I'm going to try to upgrade the god awful AMD Sempron SI-42 processor of a Toshiba Satellite L305D-S5974 that I had for a few years to a dual core AMD ZM-82. I did a few hours of googling and learned that the processors were compatible with the computer, but I could not find answers for several other questions I had:
How fast would it speed up the computer, if at all? Toshiba's offical answer was that it was possible but not recommended to change the processor because the performance increase would not be worth the price of the processor; however I found a ZM-82 on eBay for $39, which is much MUCH cheaper than a laptop with a similar processor.
Would I have the modify the cooling system to keep it at a reasonable temperature? Obviously since I'm going to take the entire laptop apart replacing the CPU I'm going to clean every fan and heatsink I see and reapply the thermal paste, but since this computer already runs a little on the hot side (63 degrees at idle, up to 90 under load), would that be enough? Would I be able to replace the cpu fan or any other cooling componet with ones from another Toshiba model that had a dual core AMD? If not how can I keep the thing cool? BESIDES putting the laptop on a A/C vent or buying those stupid laptop cooling pads?
Should I buy the processor used? A used ZM-82 costs half as much as a new one. I've been getting mixed opinions about used processors, but from what I know CPUs are generally very durable, so I think I'll be fine buying used as long as the seller appears to be reliable. Does anyone have any experience with used processors? I want this computer and its componets to last as long as physically possible, and really don't want to disassemble the entire computer again in the near future.
Since I'm replacing a 32 bit CPU with a 64 bit one, would it be worth while to install 64 bit Windows? The most amount of memory the laptop can recognize is only 4GB, so I already know the performance increase isn't going to be great, but my friend has a Windows home premium 64 bit cd that I could borrow from him. I had a Toshiba recovery disk a while ago but I lost it, and ever since I've been running Arch Linux, which is fine but Linux's ATI drivers absouletly suck, and since this computer is probably going to be used by my younger brothers to play games it would be best to have an operating system that they are more familar with, and are able to install/move programs without having to use a command prompt.
Sorry for squeezing so many questions into one thread, but I really would like these questions to be answered before I go through with this. Thanks.
How fast would it speed up the computer, if at all? Toshiba's offical answer was that it was possible but not recommended to change the processor because the performance increase would not be worth the price of the processor; however I found a ZM-82 on eBay for $39, which is much MUCH cheaper than a laptop with a similar processor.
Would I have the modify the cooling system to keep it at a reasonable temperature? Obviously since I'm going to take the entire laptop apart replacing the CPU I'm going to clean every fan and heatsink I see and reapply the thermal paste, but since this computer already runs a little on the hot side (63 degrees at idle, up to 90 under load), would that be enough? Would I be able to replace the cpu fan or any other cooling componet with ones from another Toshiba model that had a dual core AMD? If not how can I keep the thing cool? BESIDES putting the laptop on a A/C vent or buying those stupid laptop cooling pads?
Should I buy the processor used? A used ZM-82 costs half as much as a new one. I've been getting mixed opinions about used processors, but from what I know CPUs are generally very durable, so I think I'll be fine buying used as long as the seller appears to be reliable. Does anyone have any experience with used processors? I want this computer and its componets to last as long as physically possible, and really don't want to disassemble the entire computer again in the near future.
Since I'm replacing a 32 bit CPU with a 64 bit one, would it be worth while to install 64 bit Windows? The most amount of memory the laptop can recognize is only 4GB, so I already know the performance increase isn't going to be great, but my friend has a Windows home premium 64 bit cd that I could borrow from him. I had a Toshiba recovery disk a while ago but I lost it, and ever since I've been running Arch Linux, which is fine but Linux's ATI drivers absouletly suck, and since this computer is probably going to be used by my younger brothers to play games it would be best to have an operating system that they are more familar with, and are able to install/move programs without having to use a command prompt.
Sorry for squeezing so many questions into one thread, but I really would like these questions to be answered before I go through with this. Thanks.