Processor also known as CPU
A processor also known as CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the brain of a laptop computer. The processor is one of the main components in a laptop. Laptop processors are made mainly by Intel and AMD.
The processor connects directly to the system board via a processor socket aka CPU socket as it shown on the picture below.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
Question: Can I overclock the CPU in my laptop?
Answer: No, you cannot. In most laptops the BIOS doesn’t give you this option.
Question: Can I upgrade the CPU in my laptop?
Answer: Unfortunately, laptop manufacturer’s do not provide this information to general public. Yes, it’s possible on some laptops. You’ll have to find a new CPU which fits the same socket and try it.
Question: Are CPU failures very common?
Answer: No, they are not. CPUs fail rarely. If your laptop stopped booting, the CPU will be the last component to blame. Check the memory and motherboard first.
January 2nd, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Why would you upgrade processor? Its too expensive.
Max memory and install faster hard drive.
January 2nd, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Anon,
Of course, upgrading from Pentium 2.0GHz to Pentium 2.2GHz doesn’t make a lot of sense. But what if it’s possible to upgrade your Celeron CPU to a Pentium CPU and boost the laptop performance?
I agree with you on upgrading the hard drive and memory. Max these components first and then think about upgrading the CPU.
January 3rd, 2009 at 3:34 pm
hi all!
i want to cleaning my laptop and replace thermal paste. what is good paste for laptops?
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:04 pm
neil,
I know that many people like Arctic Silver thermal compound. Google it and you’ll find it.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
Fixing an old Sony laptop for my friend. The laptop shuts down while running multiple programs. I know that laptop overheats and would like to replace thermal paste but I cannot remove the heat sink.
I even purchased a service manual and doing everything right. I loosened all screws on the heat sink but still cannot separate it from the processor. Should I remove it with some force?
Thank you, Serge B.
January 13th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Serge Belov,
Most likely the old thermal compound has dried out and glued the processor to the heat sink. In some cases you’ll have to apply some force in order to separate the heat sink from the processor. When you do that, the CPU might come out attached to the heat sink.
If that’s the case do the following:
1. Very carefully separate the processor from the heat sink with a flat head screwdriver.
2. Unlock the processor socket on the motherboard, insert the processor and lock it in.
3. Now, when the processor is installed back into the socket and secured, you can remove the old thermal compound.
January 17th, 2009 at 12:28 am
[...] board, processor (CPU) and LCD screen are the most expensive parts in any laptop. In some cases, when one of these [...]
February 3rd, 2009 at 8:42 am
Do you know a good thermal grease for laptops? What is a good reliable brand I should buy?
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Russel R,
I’m work mostly with warranty laptops and use thermal grease supplied by the manufacturer but I know that many people prefer Arctic Silver thermal compound.
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Hi, I have a bad Fujitsu laptop that has a motherboard. From what I’ve read here, I understand that fixing a motherboard would be very costly and not worth it. So I’m wondering if I could sell some parts from my laptop. Would be able to separate and sell the processor etc?
March 4th, 2009 at 10:26 pm
Leo,
Sure, you can sell many different parts from your laptop. You should be able to sell at least the following most common and requested parts: keyboard, memory modules, CD/DVD drive, LCD screen, screen inverter.
Most likely you can separate the processor. It depends on the model of your laptops.
April 28th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
excuse me, i just want to ask if what is the most expensive parts of laptopo. bcoz my auntie’s laptop was damage. she said one of its part has been broken.i just want to know if u have an idea if what it is. and my pictures and important documnets were saved ion her laptop. is there any way to get the pics even it is damage? is there any part to be removed in order to get my pics and docs again. my aunt said that part tht has been damege cost 20,000 pesos. may i know what is that part. .coz i really need those pics. please help me. Tnx and God Bless!!romanuel111@yahoo.com is my email add. .thats all tnx.
April 28th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
rojen salino,
The most expensive parts in a laptop are the motherboard and LCD screen.
You can recover your documents from the hard drive using an external USB eclosure.
1. You remove the hard drive and I assume it’s not damaged.
2. You install this hard drive into an external USB enclosure.
3. You connect this USB enclosure to another working computer.
4. When the drive appears in My Computer, you access the drive and back up all personal files.
Check out this post which explains how to access files using an external USB enclosure.
July 27th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Is there a “parts number catalog” of each notebook model?
I am trying to produce panel-pc’s using notebook parts, but the parts suppliers seems to don’t have this information.
September 26th, 2009 at 5:02 am
hi i have a toshiba satellite p100-160
it starts up after 2-3 min stays on for 15 to 20 min.
i have put now mem init now hard drive i can not find the them cut out to see if its that can you help please thx
September 26th, 2009 at 11:27 am
arty,
I would try to help you if I can understand what’s going on. Can you provide a better, more detailed explanation of your problem?
November 18th, 2009 at 8:23 am
hi repair man :
i got one toshiba with one processor 1.8ghz can i change for one bigger??
November 18th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
paulopopas,
Most likely yes, if there is one that fits the CPU socket.
November 26th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Hey. I was thinking of upgrading my processor in my Laptop, a Toshiba A305-S6905. It has intel cor 2 duo t6400 (2.0, etc) and was wondering if replacing it to the intel core 2 quad Q9000 (2.0 etc..) on the intel site, its the same socket. I think it would make a difference, do you?
Also, the laptop has 4gb of ram, may bring to 8 later, and runs win 7 64bit (yes, its a 64 bit system even though it came with 32 bit Vista)
November 28th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Steve,
To be honest, I don’t know if you will see any improvement in the laptop performance after this expensive upgrade. I’m working on 3-5 year old laptops and they work just fine for me.
You can boots the laptop performance if you upgrade from a 5400RPM hard drive to a 7200RPM hard drive and you’ll see the difference after that.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:58 pm
In repsonse to Repair Man, Now after that upgrade to the harddrive (which I do notice a difference, by the way, Thanks), would that 4gb of additional ram be worth it? considering laptops have standard of 2 slots, and so far 2 2gb sticks are in, Would replacing them with 2 4gb sticks be worth it or not? and I’v checked with Everest software and it says that they can handle 8 gigs.
it has DDR2-800 in it (a corsair and a Samsung(came with))
Everest says these are supported memory types. DDR2-667 SDRAM, DDR2-800 SDRAM, DDR3-667 SDRAM, DDR3-800 SDRAM, DDR3-1066 SDRAM
any suggestions? or should I just leave it be.
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Steve,
Yes, if the laptop can handle 8GB. I would go for it.
There shouldn’t be any problem with the OS because you are running a 64-bit OS.
March 12th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
my laptop doesn’t beep and no display on the lcd. could this be a processor problem, or is the mother board fried?