G61-110SA CPU upgrade

[buddyarrows]

As a pc engineer I tried to upgrade my wifes aging HP G61 laptop with a better speck processor. It was fitted new with an Intel pentium T4300 2.1 Ghz CPU socket P 487. I Tried changing it to a P8600 but the Laptop refused to boot?

I have done several CPU upgrades on laptops (with similar socket P CPUs) and they all worked fine. Even the last one I did on a Dell Inspiron was a breez.

This is the first HP Laptop that I have attempted.

Has anyone else had the same problem or can advise please.

Thanks

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

Well the first thing to get is the Manual:

Manual

See the list of motherboards on page 3-4. Your laptop is a GL40 chipset which is designed for the Pentium Dual and Celeron processors and then the GM45 is for Core 2 Duos. The P8600 would not be compatible with the GM45 board, but a P8700 would. The GL40 board is not fully compatible with all the features of a Core 2 Duo.

If this is "the Answer" please click "Accept as Solution" to help others find it. 

[buddyarrows]

Many Thanks,

and the link for the manual that I had difficulty finding.

That explains a lot.

[REO51ST]

@buddyarrows

Since you have upgraded other laptops this site may help you in the future.

http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/CPUs/Intel/Pentium_Dual-Core_Mobile/T4300.html

Sometimes there are other options that are not listed in the manuals.

1st Pay close attention to the Stepping make sure you match it.

If not the computability % goes down.

2nd Pay attention to the Wattage.

A higher Wattage means the CPU will run hotter.

I have had to upgrade heatsinks to compensate for the higher temps.

Try to not use different core architecture you will have problems with the BIOS Micro code. (Yours is Penryn core.)

Hope this helps for the future.

REO

[buddyarrows]

Thanks and yes I know the wattage is important so not to cause overheating. The stepping needs close attention too.

Many thanks for the Link.