Help Upgrading presario c500 series notebook - Page 8

FireWire over RJ45 ? They say it's an extension for a cable tester.

Wrong item, sorry search for CAT5 FireWire Extender - that is what you might need

cheers ...

Well it seems that the CAT5 cable has to be plugged into another converting unit - not directly inside the Ethernet connector of your computer. But thank you for the idea, I'll try to find more information about this stuff.

Cheers

Cool. There is a mod somewhere over the CAT 5 connection, I need to dig it up.

cheers ...

Hey guys,

Quite a conundrum there... I've done some poking around but all I can find are either poorly rated (read: don't work) USB-to-Firewire cables or something akin to what QHN linked to initially. The only CAT5-FireWire things I could find are extenders, which work to transmit the signals over CAT5 wire but appear to require conversion BACK to Firewire for the final connections.

That's the one downside I have found to the C500: A lack of any connection other than USB on the outside. No PCMCIA, no ExpressCard, no nothing. I'll continue to poke around here and there too when I can, I've been at work all day though.

As for my notes on performance and changes: My upgraded C500 with its Core 2 Duo T7200 and 4 GB cruises along nicely. However, I want to offer a word of warning to anyone considering a C2D T7200 or higher. Your mileage may vary, but so far the temperatures in my system are not falling. It hovers around 45 at idle but spikes to 60 with even moderate exertion. Arctic Silver needs a couple days to a week to really adjust, so we'll see how it goes. However, during the WEI ratings test, she spiked as high as 79 at one point. ALMOST 30 degrees to go til the thermal limit, but that's still worrying.

For my money, the T5600 is a good compromise and I had seemingly better thermal behavior. However, it may just be too soon. I'll report back on it after a week or so on that topic. I'm fortunate in that I bought one of the 12 cell batteries from HP before they stopped selling them. A 5 hour battery life as well as a ventilation path under the system.

Overall, I'm really pretty pleased with the outcome on this. It's made the C500 NEARLY as powerful as my DV9700 in a smaller, lighter form. There's certainly differences (GMA 950 vs. GeForce 8600M GS), but I can use them almost interchangeably.

Hope everyone else's efforts prove as fruitful!

Regards,
O Shadow Fox O

Might want to try with either Liquid Pro (coolaborator) or IC Diamond as thermal paste -

cheers ...

Hey guys,

After a few days of normal use, I don't notice it getting any cooler but I also haven't found a situation where it's really a concern either. Not enough that I want to disassemble the machine again at any rate.

I'm now faced with a different concern at any rate. Added up all the costs for further upgrades to my DV9700 and the C500 and I realized I was halfway or more to a new machine, and that I was going to NEED a third. Home, work, school. So now I'm trying to decide what to nab, heh.

Not to say that I won't continue to use both the DV9700 or C500 (former will move to work use, the latter to school use), but I can't in good conscience use one machine for two purposes when there's sensitive work information involved.

I could still create a post on DV9700 upgrades, I suppose, if anyone really needs the information. But at any rate, the thermal news was all I really wanted to add to THIS topic just now until any other posts or information come up. Hope everyone's upgrades are doing well!

Oh and unfortunately, no further info on USB-to-Firewire. Still search at random though.

Regards,
O Shadow Fox O

This thread has helped me quite a bit. I let my nephew use my c500 while in college. When he returned it just before graduation the charger was shot and motherboard would not work on anything but battery power.

 

I got a cheap charger on-line and a motherboard (441695-001) with the 945 chipset.  My old motherboard was a 445605-001 and had the 943gml chipset. I replaced the motherboard and used my 520 celeron to get it back running again. I almost didn't spend the money on it due to laptop value goes down quick.

 

Here is what it cost.

 

Motherboard 39.00 shipped. Charger 11.00 shipped.

 

That was about 3 months ago.

 

I Just purchased T7200 for 31.00 shipped, and a 2gig dim for 16.95 shipped.  I should have the CPU and memory in a few days to install, but even with the 520 celeron and 2 gig memory it has in it now, it runs win7 very well. Media center works better than I expected, very well actually. With the new cpu and extra memory it should do even better.

 

So for less than 100 dollars I think this laptop will give me several more years of use. It's hard not to spend more and get another laptop, but for the 100 dollar investment just think what I can buy when I really need to upgrade.

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If I had more time to research, I think a G5000 or V3000 or one of those models has a 945 pm chipset that supports a c2d but uses a different graphics chip than intel, and probably would make for an even better upgrade. Some of the boards are full featured for firewire and such.

 

Edited by loyalbama - 1/5/12 at 8:24am

Hi,

 

 Found this thread a few days ago and wish i had found it months ago when I still had three C500's in almost standard form.

 

 I now only have two left, my sons and mine which i use as my home laptop and have just increased the hard drive to 200gb 7200rpm, and installed win 7. I already had it at 2Gb ram and was disapointed that I could not take it any further.

 

 I bought my c500 the morning vista was released in the US and flew home that afternoon to Scotland where our IT department tore it apart both physically and virturaly anyway I still use it to this day and in my onpinion is way better than any work laptop I have ever had the pleasure of using or the one we bought to replace my wifes c500.

 

 Anyway to my point, I have secured a 441695.001 MB and am looking to get the T7200 CPU, however can someone confirm the exact part number for this chip as I have seen them reffered to as;

 

Socket 478,

Socket 479,

Socket M,

Socket P.

 

 I am not that knowledgable on these things but have had all of my c500's appart for various reasons and am capable of swapping in the new components ( I have already swapped out the Mb on my son's c500 after he killed it, wish I new about the 441695.01 then), My c500 is due a CPU and fan clean soon anyway so it would seem like a good time to get the job done. Also my son can't wait to try a few games on my c500 once the upgrade has been done as he has been looking for a more game friendle laptop for a couple of months now.

 

 PS, I also have one of the aftermarket 12 cell batteries with the higher performance and it not only puts the keybaord at a more comfortable angle but also helped with cooling as the fan instantly started running less.

 

 Thanks in advance for any assistance and thanks again for this great thread and information.

 

 Best Regards,

 

 John 

T7200 CPU official description

As mentioned in the post above yours, this CPU should work with no issue. Good luck with the swap!

cheers ...

 I clicked on the link and the spec lists PPGA478 and PBGA479 as socket types.

 

 So does this mean that all Intel T7200 CPU's  have basically the same pin design and will wil work with socket M?

 

 I appologise if this seems a stupid question but I have seen these CPU's advertised for differnet sockets and don't want to get the wrong one if that is possible.

 

 I have also seen them reffered to as SL9SF and SL9SL with the SL9SF being the more common that I have found.

 

 Thanks again,

 

 John

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socket_M

It is a not so clear cut query to answer. I would personally concentrate on the motherboard specifications and the chipset as base in order to get the correct replacement CPU. And of course forum posts from enthusiasts out there.

cheers ...

 That's one of the pages I had found which caused me more confusion.

 

  Especially as the previous link to the intel specs for the T7200 does not mention socket M as being supported.

 

 All very confusing for the limited computer knowledge that I have.

 

 Maybe I will just get one and try it as no one else has specified a specific T7200 CPU to aquire for the upgrade.

 

 Thanks,

 

 John

It is more like a bunch of "personal tech" interpretation of reviewers and technical writers that confuse us. I am still just as confused as everyone out there.

cheers ...

SL9SF - is a T7200 socket M processor that I purchased. I will list a few more below that are socket M processors.

 

SL9SF-  Core 2 Duo Mobile  = t7200

 

SL9SE  Core 2 Duo Mobile   = t7400

 

SL9SD  Core 2 Duo Mobile   = t7600

 

SL9SG  Core 2 Duo Mobile    -T5600

 

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Here are the more popular cpu upgrade for c500 laptop. (chipset dependent)

Core 2 Duo T5200 1600 2048 533 - no  VT-x
Core 2 Duo T5500 1667 2048 667 - no  VT-x
Core 2 Duo T5600 1833 2048 667
Core 2 Duo T7200 2000 4096 667
Core 2 Duo T7400 2166 4096 667
Core 2 Duo T7600 2333 4096 667

Chipsets

943GML 533

945GM 533/667
945PM 533/667

 

 

Link to more info.........http://forum.notebookreview.com/hardware-components-aftermarket-upgrades/209284-intel-mobile-processor-compatibility-guide.html

Edited by loyalbama - 1/10/12 at 4:14pm

Thanks,

 

 I already have the 441695.001 with the 945 chipset waiting to go in, my problem is the conflicting information on what T7200 chip to get (if there is more than one!) as various sources claim that threre are ones for different sockets.

 

 I was initialy under the "illusion" that there was only one kind of T7200 CPU and that it only fitted Socket M but now I am not to sure.

 

 The reason I asked is that there seems to be varied costs depending on wich socket the seller lists it as being compatible with but as qhn says maybe they are incorrect and all T7200's are the same?

 

 I will buy one that is listed as Socket M compatible and go from there as I really cannot wait to get my c500 where it really should be.

 

 Thanks,

 

 John

I don't think the T7200 is a socket P cpu.

 

When I was shopping for an upgrade I found many CPU's like the T7500 cheaper than the T7200 because it was a socket P and there are better upgrades for the socket P - 965 chipset so they would not be in high demand. The 5xxx series processors you've got to be careful about. The T7600 is socket M but not the T7300.

 

If you shop around you can det a good T7200 for 35 dollars. Not much less. Another good choice would be the T5600 - SL9SG for about 15 dollars.

 

I shop ebay for some items and they have "top Sellers" that guarantee the cpu to be a good working pull. Some sellers have over 10 available so you know if it were to be DOA they will make it good.

 

I'm not trying to tell you to use ebay but that's the best price on cpu's. I just clicked over and saw many for sell. Some you bid on and some have a buy-it-now price.

 

My best advice is take enough time to search through all of them. If you bid on one, set your price and do not pay more than it's worth. I watched several get bid up past the price of one you could purchase for less, right away without going through the hassell of bidding at all.

 

There are many for over 100 dollars or more.

 

I took my time. Looked for several weeks, then made my purchase. Don't get caught up in the moment and bid past what it's worth.

 

If it was me I wound just go get a t7200 for about 36 to 39 dollars or a T5600 for about 16 to 20 dollars without bidding. You can always email the seller and ask about the cpu before you decide to bid or buy.  If you want to get the fastest available for the socket M it will be the T7600. Can't fit a faster chip in your motherboard. The sellers already know the T7600 is the most valued cpu for the 945 chipset, so they go for more. The T7400 is in between the t7200 and t7600 but seem to be less available.

 

Good luck.

 

Edited by loyalbama - 1/5/12 at 7:52pm

Thanks for the furtehr info.

 

 I have been looking on ebay and agree that they seem to have the best prices, I saw one go last week for $29, but it was listed as a socket 478 so I did not bid on it.

 

 There are a few people selling multiple T7200 CPU's for socket M so I might wait to see how they sell as if the upgrade is as good as I expect it to be I will be upgrading another two C500's (my son's and a friend who wants to see mine before he commits) but if they go for a decent price I cannot go wrong.

 

 Hopefuly I will get one in the next day or two, getting quite impatient.

 

 Thanks again for this great thread.

 

 John

Hello all,

These kinds of delays are what happens when I take a vacation to prep for work AND school. Heh

Just in case there is still any doubt: The Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 is STRICTLY SOCKET M. There were NO Socket P variants of this chip made and I have not seen any indication of one in any of my searches, ever. The only variant is a version made for PBGA479, which is the Ball Grid Array setup and is used in systems where the CPU is NOT upgradable (soldered to the board). You should look to purchase a T7200 without concern of socket incompatibility (it's highly unlikely you would find a BGA chip for sale as it would be basically impossible for an end user to install).

Some of the confusion probably stems from the fact that there were Celeron M 530 chips for BOTH Socket M and P.

That all being said, Intel REALLY could've been less confusing in their numbering systems. Numbers overlap haphazardly at times. For example, the T7100 is a Socket P, while T7200 is Socket M. T7250 and T7300 are Socket P while T7400 is Socket M. REALLY confusing unless you dig.

While it may certainly have some inaccuracies, I tend to use www.cpu-world.com for all my basic research. Their listings have so far been VERY accurate for my use.

Loyalbama's summation of the chips and their capabilities is great, and are only lacking ONE piece of information:

The T5200 and T5500 do NOT support Intel VT-x. T5600, T7200, T7400, and T7600 all DO support it. Keep that in mind if that is an issue (mainly for running virtual machines and some server based softwares). All other functions of the chips are the same from what I know.

Hopefully this helps clean up any lingering confusion. Sorry I was late to the conversation! Hope everyone had great holidays!

Regards,
O Shadow Fox O
Edited by OShadowFoxO - 1/8/12 at 3:20pm

Shadow Fox,

 

 Thank you very much for the further info. I initially thought that they were all socket M but then when you look on various websites including intel's own they list other sockets. And Ebay is a mess with listings for various sockets.

 

 I have bit the bullet anyway as i could not wait any longer to get this upgrade so hopefully by the end of the week I shall have a compatible T7200 CPU and really see what this c500 can do.

 

 I have also ordered the IC Diamond so all systems go.

 

 Thanks again,

 

 John