Upgrading G51Vx-RX05 CPU

So I was thinking about going across the border (from Canada in to the USA) to pick myself up an Asus G51Vx-RX05. The only problem with it I have is that the CPU clock speed is a a bit lacking. How exactly does one swap processors on a laptop? Would it be worth it to upgrade the P7350 processor to say a T9600? I can get just the T9600 chip for $400 CAD here in Canada.

 

Get it at xoticpc.com
And yes upgrading the CPU would definitely be worth it. You should get the CPU from ebay. PM me so I can give you more info.

 

It seems I'm unable to PM, probably because I'm a new user. The version sold at XoticPC is out of my price range. (It's the A1, not the RX05) Just to make sure, I'm talking about upgrading the CPU. The only price I could find on Ebay was $350, and with the shipping and whatnot, it would probably work out to over $400, which I can get instore here.

EDIT: Turns out on the American Ebay that there's one for $250 too. Would it be worth it? Also, how exactly does one upgrade a CPU?

 

Oh sorry about that, my mistake.
Ah I see with the PM, forgot about that lol
But it would be worth it for $250 for sure. And upgrading, all you have to do is just remove the rear panel, take out the heatsink, take out the cpu, replace it with a new one, apply some thermal paste, put the heatsink back on and you're set. The only precautions you would need to take would be to ground yourself and touch metal every so often and not move around too much to prevent static electricity build up. Also you would need to have the battery taken out of course.

 

Yeah, I've done minor PC upgrades before, just never a CPU. Would the computer automatically recognize the new CPU? Is it worth voiding the warranty?

 

Yes, it would automatically recognize the CPU, provided the BIOS supports it. Currently, we know quad cores aren't supported (this will change with the A1 model), so you'll want to stick to the Penryn P and T families.

Whether it's worth voiding the warranty is up to you. Is extra performance worth the risk?

 

@Jehde

I would definitely recommend the upgrade, as you can see in my sig I have successfully got a T9800 into the G51VX-RX05. You can look at my review and see the performance increases so far. Good luck!

 

Is the P9700 the best CPU you can put in the G51VX-RX05?

Heres one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Intel-Core2Duo-...QQptZLH_DefaultDomain_210?hash=item19b88e2c5e

What does it mean by ES?

Is the T9800 the exact same as the P9700 except it uses a bit more power?

And is the performance increase from the P7350 really noticeable?

Also, regarding undervolting, the P7350 is a 7.5x multiplier CPU so if you were to undervolt, wouldn't you lose some clock speed?

 

ES means Engineering Sample. These were pre-production chips sent out by Intel to various people for testing. Technically, ES chips are still property of Intel, and thus an ES chip is stolen goods, but the chances of Intel actually coming after you over it are slim. Perhaps more to the point, because these were pre-production chips, not all of them have the full set of features of OEM chips, temperature sensors being one common missing feature. On the other hand, they also often come with unlocked multipliers, for easier testing of various features.

As far as you're concerned, the T9800 and the P9700 are largely the same, except, as you noted the P9700 uses slightly less voltage, resulting in a slightly lower TDP and also runs a bit slower. It also debuted at almost half the price of the T9800, but that's more of a historical note than anything.

With a clock speed boost of almost 50%, you'll probably notice the difference on any CPU intensive task. However, if all you do day to day is surf the web and type, you probably won't really notice a difference. It all depends on what you normally do.

Undervolting does not affect clock speed. The clock speed of a processor is determined by the multipler times the FSB speed (which is actually the listed speed divided by 4 - 7.5 * 266.66 = 2000 MHz for the P7350). What undervolting too far will do is result in an unstable processor, as you won't have enough voltage to keep the CPU running.

 

Yeah I'm just wondering because my current laptop's CPU is a 12x multiplier but I read that if you have a .5x multiplier, and undervolt it with RMClock, you'll lose some clock speed since it works in whole number multipliers.

e.g my T8300 2.4GHz is a 12x multiplier CPU but the T9300 2.5GHz is a 12.5x multiplier CPU but if you were to undervolt the T9300, it'd downclock to 2.4GHz since there'd be no 12.5x multiplier in RMClock (max being 12x). Since the P7350 is a .5x multiplier as well, I thought it'd downclock as well to 7x (1866MHz). That's what I read but correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Ah, well, that depends on the program you use to undervolt. Some undervolting programs do support half multipliers (I think Crystal CPUID was one?), and I remember that there was a way to modify RMClock to do so as well. I'm not actually up on undervolting, however, so you'd have to wait for someone more familiar with the program to answer that.

 

All it takes is modifying some registry entries to allow half multipliers for RMClock.

 

Ah ok, cool, thanks.

I guess if I ever buy a CPU I'll avoid the EM ones then.

 

You don't necessarily have to. Some ES/QS are just as good as OEM, but you need to do your homework before committing to one.

 

The absolute best CPU you can put in the G51VX-RX05 is the Intel Core 2 Extreme X9100. See Forge, he has one in his, I think. It may be an X9000.

Try not to buy ES/EQ processors. From what I've heard, buying an OEM processor is better. See this thread.

EDIT: Appears I was wrong, Forge has a T9900. Woops...

 

If i were u, i'd stay away from ES ones... They're stolen and might not work... better and safer to pay for OEM or boxed ones... those would not have any problems most likely...

 

I could actually take the T8300 out of my XPS M1530 and put that in the G51vx couldn't I? Would the P7350 work in the M1530 though?

Edit: Wait, the M1530 has a PM965 chipset which only supports CPUs up to 800MHz FSB I think so the P7350 won't work right?

Also it says here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_chipsets#Core_2_Mobile_Chipsets

that the G51vx's P45 chipset supports DDR3 1066MHz RAM? So I can upgrade the RAM too? If I use 1066MHz RAM, does my CPU FSB need to be 1066MHz too?

 

The RX05 only accepts DDR2, if for no other reason than DDR3 will not physically fit into the slots.

No.

 

Mine wasnt stolen... It works perfectly, better than many others. My uncle works for a mexican laptop maker and they gave him many ES P9500 and he gave me one. They ony used them to see "if they boot". So I guess they are more than perfect...

GET AN ES THEY ARE THE SAME BUT ALOT CHEAPER.

 

... still stolen....they are not supposed to be distributed by the company etc.... anyways T8300 will work in the Asus G51 but why put an older CPU in it? Try getting a T9600 at least or if u can get a T9900... its about $350 on hp website which sells it at the cheapest price...

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140364675279&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

What about that? It's the mac version of the T9600...just different name.

http://cgi.ebay.com/INTEL-T9550-2-6...aptopMotherboards_CPUs_CA?hash=item20ae62f742

Or that which is the mac version of T9550. They're a lot cheaper than the PC versions but they work on PC...wonder if the name is the only difference..