[Meloncoly]

I have a Dell XPS M1330, and according to the service manual, I can replace the processor. I have a few questions though and I was hoping if someone here can help me. I have experience working with desktops, but none with laptops.

1. I know laptop processors are kinda like desktop processors in terms of appearance and the way you put it into the socket, so should I apply Artic Silver as well, or is there a reason for that thermal tape? Would Artic silver be fine? Or should I use another type of thermal paste?

2. A person put in a Core 2 Extreme X7800 processor into the M1330 and it recognized it, even with a earlier rendition of the BIOS. I am not filled to the brim with cash, so I plan on purchasing Intel's Core 2 Duo T9300. It is a pretty new processor, but do you think it would have any trouble recognizing it? I have the first generation Dell M1330 with the Santa Rosa processor, not the Penryn. The BIOS updates don't differ from the new and old editions of the M1330 either, so that means it should have built in support for the T9300 since the new platforms support it...right? Cause I was thinking if the motherboard supports a Core 2 Extreme off the bat with older firmware, and I have the newest firmware, which the new M1330s with the same processors in it also use, it SHOULD work with the old models right? I can't "try" either since it's $320 down the drain and I don't have that much to experiment with.

Thanks for the help.

 

[yuckymucky]

I swapped a 1.4Ghz PentiumM for a 1.8Ghz PentiumM in my Dell D600 and it was pretty simple. I got the other proc for free so it was just something that seemed like it needed to be done. It was the same as a desktop motherboard in the fact that it had a lever on it that released the tension on the pins and it just pulled out.

When I did that I also cleaned up the heat sink and put Artic Silver on the new chip and it boxed it back up. It does seem like the fan comes on less with the Artic Silver but that could just be me making it up.

The hardest part of the whole thing was pulling the laptop apart. There are a lot of little ribbon cables and screws.