changing cpu

tmh88tmh88 Pittsburgh / Athens, OH
edited June 2007 in Hardware
Hey guys, I just got a new laptop and I have a question about changing out the cpu with a different one. I got an acer aspire laptop for pretty cheap and it has an AMD sempron 3500+ CPU, but I want to change it out with a faster one. I know its a socket 754 cpu. My question is can I change the CPU with any socket 754 AMD processor, or does it have to be specifically designed for laptops(like the turion)? This laptop runs pretty fast as it is, but you know how most computer enthusiasts still want to have it at its peak. I know the mobile designed cpu's use less power, but I'm not concerned too much about battery life anyway. thanks

Comments

  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited June 2007
    I'm almost positive you will need to use a mobile processor. The A64 mobiles have no IHS on them and as a result have a lower clearance than a regular socket 754 desktop processor. I'm afraid that if you shove a desktop A64 in there the hsf of the laptop won't fit inside right, plus it might not be able to handle the extra heatload of a desktop part either.
  • tmh88tmh88 Pittsburgh / Athens, OH
    edited June 2007
    I'll probably end up getting a turion then. Do you the high end turion cpu would be a big improvement over a sempron 3500? The laptop runs fine now, I just like to add better components, pretty much the same as everyone else here.
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited June 2007
    I'm not really sure what the processor speed or L2 cache size of your Sempron actually is, so I really can't tell you how much better a Turion will perform. But I did see that Newegg has an OEM Turion 64 MT37 processor for $59.99, which sounds like quite a bargain to me. It has a full 1 MB L2 cache and is a 90 nm part.
  • tmh88tmh88 Pittsburgh / Athens, OH
    edited June 2007
    thanks. I think I'm just gonna buy another gig for this before I upgrade the CPU. Right now I have 1.5GB's of ram, (1GB + 512MB), so I'm just gonna replace the 512MB stick with another 1GB stick.

    actually, I just downloaded CPU-Z and it says I have an AM2 socket. I was almost positive the manufacturing specs said it was 754. What are the chances that CPU-Z is just confused? BTW my cpu is a Sempron 3500+ running at 1.8GHZ (the power adjustment setting is on for the cpu speed which is why its shown as 800mhz )
    cpu.jpg 39.8K
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited June 2007
    I think I'm just gonna buy another gig for this before I upgrade the CPU.
    Smart! For the most, the most effective performance gains for a laptop upgrade will be RAM and hard drive, that is moving up from a 4500 or 5400RPM drive to 7200. Some laptops have really bottom of the barrel hard drives and way inadequate RAM....

    and people think they're getting good deals...get what they pay for.
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited June 2007
    I think that instead of it being socket AM2, it probably is socket S1, which is a mobile socket and is shared by the X2 Turions also. Does your laptop use DDR2 memory? If so, then it would have to be either S1 or AM2 as those are the only sockets that might be used in a laptop that are for DDR2 ram. If you go to this page in Wikipedia, the only mobile Sempron 3500 they show is in socket S1.
  • tmh88tmh88 Pittsburgh / Athens, OH
    edited June 2007
    Yes, it uses DDR2. Wow I didn't even think about that, so It's definitely not 754 then.
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited June 2007
    So it looks like since it's socket S1, you stand a more than decent chance of your laptop supporting the X2 Turion dual core procs, which would be a decent upgrade for you. I know that I've loving all the dual core goodness of my T7400 processor in my Dell.
  • tmh88tmh88 Pittsburgh / Athens, OH
    edited June 2007
    I'm gonna upgrade the ram first, and then see how that works for me.
Sign In or Register to comment.