Upgrading Processor for Sony Vaio Laptop

[Kawika21]

I am attempting to purchase a processor for my laptop (Sony Vaio) Model Number VGN-FZ285U. My current processor is an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU 2.16 GHz. My current processor is going bad since I now have been only able to boot to "safe mode" and have vertical red lines on screen in this mode. I have already spoken with Intel which in turn referred me to Sony which in turn referred me to Best Buy which in turn referred me to the GeeK Squad which did give me the Socket info for my processor -LGA775.

My Question is : Can I upgrade from this to a Core 2 Quad on my computer?

I have 64 bit motherboard/64bit OS of Windows 7 Home Premium

 

[k1114]

https://docs.sony.com/release/specs/VGNFZ285UB_mksp.pdf Just making sure but are these the correct specs? This says the cpu is 2.2ghz so am wondering if maybe you have the wrong model number.

Well this shows how competent geek squad is but lga775 is a desktop socket. Core 2 duo laptop cpus used socket m or socket p. You can easily just look up your cpu and intel lists the socket. http://ark.intel.com/products/29761/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-T7500-4M-Cache-2_20-GHz-800-MHz-FSB This has 2 different versions but in your case it's pga478. It's actually called socket p to not confuse it with socket 478 which is a desktop socket. The other listed is bga which is soldered so isn't removable and you can just google your laptop replacement mobo and see that the picture is pga.

Sony should not have sent you to best buy unless they said to get a new laptop. There are a couple reasons to not suggest a cpu upgrade. The heatsink that it has was only meant for the heat of that cpu, not more and the power brick is only enough power for that cpu. Laptop cpus are only sold to oems so the only place to get them is 2nd hand places like ebay. The mobo's cpu support list is not easy to come by and even sony may not give it to you. You should ask them for it though because even if a cpu is the same socket, it may not be compatible with the mobo bios.

 

[Kawika21]

https://docs.sony.com/release/specs/VGNFZ285UB_mksp.pdf Just making sure but are these the correct specs? This says the cpu is 2.2ghz so am wondering if maybe you have the wrong model number.

Well this shows how competent geek squad is but lga775 is a desktop socket. You can easily just look up your cpu and intel lists the socket. http://ark.intel.com/products/29761/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-T7500-4M-Cache-2_20-GHz-800-MHz-FSB This has 2 different versions but in your case it's pga478. Bga is soldered so isn't removable and you can just google your laptop replacement mobo and see that the picture is pga.

Sony should not have sent you to best buy unless they said to get a new laptop. There are a couple reasons to not suggest a cpu upgrade. The heatsink that it has was only meant for the heat of that cpu, not more and the power brick is only enough power for that cpu. Laptop cpus are only sold to oems so the only place to get them is 2nd hand places like ebay. The mobo's cpu support list is not easy to come by and even sony may not give it to you. You should ask them for it though because even if a cpu is the same socket, it may not be compatible with the mobo bios.

Thanks for fast reply. You are correct, it is 2.2ghz. Right model number wrong speed. I wrote down wrong numbers. So I guess my best bet other than buying a new computer is just find a replacement Processor and forgo the idea of upgrading. I will contact Sony again and ask them for mobo cpu support list.

Thanks for your help.

K.

 

[k1114]

I also have concerns that the cpu is not the issue. The vertical red lines in safe mode would be caused by a gpu issue. Pretty much everything else is more likely to die than a cpu. In this case you'd have to get a new mobo which can be pricey. It might be better to just get a new laptop.

 

[Obnoxious]

Your laptop is not on socket 775 as we have already determined; your laptop actually utilises socket P. If we knew your chipset we could determine the compatible CPUs, regardless I'm going to assume your FSB is limited to 800MHz. You can correct me by providing the name of your chipset, which you can find out by downloading CPU-Z and viewing the "Mainboard" tab.

If we are to assume your FSB is limited to 800MHz, then your laptop cannot support Core 2 Quad processors. You are limited to Core 2 Duo's, Pentium's and Celeron's; the latter two would be a downgrade from your existing CPU. If you want more information on processor support, please reply back with your chipset.

Regardless of what has been said, we cannot conclude that the CPU is causing the issues which you are occurring with your laptop; hence upgrading your CPU would be of no purpose. This is most likely a motherboard or graphics/GPU fault. If the fault is with the GPU, perhaps that could result in an easy replacement as your laptop has a dedicated GPU (according to the manual); it could be as easy as replacing an MXM card.

Of course I'm not too sure on what the fault is, however as mentioned I do doubt it's your CPU.

All the best.

 

[Kawika21]

I also have concerns that the cpu is not the issue. The vertical red lines in safe mode would be caused by a gpu issue. Pretty much everything else is more likely to die than a cpu. In this case you'd have to get a new mobo which can be pricey. It might be better to just get a new laptop.

Well if it's the GPU then I'm screwed as the GPU is soldered to mobo.

Thanks.

K.

 

[Kawika21]

Your laptop is not on socket 775 as we have already determined; your laptop actually utilises socket P. If we knew your chipset we could determine the compatible CPUs, regardless I'm going to assume your FSB is limited to 800MHz. You can correct me by providing the name of your chipset, which you can find out by downloading CPU-Z and viewing the "Mainboard" tab.

If we are to assume your FSB is limited to 800MHz, then your laptop cannot support Core 2 Quad processors. You are limited to Core 2 Duo's, Pentium's and Celeron's; the latter two would be a downgrade from your existing CPU. If you want more information on processor support, please reply back with your chipset.

Regardless of what has been said, we cannot conclude that the CPU is causing the issues which you are occurring with your laptop; hence upgrading your CPU would be of no purpose. This is most likely a motherboard or graphics/GPU fault. If the fault is with the GPU, perhaps that could result in an easy replacement as your laptop has a dedicated GPU (according to the manual); it could be as easy as replacing an MXM card.

Of course I'm not too sure on what the fault is, however as mentioned I do doubt it's your CPU.

All the best.

I downloaded CUPID and got an error when loading it but still loaded and went to "Mainboard" tab and chipset is empty. Saved Log.