Advice on upgrading an old NP5792 (Built on Clevo M570RU)

Hey everyone, I have an older NP5792 that I bought back in 2007 and somehow have managed to not destroy completely. I have been considering buying a new computer, but cash is a little tight at the moment and I'd rather wait for Haswell to become a little cheaper in stationaries and get one of those in the long-term.. but for now I'd love to be able to play Day Z (esp the standalone if it ever comes out) and a few other games with friends with a little better framerates than what I can get right now. Here are my system specs:

Processor: ~Intel® Core™2 Duo T7500 2.2GHz
Video Card: 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 8800GTM
4 GB of RAM.. Windows 7 x64

What I am trying to ascertain is whether I can upgrade my processor and still have it be worth it, as well as whether my motherboard can take more than 4 GB of RAM / a better graphics card (which one??), etc.

The actual structure of the laptop is kind of falling apart, but that's a different story - at this point (and at all points really) it is just a desktop replacement.

I'd love some help on this!

 

Not much you can do in the CPU department, as you're limited to your socket. You may be able to upgrade to a better Core 2 Duo, but it will still be a Core 2 Duo.

Video card: GeForce 9800, if memory serves me correctly.

RAM: 4 GB should be the cap. It's been awhile since we've seen this system, to be fair, but I really can't guarantee you can go beyond 4 GB.

 

I think you're right about the 4 GB - thanks!

Wondering if I can get a 2.66 ghz core 2 duo in there, that would probably help a little and I found a few on ebay for pretty cheap.

Also wondering about the 9800 gtx - can I run that SLI on this machine? can't seem to find the info online... because it would be cool to pick up a couple - for around a hundred bucks i could get 2x a better processor and boost my processor a bit - then maybe a good cleaning and a little OC'ing, and I can run some games until the thing falls to pieces (getting close).

Thank you so much in advance for your advice!

 

Plus an SSD drive! : )

 

Hi,

the best CPU you can find is X9000 (Core 2 Extreme, 2,8 GHz up to 3,1 GHz I think). It can be overclocked, but make sure you have the extreme edition, otherwise the cooling system can´t handle it.
Second best CPU would be T9500 with 2,6 GHz. (Core 2 Duo).
GPU: Officially the 9800m GT/ GTS is the highest you can put in, put the system seems to allow GTX 260m (MXM 2.1!), too. A GTX 280m is possible, but you have to flash the vBios to GTX 260m or quadro fx3700m (a real quadro is possible, of course, too!).

 

Oh and I could put 8 GB in the machine, but I think VISTA at that time could only work with 6 GB, so it said something like "8 GB - 6 GB usable".
I think Windows 7 didn´t say that, though.

 

Do not make that mistake. Dont upgrade anything, there won't be enough gain from that to justify it.
Even if its $100 for a new CPU or maybe a nvidia gtx260m, it is NOT worth it.
There are many things that can go wrong with upgrades, especially aftermarket parts that can have defects, not to mention scams that are going on in E-Bay and whatnot.

Better to shell out $500 for a new computer than waste $100 on upgrading a dead and old configuration.

Remember - even a basic 128bit GPU with a Core i3 or Pentium of Haswell is going to be a lot more powerful than a old Core 2 Duo with Nvidia 8000/9000 series card.

DONT UPGRADE OLD COMPUTERS!!

 

Well unless they have the latest graphics card slot.

My backup machine (old acer 7738G with core 2) has gone from an HD4570 (lol) to a tweaked 7770M giving it 765M like performance, but those cases are rare.

 

You are right, in most of scenarios.
I wouldn´t do it, right now, two oder three years before I did just to get a 5% more performance and to really enjoy upgrading and learn about it, and btw. the GTX 280m was in many games a lot better than 8800m GTX. Of course, now it seems that it doesn´t make a lot of difference.
And, since the OP doesn´t have a lot of money, you are absolutely right, it really doesn´t make sense, if he wants to buy a new laptop soon - then he should save his money for the new laptop. Even 20% more with upgraded components isn´t worth it, because the base unit is the weakest part, and upgrading a weak unit with 10-20%, well, it will stay weak...