..*cough*..Can't read what you posted..*cough*..*cough*

 

Here you go, both Super Pi 1M and wPrime 32M test, don't know if the 32M test is ok or not, but the Super Pi test seems far nicer than before


Oh, and thanks K-TRON

My Sony has fan controll! Though the cooling solution is not that great in my notebook, it's just one 40mm fan + some small heatpipes. But i guess i'll get it alot cooler after i'm done undervolting, anyhow, i'm satisfied with the temps already as it's cooler than before

 

Ok, that's nice. I manage to get about 37s on my T5200.

 

Haha! Nice to hear that i'm not behind then
What's your T5200 @ ?

 

2.3Ghz something..

Here's the screenie....the frequency is double of what is shown.

 

I see I guess the 2MB more cache in the t7 does a lill magic then



Btw, i checked out your screw, have you tryed to cut the head of with a cutting plier that fits?
Because if you just get the head of you can release the hinge and then easily take a normal plier that you can unscrew the rest with and replace it, if you want, otherwise just let it be there and only use the other screws for the hinge.

 

Yeah, that would work. But size has been the problem all along. I don't think I'll find a cutting plier as small as the screw may require it to be. I was thinking of probably doing the old drill machine trick. Hopefully that works, 'cause one of the LCD brackets broke when I was trying to get the screw out.

 

I see

Yeah a drill would definately work, but be careful man, don't wanna ruin anything else! Use a small drill to begin with, and if you manage to drill a hole that you can fit for example a small hexagon(allen?) keys init to unscrew it Or better of, some small torx that fits, always works if you've drilled down atleast 2mm into the screw, even better than hexagons.

To bad that you didn't have it nearby, i could've fixed that in jiffy


You can always use superglue for the hinge later on and glue it onto the middle of the LCD-screen

 

Michel.K,

It's been a while since your upgrade. I am currently debating if I should spend the money to upgrade my t5600 to t7600 on my Dell Inspiron e1705.
Current t7600 is around $250 on ebay. I plan to watch keep eye on the listing for few months until I find a good deal.

Since your upgrade, has anything happened? Can you see the performance boost from your old chip?

Thanks in advance,
Ned

 

Hi Michel,

You have this upgrade long time ago, but I'm pretend to do this on 2010 year.
Can you tell me if are this CPUs that you have work on?
http://www.x86-guide.com/en/cpu/Intel-Core-2-Duo-T5600-BGA-cpu-no2135.html

http://www.x86-guide.com/en/cpu/Intel-Core-2-Duo-T7800-BGA-cpu-no2713.html

What about this "BGA" ? Can I upgrade from T5600 to T7800 ?

My notebook is Dell M65 (Precision). Motherboard and BIOS will support?


Best regards,
Vinicius

 

You should be able to... just make sure u do a BIOS update before u change the CPU... also the BGA one won't work... u need a PGA one... PGA switchable processors whereas BGA are soldered to the motherboard... look for a PGA one...

 

T7800 won't work, it's a Socket P CPU. T5600 is a Socket M. Other part of Sean's post is accurate, you need a PGA, not a BGA. Fastest CPU is a T7600, but the T7200/T7400 tends to be better for price/performance.

 

Thank you, guys!
I'm seeing the difference on prices, between EU and Brazil.

http://produto.mercadolivre.com.br/...mobile-processor-t7600-233ghz-4mb-cpu-ret-_JM

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Intel-Core2-D...ItemQQimsxq20100101?IMSfp=TL100101219001r6493


Best regards,
Vinicius

 

The T7600 works great in the E1705. I used it in my old Dell. But IMO, unless you plan to use a 64-bit OS, the T2700 is a better choice in terms of price/performance ration.

 

Hi Black,

That's my case, I run freebsd/amd64 on this note.
I think that price (expensive to me) will generate a great return,
no just increasing performance but reducing temperature.

Do you guys, see problems buying a used one? (if I test few days, maybe?)
Nothing about life time on these CPUs? cause my note always stay on 24x7.

Thank you for your attention.

[]s
Vinnix