Trying to upgrade my CPU, please help!

Hello everyone,

First of all, I'm new at this forum and this is my first topic. I really hope I can get someone to help me upgrade my CPU. I kinda know some stuff about computers, but not enough to upgrade it.

Anyway, the problem is I want to upgrade my CPU and I don't know which CPU's are compatible with my motherboard and maybe with the whole computer. It's a laptop by the way.

I used Intel Chipset Identification Utility, and the result was this: ARK | Mobile Intel® PM45 Express Chipset (Intel® 82PM45 Memory Controller Hub). CPU's listed on this site seem to be the compatible ones with my chipset. However, I contacted Intel support online, had a chat with two people working there and both of them told me that I had to contact HP in order to learn which CPU's are compatible with my computer. I can't do that. Because when I try to contact them, it looks up the warranty of my computer automatically and it's been a long time since the warranty has ended. Like 2 whole years...

What I'm asking is, what else do i need to know about my computer before going on and buying one of the CPU's listed in the website above? How do i replace it with the old CPU? I know I have to open the computer's inner structure but I don't know how to do that... I've never done it before.. this is my first time..

My laptop's specifications and model:

HP Pavilion dv6 1130et

Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 2.00 Ghz
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4530 512 MB
3 GB RAM
Windows 7 32-bit

My computer supports up to 8 GB RAM, if an 64-bit version of Windows is installed.

To whoever answers my question, thank you so much! I hope someone out there is able to help me with this!


By the way, I'm from Turkey, that's why the link is in Turkish, just click on the tab that says "Uyumlu ürünler" to see the CPU's compatible with my Chipset. Sorry about that...

 

You can upgrade to any socket P CPU. The intel website is actually a piece of junk for finding out this information. They list the pin configuration or something, not the more commonly used socket names.

I would recommend the t9000 series. The t9600 is a very strong CPU. But don't expect to see any huge performance increase with everyday tasks. If you're running something like Ableton Live like I do then yeah its a great idea to upgrade.

You can also upgrade to the P series, which will give you more battery life and will run cooler but will probably be more expensive.

I would stay away from the t8000 series as these are 800mhz FSB and will also be more expensive per GHz since they fit the older 965 chipset and are thus more rare.

If you're not technically inclined, I don't recommend upgrading the CPU. It requires COMPLETE disassembly of the laptop.

 

First you gotta find a compatible CPU. I´d say get something in the T9XXX range a T9600 for instance. The T9600 is much cheaper (50$) vs the T9800 or T9900 (over 100$) That will be a decent jump in preformance (about 50%). Im quite sure they will be supported by your computer. Just have a search at ebay for such a processor. They offer quite a bit of them. The only problem might be the extra heat the T9600 would give you. What temps are you running on now?

About getting the chip out what i recommend is watching youtube video´s about that. There is really quit a lot info about that there and it is very clear with the visuals. Its basicly plug in and play replacing the CPU is quite easy.

edit: in reply to the above post. It really depends on how easy your laptop is accesable weather it is hard to upgrade the CPU. All you need to do in my laptop is unscrew the back panel, heatsink and then remove the old CPU. But some laptops arent that easy. Anyway i´d do quite a bit of research before you do it anyway

As you upgrade your CPU i´d also advise getting more and faster ram. If you got the money and willing to spend get 8gb 1066MHz DDR2 ram (i think DDR2 is what you need). You will really notice a difference in fluence of your system.

 

Yes. SOME laptops have easy access to the CPU, namely a lot of MSI and Clevo laptops. GENERALLY speaking, with most consumer level non business non gaming laptops built the past few years such as this one, you have to completely disassemble it.

I see a lot of people quick to say a CPU upgrade isn't too difficult - this is because this forum seems to be mainly populated by gamers, with gaming laptops which have easy access to the parts.

 

I was thinking of buying a T9000 series CPU as well. However, I really need to know if it really is compatible with my computer. Is knowing only about my chipset enough or do I need to know anything else. The socket type is easy, you just need to compare it with the new CPU. However, is there anything else? And I don't really use the kind of complicated software as you do, like Ableton Live. I don't even know what that is...

This was to niffcreature.

My current CPU temp is 75 C ( 161 F ) but that's because my computer has been running for 6 hours and in those 6 hours I've been playing games for like 4 hours, maybe. My fan isn't also that good... But if the heat is going to be a problem I'll see what I can do. If necessary I'll turn off the computer to let it cool or go ahead and buy a new fan. I don't care what it takes, I'll learn whatever I need to learn to change this computer to a better one. It's 5 or 6 years old...

My ram is already DDR2... I didn't change any hardware on this computer so far and it's already DDR2. And also, it seems like I have enough money to buy only the CPU, so I'll have to save up some more money to buy anthing else...

This was to danielschoon.

However thank you guys for replying so soon...

By the way, I bought this laptop because the salesman told me that it was en entertainment laptop for gaming...

Here's a similar model's total disassembly video I found on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoYVztAcCiQ.

 

Yes, all of the t9000 series is definitely compatible, you don't need to worry about anything. The pm45 chipset was ONLY for socket P.
I'm not sure you'll benefit much from the upgrade...

Here is a video: HP DV6 Take Apart/Disassembly for CPU FAN Replacement - YouTube

Lol. I just took one of these apart the other night. Remember to clean the dust out of the fan!

That video is of the AMD version and you have intel so there are some slight differences. Actually its possible that you have an entirely different type of dv6 and the motherboard looks like this:
HP Pavilion dv6 3000 DV6T Motherboard Intel Socket RPGA 989 630281 001 Tested | eBay

Which would be awesome because you could also upgrade the motherboard to support i3/i5/i7. But I think its unlikely.

 

OMG are you serious?! i3/i5/i7 are actually possible for me?! Don't get my hopes up for nothing! I'm gonna take my laptop to some people downtown to see if there is actually something I can replace with my current CPU but I wanted to know beforehand to have some kind of idea about what to do with my computer. If I can't replace it with something slightly better like 2.6 Ghz, I'll save up money for 2 more years and buy a totally new gaming laptop. The problem is I can't wait that long...

So as a result, I guess knowing only the type of my chipset and which CPU's my chipset is compatible with is enough for me to go ahead and choose from a couple of great CPU's, isn't that so?

 

You should be able to upgrade to X9100 Core2Duo (its possible to deduce that because the FSB supports 1066MhZ).
Unless your chipset/motherboard supports quad cores - this is a tricky subject because PM45 socket is compatible with quad cores... BUT, Intel made a revision of the existing socket which they called PM45 so it can support quads (unfortunately, most laptops with this kind of support reached the market in late 2008 or early 2009).
My laptop has a PM45 chipset and I tried Q9100 in it, but it didn't work - the laptop started, but the screen was black and it kept restarting.

Plus, there's an additional problem of cooling... if you put in a 45W cpu inside, the cooling system might not be able to handle it.
I had this problem with X9100 C0 revision - then again this thing had thermal issues by default because its a C0 and not an E0 (which is very expensive and difficult to find).

If you will upgrade to a Core2Duo, my recommendation would be that you upgrade to T9600.(2.8GhZ) and undervolt it using Throttlestop.
I was able to undervolt mine down to 1.05V at 2.8GhZ and the temperatures are nice... 75 to 77 degrees C under full load (and gpu holding at 70 degrees mostly) - this is with the GPU and CPU both sharing one smaller heat-sink (my cooling is relatively inefficient by design).

Upgrading the cpu usually requires of you to open the laptop.
My laptop has 1 larger panel on its underside that can be unscrewed and gives me easy access to the GPU, CPU, RAM, fan and northbridge.
Since I don't know your laptops layout, its possible that HP designed it so it may require disassembly.

You might want to get your hands on a disassembly guide for your laptop (it will provide best information on how to do it step by step).
Make sure that you power off the laptop before doing anything, remove the battery and press/hold the power button for 5 to 10 seconds to get rid of any extra charge.

Having said that... Upgrading the RAM to 8GB might be beneficial if you work in programs that might need it (but this amount of RAM upgrade could be expensive... especially if you currently have DDR2 - if its DDR3 however, then it should be a relatively minor cost)... however, you might want to consider upgrading to an SSD instead (120GB one) and use that for Windows, programs, etc... while using the DVD reader for your existing HDD (as a storage) via a caddy solution (essentially you remove the DVD and in its place you put a caddy which would house your HDD.

An SSD would be by far the best upgrade you can do as it will improve system responsiveness by a lot...
The CPU is beneficial if you do CPU intensive work - but the T9600 is relatively cheap and by far the most cost effective solution.


P.S. when it was suggested that it might be possible to do an upgrade to an i3, i5 or i7... I think it was more to do with replacing the existing motherboard and just putting the new one that supports i core processors into your laptop chasis.
I don't think its possible to simply slap an i core series CPU into your existing motherboard because Intel not only changed the chipset, they changed the underlying hardware for it,.

 

Thank you for all the advice... I'm gonna bring my laptop to some people that knows about computers and stuff tomorrow, to check if they really know about it ( ) and to see what choices I have. The heat won't be a problem if I buy a CPU similar to my current one... I mean if they are similar with the heat thing... There's this video that disassembles the whole laptop to change the fan and the CPU at the same time, it's the same model as mine, dv6 series, and the outer structure is the same more or less... So I think I should be fine... If I can't do it, then I'll just have to bring my laptop to someone who can. No problem with that... In the process of doing that I'll make sure that my fan looks like it was just bought... When I took a look at it the last time, dust was the only thing I could see... I don't know what undervolting is but if it comes to that I'll do some research and see if I can really do it... I don't really want a quad core, a duo core is enough for me, for now... When the new CPU gets old too I'll have enough money to buy a new gaming laptop 'cuz I'll be saving till that day, no problem with that too.

 

Undervolting means reducing the amount of power/electricity that your CPU requires to function without affecting performance.
This means that if you were to undervolt your T6400 to the lowest possible stable Voltage at its highest multiplier (that produces 2.0GhZ on both cores), it would still run at 2.0GhZ at maximum load, but it would require less energy, and it would also reduce temperatures (finding the lowest stable voltage for full load often means reducing the temperatures by about 10 degrees Celsius - sometimes it can be more).

If you decide to upgrade to T9600, then definitely use ThrottleStop (free program) to undervolt its maximum multiplier.
The lowest I was able to go on my T9600 was 1.05V (but this can/will vary from cpu to cpu, or system to system).

 

I believe if you are weary about upgrading your computer, I suggest you get a friend or someone that you trust to do it for your. I learn this the hard way...whoops!

 

Ok, thank you so much for your advice. Once I get this CPU changed, if the temp rises up too much, I'll use that program.

 

if the temp rises up too much you have a problem.

 

Apparently, I have no friends who are able to do such things.. I'll bring my laptop to someone who knows however, if I can't do it by myself. There are "shops" for mostly phones and computers, in my country. I don't know about any other countries.. They kind of know about this stuff, I'll go and ask those people, if they don't know how to do it, then there are shops that sell these inner structures like motherboards and CPU's and fans and stuff. They'll definitely know how to do it. I'll somehow take care of that.

I'm about to find out which processors are best for me. The rest will be easy, I hope.

 

I don't know, if it comes to that, I'll find a solution. I'll change the fan if necessary.

 

basicly changing the CPU is easy. It can be very hard tho to get to the CPU. As said above most laptops are just a pain to open. Usualy the steps are like, remove back panel, remove optical drive and then keyboard, front panel then remove MoBo.

To give you an idea about the complexity:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7CEtfJtu_Y

If you dont think you could do this dont atempt (i´d advise you not to). You can damadge your notebook if you dont know what you are doing. I dont know if there are any shops that will replace the CPU for you. Anyway i suspect this is costly (over 50$).

About the right CPU for you. THe T9600 is mentioned quite a lot. It is defently one of the best Core2duo mobile processors and got a good preformance cost ratio as well. It would be about a 50% jump over your current processor.

 

I have similar HP a HP dv6-1355dx upgrade to a Intel T8100 and it runs and work fine...if you can't afford to go to the T9000 series I would stay getting a T8100 won't break your budget and I its a Duo 2 core that will run windows7x64 ult sp1 without much problem. I done this will all my HP dv4, dv5 and they run fine with the T8100 as I am not expecting monumental performance just better then a Duo core and better cooling and not so much cost in doing the upgrade. With the age your computer is going T8100 wouldn't be a bad start. T9000 series on ebay are still relatively expensive....

 

Makes sure to get some good thermal paste with the CPU change. The machine is pretty dated so the things like dust and the fan being more warn may effect heat to the laptop much easier. I'd recommend Arctic Cooling's MX-4 paste which could be found for $5 when one sale (which is most of the time).

 

I just use the silver thermal paste of which has worked fine for me so far and yes if you do take apart the laptop do a thorough fan cleaning and heatsink cleaning to remove old thermal paste and any dust bunnies that have gathered there since you last cleaned it. That will also lower your heating bills as well.

 

i use artic silver 5, some of that generic silver paste, i have read is sometime worse than the normal white stuff.

 

So, I didn't take my laptop with me but I had the name of my chipset and what kind of a processor I wanted in my mind. The salesman told me that he had Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, which is even worse than T6400, in my opinion. Plus he said it would cost me 45 $. That was pretty shocking, 'cuz when I check the prices on Intel's website, they are all higher than 200 $. But I'm gonna take my laptop to HP's own shops where they take the device and make you wait for a whole week, at least that's how it works in Turkey. See if they have T9000 series processors, hope they do... Man this is pretty damn tiring... So, is that a reasonable thing to do? or am I acting like an idiot?

 

going to HP wont work. They wont replace a cpu for you. I´d say just get a CPU yourself and ask such a guy you went to to get in your machine

 

45$ is WAY too much for that CPU...

CPU prices drop at incredible rates... the prices on intels website are the prices from when the CPU was first released!

And, you're right! t6400 is better than t7300 at least IMO too. Stay away from the t7000 and t5000 series.

Personally I think anyone can disassemble a laptop without breaking it. Yours definitely isn't one of the most difficult ones to disassemble. The #1 thing to do is NOT get frustrated!