How to Upgrade a Notebook - Before You Begin
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CPU
CPUs aren't as tricky as you may think. A notebook CPU is very similar to its desktop counterpart. Mobile CPUs tend to clock slower, use a lot less power and put out less heat. The only thing to really worry about is to make sure it is supported by the chipset, and that a BIOS is available for it.
If the manufacturer sells the same model notebook with a higher CPU, it will more than likely work without problems. I would like to point out one thing as you pick out your new CPU: Pentium 4 Mobile is not the same as the Pentium Mobile! This will certainly not work no matter what you try, so don't try it.
Finding mobile processors will be harder than finding desktop CPUs. You can check out your local computer store, online retail stores or even eBay. From my experience online and brick and mortar stores will charge you insane prices for a processor. The best place to check is eBay; stick with very reputable users. I have seen CPUs that sell in stores for $200 go for as little as $40.
Memory
Picking out memory is fairly easy. All you need to do is check to see whether you need DDR or DDR2, as you would for a desktop, right? Well, yes, except you're looking for SO-DIMM memory. Both DDR and DDR2 use SO-DIMM, so picking out the notebook from the desktop shouldn't be that hard. This memory is competitively priced at online stores such as Newegg.
Today we will take a look at the Gateway 6000 series. The specific notebook model we'll use for our demonstration is the 6020GZ. It contains 512 MB RAM and a Celeron CPU. While this is usable, it isn't going to be very fast, and our goal today is to speed this fellow up some.
An important step you should take first is to see if there are any BIOS updates for your computer. Check your manufacturer's site for details. If you are installing a new CPU, the update may be required for the BIOS to work with the new CPU. If you realize this after the upgrade, you will need to reinstall the old CPU, flash it, and then redo everything. While looking at the Gateway site, I noticed that they have provided a useful PDF of many upgrades for this computer with pictures. This how-to will go over some that aren't given in the document.
The good thing about this computer is that it is very simple to get into. Other notebooks won't be so easy. I suggest reading the user's manual and any other documents on the manufacturer's site about the guts of the computer first.
Next: Changing the Memory >>
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