Core2Duo T9300 vs T9400

[tumbleweed_biff]

Yeah, I know, its an oldie. But the laptop still works and does what it needs to do.

The question I have is regarding an upgrade. I know the laptop will support the T9300 and T9500 processors. Would it not also support the T9400?

The only difference I can determine is that the T9300/T9500 have the 800M/Ts FSB while the T9400 has an FSB of 1066. My understanding is that Socket P processors are able to throttle the FSB so that it wouldn't seem like there would be a problem. Any insights would be greatly appreciated. You may wonder why I would even quibble but the difference is that the T9400 is available for right around $20 while the T9300 runs $35+ and the T9500 runs for $60+ ...

TIA

 

[rgd1101]

you need to check the chipset, some of the older one only support up to 800 fsb. And if the manufacturer tell you it not supported, it probably not.

 

[tumbleweed_biff]

I am assuming that the chipset is only good for the 800FSB. My question is whether the T9400 will clock down to the 800FSB, or if there is some other incompatibility.

Mfgs commonly list the compatible processors available at the time of production without adding official support for processors release later. So while it may not be officially supported by Dell, I am trying to find out if there is some reason why it wouldn't work.

 

[Obnoxious]

Purchase the T9300, do not bother with T9500 or 1066 bus speed CPU's. If your current chipset is GL40 or another similar chipset, 1066 bus speed CPU's will not boot at all.

You must adhere to CPU's with a bus speed of 800MHz. With that said, even if your motherboard states it's not compatible, you can accept any CPU on socket P with a bus speed of 800MHz. You can accept 1066 CPU's if you apply the BSEL mod, which will down clock to 800MHz; but seriously, just stick to the T9300. If the T9400 is down clocked, the T9300 will perform better at 800MHz.

I upgraded my father's laptop to a T9300, installed 4GB RAM and a SSD. To be honest, the best gain was by installing a SSD.

Use Google or look around more, I've answered many questions similar to yours and have assisted many on socket P.

All the best.

 

[tumbleweed_biff]

Purchase the T9300, ... All the best.

Thank you for your reply. To be clear, I wasn't looking at the performance difference between any of them, just the cost with the T9300 and T9500 costing a fair bit more than the T9400. I was hoping I could get away with the cheaper option.

Your response answered my question so thank you. As far as searching for answers before posting, I am usually very good at that but in this case, I didn't know how to search and get appropriate results, there was simply too much chaff to wade through.

Thanks heaps,