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Laptop processor upgrade (Read 851 times)

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Dust

#1 January 22, 2010, 12:01:47 am

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Here is the laptop I have:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834101180

And here is (I THINK) the processor that's in it:
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=35583

Recently it's been slower and it has been at 100% CPU usage constantly. I know this is a budget laptop, but I want to do a few upgrades. I figure it's better to upgrade the processor than the ram, so I want to find a new processor.

However, I have been unable to find any information about this processor. My friend says that it's a Socket M but I'm not 100% sure about that. Can someone provide some insight or some decent upgrade options for me?

Thanks!

Last Edit: January 23, 2010, 11:20:30 pm by Dust

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Frisky SKeleton

#2 January 22, 2010, 12:19:55 am

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you'd get more from a format, new ram, and cleaning out the dust from the insides.

your cpu is socket p, i think socket m uses the same pin configuration but it's incompatible. i wouldn't recommend a cpu upgrade though

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Dust

#3 January 22, 2010, 12:59:01 am

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By "new ram" do you mean more ram (ie 2 gb more for a total of 4 gb) or a new set of 2 gb ram?

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Frisky SKeleton

#4 January 22, 2010, 01:47:41 am

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if it can use ddr2 (likely) you'd probably benefit more from an extra 2gb matched stick than one stick of faster ram. honestly though the best speed increase for a laptop tends to come from cleaning and formatting

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ATARI

#5 January 22, 2010, 02:09:16 am

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are you sure the CPU usage thing isn't because of a software problem that would benefit from a clean sweep of your operating system and what not?

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Dust

#6 January 22, 2010, 04:01:52 am

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My ram never peaks (at least when I check it). I doubt I would really see a huge difference from 2 gb more of ram. When my processor peaks it's usually when I have a few programs open, but nothing serious. I'm going to upgrade to Windows 7 and see if that makes a difference, but I doubt it will. I think Windows 7 requires 1 GB of ram while Vista requires 512 MB. (I am running Vista right now, but it runs fine; it came installed and I haven't had any issues with it).

As for formatting, I really want to avoid that like the plague. I have everything set up exactly as I want it. I have a lot of random settings tweaked exactly how I like them and it would be a burden to have to reset them.

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ATARI

#7 January 22, 2010, 04:05:56 am

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Right. and replacing the processor on your laptop is easy as pie.

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Dust

#8 January 22, 2010, 04:18:25 am

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Quote from: ATARI on January 22, 2010, 04:05:56 am

Right. and replacing the processor on your laptop is easy as pie.

I forgot that part

.

I just really don't think a clean install would do anything because if it is a software problem I would probably just end up re-installing the program that was causing the software problem. I have a sneaking suspicion that part of it is Java running in the background, but that shouldn't make my processor spike that high.

Maybe upgrading my processor isn't such a great idea. I was looking through them and they're awfully expensive for a lack-luster performance boost. Plus my airflow in my laptop is pretty bad and a new processor would probably drain my battery even faster.

Should upgrading to Windows 7 really increase my performance dramatically over Vista? I obviously know people always say Vista sucked, but I haven't had any major problems with it and I figured 50% of them were just haters.

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Frisky SKeleton

#9 January 22, 2010, 04:20:35 am

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you've got aero etc. disabled right? windows 7s worst parts are on par with vista and its best parts are much better, including the way it handles system resources

Last Edit: January 22, 2010, 04:24:10 am by Frisky SKeleton

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Dust

#10 January 22, 2010, 04:24:05 am

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Quote from: Frisky SKeleton on January 22, 2010, 04:20:35 am

you've got aero etc. disabled right?

Yes, I've disabled almost all of the bells and whistles.

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Frisky SKeleton

#11 January 22, 2010, 04:24:50 am

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post your task manager with running processes

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Dust

#12 January 22, 2010, 04:34:46 am

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This is about 30% load:

Hidden content (Click to reveal)

But that's usually all I have running.

Last Edit: January 22, 2010, 04:43:41 am by Dust

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Mama Luigi

#13 January 22, 2010, 06:16:26 am

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Disabling Aero won't do a damn thing rofl

Aero runs on the GPU, which just twiddles it's thumbs otherwise. However, you said this was for a laptop so it will probably save you battery life so probably a good idea anyway I guess. Actually you should be able to leave Aero on while disabling transparency which will give you good eye candy at little expense of battery. Set your color to black it looks pretty good with no transparency.

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Frisky SKeleton

#14 January 22, 2010, 07:49:18 am

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rofl what kinda graphics card does he have in that laptop rofl

besides which the gpu helps, but the cpu still does a fair bit of work. this is implemented much better in windows 7 btw

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Carrion Crow

#15 January 22, 2010, 07:53:13 am

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Quote from: Mama Luigi on January 22, 2010, 06:16:26 am

Disabling Aero won't do a damn thing rofl

Try setting it to classic windows theme on a laptop with internal graphics, observe that computer now WORKS.

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Barack Obama

#16 January 22, 2010, 11:35:03 am

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A format and fresh installation of windows ought to be sufficient for getting the laptop back up to speed

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bretly

#17 January 22, 2010, 12:04:08 pm

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Quote from: ed on January 22, 2010, 07:53:13 am

Try setting it to classic windows theme on a laptop with internal graphics, observe that computer now WORKS.

new intel graphics chips can handle aero just fine

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Mama Luigi

#18 January 22, 2010, 08:29:06 pm

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Quote from: Frisky SKeleton on January 22, 2010, 07:49:18 am

besides which the gpu helps, but the cpu still does a fair bit of work. this is implemented much better in windows 7 btw

Incorrect, you might even slow down your computer slightly by turning off Aero because the Vista basic theme turns off rendering acceleration entirely.

The general consensus is that Aero theme does not affect system performance unless left on while playing games, for obvious reasons. Oh yeah, and the battery life thing, but that can be remedied by turning off those transparency effects.

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ATARI

#19 January 22, 2010, 08:37:36 pm

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can't you also have aero turn off when you disconnected from a power source. ?

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Frisky SKeleton

#20 January 22, 2010, 11:17:12 pm

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Quote from: Mama Luigi on January 22, 2010, 08:29:06 pm

Incorrect, you might even slow down your computer slightly by turning off Aero because the Vista basic theme turns off rendering acceleration entirely.

The general consensus is that Aero theme does not affect system performance unless left on while playing games, for obvious reasons. Oh yeah, and the battery life thing, but that can be remedied by turning off those transparency effects.

No.

general consensus is you shouldn't feel much performance impact with a decent computer. windows has had hardware acceleration since 95, it's independent of the theme, and reducing the complexity of what your computer has to process will always decrease drain.

integrated graphics are built into the northbridge, so not only do they slow down the computer by competing with the cpu for ram, the northbridge becomes less efficient via heat.

BESIDES WHICH, THE GPU HELPS BUT THE CPU STILL DOES A FAIR BIT OF WORK. THIS IS IMPLEMENTED MUCH BETTER IN WINDOWS 7 BTW.
i don't know if any fixes have been released but vista relies on the cpu too much when using integrated graphics. aero used 30% processor idling with aero, vs nothing with aero off and 1-3% in windows 7. default windows drivers in all cases.

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