Yes the 940GML can be upgraded past the Celerons!

Hello to everyone here.
I have been searching for this info for quite some time as my HP DV1708NR notebooks Celeron 410 was running WAY too hot for my liking. I'd just like to share my findings in case someone else is looking for a way to get out of Celeron hell.
The 940GML is listed as not supporting any cpu besides the Celeron. This is INCORRECT. I bought a Core Solo T1350 cpu off ebay and it runs perfectly on the 940GML chipset.
Most importantly, yes I have full Speedstep support from 800mhz to 1.83ghz.
I can post images if proof is required.

The next thing I'm going to try is a T2050 or T2250 cpu as these are the duo version of my solo (they all run at 533 which is the key for 940gml).

Regards.

 

Are you sure that it the chipset is the 940GML? When I bring up my device manager it states that the chipset is the 945GM. Did you use a HP chip when upgrading? Let me know how it goes with the T2050 and T2250. I am very interested in upgrading my laptop also.

 

Yes, 100% its a gml, I've seen the chipset myself when I went to replace the CPU.
As for which CPU, I just bought the first T1350 I saw off ebay. I don't know which manufacturers laptop it came from though.
For the record, I can't say when I'm going to try the coreduo swap, but if anyone else is going to try it, please post here!

 

http://www.jump.co.za/Product/HP-Notebook-530-Core-Duo-Notebook-1-6GHz-6005384.htm

does this make any sense to you? it clearly states that the 940gml has the core duo t2050 in the laptop. let me know what you think.

 

I've tried the T2050 and T2250. They both DO NOT work. The machine powers on but the display stays black (as in does not turn on at all). I haven't tried the pentium dual cores, but someone from another forum says that the T2060 yields the same result.

 

Thanks Charuto, at least now I know not to bother with those coreduos.

itlynstalyn, I'm thinking our models bios just doesn't have support for the duo.

 

Shame, sweet upgrading work though!

 

Charuto, just out of curiosity did you use an oem chip? I am actually leaving a comment on my T1350 swapped 940GML chipset. Ahh the joys of my computer not burning my lap!

 

The T2050 and T2250 I used were bought from ebay. The listing indicated that they were pulled from other notebooks.

 

a note to some of you - cpus released after a laptop was shipped will most likely require a 'bios update' in order to support the new cpus.

Typically motherboard manufacturers such as Asus and so on are good with this - i.e. they just keep making bios updates for the highest compatability of all their products. HP on the otherhand - they sold you a laptop (which is considered a package to them) that they considered somewhat static - as in it would barely change in terms of hardware besides RAM and HDD size; in essence, it's unlikely that they would provide 'those kinds' of bios updates - but more rather ones that fixes certain hardware issues (even these are hard to come by because HP is slow at updates).

- Jordan

 

Actually, if you look at HP's particular spec sheet, it appears that the chipset is also bumped from a 940GML to a 945HM when a Core Duo processor is installed over the Centrino.

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/12722_na/12722_na.HTML

I'm investigating this issue myself due to having a Toshiba that I want to upgrade. It has a 943GML chipset and currently has a Celeron M 520 (Merom-based). Here's what I've found:

-I checked out notebooks that share my BIOS. The CPUs used by them include the Celeron M's, T2250 (Core Duo), T5200 and T5500 (Core 2 Duo, the latter w/ a 667 Mhz FSB), and T2060 and T2080 (Pentium Dual-Core, both at 533Mhz FSB)

-All of the Celeron and Pentium Dual-Core variants have a 943GML chipset. Core Duo and Core 2 Duo variants all have a 945GM.

-Pentium Dual-Cores are Intel's new higher-end budget processor. They're based on the Core Duo core (Yonah), with 1MB cache, dual cores, and speedstep support. Apparently the chipsets that Intel markets as "Celeron only" are also shipped with Pentium Dual-Core CPU's.

-So, after seeing all this, I tried to take a guess as to why all the Core 2 Duo notebooks have a 945GM instead of the 943GML.
1) It's not speedstep or dual-core support, since the Pentium Dual-Core's support both of those
2) It's not (necessarily) FSB speed, since the T5200 runs at 533 Mhz, though the T5500 does not. The specs are very clear about the 943GML being 533Mhz only.

My position is a bit better than those of people who own HPs, since I seem to be able to find the other laptops that share the same BIOS and check their specs. I tried to find that info on release notes for the dv1708nr, thinking that might shed some light on the issue, but I couldn't find it.

So, as of now, I'm debating to either get a T5200 (known to work with my BIOS and FSB speed) or play it safe and get a T2060 or T2080. If we could find the other HP laptops that share the same BIOS as the dv1708nr, that may give us some clues as to why the Core Duo upgrades failed on those. Perhaps some variants of that laptop line shipped with a T1350, but not a T2050 or T2250, so there is microcode support in the BIOS for the former but not the latter, hence the failure.

Sorry about the long-winded post, but I was hoping someone else might be able to match what they know with my research, and figure out more clearly why some CPU's work and some don't. I was afraid that the GML chipsets may just be arbitrarily locked down to not use Core chips, but the upgrades that people have done using 1350's seems to disprove at least that theory. The only real explanations left are either lack of CPU support in BIOS, or that the GML chipsets allow Core Solo but not Core Duo, which seems kind of weird and arbitrary.

 

Anyone looking for the T1350,

http://stores.ebay.com/PartsBuffet

has 3 left (search the sSpec number sl99t) and he accepted my $25 offer.

So $25 + $6 (shipping) = $31

Assuming it arrives in working condition and all, I say it's a pretty good deal.

 

i have the T1350 upgraded into this laptop. however, the bios does state it supports the T2050. i have heard that the chip needs to be an oem HP specific chip in order for this to work. if anyone buys an oem t2050 off of ebay and it works, please let me know through pm.

 

I know that HP has had their own OEM parts in the past (thanks for making my X1000 wireless upgrade such a hassle!), but I'm pretty sure that there's no such thing as a vendor-specific CPU. If a chip is compatible, it should be compatible no matter who you buy it from.

On that note, I successfully upgraded my Celeron M 520 laptop (943GML chipset) to a T5200 chip (Core 2 Duo 1.6 Ghz 533 FSB). It appears that the GML chipsets don't actually limit upgrades to Core chips. If you're trying a CPU upgrade, I'd say the biggest thing is making sure the BIOS you're using has CPU support for the CPU you want to use. I knew that mine did going into the process, and that is probably some upgrades are succeeding while others fail.

 

I am trying to do this same upgrade to my Acer 3680 laptop. I purchased the T5200 CPU already, I hope it works!

I just confirmed that the latest bios (which I just flashed into my laptop), file name zr1_3505.wph, is also used by the Acer Aspire 5580-6707 which comes with the T5200 CPU !

So it looks like this bios in my laptop now has support for the T5200 CPU and hopefully the upgrade will work...

I should mention however that the Aspire 5580, though it uses the same bios, has a different chipset. It has 945Gm, whereas my Aspire 3680 has the 943GML chipset (verified by disassembly and looking at my chipset).

Clockworx are you certain your chipset is the 943GML? If it is, and you were able to use the T5200 CPU, then I should be able to also right? Because, my BIOS must recognize that CPU since this bios works for the Aspire 5580 which comes with that CPU...

I guess we'll see... I will probably receive the CPU in the next few days and then we will know.

 

Hellbore, please reply after you have tried the upgrade, I too am interested in upgrading my Acer 3680

 

I will post my results asap, unfortunately I don't have the CPU yet. I think I will have it Monday.

 

Thats cool thanks for keeping us posted.

 

I got the CPU tonight I'm gonna try it right now!

 

SUCCESS! Woohoo! My Acer 3680 now has a Core 2 Duo T5200 in it!

I think the reason it worked was because I made sure to download the latest Acer bios first, which had support for this CPU.

My only question now is, do I need to download special drivers to enable Speedstep?

It might already be using speedstep, I notice the laptop is running a LOT cooler! WOOHOO I'm so excited!

Next I'll stick a gig of ram in there and a 160 gig 7200 RPM hard drive (both left over from upgrading my Thinkpad) and this will be a pretty sweet little machine!

 

Congrats man! thanks for the update. As for the speed step I'm not sure if you need to do anything. Anyhow a few questions for you because I also like to upgrade.

1. What is the first step you open to get to your CPU? I've added RAM to my 3680 before and its was pretty easy. Was there any special proceedure to get to the CPU?

2. You mentioned that your 3680-2633 is the 943GML, but occording to Sandra/CPUZ my 3680-2633 idicatese 955XM/945GM/PM/GMS/940GML Express. Which one is it? I'm guessing its 940GML Express. And will be it possible to upgrade to t5200?

3. I too plan to upgrade the HD if I can upgrade to t5200. Which hard drive did you get? I remembered ordering one for my bro's laptop. It was a 7200rpm but it was just a regular pata and it had to be a specific type. Was wondering what to get for a laptop sata?

Again thanks for updating us. Let us know how it runs.

 

Well to get to the CPU you have to completely disassemble the whole laptop, I just unscrewed everything until it was all apart and the motherboard was out. It's not easy like adding RAM.

As for the chipset mine is a 3680-2682 so I might have a different chipset than you. I know for sure that mine is a 943GML and nothing else... because I read the numbers off the chipset when it was apart. I think you could still do the upgrade with a different chipset as long as you have the right BIOS but I don't know for sure.

The hard drive I'm going to use will be the 160 gig that comes with my Thinkpad, I'm not sure what brand or model it is, because I bought a Hitachi 200 gig drive to put in there.

 

Woo, congrats! Sorry I missed your last message, I hadn't read this thread in a bit.

You were asking what you need to enable SpeedStep....it might work automatically, but I'd go into your BIOS to check. After installing the T5200, 2 new items appeared in my BIOS, one to "Enable 2nd core" and one to "Enable Processor Power Management".

For the people who asked me about my chipset, I checked it by looking at Toshiba's own spec sheet for my specific machine. CPU-Z gave me a more generic answer (940/943/945 GM/GML/whatever). According to Toshiba, though, it's a 943GML.

I'm guessing you were holding your breath like I was when I first hit the power button after the upgrade...

 

is it necessary to keep in mind the cpu multiplier while upgrading..??

 

Hi folks....now I ve got an acer aspire 3682nwxci with a i943/940gml, celeron m 420 1.6ghz with 1mb l2 cache....
cud u help me with the cpu upgrade pls....
is it necessary to have the same cpu multiplier, FSB speed and TDP while upgrading to the new processor....the TDP for my current processor is 27W and that for a core 2 duo is 34W....will it affect my Laptop if I install a cpu with a higher TDP....
cheers

 

folks i did a bit of research and would be glad if anyone could let me know that my laptop has a TDP of 27W and the core 2 duo processor T5200 has a TDP of 34W will my laptop support th extra 7W TDP or will it burn....
cheers

 

In general, the CPU multiplier does not matter at all during a CPU upgrade. Using a processor with an FSB compatible with your chipset DOES matter though. TDP can come into play if your computer is already running warm, but on the most part, you'll have some leeway to play around with concerning heat. In most cases you can also simply undervolt heat issues out of the way.

However, if you're doing an unofficial upgrade on the 940GML or the GL960, chances are that these general principles may not apply.

 

Alright....thx for the reply....my celeron 420 has a CPU multiplier of 12x so that means I can push it up or down to 14x or 9x as well..?? And the current FSB speed is 533MHz so can I increase that as well in some way....probably install a processor with a speed of 667MHz or more....although I do not intend to go berzerk at it....and how do I undervolt heat issues out of the way....??

 

Huh?

I thought we were talking about swapping processors, not overclocking?

If you want to overclock the Celeron M, you'll have to do through software. I think RMClock will let you do it, but I'm not totally sure. Either way, with RMCLock I don't think you'll be able to raise the multiplier when overclocking; I'm not even sure if you can decrease the multiplier on a Celeron M. You'll only be able to toy with the FSB.

And if you're going to going to overclock it, it completely defeats the point of undervolting, since you'll probably need to raise the voltage to get anything out of the Celeron.

Anyways, I always maintain that notebook overclocking is a dumb thing to do. Go look it up or stay away.

 

I guess I ll stay away from it....how do i undervolt..?? And is it necessary to have the new processor with the same FSB speed as the original one installed in the laptop..??

 

Hi all,

I took the recommendation of the thread and upgraded my Acer 3680 ( 940GML) to an Intel Core Solo T1350.

But I believe the power consumption has not been decreased, and it only stays up for 42 min now where earlier it was staying little pass 1h.

I had my ram topped to 2GB months ago, an I'm using Vista Ultimate SP1.
after the RAM update I also upgraded BIOS to v1.3505, when I decided to switched to Vista.

Any idea where I have gone wrong??

 

Tried undervolting ?
Checkout the stats of the battery as well.

 

Thanks Andy, I'll give them a shot!!

 

I believe I'm wrong here, Firstly I gave the time upon the estimation of windows power management.

But I Now did an actual test, where I timed it, and to my surprise It took 59 mins to reach 7% and there it was able to hold for 21 more minutes before it reached the critical level of 5% and hibernated automatically. Last 2% drop took 21 mins.

So my guess is the power level-time remaining calculation of vista has some miscalibration.

Gotta find out a way to deal with that now.......

 

Vista bases its calculation off the voltage the battery is currently providing and the max it can provide.

If you do some very power intensive work, e.g. CPU + GPU + HDD at full load then a lot of the time your power estimation will decrease but if you then leave it to idle it will increase. Also L-ion battery life will decrease will (improper) usage and charges, and a lot of the time it just decreases their max voltage whereas they can hold a lower voltage for longer. Most battery power-o-meters will drop to around 10% when there is actually around 15% - 20% still left in the battery just to insure you don't lose your work and have a good warning to plug it back in.

I don't know of a way to change the power calculation in Vista, but I'm sure there should be a way.

 

Do you have any SpeedStep option to activate on your BIOS, or it doesn't deppend on BIOS, only on the chipset supporting it?