Upgrading to a P4 2.4 400mhz in a Laptop

[jlr20]

I have an Ashton Digital Passport 2048 laptop. System = P4 1.6 400, 320mb 2100 (shred to v ram, 64mb 2100 sis 650 graphics, 20g 4500 HD. I mainly use the lap for the internet and gaming when I am away from my desk top. I would like to replace the P4 1.6 with a P4 2.4 400mhz. Do any of you think it will make a difference in game play? Also how do I know if my mother board requires a P4 with Northwood (whatever that means). Any one that can answer these questions would help me out a lot. Thanks!!!!

I play games like Medal of Honor and Serious Sam

My Desktop = XP 2200, 384mb 2100 ram, Radeon 64mb ddr, Shuttle Space Walker AK35GT2, 30g 7200 HD,

 

[Soulkeeper]

it would definately help gaming performance but it might not be worth the cost
and chances are the northwood cpu's will work fine in it
you can also put a desktop cpu in it if you wanted for cheaper
too bad yur stuck on the 400mhz fsb tho
and too bad you can't overclock it slightly either

i got a 1.8ghz cpu in my laptop

good luck

 

[jlr20]

Thanks, I know what you mean by not being worth the cost. Thats my biggest hangup, i dont want to spend 150.00 for a chip that wont do much in my lap. For that big of a jump in mhz it better do wonders for my lap.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Are you certain the board in you lappy will support a 2.4ghz CPU? Also, for 150$ are you looking at the deskop version and not the mobile? If so be aware that you won't have the speedstep tech with it so battery power will suffer when not plugged in, if that's not a real issue for you then no worries there.

As to the gaming, what resolution do you play at? If it's 800x600 or 640x480 then the CPU speed increase of 600mhz (presuming the board supports the 2.4ghz) will definitely help I should think.

 

[jlr20]

I was surprised when I first found out the P4 1.6 is the desktop cpu, in the model I have the P4 M is not offered. So I am positive that I?m running the desktop cpu. Battery life is no problem for me; I always have the lap plugged in the wall. As for gaming, wouldn't running the desktop res. at 800X600 decrease the overall picture quality of the game?

Remember the main reason I am looking at purchasing the new cpu is for game play. Thanks for your comments; it was good food for thought, I?ll try the game at a lower res.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Yeah, some manufacturers were using the cheaper desktop CPU to cut costs :frown: The only reason I suggested a lower res is that SiS650 isn't a very good 3D solution and I thought playing it@higher res would really impact performance though of course with TFTs/LCDs the native res is the best to play@ Then again the CPU comes into play a bit more below 1024x768 and as I said I've read the 650 is pretty inadequate for 3D so I thought any boost from lower res and faster CPU would help with making for smoother game play that's all.

 

[jlr20]

I tried lowering the res. to 800X600 when playing Mohaa. There was no difference in picture quality, however the game ran a lot faster. I never thought to lower the desktop res, thanks DAPUNISHER it really helped, now I'm not sure if i want to upgrade.

 

[Spicedaddy]

in the model I have the P4 M is not offered.

First of all, run WCPUID to check what kind of CPU you have, because there was a 1.6GHz P4-M, it's just not offered anymore since 1.7 or 1.8 GHz cost the same. Putting a desktop CPU in it if you have a mobile chip now probably isn't a good idea since they run hotter and use a higher voltage.

If it is a desktop CPU, then there's no problem, except you have to get a 400MHZ FSB version, not 533. (2.4A, not 2.4B)


It might make a small difference, but you'll be limited by your video card in almost all new games coming out, so I'd say it's not worth it.

 

[jlr20]

The Ashton Digital 2048 Does not offer the P4 Mobile chip, only the standard P4 400mhz bus. The graphics controller is the Sis 650 which uses shared memory. Before i purchased this unit I called the Tech dept at Ashton Digital and asked them about it, they told me that it was faster then any separate video card from ati etc... because it runs at around 8x. now that i have the lap i have a feeling that the dumb ass lied to me. if you all think that I?m limited my the video controller and that upgrading from a 1.6 to a 2.4 wont make much of a difference because the V/C; then i wont get it and you all have just saved me 160 dollars.

I have 384mb DDR 2100 total Memory, 64mb is going to my video card

So do you all think my problem is my video card?

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Yeah the SiS650 is a dog, checkout this matchup Link and you'll see even the wimpy Intel solution spanks it.

 

[Spicedaddy]

Before i purchased this unit I called the Tech dept at Ashton Digital and asked them about it, they told me that it was faster then any separate video card from ati etc... because it runs at around 8x. now that i have the lap i have a feeling that the dumb ass lied to me.

LOL, yes, he lied to you. AGP 8X makes no difference compared to AGP 4X... The SiS 650 is even slower than Intel integrated video, which in turn is much slower than separate video cards. (Radeon 7500 or 9000, GF4 MX 420 or 440)