Computers & Networking

[lilllllj]

Right now on my laptop I have a AMD Turion 1.90 GHz. Can I get this upgraded and how much will it cost?

[hockeycanuckjc Trusted Contributor]

If its a dual core , keep in mind that the 2 cores actually double the 1.9ghz speed.

[Entropy]

In theory yes.  It's a lot harder in laptops, as sometimes it's less clear which version of a processor will fit in a given unit.  (For example, Intel processors had Socket P and Socket M).

For the AMD Turion series, I can only find the Turion 64 MT32 and MT34, and the Turion 64 X2 TL-56 at my usual source for CPUs.  They are all clocked at 1.8 GHz, the difference between the MT32 and MT34 is cache size, and the TL-56 is a dual core unit (despite a lower clock speed, a significant upgrade for most applications, but might require a different socket than your Turion.)  They run from $160-170 from that vendor.

I just noticed that the single core versions are "Socket 754" and the dual core is "Socket S1" so there definately seems to be a compatibility barrier, although just like Intel processors my guess is that there is some bridging with both single core and dual core variants being available for each socket if you look hard enough.  You would have to find out exactly which socket type your laptop has.

Best Buy will definately not sell mobile CPU upgrades.

[lilllllj]

 Well mines the TL-58 dual core 64 x2. I recently got mirrors edge and really noticed how slow my laptop is (I only gte like 2 fps on ME and about 8 on WoW.) Not only gaming but Photoshop, Flash and Fruity Loops have alot of trouble working properly AND getting decent quality. Any major suggestions because i do everything on my laptop so the better the processor the better off I am.

[BBBob]

Sounds more like a graphic card problem. Or should I say lack of one. Graphic cards are not on low to mid priced laptops. They are built on to the motherboard and are very limited for playing games. If you are going to play some heavy duty games you will need a laptop that comes with a good graphic card. It is almost impossible to upgrade a laptop because of space, PSU, MOBO limitations, etc....

Bob

[lilllllj]

My graphics card meets all requirements but im lacking .6 GHz of processing

[Entropy]

You sure?

I'm fairly certain a 1.8 GHz dual core Turion is more than enough for WoW.  (I need to read the system requirements).  Back before the release of the Core 2 series of CPUs, some games would just say "2.4 GHz processor", assuming a single-core Pentium 4.  Well, the P4 was awful in terms of performance per clock cycle - a single-core AMD CPU could typically perform as well as a single-core P4 at 1.5 times the clock speed.

In fact, when detail settings are dropped down a bit, WoW gets more than 8 FPS even on my Acer Aspire One - 1.6 GHz Intel Atom + Intel GMA950.  My GF's machine does even better and it's only got a 1.6-1.8 GHz single core Pentium-M, but it has a (nice for its time) discrete ATI graphics chipset.

What graphics chipset does your machine have?