HP Pavillion dm3: CPU Upgrade Possible?

[tosaytheleast]

I know this is quite an old laptop. It isn't mine. It is my dad's and he doesn't use it now so my younger brother would like to use it but he's worrying about the CPU of this which has only CORE 2 DUO P9300 2ND GEN 2.3GHZ DUALCORE PROCESSOR. So we decided that if it is possible, we would want to upgrade it to at least an i3 or i5. Do you guys think this is possible? Thanks.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Not possible.

If the CPU is socketed, you can sometimes swap it out for a slightly faster version of the same processor, but i3s or i5s will use a different, incompatible socket.

Assuming they aren't all soldered to the motherboard, which makes it a moot point anyway.

Looking at the specs for the different DM3 versions: if you haven't done any other hardware upgrades to that machine since your dad bought it, the CPU is the least slow part of the computer. Max the ram, install an SSD, and do a clean install of Win7. It'll be better than you probably think.

Or, hey, just buy a new laptop.

 

[dma0991]

Short answer, you can't upgrade it. Long answer,

1. The model number you gave may not be correct but according to the closest match, Intel Core 2 Duo processor SP9300 is using BGA956. What this means is that its soldered directly to the motherboard and replacement is nearly impossible without factory equipment.
2. Even if by the luck of the devil you've managed to do #1, laptops don't come with BIOS that supports a wide range of CPUs as they're usually coded to only work with the CPU that it came with.

I don't think an upgrade is necessary as my old Acer has an Intel C2D T5450 1.66GHz which should be slower than yours but I find it acceptable for simple word processing or web browsing. If you'd like an upgrade, just pop in any 128GB SSD. Maximum speed doesn't matter as it would still be bottlenecked by the SATA port but it will give a definite improvement in responsiveness.

 

[tosaytheleast]

Thanks for your fast reply guys. Well I guess have to consider getting an SSD. @dave_the_nerd is right. Its cpu is the weakling of the specs. It has a GM510 GeForece dedicated graphic card and 4 GB RAM. The speed actually is pretty good. It's juts that you still feel like you are using an aold laptop because almost all people know has i3, i5, etc.

 

[dma0991]

It's juts that you still feel like you are using an aold laptop because almost all people know has i3, i5, etc.

You should probably upgrade your perception on older hardware, unless money wasn't a problem here. I have SB and IB desktops and yet I am still comfortable using my C2D laptop. I do want an upgrade as its heavier than I want it to be but not many laptops(ones with crappy 1366x768 TN panels) out there that appeal to me.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Is the reason for the upgrade wish, fashion, or functionality?

Because, even though that is an older CPU, it still has decent performance, equal to a $300-400 Sandy/Ivy bridge mobile Pentium CPU.

It's still more than enough for web browsing. And the only laptops decent for low-end gaming are those with AMD APUs in them.

 

[tosaytheleast]

Is the reason for the upgrade wish, fashion, or functionality?

It's more of functionality. My brother wants to play somegames with this laptop. Some games in mind would be FIFA 2013, DoTA2 and NBA2k13. With this CPU plus a nVidia GM510 512MB dedicated graphic card and 4 GB RAM, do you think it could play this games on medium setting?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

It's more of functionality. My brother wants to play somegames with this laptop. Some games in mind would be FIFA 2013, DoTA2 and NBA2k13. With this CPU plus a nVidia GM510 512MB dedicated graphic card and 4 GB RAM, do you think it could play this games on medium setting?

He's well above the minimum requirements for everything but FIFA 2013. (I'd say its more like "barely" above for that one. The game will still run.)

 

[tosaytheleast]

He's well above the minimum requirements for everything but FIFA 2013. (I'd say its more like "barely" above for that one. The game will still run.)

Thanks. I have no problem playing FIFA13 in medium settings or even in low settings.

I'm considering now to get an SSD for this laptop. Could these SSDs be a good fit? http://www.lmc.com.au/catalog/Hard_Disk_Drive_and_Enclosure/Solid_State_Drive/Samsung/

I bought Samsung 840 Pro last month and it was really useful in my desktop PC. Would it fit in this small laptop?

 

[T_Yamamoto]

It should fit.

 

[dma0991]

Samsung 840 Pro is only 7mm thick. Older HDDs measure at 9.5mm thick which leaves a 2.5mm gap. IIRC the Samsung 840 Pro does not come with a spacer and if the laptop HDD is not mounted on a cage with screw on the bottom of the HDD/SSD, you might have to create your own spacer. Foam double sided tape is usable as a makeshift spacer.

Crucial M4 SSDs are using the 9.5mm standard, they will fit better and it cheaper. Its slower than the Samsung 840 Pro but wouldn't make much of a difference if maximum speed is bottlenecked by the laptop's SATA port.

 

[tosaytheleast]

Thanks dma0991. I'm not actually be the one to install an SSD. I have to send this laptop to a shoe and let them do the work. I just would want this Samsung 840 Pro to be the SSD because of pretty good feedback it has gotten lately.

 

[Zodiark1593]

I know this is quite an old laptop. It isn't mine. It is my dad's and he doesn't use it now so my younger brother would like to use it but he's worrying about the CPU of this which has only CORE 2 DUO P9300 2ND GEN 2.3GHZ DUALCORE PROCESSOR. So we decided that if it is possible, we would want to upgrade it to at least an i3 or i5. Do you guys think this is possible? Thanks.

The best that can be done in terms of CPU upgrades would be the CPUs of the same series with faster clock speeds. However, there is an element of luck involved with the BIOS, though from what I can tell, a mobo model is usually used within the same laptop series, so a cpu upgrade should be possible (for example, my mobo can go from an i5-460M to an i7-720QM because the same mobo was used in laptops with said cpu and the BIOS was the same). Take Note though, possible does not mean practical.

 

[tosaytheleast]

Take Note though, possible does not mean practical.

I think this means a lot. Though a CPU upgrade could be possible, I;m not willing to spend much time figuring out how could this be possible. I just tried installing and playing some games to this laptop (currently using it now while I'm posting this) and it handled FIFA13 pretty well in medium settings! Other activities such as browsing and excel was fairly smooth at all.