Upgrading Centrino laptop processor?

[RufusA]

I have a Dell Latitude D600 with a 1.3MHz Pentium-M processor. I'm now having to do some more number crunching (converting media formats) on it, and am thinking about upgrading the processor.

Is it possible? If so what's the fastest processor I could put in, and how much is it likely to cost. What performance gain should I expect for memory/processor intensive tasks?

The other option is to just sell the laptop and pick up something faster from the Dell Outlet.

TIA - Rufus.

[Tak]

Yes, it can be upgraded. There's loads of info over at the Notebook Forums. Read the FAQ here for starters.

Best place to get chips is probably eBay, remember to look for the 400Mhz bus versions. I think eBuyer do new ones if you're willing to pay new prices.

I don't think you'll see a significant difference if you upgrade the Pentium M, as video encoding is not one of its strong points - the pipeline is much shorter than that of a Pentium 4 for example. You'll see gains in other areas however, such as gaming.

You may also want to try overclocking as a cheap solution. I don't know if it's possible with this model but have a search on those forums for info.

[philyau]

I myself have upgraded my i8600, from PM1.5 to PM1.8 2mb cache, bascially its very easy to do, a 5 min job. as TAK said look on the notebook forums as its got a guide, or go to dell USA site as they have a guide too.

phil

[ZoZo]

Does anyone know if we can expect current Sonoma platforms (with i915PM chipset) to support the future Yonah processor? I know they'll introduce a new Napa platform, but like the Pentium D don't necessarily require an i945 chipset, maybe the Yonah will work with i915PM. Then again the Pentium D has 775 pins, so Yonah might need more than the current 479 pins. Has there been any word on that?

[RufusA]

Thanks everyone, I'll take a trawl through the notebooks forum for ideas.

I feel my credit card is going to take a battering though!

Rufus,

[Shmee150]

Don't forget that a faster processor gives lots more heat and will also drain your battery significantly faster I suspect.

ShMeE