Sharing my T6600->E8435 (T9900) Upgrade opinion

Hi, I am new to this forum, but not to the whole laptop scene, just wanna share my opinion to any potential user that are considering upgrading their C2D CPU.

I am really pleased the whole installation went without a hitch, I purchased the E8435 SLGEA (E0) Stepping, stock speed 3.06ghz, easily enough to be the top end CPU taking into account even the i7 series.
As usual, I replace all the thermal compound to arctic silver 5, even after a stress test (2X20mins) I do not notice any extreme increase in temperature, if anything, it was the same as when i was running my t6600 cpu @2.2ghz. For the reference, my vaio is the 15.5" NW20 series.
Performance is definitely visible, the only thing I am afraid is not keeping up is maybe the hdd lol (stock 320gb 5400rpm WD hdd), but when I saved up enough for a decent size SSD (256gb), it shouldnt be a problem.

I am not sure why this is, but it seems vaio users are less prepared to step out of the comfort zone and do some extreme modding? I do see some great mods from time to time on a vaio, but usually its with ASUS, Toshiba laptops.

I would recommend the E8435 SLGEA revision over the older SLADQ (C0 stepping), the latter CPU runs hotter than then SLGEA CPU, and price wise, its definitely MUCH cheaper than the T9900 C2D CPU. Specification of the E8435 is the same as the T9900 (as in ghz , voltage and pin configurations wise)

On a side note, has anyone upgrade from a C2D to a C2Q CPU? such as the Q9000 or Q9100?
I hope this thread might serve as a potential reference to anyone who is wanting to mod their vaio
Quad

 

As a VGN-Z owner, CPU changes are a nightmare as the CPU is underneath the motherboard. And the issue with the VGN-Z is that it involves not just removing the keyboard, but a piece of 'mid-plate' that can test the patience of the pope himself for all I care; in one word, unpleasant.

And the VGN-Z needs a bigger heatsink for the T series CPU as the TDP increase generates too much extra heat for the original P-series-designed heatsink to handle. Even then the Z only runs at full clock speed in short 10 second bursts as the motherboard clocks the CPU down due to heat issues. P series runs at 25W TDP and the T series all run at 35W TDP. And the 35W-capable heatsink assembly for the Z isn't the easiest to source (ebay not included).

Not to mention, there are far too many ES (engineering sample) CPUs on the market. It's further discouragement for me commiting to a CPU mod. Though if I do decide to commit to one, I'd either go for the T9900 or the P9700 (the highest-end P series before the i series came out). I even hear the P9700 machines sometimes run at lower-than-stock clock speeds to deal with excessive heat.

As for the Q series CPUs. Those run on 45W TDP (might be higher as my memory fails me). Not sure how well your heatsink will cope with it, though without a doubt your battery life will take a big hit.

If anything, I've taken my P8600 (2.4GHz) to approx 97'C while running some Matlab simulations. But it idles at around 30'C when on the Intel graphics (and it reaches that idling temperature quickly from higher temps). So unsure whether a thermal paste change is in order.

I know of one individual here who went from a C2D to a C2Q on a VGN-Z (it was the Intel X9100 I recall). But he had to get a custom-made silver heatsink so that it could dissipate the heat better. And even then he had issues with the machine downclocking itself for most of the time. He eventually settled on a T9900 I think.

And although I've never experienced an overheat, Sony machines are coded to turn off when any of the sensors (chipset, graphics, CPU etc etc) hit 105'C. And they won't turn on again until it goes below something like 50'C or something.

 

You are right, doing a CPU mod on vaio Z is almost crazy. You are cramping ALOT of cpu processing power underneath a tiny laptop, especially a T9900 or even a X9100.
Ive seen a tear down of a Z series laptop and the cooling doesnt seem to handle the heat generated. Really thin copper pipes and copper cooling module coupled with tiny fans. When I say it doesnt seem to handle, i meant as in there isnt much overhead room (should you preform a CPU mod).
By the way, I believe the X9100 is a intel core 2 extreme CPU (intel has factored in the overclocking ability into the chip design, so it draws more voltage and generates more heat), only 2 C2Q cpu are available for the laptop (mobile series), Q9000 and Q9100, the latter having a faster clock. I have not seen an C2D -> C2Q upgrades yet.

You shouldnt completely rely on TDP numbers as a sole factor to determine your CPU upgrade, it does provide a visual indication but its somewhat over-rated, thats my personal opinion. Afterall, your laptop temperature depends on a few variables, like the cooling system, fan speed, size and method of heat transfer (stock paste vs aftermaket paste), whether its linked to a onboard graphic card like nvidia chips / intel chip etc.

I do have a question in mind for you 5ushimonster, if you are planning to upgrade to a P9700, thats only 0.4ghz over your existing CPU, I doubt you will see the performance unless you are doing benchmarkings, wouldnt your money be better spent on a SSD? As for the T9900, even tho its designed with only 35W TDP, are you sure you want to cramp that beast in a tiny vaio? Maybe a T9800 or even a T9600 just to be on the safe side, then again, you are only gaining 0.53ghz and 0.4ghz respectively, if you are doing it for bragging rights then fair enough, i understand. Considering a T9900 is somewhat in the region of £220+ for a decent one, I would go for the E8435 E0 stepping (the one i am using), its defo less than 44W, maybe even 35W TDP, as the older SLAQD is 44W, so the E0 is definitely less than that. And cost wise, its half the price for the SLGEA revision. Afterall, you are experimenting with your vaio, as sony do not want you tampering with their system

Battery life wise on my vaio after the upgrade seems to be retaining its charge, maybe in the past, I only completely used my battery from full charge to zero in only a few occasion, but no doubt, i will get less hr from it now. I normally plug in to a wall socket when possible (even when i had the t6600 CPU)
On CPU-Z, i notice during idling its hovers around 800mhz, and only under intense tasking, it jumps to the full 3.06ghz. So on that front, I am not worried my chip will blow up or anything
Onto the modding front, i do plan to add a custom passive heatsink which i have somewhere, it was from an old GT6XXX series desktop graphic card, sizes if my memory serves me well fits nicely inside the laptop, if i do find it and fits, i will post a photo, but honestly, i doubt you can do anything similar in a Z series, just there is no room to play with.

 

I do a fair bit of coding and simulations (C++, simulations on MatLab and Quartus and the likes), so whatever gains I see on the CPU the merrier. So in saying that, a SSD won't make too much of a difference in regards to simulation speeds.

I only considered the P9700 as it retains the 25W TDP (well, 27W to be precise), so no need for me to try and source the bigger variant heatsink.

The VGN-Z in Japan, the States, and in some European countries, came with the T9900 from the factory. But these differed to the P series variants with bigger heatsinks and fans, to help with the heat dissipation. Though I guess it wasn't enough.

My motherboard's been making sporatic, high-pitched sounds for over a year now, and I expected it to die suddenly for a while. It hasn't, and still seems to have plenty of life left in her. But I suspended all modding plans nonetheless, after I fitted in the blu-ray writer and maxed out the RAM. Saying that, I intend on using this machine till at least 2014. If from now till then a mod is warranted, then I'll seriously consider it.

 

Well, for simulation needs, a SSD wont see marked improvements, and yes, the more CPU power the better.
With regards to the high-pitched sound, i thought that was the noise of the mic feedback, are you sure its motherboard related?
I looked into maxing out my ram also from 4gb to 8gb, but just not cost effective at £110 for a set of 8gb ram.
Blu ray player is the next item on my agenda
It would be great if you could share a bit more info on the high-pitch noise.
Quad

PS - unless you mean its a buzzing noise

 

Are you sure? A 8GB Kit (2x4GB) DDR3 Ram suitable for the Z series (all pre-2011) costs less than 50€ shipped through amazon.

 

Ah, DDR3 yes, i am on DDR2 Super pricey for DDR2 8gb PC2-6400 (800mhz)

 

Long story short.

When my stock DVD drive borked up under warranty, Sony Service decided to change my motherboard as well. Not that I complained; heck, new motherboard a year and a half into my two year warranty.

A few months later, one of the barrel covers became quite loose; this was an issue from the previous repair above but I didn't think too much of it. Until it quite literally started dangling off the edge. While getting the barrel replaced, I asked Sony to look into the high-pitched sound, which was there before the first repair above. And the motherboard change above didn't do anything.

Sony in the end said they couldn't hear anything. They replaced the fan for me as a sign of their service commitment of sorts, but the sound is still there. From that point on I gave up looking for a fix and just got used to the issue.

The sound only occurs when the fan, from a stopped state, decides to move. So that's when the CPU temp on the VGN-Z hits approx 35'C. It makes a high pitched sound for a good three or so seconds (length and the frequency of sound varies), before the fan begins to move.

The strange thing is, this only occurs when the fan goes from stop to moving. It doesn't occur when the fan is changing speeds while ALREADY moving. AND, when I force the fan to move from a stopped state (ie, my S2 button is set to toggle fan speeds, aka THERMAL CONTROL STRATEGY), no sound is made.

So yeah... No idea what the issue really is.

 

I see, it just that I heard about this high pitch noise as well.
This was the vaio before my current NW one, it was a FW series, it doesnt happen often, maybe 3 times a week from cold boot, after POST, i would hear the high pitch noise whilst windows is loading, i thought it was the mic feedback, so turned off the mic option in windows but still happened, obviously, my next guess would have been the hdd, so i replaced the hdd with a different one and still the same problem.
Since the noise wasnt fan like cos its so high pitch coming from what seems to be left hand side underneath of the touch pad, i decided to remove everything to check for loose components, no surprises there, everything is as it should be. But during reassembly, when screwing down the motherboard, i heard a firm click somewhere near the touch pad area, felt like its a good fit for an electrical connection, and since then, I have not heard of this high pitch noise.
It may been an electrical problem, dont think its anything hardware related, maybe the rely switch isnt in the correct place and caused this vibration which resulted in the high pitch noise, I am not 100% clear, but it hasnt come back since, so I am pleased.

 

Hey Dragon or any other members out there,

I was considering this same upgrade myself. Would you be able to spare a few minutes and let me know if this is doable for my lapper?

Model: Hp dv6-1362nr
Newegg.com - HP Pavilion dv6-1362nr NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T6600(2.20GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory 320GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650

I added an attachment of two screenshots from cpu-z. It looks like it would work, but sometimes things are too good to be true...

Any input would be appreciated. Thank you!

PS:

Also, I was considering upgrading my gpu, but I do not no how much more I can go. For instance I do not think my motherboard would support a directx 11 card. Any advice on this area would be great too!

As far as ram goes I am going to upgrade to 8 gigs at 1033 mhz as I believe that is the max my motherboard goes to.

Again, any advice to me is good advice as I am new to the upgrade scene.

 

Been a while since I logged in.

Long answer:
- TDP may be the same but I doubt the battery usage times will remain as such. The T9900 is a big upgrade from the T6600 and you could easily be looking at your machine sucking the battery dry A LOT quicker.
- There's also the issue of your existing T6600 on the motherboard. Unsure of HP machines, but Sony machines from back in the day (2008 / 2009 era), the CPUs were removable in sockets. The newer models, they were soldered on.
- Heat; you'll experience an increase in peak and idle temps for sure. I'm not too versed when it comes to HP machines but if memory serves correct the DV6 range already have issues with temperature..?

To answer your question though. Short answer; yes, mod is possible taking into account the T9900 supports the PGA478 socket types, which is what the T6600 you have right now is based on. Though I stand to be corrected; I'm still on the P8600 on my VGN-Z which I still use daily. Haven't considered modding this machine for a while...

EDIT - Again, I ain't too versed with the DV6 but the GPU is (usually) not upgradable. More so as I see it's the ATI Mobility series; those are (usually) soldered onto the motherboard direct.

 

Thank you for the quick response! I will look into whether they are soldered or not. The laptop is from the same era as yours (purchased in Nov 2009) so fingers crossed. I was hoping since they had the same tdp and socket it wouldn't of mattered, but I see your point. Either way I use my laptop for gaming and surfing the web and I have it plugged in all the time so maybe I can get away with it. I need to clean my laptop anyway so I will be able to get a good look at everything when I take it apart again. Also, after idling for a couple minutes both of my cores are at 35-40 degrees C which seems pretty cool to me at least. Also, take into account I haven't cleaned it in a good year or so which will make it run hotter no doubt.

I am looking at building a gaming rig this fall (black friday cybermonday ftw!) so I am more or less doing this for good practice. I do have an older desktop also with an athlon 64 bit so maybe I should start with that rather than a laptop.

Thank you for the confirmation on my question about my processor!

 

Alright, it turns out my processor is soldered to the motherboard. Looks like I will overclock it a little once I read up more on the subject.

 

Nowadays it's getting harder and harder to upgrade cpu with vaio. Since core i series, a few models including Z and S have cpu soldered on, unlike the core 2 series vaio models which you can upgrade easily without bios constraint too.

 

The HP manual states that the CPU is held in by a lock screw. When you were saying the processor is soldered were you referring to the CPU or GPU? Reason being I'd like to upgrade the CPU in my dv6-1362nr also. I've already maxed my RAM, and close to upgrading to an SSD.

 

Haven't been on the forum for a while. On a DV6, the GPU is soldered on and but the CPU (T6600) is only held back by a screw. And yes, you can upgrade from a T6600 -> T9900 / T9800 / E8435. BUT heating will be an issue as the mobility card runs quite hot already and you may have trouble coping with cooling.

You can undervolt the upgraded CPU if you wish, typically you will see a temperature drop of about 5C - 10C