P-M 1.5GHz to 1.8GHz

[WobbleWobble]

On a FS/T forum, a trusted local dude is selling a Pentium-M 1.8GHz (Dothan) for $160CAD, which is about $136USD. It also comes with a cheap used USB scanner which I could use

This is for my Dell I8600, which currently has a 1.5GHz (Dothan) chip in it. Is it even compatible? I would lean to yes, but someone reassure me. I would probably flip the chip cheap on FS/T later as well.

Would you bother upgrading the chip for that price?

 

[Polyfluoroethylene]

You can get that much from an overclock. It really won't make much of a difference and probably isn't worth the hassle. I got a 3.2 GHz Pentium 4 for $110 shipped from eBay.

 

[govtcheez75]

Originally posted by: Polyfluoroethylene
You can get that much from an overclock. It really won't make much of a difference and probably isn't worth the hassle. I got a 3.2 GHz Pentium 4 for $110 shipped from eBay.

what are you talking about? Overclocking a laptop=not a good idea. He's talking about a Pentium M and not a P4. A BIG difference.

I would say go for it. Make sure that the 1.8ghz is compatible. There are two types of Dothans, the 400FSB and 533FSB. Your Dell is the 400FSB and probably won't play nice with the 533 chips.

 

[stevty2889]

If it's a 1.8 with the 400mhz FSB it will definatly be compatible. If it's the 533mhz FSB, it depends on what chipset your dell has, I don't think the 533fsb chips work with the older 855 chipset. I would try and overclock your 1.5 using clockgen. My 1.6 runs at 2.4ghz on the stock voltage. But that price is great for a 1.8 dothan, I paid $200usd for my 1.6. And you could make part of it back selling your 1.5. I'd probably go for it.

 

[govtcheez75]

Originally posted by: stevty2889
If it's a 1.8 with the 400mhz FSB it will definatly be compatible. If it's the 533mhz FSB, it depends on what chipset your dell has, I don't think the 533fsb chips work with the older 855 chipset. I would try and overclock your 1.5 using clockgen. My 1.6 runs at 2.4ghz on the stock voltage. But that price is great for a 1.8 dothan, I paid $200usd for my 1.6. And you could make part of it back selling your 1.5. I'd probably go for it.

I repeat again. Overclocking a notebook = NOT a good idea. SFF/Desktops set up to run Dothans is a completely different story. Notebook computers have much weaker PSU's and the cramped space provides for very poor cooling.

 

[WobbleWobble]

Right, I definately will not overclock. I can't even overclock if I wanted to since I'm stuck on the 400MHz bus. So, with overclocking aside, would you upgrade (stock speeds)?

It is a great price for the chip, which is why I'm tempted. But is worth the money?

 

[stevty2889]

Well if you are running anything that could benifit from a faster CPU, then I would upgrade. If you are mosting checking e-mail, using office apps and what not, I wouldn't bother. Either way though, thats a really good deal on that chip.

 

[WobbleWobble]

I do a lot of development running IIS, ColdFusion and .NET/J2EE development and I feel my machine is a bit slow. I already have a gig of RAM and a 5400RPM HDD.

 

[charloscarlies]

I would say it's worth it (if it's compatible)...ONLY because you could resell your old chip for pretty close to what you paid for the new one.

 

[phaxmohdem]

My vote = if you have the cash go for it,

 

[dexvx]

Dell forums indicate that it can take a 2.1Ghz / 400 FSB Dothan max. Make sure it is a 400FSB part, otherwise it will not run it properly. As for performance increase, I think it'd be decent, because you're going from a 1.5Ghz/1MB to a 1.8 Ghz/2MB. It would most definitely scale to clock speed, more likely better.

You should apply some Arctic Silver to get better cooling.

 

[WobbleWobble]

My current 1.5GHz is already a 2MB version. But for sure I'll double check it's a 400MHz part. The original seller was going to put it into a 700m but couldn't figure out how to install it. His loss is my gain

 

[WobbleWobble]

I went ahead with the deal and actually have the chip in my hands. I took apart my laptop last night (it was fairly easy) to get it ready to drop my chip in.

The main reasons why I went through with it was because I could use a scanner and I could get a lot of my money back by selling my old chip. Let's see how much of an improvement it'll give me.

 

[fbrdphreak]

That chip should produce a decent performance boost.

Your original chip was a 400MHz FSB; 533MHz FSB 1.5GHz Dothans do not exist.

Also get a 7200RPM drive. The 5400RPM is your biggest bottleneck.

 

[Avalon]

If your computer feels slow at 1.5, then it won't feel much noticeably faster at 1.8ghz.
I'd check out a 7200RPM drive.

 

[WobbleWobble]

Both chips are 400MHz variants, since mine is an older generation laptop.

I definately will check out a 7200RPM drive, but they're still mighty pricey. As well as the speed boost I hate how my Hitachi drive "ticks" as it parks its head to save power. Apparently it's normal behaviour, but there was a firmware update that didn't fix it for me.

It was pretty easy to drop the new chip in and it worked right away. Now I'll see how worthwhile it was... I'd easily blow $100 bucks at the casino, so why not "gamble" on my lappy?