CPU upgrade for HP Pavilion dv9730nr Entertainment notebook

[Wes1]

I am looking for the best/fastest Intel CPU to upgrade an HP Pavilion dv9730 Entertainment notebook. The motherboard is a Quanta 30CB. The current cpu is an Intel Core 2 Duo T5450 1.66 GHz. I am trying to upgrade this laptop for my grandson to be able to play some of the new intense action games. I have looked at different forums, but most of them are at least two years old. I have also looked at the service manual for the dv9700 series notebooks. The top cpu in their list is the Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 2.4 GHz. Since most of these lists are old, I am trying to find out if there are faster processors that will work with the notebook and motherboard safely. 

[Huffer]

Upgrading the CPU will not make it game-worthy. Games are played in the video card or graphics processing unit and on that machine, as with most laptops, it cannot be upgraded at all. The T5450 is a bit of a dog, and it would perform better with a faster processor, but the video power would only be increased a little.

[Wes1]

I appreciate the info. I was unaware that I am unable to upgrade the NVidia GeForce 8600M GS video adapter. That along with maxxing out RAM was also on my adjenda of things to upgrade. I do fairly well upgrading desktops, but I am not very familiar with laptops. If I am unable to upgrade to a better video adapter then I need to start looking for a new HP laptop unless there is another way to upgrade the laptop (motherboard, chipset, etc) so that it can run some of the newer action games.

[Huffer]

That is the other thing about laptops....the motherboard is a unique creature for one model line only. You could upgrade the board only to another dv9700 series type, and even that might require case mods. The best video offered was GeForce 8600M, which you already have.

[Wes1]

It appears that my only option to get a little more use out of the laptop is to upgrade the cpu. Most of the latest games my grandson plays require a cpu running at least 2.2 GHz or faster. I guess I'm back to my original question of what is the fastest cpu I can install in a Quanta 30CB version 79.26 motherboard without creating other problems.

[Wes1]

I guess my real question is if the Intel Mobile T7700 processor is the fastest cpu that I can upgrade to on an HP Pavilion Entertainment dv9730nr with a Quanta 30CB ver. 79.26 motherboard with socket P (478). The wattage on the processor is 25w. Am I stuck with a processor rated at 25w or can I go to 35w or 45w and increase cooling capabilities? Also, am I stuck with a processor with a buss speed of 667MHz or can I go up to 800MHz or even 1066MHz? In other words, what is the limit on a cpu upgrade on this computer as long as it is for a socket P (478)?

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

You are only safe installing a processor originally offered by HP on that line of laptops. As stated above, it is not really a Quanta motherboard it is an HP motherboard, entirely proprietary. There is also no way to enhance the cooling system without radical case modifications and engineering tricks; the only cpu cooler is the original factory unit unless you make a different one and even then the tight fit limits what you can really do. The fsb and wattage needs to stay the same, as well. 

[Wes1]

I really appreciate your expertise and help with my dilemma. The laptop we discussed was my first laptop and is only three years old. It is already so outdated that it is unable to adequately play even moderately intensive action games. I have learned a lot since the purchase of that laptop. My current laptop is an HP dv7 SE with an i7 Q740 cpu and 8 GB of RAM. It is 6 months old and there are already much faster computers on the market. I do not play intensive action games on it so maybe I will be able to get more than 3 years out of it. Thanks again for your help.

[REDEATH]

Hey did you ever do the CPU upgrade? Also I have a question about the RAM I have 4 GB memory in it now and running windows 7 pro 32 bit I am looking ot go to Windows 7 Pro 64 bit and was wondering can I actually put in 2 4GB Dimms instead of the two 2GB ones I currently have....what I mean is the real limit on this mother board 4 gb max or is that the spec because it shipped with vista 32 bit which had the 32bit 3.5 usable limitation?

[Wes1]

Yes I did upgrade the CPU. After looking at different specs, I went against the maximum recommendations for the motherboard of a T7700 and installed an Intel Dual Core T9300. The T9300 worked great and improved the performance of the laptop greatly. My grandson was able to play the high demand usage such as all of the Call of Duty games. Unfortunately my grandson left the laptop running, laying on a soft blanket on his bed, covering up the the cooling vents. Due to the extra heat produced by the T9300, it caused the motherboard to overheat and burn out. I can say for sure that the T9300 will work on that computer/motherboard and will increase the performance dramatically. Just remember to keep the cooling vents open and clean. Needless to say, the grandson got a new computer with a quad core CPU and 8 MB of RAM. It plays every high demand game my grandson subjects it to with power to spare. Thanks for all of the help.