P 6860FX (Gateway) cpu upgrade

[bandager]

Hello all!

I hope to not take up much of anyone's time, but thought I would ask if there were suggestions for a simple cpu upgrade for a new laptop I just purchased. I like that it has the nvidia 8800 GTS and lots of memory (4 gigs), and a roomy (320 gig HD), albeit slow (5400 rpm) hard drive. My only complaint is the processor, it is a C2DUO 5550. I would like to keep the upgrade below 300 USD. Also, is it difficult to upgrade the processor? Or is it like, just remove plate, take out old and pop in new?

Any help is appreciated.

r/
Ed

 

[Shadow703793]

Imo, it's not worth it. The next logical CPU that makes a little difference performance wise is the T7200. The CPU is ~$350+ and not many places sell that CPU. Also you have to make sure the BIOS support is available,etc.

For the extra 200Mhz and the 2MB L2, $300 is not worth it.

 

[hibbiejibbie3]

I've got one of those.
It's very easy to upgrade. You unscrew the backplate that houses the RAM (which also houses the CPU and heatsink) and you unscrew the heatsink from the motherboard and yeah.

I've seen many people who have put in Core 2 Extremes into these (X9000 to be exact) and be successful at doing it too..even overclocking it a bit to 3.0GHz from the normal 2.8 I believe.

Now this laptop is definitely a bargain and you'd be a fool not to upgrade the CPU eventually. See..Everything that it has stock would normally cost alot more from another Brand Name..and after buying a new $300 CPU it still would cost more from another Brand. OH and BTW dont get the T7200..get the T8300..higher clock speed..a little lower cache but doesnt really matter..and its 45nm.

I dunno if this is allowed but here is a link to forums with a bunch of people who own our model Gateway.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/forumdisplay.php?s=e72329017720b41f9a4ae93990969f88&f=5