[SilverFire]

I am preparing to buy a new laptop for my business. I will be giving my old computer to my fiance.

Now, I will be upgrading the RAM to compensate for its....issues. (It maxes out on Tekkit Lite single player). However, I also want to upgrade the CPU at the same time.

System Specs:

Model: Toshiba Satellite L775D-S72220

CPU: AMD A4-3300M

RAM: 4GB DDR3 1333 (This I will be replacing with 8GB DDR3 1600)

Belarc Report:

Operating System System Model
Windows 7 Home Premium (x64) Service Pack 1 (build 7601)
Install Language: English (United States)
System Locale: English (United States)
Installed: 5/11/2012 12:50:05 PM TOSHIBA Satellite L775D PSK40U-00R003
System Serial Number: 6B158433R
Enclosure Type: Notebook
Processor a Main Circuit Board b
1.90 gigahertz AMD A4-3300M APU with Radeon HD Graphics
256 kilobyte primary memory cache
2048 kilobyte secondary memory cache
64-bit ready
Multi-core (2 total)
Not hyper-threaded Board: PEGATRON CORPORATION TKBSS 1.30
Bus Clock: 100 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. 1.30 05/11/2011
Drives Memory Modules c,d
624.24 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
286.53 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

TSSTcorp CDDVDW TS-L633F ATA Device [Optical drive]

Hitachi HTS547564A9E384 [Hard drive] (640.13 GB) -- drive 0, s/n 110512J23A0053GDA46N, rev JEDOA60B, SMART Status: Healthy 3564 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory

Slot 'A1_DIMM0' has 2048 MB (serial number 6442117C)
Slot 'A1_DIMM1' has 2048 MB (serial number A1_SerNum1)
Local Drive Volumes

c: (NTFS on drive 0) 624.24 GB 286.53 GB free

So, can anyone point me to what processors the system supports? I would absolutely LOVE it if I could slap in a quad core, but I can live with dual, since I can guarantee my luck doesn't work that well.

 

[SilverFire]

(Sorry for the double post, it wouldn't let me update the first post)

Okay, from what I have just found, the board has a Socket FS1 chipset. This means (hopefully) that I can upgrade to an A8-3510MX. (I was thinking a 3550, but 360 bucks to get one from the US, vs 80 bucks to get one here? No brainer there)

Can anyone give me confirmation on this? I'd hate to buy a CPU, tear the system apart and put it together again, only to have it blow a giant raspberry at me.

Edit: Another question!

Will changing the CPU allow me to install more than 8GB of RAM? I really would like to install 16GB, since my fiance uses photoshop a lot. (She absolutely decimates her desktop rig when she gets into her art)

 

[SilverFire]

Anyone willing to chime in at all?

 

[cdoublejj]

Ask here, > http://forum.notebookreview.com/hardware-components-aftermarket-upgrades/ < those guys know their stuff better than OCN. they are very very very sharp with laptops.

as far as i know since it's fairly new socket and chip set i would honestly think yes as long as it's the same socket. now if were an older intel based laptops.. well then i could tell you what is what and what isn't for exactly sure.

 

[glussier]

Replacing the processor won't let the laptop handle more than 8GB of ram.

As for the processor, the A6-3420m is the fastest processor with which this laptop was sold. So, I don't know if Toshiba had included other processor microcode into their bios.

The only way to be sure that an A8 will work is if Toshiba tells you, you find somebody who has done the replacement himself or you try it yourself.

 

[cdoublejj]

i'd think it should support over 8gb by default unless it only has 1 ram slot. also i find specification with max ram support are often wrong, my Acer 5920g is list as supporting no more than 4gb or ram yet people routinely install over 4gb all the time.

 

[AcEsSalvation]

Looking into it now - let me get back to you in a few moments

Looks like you could put the 3510MX in that socket, beware the extra TDP - you may want to watch thermals and apply the new paste as well as you can. Furthermore - the CPU supports dual channel 1600MHz RAM. I'm going to look at the motherboard specs next to see how much RAM you can use. From what I've seen, only very-high end laptops allow 8GB cards.
Quote:

Maximum Memory: 8GB
Slots: 2

 

[denial_]

I don't think replacing the CPU is a good idea here. You will have to deal with an increased tdp of 10 watts, feeding those watts through a tiny psu and dissipate it from the case which can easily result in overheating, or at least unpleastly lot of noise from the fan everytime it's in use.

Seeing the spec you posted, a HDD upgrade is much more needed than a CPU upgrade. A cheap 120gb SSD and a 15$ external enclosure for the spare 640gb HDD looks to me like a better option, for about the same money. Also I'm not sure if the laptop's BIOS will recognize the new CPU, but I'm not sure about that

.

I know it was not your question, but I just wanted to give you my opinion on that

. Good luck.

 

[cdoublejj]

usually 10 extra watts usually ins't tooooo bad.

 

[denial_]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdoublejj

usually 10 extra watts usually ins't tooooo bad.

Yeah I know, but it's 30% more. But anyway my point was just that an ssd is a better boost to an older laptop than a new cpu, as for desktop

 

[cdoublejj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by denial_

Yeah I know, but it's 30% more. But anyway my point was just that an ssd is a better boost to an older laptop than a new cpu, as for desktop

with in reason i agree, my Dell XPS M1330 which is from 2007 FLYS with an SSD, and with the OEM extended batter it's really good battery life. all it needs now it a 45nm T9300.

 

[denial_]

And with 15$ the OP will be able too keep the storage capacity

 

[glussier]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AcEsSalvation

Looking into it now - let me get back to you in a few moments

Looks like you could put the 3510MX in that socket, beware the extra TDP - you may want to watch thermals and apply the new paste as well as you can. Furthermore - the CPU supports dual channel 1600MHz RAM. I'm going to look at the motherboard specs next to see how much RAM you can use. From what I've seen, only very-high end laptops allow 8GB cards.

You should be carefull about the information you are giving. Will the 3510mx fit in the cpu socket? The answer is an astounding YES. However, if Toshiba didn't see fit to include the cpu microcode in their bios, the that cpu won't work on that laptop.

 

[AcEsSalvation]

Quote:

Originally Posted by glussier

You should be carefull about the information you are giving. Will the 3510mx fit in the cpu socket? The answer is an astounding YES. However, if Toshiba didn't see fit to include the cpu microcode in their bios, the that cpu won't work on that laptop.

True. I did a little more digging, and they use the same architecture and are based off the same chip. I guess it comes to the motherboard...

 

[SilverFire]

I will be using IC7 thermal compound, and I have a laptop cooling pad.

As for the SSD, that's my next step. My main concern was the fact that the GPU would literally eat all the RAM while trying to play Minecraft, then the page file would get maxed out, and my laptop would be lagging like a Pinto trying to drag a semi.

Honestly, I will probably be throttling the CPU some to drop the heat anyways. Even if I take it down to 1.6ghz, it will still be a LOT better than my 1.9 dual I am running now.

Kinda sucks about the RAM though. I wasn't sure if the memory controller was on the CPU, or on the motherboard, so I had to ask and hope.

 

[cdoublejj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverFire

I will be using IC7 thermal compound, and I have a laptop cooling pad.

As for the SSD, that's my next step. My main concern was the fact that the GPU would literally eat all the RAM while trying to play Minecraft, then the page file would get maxed out, and my laptop would be lagging like a Pinto trying to drag a semi.

Honestly, I will probably be throttling the CPU some to drop the heat anyways. Even if I take it down to 1.6ghz, it will still be a LOT better than my 1.9 dual I am running now.

Kinda sucks about the RAM though. I wasn't sure if the memory controller was on the CPU, or on the motherboard, so I had to ask and hope.

FYI, Mincecraft will only run on a single core no matter how many core your CPU uses, you should look in to OptiFine which tweaks minecraft and makes better use of the computer's resources and multiple cores.

 

[SilverFire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdoublejj

FYI, Mincecraft will only run on a single core no matter how many core your CPU uses, you should look in to OptiFine which tweaks minecraft and makes better use of the computer's resources and multiple cores.

I'm not looking at the CPU aspect of the operation, rather the GPU side of things.

All the cores in the world means squat if the GPU won't be able to keep up with things. However, since the system uses an APU, I have to upgrade both.

 

[AcEsSalvation]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverFire

I'm not looking at the CPU aspect of the operation, rather the GPU side of things.

You still need to make sure that your CPU has a strong enough single-threaded performance. Vanilla MC doesn't take much to run - but you have to remember that the single core is handling all the chunk loading/rendering, mob AI, block ID's, and each frame queue. With a GT 640, I can get 60FPS with a 128x texture pack on a modpack, then the CPU start throttling performance. You would be surprised at how much power a CPU loses once you drop down to one thread.
You are correct about needing a GPU to keep up with the CPU. I know how that feels - I had a GT 430 running with a tri-core Athlon II, and even with that basic of a CPU - I was getting frustrated. But you do need to remember, laptops are for mobility, and the mobile versions of GPUs are roughly 3x weaker than the desktop variant. I wish you the best of luck with this, and I hope the upgrade price is worth the performance gain. I also hope that the CPU you pick out will be compatible with the system, and that swapping them out won't be a pain. Please, let us know how it goes.

EDIT: Dual and quad threaded games should run fine on any CPU upgrade, as long as you aren't picking extremely demanding games (which I don't think you are)

 

[cdoublejj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverFire

I'm not looking at the CPU aspect of the operation, rather the GPU side of things.

All the cores in the world means squat if the GPU won't be able to keep up with things. However, since the system uses an APU, I have to upgrade both.

I have intel graphics on one of my laptops and the core 2 duo causes a bottle neck sometimes. also optifine makes minecraft make better use of the videocard.