Upgrading zv5000z CPU: IT'S EASY!

I finally swapped CPUs in my zv5000z today, from a C0 stepping DTR 3200+ to a CG stepping Mobile 3200+ (formerly used in my desktop PC, because I'd been too chicken to try the notebook CPU swap before). Two big insights:

1) IT'S EASY! It's even easier than swapping CPUs in a desktop.
2) The fans shut off! BOTH OF THEM!

Full review here.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by brianstretch

 

nice work, those are good pictures too.

Compaq R3000T (CTO)
P4 Desktop 3.0GHz w/HT
1 X 512MB RAM
Radeon 9600 128MB
60GB 5,400 RPM HD
AquaMark3: 24,257, 3DMark03: 3,115

 

Thanks DaGreek!

alekkh: Undervolting doesn't decrease performance, it just runs the CPU at a lower voltage than standard at any given speed. A DTR Athlon 64 CPU normally does full speed at 1.5V, whereas you can usually get away with 1.3V, cutting maximum power consumption by well over a third. Mobile Athlon 64's normally do full speed at 1.4V (1.2V with undervolting), and Low-Voltage class chips use 1.2V. So I'm getting Low-Voltage class power consumption (and better!) with no performance compromises.

Note that eMachines/Gateway uses Mobile-class CPUs in their Athlon 64 notebooks, or did last I checked. HP really ought to. And I still haven't figured out why AMD is so excessively conservative with their default voltage settings. What could I have missed?

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by brianstretch

 

brianstretch, I tried the clock gen for NForce3. It always shows my CPU speed as 800MHz on its monitor. Mobile meter however shows the correct speed (0.8-2.4 GHz) depending on load.

When I set power managment to "always on", CPU jumps to 2.4GHz but as soon as I apply clock gen, goes to 800MHz and stays there regardless of the voltage I set (0.8 or 1.4 Volts).

What am I doing wrong?

One more question:
Can I set the upper limit for voltage for the powerNOW!. Say, make CPU jump from 0.8V to 1.3V rather than from 0.95V to 1.55V?

 

Ignore the Clocks section in Clockgen unless you intend to overclock. Its readouts don't automatically update, you have to hit the Get Values button. Just use the K8 FID/VID section. Set the multiplier you want, the voltage you want, and Apply each in the correct order (if you forgot to raise the voltage high enough for a higher multiplier your machine will lock).

I don't know of any way to adjust PowerNOW! like that. I wish I did (anyone?).

 

Trying to install clockgen V CG-NVNF3.zip, but I try to install the progrm I have an error.
Do I have to copy the files to a folder then install them?
What are your result with R3000?

 

These days I use CrystalCPUID instead. Other people favor RMClock.

There's nothing to install with ClockGen. Just unzip it and run the executable.

Another nice thing about undervolting a Mobile-class CPU: since the fan hardly runs, very little dust accumulates in the heatsink fins. I discovered this during my failed attempt to swap in a Turion (HP needs to update the BIOS to recognize E-series cores, including the Mobile 3700+ and 4000+) a few months ago.