What CPU can i put in my laptop?

[imported_moto]

Hi,

I have a 2-1/2 year old Lenovo Y510, and I'm wondering if it might be worth upgrading the CPU in this machine. I recently installed an OCZ Vertex 2 drive and i definitely feel like this laptop has some life left in it.

here are the specs of the laptop:

CPU: Intel C2D T5550 @ 1.83GHz
RAM: 2x2GB (i don't remember what type, or what speed)
GPU: Nvidia 8600M GT
Storage: OCZ Vertex 2 120GB
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

I know that people have successfully installed the T8300 in their Y510's when they came out. I'm looking at the P8600, which I can get for about $100 on ebay.. i'm just not sure if it's compatible and if it's worth the money to upgrade. I have one year left in college and i use photoshop, illustrator, and a few 3D modeling programs extensively. Just trying to squeeze out one more year out of this laptop before having to upgrade to an entirely new system.

Can someone help me figure out if I can get the P8600 installed on this laptop? If it's not compatible, then what's the fastest CPU I can install?

thanks.

p.s. what's up with the "imported_" prefix on my username?

 

[smakme7757]

If its CPU isn't soldered on then you can swap it, although it's a ton of work. Your best bet is to download the manual with all the specs on how to take it apart. I don't know what it is called, but for my old HP pavillion HP provided a massive PDF with step by step instructions on how to take the machine apart as well as all possible specifications ect... I'd presume lenovo also offer such a document.

 

[imported_moto]

Judging by how some people have managed to swap their CPU's without too much trouble, it definitely isn't soldered on, and i'm not worried about taking it apart and swapping the CPU. I will look for the manual though. thanks for that advice.

i'm more concerned with whether the newer C2D CPU's will work with the laptop's motherboard or not, assuming that same socket doesn't always mean it's compatible? i think the current CPU (T5550) and the P8600 has different FSB and different wattage, etc.

 

[ther00kie16]

It has the 965pm, which is a 800mhz fsb chipset: http://forum.notebookreview.com/gateway-emachines/306877-pm965-800fsb-chipset-1066-mhz-fsb-cpu.html
Supposedly, it may support 1066mhz cpus but most likely it'd be downclocked so look for 800mhz fsb santa rosa cpus with the same socket (socket P) as yours: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_2_microprocessors

So the socket P variety of T9500 would be the fastest CPU you could get for your laptop. It'd be a nice bump from 1.83 to 2.6 not to mention the newer architecture.

However, looking at ebay, the 4 compatible Penryn CPUs are going for the folowing rates
t9500: $180 2.6ghz 6mb cache
t9300: $150 2.5ghz 6mb cache
t8300: $80 2.4ghz 3mb cache
t8100: $50 2.1ghz 3mb cache

If it were me, I'd go for the cheapest as the difference isn't that huge.

 

[imported_moto]

wow thanks for all that information! very helpful

i think i'm gonna see if i can score a good deal on the T9300 on ebay.. otherwise i'll go with T8300.

 

[goobernoodles]

Have you ever taken apart a laptop to that extent? I'm not talking about adding memory or swapping a HDD. It really depends on the make and model, but I'd be weary of taking a working laptop apart if I didn't have detailed instructions.

Like I said, it depends on the make and model, but some are nightmarish inside. A few machines I've worked on were horrible - I essentially had to remember the way each wire wraps around certain pieces of plastic in order to get all of the parts to fit back together correctly. If you're unable to get good documentation, I'd at least try to get some high quality pictures of the way everything fits together if it looks like you'll have to remove some major pieces and unhook a lot of ribbon/other cables.

 

[imported_moto]

thanks for the heads up. never taken apart a laptop.. but have done a little research into how people took apart their Y510's when they upgraded their CPU.

i've tinkered with many electronics before and i'm confident i can do this without messing up (knocks on wood). i might take apart this laptop just to make sure everything is going to be ok before ordering the new CPU.

 

[PreferLinux]

Find the service manual, if it is available.