Vgn-ar 190g Cpu Upgrade

I am curious if it is safe to upgrade my Sony Vaio VGN-AR190g. It has a core duo T2500 processor inside and i know that the core duo is the exact same socket as a core 2 duo, but i wasnt sure how safe it is to upgrade this particular notebook or if the housing is made in such a way to allow for this upgrade.

 

It should be possible, but you may need a BIOS update for it to work. You should be able to have a look on thew Sony website, under BIOS downloads, whether it supports the Core 2 Duo processor. Under the details, it should say something like "Core 2 Duo support added" or "Merom Support Added", which means that it will compatible. In that case, you should download and install the new BIOS, and then after that you will be clear to install the new processor. Be careful when updating the BIOS, because it could render and notebook useless. Make sure you understand the instructions.

Bear in mind, thaty your current processor is not slow, and will happily perform aswell as some of the faster models sold currently. Updating to a Core 2 Duo will not add much in the way of performance, and if you don't do tasks such as encoding or video editing, or some other processor intensive tasks, then upgrading the processor is somewhat pointless. Also, it will void your warranty.

 

WARNING: Doing the following WILL void your warranty, but will allow you to upgrade your CPU.

I have successfully updated my VGN-AR190G to a Merom (Core 2 Duo) Chip. The only software requirement was a new version of the BIOS, which was the tricky part. It has NOT been released for the AR190G. A new bios for the AR320 was posted on Sony's site this week. It is compatible with the AR series, including the AR190G. You can download it from: http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-list.pl?mdl=VGNAR320E&UpdateType=Updates
Once you've downloaded the bios update, you'll notice it WON'T install, telling you it is not made your for model.
However, all you need to do is to extract the REAL bios executable. You can download a program that will extract the contents of the executable from: http://www.softpedia.com/progChangelog/Universal-Extractor-Changelog-56951.html
Download and use it to extract the bios executable contents. You'll find the "REAL" bios installer in the extracted files. This execute WILL run and will update your bios to version R0200J6.

This new bios will recognize the original CPU and Core 2 Duo chips. Once you have verified you have the new bios in place (by checking it in your bios or in VAIO Central from Windows), you will be able to install a new chip (Core 2 Duo Merom). Installing the chip is fairly easy. remove the screws from the bottom of your PC, remove the hard drive assembly (unplug it from the motherboard). Once the bottom cover is removed, you'll be able to remove the heat sync covering the CPU. You can do a search on replacing Sony laptop CPUs on the web, and you can use what you find as a semi-accurate guide. I upgraded my CPU to a Merom T7200 (2 Ghz) chip. However, according to Sony's website, the AR320 supports all of the Merom chips, so you can go with up to the 2.33 Ghz chip.

Good luck, should you decide to proceed!