Yeah I know I just got it but I can't help myself. I have a line a a T7300 CPU (Core 2 DUO @2.0GHz w/ 4mb cache) to replace this 540 (single core @1.86GHz w/ 1MB cache) for $140 shipped. I ordered 2GB of Corsair PC2 5300 at $45 shipped. So add all that up and I'll have an $1100 Laptop for $680. As long as I don't turn it into a brick.

I have a bid in on a new 7300 at ebay but I should be outbid soon. As soon as I am I'll buy the used chip. I need to get into laptop repair anyways.

Been thinking about a laptop myself lately... Not a bad chip those T7300's, Cant see it being any different to a Desktop really, just a bit more fiddly getting the stupid things open...

Well, just loaded the memory and it works great. So I am at 2GB's now. Lost the bid on eBay, thankfully, and sealed the deal on a used T7300 for $140. They are $260 new and the chip is an engineering sample but the guy called me to make sure I knew that and said it works great and no, he did not beat the hell out of it (as I would've done). I guess most laptops aren't overclockable, I know mine isn't.

Only worry is the BIOS as I have no idea if it will pick up the 7300 and adjust the FSB accordingly. The GM965 chipset runs at 533 and 800 so I should be OK as this board is in all the R-series lappies. The install is a lot more involved but nothing like installing watercooling so I figure an hour max, probably more like 40 minutes. He shipped today so maybe I'll be up and running this weekend. Then I'll see if the 3100 IG can run BF2.

BTW, when you buy a laptop get the minimal memory you can, then go and get your own at the Egg. OEMs charge about $110 to upgrade from 512MB to 2GB of RAM and you can get Corsair value select with much better timings (44412) for $45 shipped. The Lenovo stuff was at 55515 on DDR2-667. It takes about 5 minutes to install the RAM in a Thinkpad. 4 screws, pop out the old stuff, in with the new, put the screws back in and boot up. Literally did it in my office while on the phone and the RAM they sell you is garbage.

So going from a single core 533 FSB at 1.86Ghz with 1MB L2 cache to two Core Duo cores at 2.0GHz each and 4MB L2 cache. Woot! 512MB of crappy RAM to 2GB of Corsair. Should be a huge jump in performance. The 540 sells for around $60 on the Egg and like I said, the 7300 is $260 if that tells you anything.

Nice! Now you can hide away outside and be online.

Outside, smoking a cigar

Yep but is is damn cold.

Cold? It was -21F this morning .

Is it a thinkpad that you have Merc?

Yep an R61e.

are you running vista or XP? I don't mind vista for laptoppie stuff but try and install any game (not "made for windows") and you'll wish you had tried to install it in your backend, and probably would have had better luck.

as for the ram thing i got a gig with my compaq for $512 after tax. my sister got a gig for 550 with hers... i want to say it's panasonic but that's definately not right. Anyway, the longer you search the better deal you can get. Not that it matters to you number freaks

It's running XP This rig was $499 down from $699. 512MB of RAM is probably why it was so low. Laptops are incredibly expensive for what you get.

bah this site is terrible. I was buzzin around newegg trying to get a feel for how much a new core would cost and i somehow ended up dismantling my laptop.

somehow...lol

grim: bah this site is terrible. I was buzzin around newegg trying to get a feel for how much a new core would cost and i somehow ended up dismantling my laptop. rolleyes.gif

somehow...lol

Nothing is sacred here. It would be a very interesting study to find out why we feel that anything with a computer chip in it must be modded? My wife certainly does not understand. LOL. I haven't owned this laptop more than a couple of weeks and I'll be voiding the warranty this weekend (chip arrived today) with almost no clue about what I am doing. I did enjoy the noob feeling, though, and have thoroughly enjoyed the research. Tons of research which is always the basis for this stuff.

Being a complete noob again is great! Chipsets and sockets in lappies is WAY more complicated than desktops and of course overclocking is almost a nonissue but it is great fun to have that cold sweat on your forehead as you disassemble an expensive piece of gear and attempt to make it much better at a reduced cost with little knowledge of what you are doing.

BTW, I found a pretty good forum (not as good as ours unfortunately) called notebookreview that has very few a-holes and some helpful folks.

I'll do the install tomorrow when his majesty takes his nap. Wish me luck gents.

Ha - great post, Merc. Best of luck in laptop land tomorrow!

Gotta be willing to break it if you love it. I am a little nervous! Can't wait. Then, when this wears off, I have the e8400 arriving! 2008 is a good year so far. Paul was feeling lonely as he had no one to play with and you can't have the hitman being lonely. Plus he was having way too much fun, even with the flu. Freakin' 8400 on water should be great fun and we can break the code on 45nm before you all buy the big bucks chips. Hopefully we'll have voltages and such nailed so that everyone can benefit. Paul is getting the 8500 as well so we'll be able to see how the 1/2 multis work.

Well the operation was successful and the patient is moving much faster! Whole thing took about 1.5 hours to complete. Plugged in and she booted right up at 1995 MHz with both cores working away as advertised. The chipset recognized the new CPU and adjusted the FSB accordingly to 800MHz. I'll post a more detailed description later but here is a thumb of the new system operating. (click to enlarge)