Benefit of Upgrading Processor

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atct86 · #1 Post by **atct86** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 10:14 pm

I am currently considering upgrading my CPU to make my computer last a little longer. I would like to upgrade to the Pentium M's with 2mb of L2 cache, with at least 1.8ghz. I probbaly will buy a used one from ebay for hopefully under $120.

Would the difference be noticeable? Would I be held back by the PC2100 memory?

What the the fastest processor I can use?

EOMtp · #2 Post by **EOMtp** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 11:31 pm

atct86 wrote:Would the difference be noticeable?

No. General rule of thumb is that if it's not at least twice as fast, you won't "notice" the speed increase in the sense that you mean it -- and going from 1.6 to 1.8, even with twice the cache, is not even close to double the speed. Re: Memory: PC2100 vs. PC2700, etc., is much ado about nothing in the context of your question.

cmarti · #3 Post by **cmarti** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 5:28 am

atct86 wrote:
What the the fastest processor I can use?

The fastest you can use is the pentium 765 it is a 2.10ghz dothan processor.

And in my case i recommend the processor upgrade but, first try the hd upgrade going to 7,200rmp drive that is something will make a bigger difference.

djpharoah · #4 Post by **djpharoah** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 9:19 am

You will notice a battery life increase and temperature decrease if your going from a Banias to a Dothan.

atct86 · #5 Post by **atct86** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 9:22 am

At what speed would I notice a change?

I really only feel my computer is slow when i am usign my scanner, some minor photoshop stuff, and sometimes scrolling through long folders.

Also, I do have a 7200rpm drive.

JHEM · #6 Post by **JHEM** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:03 am

Upgrade the RAM to 2GB and you'll see an improvement.

Much more cost effective and far simpler to install than a CPU. Check the Marketplace for memory from Brent for good deals on 1GB sticks.

Upgrading to a 1.8GHz CPU from your existing 1.6GHz will result in NO or very little noticeable speed increase.

Regards,

James

atct86 · #7 Post by **atct86** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:22 am

what about going to 2.0 or 2.1ghz?

agarza · #8 Post by **agarza** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 11:10 am

How much temperature the Dothan decreases compared to the Banias.

My Pentium M 745 @ 1.8GHz runs around 50-54C (at full power). Is that normal, after applying Arctic Silver 5?

EOMtp · #9 Post by **EOMtp** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 1:14 pm

atct86 wrote:I really only feel my computer is slow when i am usign my scanner ... and sometimes scrolling through long folders.

Reasonably guaranteed that neither of those activities is processor-intensive. The scanner speed is limited by its interface (USB 1 or 2/SCSI/etc.) and re: scrolling ... well, it's not the CPU that makes it appear slow. Changing the processor is not going to result in a noticeable change in the perceived speed of those activities.

ciorbarece · #10 Post by **ciorbarece** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 6:09 pm

Listen, changing the CPU, even to a 2.1 Ghz Model, won't bring you the difference you desire.

The thing is, if you would exchange the CPU, there would be basically no noticeable difference, but for some time you would think there is one ! Of course only in your imagination...

Made thet mistake some time ago, when I exchanged my Sempron 2000+ against an Athlon 3200+ and OCed it at 4000+ Speed. Well, that was another system, but it's quite the same problem here with your thinkpad. Because the other components, especially the grafics were limiting, there was NO noticeable difference, but for a few weeks I was happy with that bloody desktop

cmarti · #11 Post by **cmarti** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 7:59 pm

ciorbarece wrote:Listen, changing the CPU, even to a 2.1 Ghz Model, won't bring you the difference you desire.

The thing is, if you would exchange the CPU, there would be basically no noticeable difference, but for some time you would think there is one ! Of course only in your imagination...

Made thet mistake some time ago, when I exchanged my Sempron 2000+ against an Athlon 3200+ and OCed it at 4000+ Speed. Well, that was another system, but it's quite the same problem here with your thinkpad. Because the other components, especially the grafics were limiting, there was NO noticeable difference, but for a few weeks I was happy with that bloody desktop

MMM...
Well it depends on what and how many applications and or programs you run daily on your lappy.

tstadler · #12 Post by **tstadler** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 6:53 am

Sometimes people are too generic on the responses. It DOES all depend on what you are running for applications and what you want to achieve. Yes, if you want a faster overall system, hard drive 1st, that you have done, next look at your memory utilization when you are running you average applications, is is using all phyisical memory (No Memory swapping, pagging) if it is paging then memory will help alot. Then look at your proccessor utilization when you runn your applications, is it above 80% allot of the time then a CPU would help.
For me
I have a t42 came with a 1.8, I run allot of VMware machines and CPU intensive stuff (DVD shrink to 4.0GB iso for transport on travel) I upgraded to a 2.1 and I am not going to look back because it helped where I needed it. I dropped 10% or more time on my DVD processing time, to me that is more than worth it, because of the way that I need to handle some of the new DVDs I own.
A t60 would be nice for the VMware work I do, but it would have little benfit with the DVD because it is a Single threaded application I use. And the faster single CPU wins over the slower multiple core CPU I could have afforded at the time.
Again just my 2 cents but it really does depend on what you are doing. If it is games, then like another stated, you are out of luck because the video card is you weak spot.

atct86 · #13 Post by **atct86** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 10:16 am

Does anyone have any real-world experience and or comments with upgrading their processor, espeially with going to one with 2mb of cache?

Where did you see the differences? How was Heat? How was Battery Life?

RoadHazard · #14 Post by **RoadHazard** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 6:00 am

Well, I felt the difference when I upgraded my CPU. The computer becomes more responsive. It compiles programs a little faster. I see less of the hourglass cursor. I don't notice any change in heat. And I can't comment on the battery life either because my battery is going down hill fast. But a Dothan is supposed to generate less heat and give better battery life. But it will drain more battery than the Banias in sleep mode.

Think about the applications that you use. If they tend to eat up lots of memory, I'd suggest upgrading memory first. Otherwise, if 1G may already be enough for you, then go ahead and do the CPU.

The fastest you can go is Pentium-M 765 2.1Ghz.

atct86 · #15 Post by **atct86** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 10:33 am

This may sound kind of stupid.

But what are the most processor intensive programs?

#16 Post by **jdhurst** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 1:21 pm

Copy uses all the memory in a machine and much processor.
Virtual machines use copious quantities of memory and can peg the CPU at 100 percent when loading.
Updates (Symantec, AdWare, Microsoft, etc) tend to use CPU as well.

All that said, my CPU runs at 2 percent or less 95 percent of the time or more. ... JD Hurst

tstadler · #17 Post by **tstadler** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 8:48 pm

Video resampling, compression, audio work, Computer code compiling (REALBasic), and like JD said VMware ( I do OS level system testing in VMs). My CPU is exactly the opposite, ~2% free most of the time

na, but very busy for the most part. In fact alot more work is done on my 2.1 t42 than my 3500+ 64 bit home pc.

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