CPU Upgrade COMPAQ Presario C300EA

[Vad35]

Hi, I'm trying to "refurbish" my dad's old COMPAQ Presario C300EA so I upgraded the RAM to 3GB (only 2GB usable unfortunately) and want to upgrade the CPU. In the documentation for the laptop it is written that the Core Duo T2250 is the best CPU that will work, but I have also seen many messages saying that the C300 does not boot with this CPU (black screen).

  Can anyone confirm that this processor will work in this laptop please? I would like to make it a bit faster.

  And if this CPU is not compatible with this laptop, which CPU would be the best for it?

  Thanks in advance 🙂

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

According to this discussion, it does not seem like a good idea to install the T2250.

Compaq C300 laptop not posting after CPU upgrade | Overclockers UK Forums

If you want to risk updating the BIOS and then trying the T2250 or T2300 or T2050 (which were also listed as supported processors), here it is.  It was written to be run on Windows Vista or XP.

F.24 Info file.

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp35501-36000/sp35954.html 

Exe file:

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp35501-36000/sp35954.exe 

What chipset does the PC have? 

I can't find any info on that.

Use the free utility that I zipped up and attached below and that will let you know what model Intel chipset your notebook has.

[Vad35]

Thanks for your fast reply!

I already updated the bios, and I think the chipset is the 943 because dual Channel is working and I think 940 doesn't support it but I'll check with your tool later (it's ~2am in my country) thanks a lot !

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

I'm thinking it may have the Intel 910GM chipset with 533MHz front side bus, or it may have a motherboard that only supports the Celeron processors.

There are a couple of motherboard variations from what I can tell.

I'm thinking the best you can do if your notebook does not report the Intel 910GM chipset, would be a Celeron M processor.

[Vad35]

The software you gave me says the same results as the others 😞  Intel 940GML/943GML.

But I really think it's the 943GML because the 940GML doesn't support dual-channel.

Is there some hope to upgrade to a better CPU than a Celeron M? I saw people upgrading to a Core Solo but that's still one core and 32 bits 😞

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

If you do a search on what that chipset series supports, it appears that only single core processors will work.

I'm thinking that only a single core processor with a 533 MHz FSB will work in your notebook.

Products formerly Merom (intel.com)

[Vad35]

Thanks for your reply,

Are you sure? The Wikipedia Intel Chipsets page says that it supports Pentium Dual Core :

And the website you mentionned (overclockers) states that "The T5200 Core 2 Duo, while physically compatible and 533 MHz FSB, doesn't work either (needs intel 943GML or intel 945).", so that the 943gml chipset supports dual core Intel CPUs.

I search on Ebay for potentially compatible CPUs, so I bought an Intel Core Solo T1350 (from China, so it will take till October to be delivered) and an Intel Core 2 Duo T5500 because a lot of posts saif that it was working.

I'll update this post when I try one of them 🙂

Thanks a lot for your time and your help!

(one more thing, I really think my chipset is the 943GML because Intel website states that the 940GML chipset doesn't support dual-channel memory, and it's working on my side)

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Sounds like a plan.

I hope that one of the two processors work for you--would be nice if the dual core T5200 does.

[Vad35]

( mini-update : I tried the Core 2 Duo T7600 from an old iMac and it didn't post 😞, but the fsb isn't the right one, so I still have hope for the Core 2 Duo T5500)

[Paul_Tikkanen]

The reason why the T7600 didn't work is because that has a 667 MHZ FSB and your notebook's chipset can only support a processor with a max FSB of 533 MHz.

The T5500 isn't going to work either because that also has a 667 MHz FSB.

You need a single core processor with a 533 MHz FSB.