Yonah to Merom replacement questions

Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere. For those notebooks , where you can replace a Yonah by Merom, how do the other motherboard components deal with the 64 bit nature of the Merom? Also, could you run the 64 bit versions of Vista on the laptop?

 

Well its been said that current Yonah systems are "drop in compatable" with Merom CPU's. All thats possibly needed is a BIOS update. So your motherboard and chipset will be fine and are Merom compatable. Now for Vista. Yes, if you have a 64-bit processor, then you can run Vista 64-bit and have its advantages.

 

I seriously doubt laptop manufacturers would make it easy for us to do this. It is good for Intel for people to upgrade to their new chips but not good for laptop manufacturers who make their money from selling new laptops, not the chip itself.

I mean how easy is it today to switch CPUs (Pentium M's, AMD's) in laptop??

Even if they do make the BIOS necessary, assuming all components are compatible, you'd have to use a crowbar to get it from them...

 

This may be a simple question, but how does a 64 bit chip work on a 32 bit motherboard? Also, aren't the Merom motherboards using a FSB of 833 Mhz?

 

To my knowlege there arnt 32 or 64-bit motherboards. The Merom chips have the ability to work in 32 or 64 bit, depending on the operating system. So like I said before all Yonah systems are "drop in compatable" with Merom chips. As for the 833 FSB. No the first batch of Merom chips are 667MHz FSB chips, just like Yonah, and use the same socket. Conroe chips will have 833 and up FSB though. Now the second "batch" or merom chips will be released with a new chipset, socket, and have a 833MHz FSB I believe in mid 2007. These will not be compatable with Current Yonah boards.

 

32 or 64 bit refers strictly to the processor, and how it handles memory addressing and instructions. the motherboard is just the connector for devices and power. if two processors use the exact same socket (same number and layout of pins) and the motherboard's BIOS can handle both processors, they are interchangeable.
its probably true that merom processors will have higher FSB options, but just like RAM, they are backwards compatible. if your current motherboard and yonah processor can handle a 667mhz FSB, but you later buy a 800mhz merom... that merom FSB will be limited by the motherboard to 667.

as for ease of changing the processors, it depends on your make/model of notebook. i believe I've read that the dell 1705 board (which includes some xps systems too), the sager 5760, and asus s/z 96j will support fairly easy switchouts. the asus will require a bios upgrade (which asus is said to be working on), while the others require no bios upgrade. search the board for your laptop to see if anyone has tried the switch.

 

I was unaware that the first batch of Merom chips are 667MHz FSB chips. That explains how a chip swap(plus BIOS update) would work.
I presume if you changed the OS to Vista, you would need no driver upgrades?

 

Isn't there going to be a bottleneck? Isn't the bus of the Core Duo currently a 32 bit?

It reminds me of the transition from the 286 8 Mhz to the 386 SX (32 bit processor on a 16 bit bus). Wasn't that the case in the late 80s?

Please correct me, if I am inaccurate.

 

Laptop manufacturers would actually prefer it be easy to swap CPUs. That way they can offer the "new" CPUs without having to completely redesign their product lines. The way the Merom will be coming out allows for many current laptops to simply have a Merom CPU dropped in instead of a Yonah. This is more financially feasible from a manufacturing standpoint. Besides, the vast majority of laptops owners would never dare "open up" their laptops.

It is also true that there are a number of current laptops that are known to be Merom-ready, and many don't even need a BIOS upgrade.

 

QFT...........

 

I dont know what QFT means. English please.

 

yay for google

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=QFT

 

What sort of performance changes should be expected when: the Merom is substituted for the Yonah, then running 64 bit Vista versus XP Pro, versus running the system with the 833 Mhz FSB on Vista?

 

Man im not going to go and post all the stickie links for you. All I have to say is stop asking questions that have already been asked and answered else where. Go look at the stickies and you'll find what your looking for.