Update: Toshiba Satellite P745 CPU Upgrade to I7 - Success but need more.

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tles7777

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i have successfully updated the I3-2350M CPU to i7-2620M. Windows 10 booted with no issues and it recognized the I7 chip. However, I am not seeing any amazing performance upgrade (see the bottom of this note for WinSat scores).

There is a marked increase in CPU and Memory performance and a slight improvement in the graphics score, but overall not much difference. Is there anything else that I can do? Would getting a better hard drive make a difference? The hard drive is a Toshiba MK7575GSX. The memory is maximized at 8 Gigs.

The issue that I have is that not only do I see the hard drive grinding a lot but in Word and Excel, there is always a few second delay when I type (please don't implicate autosave, it has nothing to do with it). Of course, the upgrade to Windows 10 probably has something to do with it, as this is an old machine.

WINSAT

I3 CPU:

CPUScore : 6.7
D3DScore : 9.9
DiskScore : 5.9
GraphicsScore : 5.8
MemoryScore : 7.3
WinSPRLevel : 5.8

I7 CPU:

CPUScore : 8.2
D3DScore : 9.9
DiskScore : 5.9
GraphicsScore : 6.2
MemoryScore : 8.2
WinSPRLevel : 5.9


--Tom













 
Solution
jr9
WINSAT did what you needed it to which was confirm the new CPU is working faster. That's fine. Sometimes Windows fails to recognize new processor resources like additional cores or threads after the new CPU is installed. I'm just suggesting don't look at your PC and say "Hmm my WINSAT in X score is too low I need a new X".

You'll notice that upgrade in things that can take advantage of the new CPU's cores like encoding. You won't notice it as much in general computing like web browsing.

For older laptops upgrading the drives to SSDs makes a much bigger difference in almost all cases. It's the #1 recommended thing to do unless you're running out of RAM. Even WINSAT is smart enough to know that drive is slowing you down. You can run a...
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jr9

jr9

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I don't recommend using WINSAT to determine how good your hardware is. It is considered a bit of a joke by some.

Your CPU upgrade appear to be successful which is good. If you want really noticeable performance gains for an older laptop, the best place to start is upgrading the slow mechanical HDD to an SDD. That will give you a truly noticeable speed boost in all aspects. It's definitely the biggest weakness in your laptop right now. Windows and all your programs on a new 250GB SSD would speed the system up considerably.
 
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tles7777

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Well, for this go round, winsat was used as a comparison and there obviously a difference between the I3 and I7, no matter what the numbers are. Let me know what you recommend for testing.

So, the hard drive that is in there is a SATA II. From what I understand, I can use a SATA III SSD but it may only run at the speed of SATA II speed?

Also, I have the latest BIOS which recognized the I7, will it also recognize an SSD.

Lastly, I hear that the SSDs don't last as long as a hard drive. Any info on that? Is there an SSD brand that you recommend?

--tom.
 
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tles7777

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Ok...well, as far as WINSAT goes, it was useful in showing the difference between the two CPUs, whatever the numbers were. You have another simple tool that you like?

Also, I have a SATA II Hard Drive in my laptop. I assume the SATA III SSD will work but maybe at SATA II speed?

Lastly, what SATA Drive brand do you recommend? Is it likely that my BIOS will recognize it? I hear that SSD Drives don't last as long as hard drives, true?

 
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jr9

jr9

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Dec 6, 2017
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WINSAT did what you needed it to which was confirm the new CPU is working faster. That's fine. Sometimes Windows fails to recognize new processor resources like additional cores or threads after the new CPU is installed. I'm just suggesting don't look at your PC and say "Hmm my WINSAT in X score is too low I need a new X".

You'll notice that upgrade in things that can take advantage of the new CPU's cores like encoding. You won't notice it as much in general computing like web browsing.

For older laptops upgrading the drives to SSDs makes a much bigger difference in almost all cases. It's the #1 recommended thing to do unless you're running out of RAM. Even WINSAT is smart enough to know that drive is slowing you down. You can run a SSD on SATA 2 but it will operate slower although you won't be able to tell the difference. My Samsung Evo 250GB runs at (average of read/write/mixed) 226MB/s on SATA 2 and 416MB/s on SATA 3 but honestly I can hardly tell the difference when I changed ports, perhaps 2 seconds faster boot time.

Samsung and PNY make great SSDs. Samsung EVO series is very popular and my favorite. Any BIOS that is up to date should recognize an SSD. Here is a benchmark page for that laptop showing benchmarks people have done with it. Note many of them have successfully installed SSDs into them.

http://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Toshiba-Satellite-P745/11455

I wouldn't worry about about life span of SSDs, it will last longer than the laptop will. I certainly consider them more reliable than mechanical disks. I've never seen an SSD (that wasn't abused) fail or read the mythical "maximum number of writes".
 
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dontlistentome

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I bought my SSD, a Sandisk Plus(ie cheap) a bit over 2 years ago. I'm the type who constantly has programs being installed/uninstalled, files being downloaded...just lots of disk activity on that SSD. I'm still at 99% life on that SSD. Using it at SATA II speeds will still be a massive improvement and worth it.

As far as performance improvements from the CPU go, you went from a dual core to a dual core with hyperthreading a bit faster clockspeeds. So until you use some software that takes advantage of that you can't expect to see much difference. Hearing the mechanical drive grinding means an SSD will be a worthwhile upgrade since that disk access will happen much faster.

One last thing, if you upgraded to Windows 10 you might want to consider doing a clean install of Windows 10. It's possible your previous Windows installation was just cluttered up and that's what's slowing it down, then by upgrading to Win 10 that might have just made the clutter worse.
 
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tles7777

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Thanks. Actually, I didn't get an SSD drive. I didn't think it was worth it to spend over $200 on a hard drive for a 6 year old machine. I purchased a 32 gig cache Toshiba hard drive (much better than the original hard drive on this laptop, which was rated as one of the slowest on the market), It is 1 Terrabyte and is perfect for this machine...what an amazing difference. It is so much faster...and the drive was only $60.
 
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m.darabaris

Oct 3, 2018
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Hey, so we just tested today and 16GB is indeed recognized and usable in Windows 10. Don't believe ANYONE else, just check out the specifications for your processor on Intels website.

Also, the i7 you put in is only a dual core, hence why the boost in performance seems minimal. I am currently trying to pick out a cpu to use, but there is no real list of supported processors. It seems though that 3rd gen processors are supported too. Will let you know if I wind anything.
 
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jeffreyzhou3

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Sep 14, 2018
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Hey, I have the exact same toshiba laptop with the i3 2350m and i plan to upgrade to i5 2520m cpu
Is the process simple because im no pro at computers
 
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tles7777

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Feb 1, 2018
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The only thing that makes it easy, is that there is a youtube video where a guy takes the whole thing apart. changing the CPU is just basically pulling a lever. You must change the original hard drive. You won't need to follow the recommendations of getting an expensive one. I got a 32 gb cache 1TB Toshiba Hardrive for $60. Here is the video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQXmnCPl_0U

My laptop is now very fast. You will love the difference.
 
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