So, after trying to find a motherboard that fit the exact pin locations of the one I currently have in this laptop, I decided just to sit with what I have and try to push it as far as it can go. The only issue is, since I can't find any specifications about the Sony Vaio PCG-7N2L, I don't actually know what's inside of it. Thus, I make assumptions based on how old it is...and I will start firing off questions...now!
RAM: I'm assuming I will have to use DDR2 RAM. Now I surfed around on some old articles in tomshardware.com (2005-2008) and found some pretty good information, but I'm not sure if it's totally up-to-date. I read specifically: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hardcore-ddr2-ram-corsair,1627-2.html. Now, the part that is a little foggy to me is that DDR2 has a maximum clock rate of 800MHz, personally I thought it was 1066MHz. This leads me to my next question, per the article, you can only run a certain speed on the RAM if you mobo will support that ratio. So I know the CPU in this computer is a Intel Centrino clocked at 1.6Ghz. So, could I potentially run DDR2-1066, with a 5:4 ratio, by down clocking my CPU to 1.35Ghz (if I did my math right), without melting anything? And even if I could do that, would it be any good?!
My understanding of the article was that the CPU has a clock rate X, and that DDR2, standing for double data rate, carried out processes not only when the clock goes from high to low, but from low to high as well. Now DDR2 memory has a clock rate Y; a CPU will only allow certain ratios. Thus you must have 2:3 for DDR2-800, for example. The 2 being the clock of the memory, and the 3 being the clock of the CPU, so in our instance Y:X. Am I understanding this correctly?
Now the article makes no mention to what ratio is needed for DDR2-1066 so the 5:4 ratio that was mentioned earlier was a complete guess!
So, if you didn't understand my rabble or don't care too, basically I wanna know the best RAM configuration for DDR2. (Also the article says that DDR2 has a sweet spot for 2GB(1 x 2GB modules), is this correct or would I be better off with 4GB DDR2-XXX?)
HDD OR SSD: The next question is whether or not old mobos have the capability, or if an adapter exists, to run SSD. I would like to fool around with it; this laptop is my experimental laptop . Now I searched for articles regarding HDDs in old laptops but I found nothing relevant enough. So, should I just grab a WD or Seagate HDD with the highest RPM and cache speed and slap her in there? Or is there more to it like our RAM situation? Hmmm...
CPU: I would LOVE to through a new CPU in there but the issue is not knowing the mobo, so if anyone knows off the top of their head if a mobo can support a Intel Centrino, could it support a Pentium? Again, I could not find information regarding this.
Battery: This whole electrical stuff goes way over my head. Once articles start talking about ohms of resistance, amps of current etc. I kind of hit the back button as fast as humanly possible. So, my final question is, is there a benefit to having something other than a stock battery from sony, setting aside battery life. If I relate it to my days of desktop building, sometimes more wattage is required to run certain hardware, and if I'm replacing parts, should I look into getting a different, yet compatible battery?
Network Card: The Vaio has, I'm assuming, a megabit card in it now. Is it safe to assume that I can put a gigabit card in there? Anyone have a brand or model recommendations?
I think that's everything...I'll take recommendations on all of these parts since my knowledge isn't best when coming to laptops. Feel free to put the noob in his place!
Love,
Noob
RAM: I'm assuming I will have to use DDR2 RAM. Now I surfed around on some old articles in tomshardware.com (2005-2008) and found some pretty good information, but I'm not sure if it's totally up-to-date. I read specifically: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hardcore-ddr2-ram-corsair,1627-2.html. Now, the part that is a little foggy to me is that DDR2 has a maximum clock rate of 800MHz, personally I thought it was 1066MHz. This leads me to my next question, per the article, you can only run a certain speed on the RAM if you mobo will support that ratio. So I know the CPU in this computer is a Intel Centrino clocked at 1.6Ghz. So, could I potentially run DDR2-1066, with a 5:4 ratio, by down clocking my CPU to 1.35Ghz (if I did my math right), without melting anything? And even if I could do that, would it be any good?!
My understanding of the article was that the CPU has a clock rate X, and that DDR2, standing for double data rate, carried out processes not only when the clock goes from high to low, but from low to high as well. Now DDR2 memory has a clock rate Y; a CPU will only allow certain ratios. Thus you must have 2:3 for DDR2-800, for example. The 2 being the clock of the memory, and the 3 being the clock of the CPU, so in our instance Y:X. Am I understanding this correctly?
Now the article makes no mention to what ratio is needed for DDR2-1066 so the 5:4 ratio that was mentioned earlier was a complete guess!
So, if you didn't understand my rabble or don't care too, basically I wanna know the best RAM configuration for DDR2. (Also the article says that DDR2 has a sweet spot for 2GB(1 x 2GB modules), is this correct or would I be better off with 4GB DDR2-XXX?)
HDD OR SSD: The next question is whether or not old mobos have the capability, or if an adapter exists, to run SSD. I would like to fool around with it; this laptop is my experimental laptop . Now I searched for articles regarding HDDs in old laptops but I found nothing relevant enough. So, should I just grab a WD or Seagate HDD with the highest RPM and cache speed and slap her in there? Or is there more to it like our RAM situation? Hmmm...
CPU: I would LOVE to through a new CPU in there but the issue is not knowing the mobo, so if anyone knows off the top of their head if a mobo can support a Intel Centrino, could it support a Pentium? Again, I could not find information regarding this.
Battery: This whole electrical stuff goes way over my head. Once articles start talking about ohms of resistance, amps of current etc. I kind of hit the back button as fast as humanly possible. So, my final question is, is there a benefit to having something other than a stock battery from sony, setting aside battery life. If I relate it to my days of desktop building, sometimes more wattage is required to run certain hardware, and if I'm replacing parts, should I look into getting a different, yet compatible battery?
Network Card: The Vaio has, I'm assuming, a megabit card in it now. Is it safe to assume that I can put a gigabit card in there? Anyone have a brand or model recommendations?
I think that's everything...I'll take recommendations on all of these parts since my knowledge isn't best when coming to laptops. Feel free to put the noob in his place!
Love,
Noob