Step 4: CPU (software)
That's right- software for your cpu.
The stock T5250 cpu has another nifty, little-known characteristic. If we take advantage of it, we can make our laptops run cooler and gain battery life! This cpu was used in a lot of notebooks, being one of the most 'budget' cpu's for the Socket-P design.
Old-school overclockers will understand over-volting. Basically, you're running a cpu on more voltage that it is designed for. This increases heat, uses more power, and shortens the life of the chip. Why do it? To get things running faster- to burn the candle on both ends, so to speak. It's a combination of getting the most for your money, and a plain geek-rep do-it-for-the-sake-of-doing-it challenge. It's almost never a wise idea for laptops... or your warranty.
The opposite concept is under-volting. The idea is that all cpu's do not require the full manufacture voltage to run. Lowering the voltage creates less heat, uses less power, and (if anything) extends the life of the chip! What's the down side? On most cpu's, if you lower the voltage too much it will cause instability (read, BSOD).
But here's where our little "budget" chipset really shines.
Using Right Mark CPU Clock Utility, you can lower the voltage as far down as it will go. Instead of a deafult 1.25v, our T5250 cpu can be run at a mere 0.95v! Doing so decreased my cpu temps by more than 10C, and increased my battery life by 15-20 minutes. Get the walkthrough on the changes here; for any other cpu, follow the instructions exactly. Only the T5250 has been proven to usually be 100% stable at the lowest voltage settings. Just to be safe, I have mine set as shown in the picture (slightly higher per each multi), though I ran for a solid week at the minimum voltage with no problems. If you notice any instability under high load, simply bump the higher multipliers up a notch or two.
The stock T5250 cpu has another nifty, little-known characteristic. If we take advantage of it, we can make our laptops run cooler and gain battery life! This cpu was used in a lot of notebooks, being one of the most 'budget' cpu's for the Socket-P design.
Old-school overclockers will understand over-volting. Basically, you're running a cpu on more voltage that it is designed for. This increases heat, uses more power, and shortens the life of the chip. Why do it? To get things running faster- to burn the candle on both ends, so to speak. It's a combination of getting the most for your money, and a plain geek-rep do-it-for-the-sake-of-doing-it challenge. It's almost never a wise idea for laptops... or your warranty.
The opposite concept is under-volting. The idea is that all cpu's do not require the full manufacture voltage to run. Lowering the voltage creates less heat, uses less power, and (if anything) extends the life of the chip! What's the down side? On most cpu's, if you lower the voltage too much it will cause instability (read, BSOD).
But here's where our little "budget" chipset really shines.
Using Right Mark CPU Clock Utility, you can lower the voltage as far down as it will go. Instead of a deafult 1.25v, our T5250 cpu can be run at a mere 0.95v! Doing so decreased my cpu temps by more than 10C, and increased my battery life by 15-20 minutes. Get the walkthrough on the changes here; for any other cpu, follow the instructions exactly. Only the T5250 has been proven to usually be 100% stable at the lowest voltage settings. Just to be safe, I have mine set as shown in the picture (slightly higher per each multi), though I ran for a solid week at the minimum voltage with no problems. If you notice any instability under high load, simply bump the higher multipliers up a notch or two.
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Also I am thinking about putting Windows 7 on my Acer 5620 as I can for free, do you recommend doing so?