Is it possible to upgrade T60 w/T2300E to T7600 ?

NOTE: I HAVE INCLUDED PERTINENT BACKGROUND INFORMATION AT THE TOP OF THIS POST. FOR THOSE WITH ADD, LITTLE PATIENCE, OR SIMPLY LIMITED TIME, I HAVE BOLDED WHERE MY THREE QUESTIONS ARE, AND UNDERLINED THE QUESTIONS THEMSELVES. THANKS !

Pertinent Background Information:
I made the mistake of purchasing a T60 with a T2300E processor.

I am a graduate student in Economics, and I regularly use SAS, Stata, NLOGIT, Maple, and Matlab. I work with data sets that often contain many thousands of observations, and I run statistical models, optimization models, and in general just do a lot mathematical computation.

I've upgraded to 2GB of ram, a 7200rpm hard drive, and whenever possible- I load my datasets on USB 2.0 flash drive and access them from the flash drive.

However, I've also watched the processor usage when I'm multitasking with several programs(say Word, Excel, & a mathematical program or two) and I've noticed that I often max out the processor usage. Moreover, the machine bogs down during heavy duty computation.

I can't afford to just buy a new notebook, and I would like to make this machine faster.

QUESTION 1:
Based on my research- YES, I DID A SEARCH BEFORE I POSTED- a T2300 can be upgraded to a T7600.

Can my Core Duo T2300E also be upgraded to a C2D T7600 ?

QUESTION 2:
One of my professors has a T61p with T7300 C2D, and it has no problems running Matlab, SAS and Excel simultaneously. Indeed, it is far faster that my T2300E, and it doesn't balk or bog down.

I know the T7600 has a 4MB-L2 with 667mhz bus speed, and the T7300 has a 4mb cache with 800mhz bus speed.

So, is the T7600 anywhere near as fast as the T7300 ?

QUESTION 3:
There is an ad in my local paper for an unopened, new-in-box T7200 chipset for $125. Is the difference going to be notable between a T7200 and a T7600, given the way I use my machine, and given that T7600's seem to be $300 or more than a T7200 ?

THANK YOU FOR REPLYING TO MY THREAD, ALL CONSTRUCTIVE ADVICE IS APPRECIATED.

 

umm I don't think so I think you have the older TP 60 board. Your comp was probably made before those chips came out. Please give the FRU # for your system board that is the only way to be sure.

 

I won't be back to where my laptop is for 2 days. Even if I was there, I'd still dread taking the laptop down to find the FRU -

Here is what I can tell you. The laptop was ordered in July and shipped on July 20. It is a 6371-7DU, if that's any help.

 

See Below For Correct Fru

 

I would say your best bet would be to go back through the TABOOKs or HMMs, find your machine, and see what the fastest processor type/speed was offered for that model.

When I pulled up the hardware maintenance manual for your T60, I didn't see your processor (odd) but I did see the 7600 in the list.

However, both are Micro-FCBGA based 65nm processors with the same relative voltage range, so I'm guessing that with the latest BIOS updates and such it would probably work fine.

 

I'll try to remember to ask our onsite Dell guy if he knows if you can go from CD to C2D. I'm pretty sure he swapped some CDs for C2Ds in Dell 620 laptops a while ago (when they first came to market).

 

I apologize for the incorrect information before, the number on the motherboard is 42T0165.

Thank you !

 

You can upgrade you cpu to any socket M core 2 duo cpus, including the T7600. You will need the latest bios from lenovo tho.

But the new socket P Santa Rosa cpus are not gonna be compatible.

Nope, his board is new enough. The Yonah core (T2xxx series) is pin compatible with the older Merom (T7xxx) series. But the # after the 7 has to be an even number (T7200, T7400, T7600) because the odd #s after the 7 means it's a Santa Rosa cpu with a new socket (T7100, 7300, 7500, 7700) and they will not fit.

 

If you were anywhere near me, I'd give you a big, wet smooch.

THANK YOU
THANK YOU
THANK YOU

 

I don't kiss charger drivers

If you had a GTO, now that would be a different story.