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Merom / Core 2 Duo T7400 running in a M1710!

post #1 of 18
8/2/06 at 11:38am
Thread Starter 
My latest article on the new Core 2 Duo Merom CPU has been posted. This time I dropped the CPU into the M1710 to see if it boots, explodes (poor Dell and their WMD batteries), or just does nothing.

Actually the whole system works with the new CPU. Some of the benchmarks are a bit off, and the heat is strange... but all in all things are looking good for a Core 2 Duo / Merom upgrade.

The above pretty much summarizes it, but you can read the whole article here if you want (geek pr0n / laptop innards pictures and benchmark vomit ).

If you like it, please digg it. I want to see if I can hit the front page. (unlikely lol)

- Jon.
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post #2 of 18
8/2/06 at 11:53am
Nice article. The only reason why I can think of the M1710 not performance as well is because the bios does not pickup the actual cpu so it henders the performance of the Merom. I know that asus has released a new bios for the merom support. Maybe that is why you are seeing a big improvement. I'm sure when dell (if and when) they release the bios to support the merom you will see much more improvement and take advantage of the new tech. of the chip. This is my thoughts. Thanks for the great article again.
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post #3 of 18
8/2/06 at 12:49pm
A very interesting piece. I have a T7400 in my XPS M1710 and I concur that performance isn't quite right yet and there is definitely a heat issue. But there is no doubt that Yonah is annihilated on CPU-intensive applications.

However, my heat issue is definitely nowhere near as bad as yours - my CPU idles in the mid-40s, and under load it averages 75, but can go up to 90. The tolerance of the CPU is 100 degrees though, so even on an 'unfinished' BIOS I am happy to run this CPU.

However, one thing I will say is that I tried another T7400 in my XPS and I got pretty much the exact same temperature readings that you did. I sent that particular chip back for a replacement, as four other Meroms were much cooler.

The final thing I'll say about the temperature issue is that I used to have a T7200 in my Inspiron E1705 and that was a joy - idling in the mid 30s and never exceeding 60 degrees under load. Also the performance in that was a match for the T7400, if not slightly improved. Again this points to a BIOS issue.

As there is strong evidence to suggest that the E1705's BIOS A02 has proper Merom support, I look forward to that same BIOS appearing on the M1710.
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post #4 of 18
8/2/06 at 12:51pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by xfaega
Nice article. The only reason why I can think of the M1710 not performance as well is because the bios does not pickup the actual cpu so it henders the performance of the Merom. I know that asus has released a new bios for the merom support. Maybe that is why you are seeing a big improvement. I'm sure when dell (if and when) they release the bios to support the merom you will see much more improvement and take advantage of the new tech. of the chip. This is my thoughts. Thanks for the great article again.


Re: New Asus BIOS
I've tested that new Asus BIOS (v402 BIOS flashed to v901) and it doesn't change the results in any way with respect to benchmark scores (nothing improved). The only difference I see is that the BIOS properly recognizes the CPU during boot-up instead of giving a uCode BIOS Checksum error. Haven't had a chance to test battery life yet, though.

I hope to revisit the M1710 if Dell releases a new BIOS for it.
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post #5 of 18
8/2/06 at 12:56pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by grandmaster
However, my heat issue is definitely nowhere near as bad as yours - my CPU idles in the mid-40s, and under load it averages 75, but can go up to 90. The tolerance of the CPU is 100 degrees though, so even on an 'unfinished' BIOS I am happy to run this CPU.

I agree. The improvements are working without a bios update, so there's little reason to not upgrade if it weren't for the heat issues I observed. I wonder why your particular CPU works properly with respect to heat?

Though the benchmarks I posted show erratic behaviour (i.e. memory tests), it's possible that is a software issue and not a hardware problem.

Quote:
Originally Posted by grandmaster
As there is strong evidence to suggest that the E1705's BIOS A02 has proper Merom support, I look forward to that same BIOS appearing on the M1710.

Good to hear! Have you had a chance to check out the CPU voltage reported by CPU-Z? Is it correct?

- Jon.
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post #6 of 18
8/2/06 at 1:05pm
Jon H,
Do you by chance know how to flash Dell bios with another bios flasher? I can't find anything at the moment.
Thanks
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post #7 of 18
8/2/06 at 2:28pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by xfaega
Jon H,
Do you by chance know how to flash Dell bios with another bios flasher? I can't find anything at the moment.
Thanks

I don't remember which BIOS chip Dell uses, but you can try something like AWDFlash (for Award/AMI BIOS) or Intel's AFlash.

I generally don't fiddle with the BIOS unless I absolutely have to. You thinking of flashing the M1710 with the Asus BIOS?

- Jon.
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post #8 of 18
8/2/06 at 2:32pm
No, I have the A02 bios bak for E1705 but can't figure out how to get it flashed. Thanks
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post #9 of 18
8/2/06 at 2:41pm
Voltage reads 0.95 with no load and 1.213 under load. That does look rather odd.
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post #10 of 18
8/2/06 at 3:03pm
When I was able to get the merom to run on my system my voltage read 1.25 all the time. It did run really hot.
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post #11 of 18
8/2/06 at 3:54pm
Good read, an excellent article for those debating a core 2 upgrade, as it shows a direct comparison (bar any increased BIOS support)



nice work jon
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post #12 of 18
8/2/06 at 5:41pm
I'd agree that the heat is higher for certain, but I am not seeing the same heat issues running a T7400. I am idling at 30 degrees or so and under sustained load hitting 70-75max. Only other thing that is odd, is I didn't see the same memory issue that you did with my e1705. Excellent info though, lets see what A02 brings.
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post #13 of 18
8/2/06 at 10:52pm
Yeah, from what I know the Merom runs a little hotter than the Yonah does in the 1705/XPS1710.

Also, if this Wikipedia article is to be believed the voltage is also higher. Looks like a Yonah checks in with a max of 1.262 vs. 1.3 for the Merom. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...icroprocessors

TDP Margins are probably close enough to consider putting a thicker heat pipe than the 6mm unit for the yonah.. Not sure what the final decision will be for production.
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post #14 of 18
8/2/06 at 10:53pm
not worth blowing money on it
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post #15 of 18
8/2/06 at 11:56pm
Bios is the key. My max voltage was 1.25 in a E1705 when I could get it running.
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post #16 of 18
8/3/06 at 12:45am
Hey that was a pretty cool idea, and helpful. I am one of those people that notice everything though and in your tables keys you have the M1710s T2600 CPU listed as a Core2Duo but its not a big deal its still a great comparison
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post #17 of 18
8/3/06 at 11:56am
if youd read they admitted typo right off the bat
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post #18 of 18
8/3/06 at 2:21pm
Think I will wait on Merom, after Dell releases new BIOS update for it, and see how much of a price drop there will be as well.
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