Upgrading CPU in the G74SX

[Zygomorphic]

I got the G74 cheap enough...upgrading it is worth it. I like to tinker with my laptops.

Plus stayign with a 45watt cpu, better thermal paste and 180 power supply will be more than sufficient

Should be, the key is that TDP is not only Thermal Design Power, but also Thermal Dissipative Power if you apply it to the cooling system. That's why Apple's overheat, they have a 45 Watt CPU in a 35 Watt TDP cooling system (if that much).

[emptythought]

and see this post: http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread...ll=1#post77777

for a link to compatble 180W unit that will work fine with the G74, and run cooler. Getting a 230W is complete overkill, since even upgrading to the i7 2860QM from a 2670QM will only increase the power draw by (3.6GHZ-3.1GHZ)/3.1GHZ = 16%, up to a maximum of 45W. So even in the worst case (i.e. ASUS cut corners and the 150W PSU that comes with the G74 can only handle a 2670QM), going to a 180W is more than enough extra power for the fastest 45W TDP processor that the G74 can take.

Sadly, the link within that thread to the 180w PSU is dead i actually destroyed the plug on my 150w unit today(i was attempting to extract a piece of an old pin embedded inside of the plug) and probably would have just ordered it.

to add on to this though, there are other things within the system that would cause a 55w EE cpu to run at minimum speed. remember the BD PROCHOT throttling issues? this would come back to that subsystem.

basically, the VRMs that supply power to the cpu, and the internal power supply within the machine that coverts 19.5 to the various internal voltages are *both* not designed for more than around 150 watts for the entire system. you have 73-75w max for the GPU, and 45w max for the CPU + the bits and bobs of the system. if you have two hard drives, a DVD in the optical drive, and you're playing a demanding game you're probably at the absolute limit of what it was designed to do. this is basically the difference between the beginning of the red demarcation on a cars tachometer, and the actual redline at which the control systems would cut fuel to decrease RPMs

so at 2.5ghz an extreme edition CPU is drawing 45ish watts. even if it's drawing 30, it goes and *requests* more current from the northbridge/interconnect(i know they killed the NB name with the QPI bus, but whatever the hell they call it now) and it says it's already at the maximum state it can step up to.

you could connect a 400 watt power supply to the machine and it would never run a 55cpu at anything but the absolute minimum speed. i'm honestly amazed it even ran at the full non-turbo speed, i'd expect to see it running at 1200mhz or something.

this stuff, by the way, is the same reason that it was incredibly stupid when people were trying to put 470m's and other 100w or otherwise greater than 75 watt cards in the g73jh/jw/etc.

your best bet would be to either get the highest model of non-extreme edition CPU, or even the highest non extreme ivy bridge CPU which uses the same socket. most checks show that out performs the extreme edition anyways.

as an addendum on my comment about the power supply not mattering though, the stock machine does push the PSU to the limit. there is a point to upgrading to the 180w model if you can find it, the main point of this comment is that it won't give you any headroom to run hardware beyond the stock ratings within the machine. it will simply cause the power supply to last longer and run at lower temperatures.

and thinking back on it, when both me and my roommate had g73jh's a few years ago one of our power supplies died a fairly quick death from being hot as the sun. on completely stock machines. i think i was running dirt 3 or something that absolutely taxed the machine to the limit when it died. as i've mentioned before, the notebookcheck reviews show that sometimes the machine can draw slightly more than 150w from the brick.

[Zygomorphic]

@emptythought, do the Ivy Bridge CPUs use the same socket? If so, then the upgrade would make more sense - if the BIOS supports it. I don't know the answer to those questions, but I thought that I should throw them out there as a consideration.

Like you said, the 180W brick helps when the stock system is overloading the PSU, not when the internal system is overloaded. The internal power distributors are designed for the TDP of the stock parts, not extra.

[emptythought]

Yes, they're both PGA988. it's very similar to how desktop sandy bridge boards can support ivy bridge chips in the lga1155 socket.

the bios supporting it is up in the air, however many desktop boards didn't require an update. the updates were generally for the support of 1600mhz ram anyways...

if i ever have a damaged ivy bridge machine with a socketed CPU laying around i'll definitely try popping it in my g53sw and seeing what happens. i want to say it would work, and at most not support the higher ram speed though.

it's definitely your only option for getting extreme edition performance with turbo on a sandy bridge G73/53/74 series laptop though.

[evga]

sorry! it wont work even through the socket fits it because ivy-e bridge and sandy bridge uses different type of instructions sets , dont waste your time and money , best choice is i7 2960xm .

[fostert]

sorry! it wont work even through the socket fits it because ivy-e bridge and sandy bridge uses different type of instructions sets , dont waste your time and money , best choice is i7 2960xm .

As we've been discussing in this thread, the 2960xm is definitely *not* the best choice for upgrading any G-series laptop, and is rather a waste of $$ considering how much it will throttle and downclock due to overtaxing the coopling system. "Best choice" is a 45W TDP processor, like a 2820 or 2860qm.

[evga]

but if you change the cooler fan and get a i7 2960xm for cheap then its worth it.

[Zygomorphic]

sorry! it wont work even through the socket fits it because ivy-e bridge and sandy bridge uses different type of instructions sets , dont waste your time and money , best choice is i7 2960xm .

Actually, the best choice is a 2860QM, which is the fastest non-extreme-edition chip available. Here are the specs according to Intel:
http://ark.intel.com/products/53476/...up-to-3_60-GHz

[fostert]

but if you change the cooler fan and get a i7 2960xm for cheap then its worth it.

It is not "worth it". I don't know about the feasibility of changing the fans in the G74, but due to the constrained space in a laptop I doubt its an off-the-shelf component and that a new aftermarket one would do any better. That means I doubt you could hold the CPU cool enough to allow it to ever turbo above 2.7GHZ, let alone get the extra 0.1 GHZ above the 2860QM's maximum turbo clock. Plus, consider the VRMs (mosfets) on the mainboard, which dissipate power stepping down the DCV from the power supply to the ~1.5 volts the CPU requires. By sticking in a 55w TDP cpu, you are effectively overclocking your mainboards power delivery system by ~25%. They will get very hot, believe me, and you will simply shorten the lifespan of your conponents (and hence you whole system) by forcing them to run hotter. All of this for an extra 0.1GHz?

And, if you could get a 2960 at a magic price, then imagine what magic price you could find for a 2860, which is about 1/2 Intel's Recommended Customer Price (Tray)!