300 dollar (US) CQ60-419WM impressions

Alright sounds good. Processor wont be here for a couple weeks because it is getting shipped from over seas but I will post results. I think a better processor would improve this comp a lot. I don't think I will ever be able to use up all of my memory with a ty sempron in it. Also I have a question for whoever may know the answer is the video card on board or is it replaceable too?

 

How important is it to replace the thermal pads and grease when taking off the the heat sink assembly?

 

Got it swapped out today; it was a . Had to take my whole laptop apart. Used arctic silver 5 for thermal paste. Thermal putty was still good. New processor is running a average of 10-15 c hotter. Understandable because the new cpu is a dual core. Had fun putting it together.

 

Could you tell exactly what CPU can i use in cq 60 419 wm instead of AMD sempron....and where can i find them.

 

What exact temps are you getting now at idle and load?

 

One more question....

Do you now have virtualization enabled because of the new CPU?

A tool for checking is here: http://www.grc.com/securable.htm

 

What type of CPU would u advise to be mounted instead of this AMD Sempron SI-42??? Thancks

 

I got a great deal cyber monday on a CQ 61 z also 299 from HP site but I was able to upgrade to a dual core Athlon m300 for 30$ more. Had to pay tax and delivery came to 375$

 

The QL- series of CPUs will work, or the RM- series, or the ZM- series.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_Turion

Look on ebay to get one.

 

Have you guys used K10stat much?
I am getting some strange results on my laptop. I went to the Debug tab and then to each of the P-states, which were are labeled P-State0 and P-State1.
I changed the P-State0 to 1.0 V and the P-State1 to 0.9 V.
Now when I run Orthos the CPU runs at 2200 Mhz and the multiplier is 11.0, not 10.5 as it should be.
So in other words somehow I got a free overclock by way of a multiplier change.
I wonder if anyone else can duplicate this.
If so, I wonder if the multiplier can be even changed more somehow.
I will play around more, but was just excited to see the multiplier change.
I wish I could find a place to post a screenshot so you guys could see this.

 

One more thing...

the cpu runs Orthos at 2200 Mhz at 1.0 V just fine. Previously the cpu was hitting over 80 C and that was at the stock voltage. Now the cpu is just at 73 C max and it's running faster than before too.

 

I have messed with K10stat more, and this Debug page is the key to having some real fun with the SI-42 cpu.

I just changed the idle speed from using the 5.25 multiplier to using 4.0, which then means the cpu runs at 800 Mhz, (because of the 200 Mhz system clock)

Just note that the lowest voltage you can go to without an immediate reboot is 0.9V.

 

I get it now...I overclocked by accident before, now I get what I did.

1. To overclock by multiplier changes with K10stat, just go to the debug page.
2. Then change the Edit Register to P-State0
3. Go down to Core FID and change it from 13 to whatever you want. If you change it to 14 then it shows the Frequency of 2200.
4. You can change the CPU voltage if you want. I would suggest not going crazy on this. Do not go below 1.00 on this upper end since you are probably checking overclocking. In fact, maybe leave it alone at first to check overclocking. Do not go above the stock voltage because you could fry something.
5. Lastly, check your settings again, and hit Apply in the bottom right.

6. That was for the multiplier under load. You can mess with the idle speed and voltage the same way. Just change to the P-State1 first. Then repeat steps 3, 4, and 5.


Note, this will not stick after a reboot. It will need setup again, or you need to follow some advice here: http://aspiregemstone.blogspot.com/2009/06/k10stat-amd-griffin-processor.html


I am now using Orthos to test 2400 Mhz, (12 x 200), at 1.05 V.
It is running just fine so far, but it has only been 5 minutes or so.
The cpu temp is 74 C.
Pretty amazing for a cheap little laptop.

 

screenshot of testing at 2400 Mhz (12 x 200) @ 1.05 V

 

new test: 2600 Mhz ( 13 x 200) still at 1.05V

Orthos stable for a bit over 10 minutes, then I just stopped the test, it never crashed or did anything wrong

 

Gaster, that's great work. Could you run a vanilla 3dmark06 test and give us the results? I'd be very interested in seeing what you can pull out of that box.

Thanks in advance.

seer

 

The 3DMark 2006 numbers are bad. At 2400 Mhz and 1280 x 768 resolution it gets 882.
The CPU mark part is 758. The other 2 numbers are 322.
This is with no overclock on the GPU at all.

I also ran a sort of benchmark of my own. I like to see how fast DVD Shrink can shrink an old movie I have, The Matrix.

Another computer I have is an old homebuilt desktop with a Pentium 4 2.4C overclocked to 3.0. ( 12 x 250 )
It shrinks The Matrix in 15 or 16 minutes.

This laptop even at 2600 takes around 21 or 22 minutes.

I believe the laptop's performance issue is a lack of memory bandwidth, so using the multiplier to overclock is really pointless. It gives a person bragging rights without any extra performance.

If I use the Nvidia System tools to overclock, that overclocks the memory and does make a difference. For example I did a sort of combination overclocking using K10stat and Nvidia System tools. I had the CPU at 2420, 11 x 220, and it did the shrink on The Matrix faster than when I had the cpu clocked at 2600, (13 x 200) I forgot the exact time, but it cut almost 2 minutes off by using the slower overall cpu speed, but the 220 system clock.

Clearly the system clock speed boost is the best way to get better performance, but now I have run into another wall.
I have DDR2 800 memory now, but the timings are of course set at DDR2 667, which for my memory is CAS 5.
In overclocking, to run correctly at DDR2 800, all the memory timings must be set as per the SPD on the memory for the 800 speed. I can overclock with the Nvidia System tools as far as I want but the timings never change to the 800 speed timings automatically.
Yes, Nvidia System tools have a place to change those, but it is very confusing and there are settings that are not even in the memory's SPD list so I have no idea how to change everything. I cannot find the settings anywhere online either.
If I could get the memory timings changed properly though, then I could really push the system clock and get some better performance.

The Nvidia system tools are just hard to use and there are so many memory settings. It must be more than a dozen, and my guess is that if one gets set wrong the system would be unstable.

 

Another thing I have noticed is that I cannot make the multiplier changes stick with k10stat after a reboot so I am going to give up on that. I do however like the undervolting and will continue with using it for that feature.

 

gaster, thanks for the info. I worked my butt off on that box and doing everything I could think of, could get the 3dmark06 up to just under 1100. I was feeling pretty smug until I saw the black friday sale at walmart on the emachines e627 which has the amdHD3200 igp in it for 198.00.

Keen to try that, I picked one up and with the pop in of the tl60, it's now my fav box running the tl60 at 2300 and pulling as 3dmark06 of 1400 at lower temps than the CQ. Regarding the k10stat, there is a mod out there somewhere which will *automatically* apply your chosen settings at boot, but I forgot where I saw it.

In the meantime, I keep on the lookout for the next *great* deal, but havn't seen anything close to the 198 buck Emachine (aka Acer 55** series). For some reason, whether by inspired internal design or just plain dumb luck, the stock cooling on this unit is rather amazing AS LONG AS YOU KEEP THE INTAKE VENT ON THE BOTTOM CLEAR. I've chronicled my efforts on this box in another thread here on the site.

seer

 

I can understand why you would make the move. The EME627 series is tempting. I have 2 Microcenter stores near me and right now those are on sale for $299. It's a great deal even at that price. I am considering getting one and selling the CQ60, even though it works fine for what I do now.

I do have one thing that makes me hesitate a bit though. I could swap out my SI-42 for an RM or ZM cpu and I should then have virtualization. That is a bonus for the CQ60 series. I am not sure what would happen with the EME627.
Does the TL series have virtualization? Does it show up as working on your laptop now?
If yes, then that makes me even more tempted to make the switch.

 

According to AMD, the TL60 Rev F and later have AMD Virtualtization capability. However, my understanding is that this must be enabled in the bios, AND, you need Win7 Pro or better. I only have the stock win7 Home on the 627 and I don't remember the bios having an enabling switch, but I'll take a look.

Seer

 

no switch in my bios, 1.08.
seer

 

I just spent a ton of time working on my laptop and thought some things I learned might help others, so here goes.

I got curious and bought an RM-72 cpu from ebay. Over the course of the last day and a half I took my laptop apart and put it back together 4 times. I tested it a bit each time too. Yes, I know I must be nuts. Here is what happened:

1. Putting in the RM-72 for the first time. I had a copper shim for the GPU, but was a bit afraid to use it, so I used another thermal pad thing I had. Bad choice. The RM-72 got very hot and so did the GPU. Under Orthos testing I saw the CPU hit 93 C and the GPU, which isn't even stressed, hit 92 C.
Too scary for me so....

2. I put the SI-42 back in, but this time I used the copper shim for the GPU. GPU temps dropped like a rock. This time under Orthos the CPU hit 75 C and the GPU went to 61 C. Amazing, but I wondered what would happen with the RM-72 and the copper shim for the GPU....

3. I put the RM-72 back in, with copper shim for the GPU. I tried to do a better job with the thermal paste, and the CPU temp only got to 89 C, and the GPU went to 71 C, again under Orthos. GPU was OK for me, but the CPU temps still scared me so...

4. Last config, will not change this one...I think.....back to the SI-42 and copper shim for the GPU. Same temps roughly as #2. Nice and low temps that I can live with.


Other notes and observations:

I undervolted the RM-72 for all tests above. It was not running stock volts. I had it at 1.025 V at its top speed of 2100 Mhz. It would of course run even hotter stock.

I also run the SI-42 at 1.025 V at 2100 Mhz.

K10stat was used for the undervolting of each CPU.

Note all temps above are with the laptop on a flat table. No extra cooler or anything. Room temps were about 68 to 70 F. I didn't let Orthos run even 6 minutes with the RM-72. The temps scared me so I shut it down.

I was unsure of the whole single channel vs. dual channel thing, but even with a RM-72 the memory was running single channel. Sisoft Sandra 2010 Lite memory bandwidth numbers were about the same, no matter what the CPU.

The RM-72 does have a DDR2 800 memory controller and the SI-42 has a DDR2 667 controller, so if you upgrade the CPU and have DDR2 800 memory it will run full speed at least, but there are no other memory improvements no matter what you do.

The GPU temp improvements from a copper shim are amazing. This is worth doing. I got my shim on ebay. Here is an item number of the same thing I bought: 220555308296
No, that's not me, and I don't know who it is, but that is where I got mine.
I just know those thinner shims work and want you guys to know what to buy. Of course you can check the thickness specs he lists and just go out and find your own, that will work too.

I think a penny, which some here mentioned as a possible shim, would be way too thick and would cause some problems. The heatsink over the CPU might not sit flat with a penny in there.

I used some thermal compound on each side of the shim, but not too much. I was mostly concerned with using it on the GPU side just to make sure I didn't chip the die. The shim was a great suggestion by everyone here and seems to work well at reducing temps.

At idle, the GPU now is at 54C and the CPU temp varies depending on the web page, but can be from 58 to 63 C. Not too bad.

If you guys want to take apart your laptop, it is a ton of work, but there is a great guide here:

http://www.insidemylaptop.com/remove-motherboard-from-compaq-presario-cq50-cq60-cq70-laptop/

Maybe that link was already posted, but it's worth posting again. It is what I followed each time and everything still works even after 4 times of taking it apart and putting it back together.



I was really hoping the RM-72 would run cooler, then I would have stuck with it, but I just can't get it to run at a lower temp. I guess I will be off to sell it back on ebay.....

 

This is with my latest configuration, the original SI-42 CPU and a copper shim for the GPU. This is just after 10 minutes of Orthos..

 

xlnt report.

seer

 

How is the ZM-84 working for you? I was thinking about getting one, but I know that HP only uses the ZM-80 and ZM-82's in their production models. My friend and I both have the CQ60 laptop from Walmart, and now we're lookin into some upgrades.

 

I have a cq-60-210us, the only thing I dont like about it is that the coling vent is in the wrong place. It should be like the ones on the Dells were it takes in air on the side and vents out the back of the computer. But instead of that the put it so it vents out on a 45 degree angel betwen the underside of the computer and the top. so if it is on a flat surfus it will have to be proped up to pervent it from overheating. Other than that the keyboard is ok and it has a god cpu for how much it cost. amd athlon ql-62 2ghz 2x512kb l2 cache.

 

Over the weekend I installed the AMD ZM-84 CPU in my laptop. I found it on e-bay for $61. I also put one of those copper shims over the GPU, and used the Arctic Silver 5 thermal grease that everyone loves so much. It all went without a hitch, and it's working flawlessly. I didn't even have to reinstall Vista, which I was expecting to do. And of course, the pc runs a HELL of a lot better now. I tested it by ripping a DVD with AnyDVD, which used to take almost an hour before, now it takes about 10 minutes. Mind you, the DVD drive isn't very fast.

I haven't tried any of these fancy system diagnostic programs, but I checked the Windows Experience numbers. Everything improved slightly across the board, but the most significant improvement was in the memory calculations per second. I think that's cause the ZM-84 has a faster FSB speed than the TI-42. Still, the CPU score was only 4.9, which I was hoping it would be higher, since the Sempron scored a 4.1 before. But, at any rate, I know that going from a single core 2.1 gHz to a dual core 2.3 gHz is a massive improvement, no matter what the windows index says.

I also tried running Counter Strike: Source. Mind you, I have a desktop for gaming, but I was just testing it out. The "Video Stress Test" averaged around 41 fps. It looked OKAY before with the Sempron, but it was kinda choppy at times, and kinda hard to play, but now it's pretty smooth, and easier to play too. Not that I plan on doing it very often, I just wanted to see what it can do.

BTW, I also invested in the 12 cell battery. I found a guy on e-bay selling the genuine HP battery for $60... hope this link works:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350318494207&ssPageName=STRK:MEBDIX:IT

It came from California to Florida in like 4 days. It's a bulkier battery, which is kinda awkward, but what IS cool is that the back of the laptop sits up higher, and the airflow to the CPU fan has improved. The battery life is a HELL of a lot better than the stock 6 cell 4200 mAh battery, too.

So now, I'm thinkin about getting another 2 gigs of ram so that it's maxed out. After that, what else can I possibly do to it? lol

 

Hey there ya'll,
ive gotta presario cq60 419wm too. and i see all you peeps overclocking it and all.
haha i did my try, im just such a big time newbie to "overclocking" lol
so could someone be kind enough to help me out?
to overclock it to 2.448 GHz and the 8200M to 500 core and 1400 shaders.
i tried googling the tools, most of them dont work or some are pretty Advanced. So please someone help me out. hah lol. Badly wanna overclock it and play some proper games lol. Email me at --> [email protected] thanks

 

Any ideas for me? I tried installing a RM-70 into the CQ60-419WM. I would not boot. I put the SI-42 back in, flashed the BIOS... still would not boot.

Anyone else have any luck with this processor of did I just but the wrong one?

 

tsay1 - sounds like a bad CPU. the RM-70 should work perfectly. In fact, the SI-42 is just an RM-72 with one core disabled!

samjc - you need Nvidia's System Tools to overclock the bus speed and gpu

www.nvidia.com/object/nvidia_system_tools_6.02.html

When overclocking the gpu, it's more trial and error. sometimes, the settings won't stick... it's best to use a 2 to 1 ratio like 600 gpu/1200 shaders or 500/1000

You should also mess with K10STAT so you can tweak the voltages of the CPU.

http://sites.google.com/site/k10stat/

Another note... in K10STAT, selecting any multipliers over the highest stock multiplier will APPEAR to overclock the CPU, but its NOT overclocking. I've raised the multiplier to 20 and CPU-Z showed 4GHZ!!!! But it was just a false reading... I got NO improvement in benchmarks.

 

Given that the G62t goes for under $600 with a Core i3, 4Gb ram, big hard drive, and much faster graphics, that newer machine appears to be a nice upgrade from a 3 year old CQ60.

 

Hey Farleytron,
Thanks alot for your reply. lol sorry for the really late repost.
Anyway I was just at the store the other day and i saw a Compaq CQ61 Which is just the same as This one (Compaq cq60 419wm) The body is the same. I was just thinking maybe getting the Cq61's Motherboard and maybe changing the Whole LCD Panel (which helps with the inbuilt webcam) Do any good?
Like making your 419wm into a cq61 by changing the lcd panel, the motherboard. That way i get a HDMI port, a SD Card Reader, A webcam and Lightscrub Dvd Rw.
Havent looked into it yet, Might be a lame idea.. But i dunno lol Ima newbie with the tech stuff
Sam.