I think I have a pretty powerful sony S560P

So I just upgraded my S560P from 1.86ghz to a 2.26ghz (P-M 780) and replaced the stock 512meg with 1gb (still have 1 slot for 1gb).... anything I can test to see if it's faster? Or there is supposed to be not noticable at all?

 

download the free versions of 3d mark, it would have beeb b etter to do before the upgrade so as to have before and after scores, but u can look at other peoples scored online, u should be able to find a notebook at least similar to your old set up

 

Is it a simple upgrade, as in just locate where the cpu is, unscrew, replace CPU?

 

you should get another 1 Gig in like me. 2 Gigs on the SZ

 

To be honest, in 99% of cases CPU's are not the bottle neck. Unless your doing something very demanding, you wont notice any significant difference as a result of that upgrade.

The memory will make a difference. Although XP has a recommendation of 256MB, in my experience 1GB should be the baseline. After 1GB you will notice some difference if you multi task alot (lots of windows open). But the difference wont be as big as that initial jump to 1GB.

My advice for anyone wanting to upgrade their system would be (in order of importance):

1) Do a clean install. Its free, and often your PC will slow down over time due to **** you didn't even realise was installed (bloatware, spywar, apps you forgot about, etc).

2) Get rid of Nortons if you have it. Virtually any other Firewall/Antivirus is preferable.

3) Upgrade to atleast 1GB. Anything beyond that depends on your usage. This is also the cheapest of the HW upgrades.

4) Upgrade your HDD to a 7200 RPM (google for benchmarks, as other factors affect performance, so you need to find the best in your budget). You will notice much more difference in upgrading your HDD then your processor.

5) If you really must, upgrade your processor.

NB: Assuming we're talking about laptops here. But alot of this still applies to desktops (as well as gfx card, MB, etc).

 

so I just upgraded the processor, run superpi, it's 1m29s for 2M, I am assuming that's ok fast? but the thing is the cpu is contantly running at like 80 degree when at full speed, I put back the 1.86ghz in the Sony and it runs more normal. So now the CPU went back to the Dell Precision M70, and the speed is about the same (1m32s) but it runs a lot cooler, I think it's due to the fact that the Dell body is way better for ventilation.

 

Wow is it that simple to upgrade the processor on the S Series? Can you give us some more details on how you performed the upgrade?