Pavillion dv9000 notebook - To upgrade or not to upgrade, the CPU

[treadingwater]

First, I see two versions of the same motherboard, AMD or Intel. Currently have Intel: http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=motherboard+hp+pavilion+dv9000+&_fscr=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m19

Second, anyone know of a more recent HP Motherboard that would fit into the same dv9000, perhaps with less bottlenecks on RAM and CPU? I have a feeling HP might have a newer board that fits the same case.

Thirdly, all I am really looking to do is upgrade the CPU from the 1.6Mhz to something more in the Duo line. I had a list of all the CPU's that fit in the same socket but I had been more leaning to selling and replacing. Thing is, besides a newer generation of RAM and CPU, it will be hard to replace all the extra features on this notebook, from the built in webcam to the Dual-Hard-Drive setup, FOUR USB ports, SD Card slot, I mean it already has the antenna for digital TV and two remotes.

Still, AS-IS the 1.6 CPU sucks and it runs very hot like the fan is wearing out. The motherboard should be fine and everything else is fine and it has 256 mb built in video memory card.

So the question is will replacing the CPU by upgrading to the Intel Duo 2.2 Ghz make a big performance difference and reduce the heat issue? The better processor has got to improve things - as great as the rest of the notebook is, this Centrino 1.6 Duo is about the worst processor a multi-media laptop could have.

What say you all?

T.W.

[strelok1911]

Why not get a new laptop? Better value for your money.

[ApuBo]

....

as the poster above, why upgrade a laptop when it can be cheaper to buy new one?

[treadingwater]

Why not get a new laptop? Better value for your money.

Well that is my original thought but I might disagree about the value. To get a laptop that has two sata hard drives, HDMI out, four USB slots, and 17" widescreen (not to mention an 8 cell lithium battery) I would be looking at at least $700, whereas I can simply replace the CPU for about a hundred bucks. Not as good having DDR3 and iCore series CPU but if its significantly better than the 1.6 GHZ centrino and reduces the heat issue, its $100 vs $700 (minus sale of current laptop). I hate taking laptops apart but since the time to choose has come I am divided on what to do.

Reviewed at: http://www.brand-new-battery.com/blog/articles/hp-pavilion-dv9000-review-hp-pavilion-dv9000-battery.htm

[tsupersonic]

The problem with that is you're stuck with the older generation of CPU's, older GPU, etc. There is a limit to the performance you're going to get by just upgrading the CPU, and it would be a temporary fix. The core i3/i5/i7 offer much better efficiency per clock and that would be the way to go. Not to mention, if you do decided to upgrade your CPU, and you mess up, you're out the cost of the CPU + you're looking at a new laptop anyways. You're also not going to fix the heat issue by upgrading to a faster CPU, it may in fact make it worse.

[treadingwater]

The problem with that is you're stuck with the older generation of CPU's, older GPU, etc. There is a limit to the performance you're going to get by just upgrading the CPU, and it would be a temporary fix. The core i3/i5/i7 offer much better efficiency per clock and that would be the way to go. Not to mention, if you do decided to upgrade your CPU, and you mess up, you're out the cost of the CPU + you're looking at a new laptop anyways. You're also not going to fix the heat issue by upgrading to a faster CPU, it may in fact make it worse.

All true. Especially about the heat. Beyond all of the perks of the laptop the main reason I would look forward to replacing it is that I have never had an HP laptop that I didn't dislike. The main heat issue besides the fan is the shoddy design: the air vent is on the bottom, i.e., very easy to block, which is probably why the fan is shorting out to begin with, as opposed to some of the competitors' who wisely place the vents on the sides.

And HP loads your system with so many resource hogging drivers that constantly tax your memory even if you disable all their features they are still constantly running update searches. Even imposing a strict series of startup blockers through MSCONFIG, HP has still found ways to **** me off.

Still I would say the main performance issue is not that the board predates DDR3 RAM and iCore series processors, but that it's the slowest processor that is on the market for this board - I can upgrade to a T7600 CPU and get a boost to 2.33 GHz, from a 533 Mhz FSB to a 677MHz FSB, and from a 2 MB cache to a 4MB cache... for about a hundred bucks.

If I want a 17" widescreen notebook with an internal video card with its own memory, 2 hard drives, 4 USB, 1 HDMI, 8 cell battery, Television expansion slot, it will start in the $700+ range and the question is, since memory has never been an issue, how significant is the difference between the 1.6 Ghz CPU and the 2.33 Ghz CPU? Are we saying that there is very little difference between the two, or a lot?

[Alex Calo]

I want to do the exact same thing you do to my hp pavilion dv9000. I loved this thing with all my heart. and then it just died on me. So i want to bring it back to life with authority, drill out the frame so i can relocate the vent holes and drop in a hell yea ass kickin motherboard and processor that will support modern day usage. and it's a cheaper alternative idk what all you other cats are talkin about so someone find me what we need: verification that the alternative boards fit this chassis so i can order it and drop it in there.

yours truly

Mr mad scientist engineer physicist monster