HP unable to provide notebook motherboard CPU compatibility listing.

[TheInternal]

Greetings all,

Having scoured the net, talked to two HP technicians via the HP online chat, and talked to a moderately accented and polite individual at HP, I've still not been able to get some very basic information on part compatibility for my HP Pavilion dv5000 notebook (p/n EX203AV).

I've been trying to find out if my socket M Core Solo T1350 processor from a similar base motherboard in a Compaq Presario C300 (p/n RL178UA#ABA) will work in a replacement motherboard for my dv5000 (particularly board number SPS-430195-001 or SPS-430196-001).

Oddly, I've not been able to even get a list of compatible processors from HP, nor could they provide similar models of motherboard that had better graphics options than the crappy Intel 945 GM chip on the 195, 196, (or defeatured 197).

I can't afford a new notebook and have found replacement boards... but not being able to find out for certain if my Core solo (and maybe a core 2 duo upgrade) and LCD panel are 100% compatible from the company that sold the notebook is rather disconcerting. Does anyone have any suggestions on where I might find this information so I can buy a replacement? I can't afford a new notebook, so I'm really looking to take what I have and make it work... I just need a new motherboard 🙁

 

[vailr]

What source are you obtaining the replacement laptop motherboard from? New or used?
I'm not surprised about lack of support from HP for your question. They wouldn't tend to offer any kind of support for end-user CPU upgrades for laptops. Or for any kind of motherboard or CPU change, other than an exact replacement, in case of damaged board.

 

[TheInternal]

thanks for the reply, vailr.

I intend to buy a new board.
HP gave me three models of motherboard that were "compatible" (SPS-43019x-001, with "x" being 5 through 7), but could only give me the response that "HP recommends using the same processor" in the replacement motherboard... ugh. The original processor was a celeron m 410.

195 sounds like the best option since they said it had an intel 945PM chip with NV72 (I THINK that's a geforce 4?) and was "fully featured", versus the 196 with used just intel graphics, and the 197 which was "defeatured" and used the 945GML (the "L" denotes "value" lineup according to the intel site.) The 197 is the defective board I'll be replacing.

I've mainly been checking out sites like ebay and "store" sites like google shopping. I'm currently thinking about going with Skyline Engineering, Inc. which has both a decent website and an ebay store (and they responded to an email inquiry I'd previously sent... though they had inaccurate information in one of their replies), though a little ebay vendor under the name "compaqparts" was selling it for under $50 and had good reviews.

I recently sent inquiries about part compatibility to both vendors, but am honestly not very optimistic that they'll confirm or deny part compatibility. I also sent out a quote request to a wholeseller (forgot which one) for a replacement.

If I find out the board IS compatible, the only other problem I forsee will be if I need to get a new heatsink as well, or dremel a hole for a firewire port or something in the case. I also have been reading conflicting information about the max RAM the board can take, with intel specifying a max of 4GM of RAM for the 945 PM chipset, and HP saying a max of 2GB of RAM for the motherboard.

From the crapload of reading I've been doing on this, I've found that the socket M was apparently a bit of a flop in terms of sales in it's day, so pricing has been generally hanging around the $50-$100 pricepoint (which is about my current pricepoint!), presumably since it's a dead-end socket type.