Quick Core2Duo Question

[sliptapg]

Hey, I'm looking into doing a laptop cpu upgrade for my Vostro 1500. It currently has a T5270 Core 2 Duo (1.4 ghz/2mb/800fsb). I'm looking into some of my upgrade options and was wondering how much of a difference a FSB change would be (i.e. 667 vs 800) if I was going to a higher clock speed (i.e. 1.4 to 1.83). Whenever I check my ram via CPUZ, it appears that it is only running at 333 mhz anyway.

One cpu that looked good was the t5550, which is 1.83ghz/2mb/667. However, the voltage and thermal specs are identical, so it would be a good fit. Plus, the cpu would be cheap.

Any advice? Thank you in advance.

 

[Maziar]

Hello and welcome to the forums
First of all the reason that your CPU downclocks is because of SpeedStep technology which lowers the clock speed of CPU when its not used,so if you play a game or do a CPU intensive app then it will operate @ 1.4
Upgrading from T5270 to T550 isn't going to give you a huge boost also it will void your warranty

 

[sliptapg]

Hello and welcome to the forums
First of all the reason that your CPU downclocks is because of SpeedStep technology which lowers the clock speed of CPU when its not used,so if you play a game or do a CPU intensive app then it will operate @ 1.4
Upgrading from T5270 to T550 isn't going to give you a huge boost also it will void your warranty

Maziar, thanks for your reply and welcoming!

I understand that SpeedStep does lower clock speed to preserve power, but I thought it only did so through lowering voltage and the multiplier, not the FSB. When I observe the CPU, the FSB is 800 mhz. However, my memory runs at 333 (x 2 = 667).

So i'm wondering: if I upgraded to a cpu with 667 mhz fsb, that drop in fsb speed would be negated because my system runs at that speed anyway? I would then benefit from an increased clock speed.

Thanks!

 

[Maziar]

I am not sure if it goes down again with the new CPU but again you won't benefit much.
Looking at your specs,getting 4GB RAM would be the best upgrade here especially if you use(or will use) Windows Vista/7

 

[sliptapg]

I am not sure if it goes down again with the new CPU but again you won't benefit much.
Looking at your specs,getting 4GB RAM would be the best upgrade here especially if you use(or will use) Windows Vista/7

Maziar, again, thanks for you response and suggestion. I am currently in the process for looking for ram, but I figured I could upgrade my ram and CPU at the same time since I would have to take my computer partially apart anyway to fit the ram in.

Are you saying I would not benefit because the drop in FSB would negate the increase clock, or because the increase in clock speed itself would not be useful.

I just find it hard to believe that my 1.4 ghz cpu isn't bottlenecking my system at all, especially if I upgraded to 4 gb of ram.

 

[sliptapg]

ttt

 

[Maziar]

I am saying overall you won't see a huge difference because FSB doesn't make much of a difference and also an extra 400MHz boost in clock won't be much different either(however in some intensive CPU apps like CS4 it performs better).
About bottle-necking well to be honest a 1.4 C2D(or even 1.8)is a bit low for today's games and apps so if you want to get a great boost then wait and get a new laptop

 

[unknown_13]

Maziar is right you won't see some big diff. , it will be somewhat faster

Way better is upgrading to 4GB RAM. It won't cost you that much as if you were doing a CPU laptop upgrade

 

[sliptapg]

Thank you maziar and unknown. At this point, I will focus on getting ram first and get a cpu later if I can get a great deal on it. Exactly what I needed to know.

Thanks!

 

[sliptapg]

Best answer selected by sliptapg.

 

[Maziar]

Thank you maziar and unknown. At this point, I will focus on getting ram first and get a cpu later if I can get a great deal on it. Exactly what I needed to know.

Thanks!

No problem yes as i said the best thing is first to get 4GB RAM,it will give you a good boost

 

[justy36]

Even though this post is old. I have a dell 1510 I upgraded the cpu from a T5670@1.8ghz - T7800@2.6ghz. It runs world of warcraft cata smooth in 25 man raids. Intel card not the nvidia card.

T7800 is direct drop in. I read somewhere a t9300 also works. But after comparing benchmarks the T7800 did a tad better. Plus I got this cpu for 100 bucks.
Same thermal stats and everything as the T5670 only difference is the T7800 is noticeably faster in everything and has VT enabled. So anyone out there looking for a upgrade it's possible. Worth it if you play something like WOW or encode videos. Never had a heat issue, battery issue, or something else. The motherboard recognized it right away. Like a new machine. I'm very happy with it. I almost was going to buy a new laptop. Now I got some more years left in it. Cpu swap took me all of 15 minutes. Only other item I had to buy was some cpu compound/paste.