Would it be possible to put a Newark MOBILE (ie Laptop) Athlon64 processor in as an upgrade of my Sempron DESKTOP processor? They are both socket754, 90nm, and run 62W, the only difference I see on the specs is that the core Voltage in the Laptop line is 1.35V versus 1.40V for desktop. Would my motherboard run it at 1.40V, and what would that do to a processor designed around 1.35V? Motherboard: VIA K8M800 chipset/(FIC K8MC51G motherboard?)

Do you already have the CPU or are you buying it? It would help to list the model numbers of the CPUs you're asking about.

The problem with the mobile Newark is that it doesn't have a heatspreader, therefore the core is exposed. Without the heatspreader, many heatsinks won't fit properly & the CPU will overheat. And without the heatspreader protecting the core, it's very possible to crack the CPU while installing a heatsink. The voltage difference (1.35v vs 1.40v) is a minor issue & nothing to worry about. But what I just explained about the heatsink is major.

Here's an A64 3200+ Venice for $28:

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?in...

"And that's the fishing line, because Sharkboy said so!"

I ran into the heat spreader problem when I was building a Pentium M-based system around a 479 mobo that took standard P4 heatsinks.

However, I got around the problem by prying off an old P4's heat spreader and supergluing it to the Pentium M substrate. At that point, the P-M looked exactly like a P4 chip, and the 478 heatsink snapped right into place. Temps were very low as well--around 33C under load.

So, if you're sure you won't be needing the Sempron anymore, you could just pry off its heat spreader and glue it to the A64-M substrate. I'll admit that it sounds a little Red Greenish, but it's surprisingly easy to do, and works very well.

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Thanks to all for the info. Yeah...duh, sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees when you'e just looking at specs! Forgot about the heat sink issue...I don't know if I'd feel comfortable with that much of a chip mod, unless it was cheap in case I damaged it. Just looking for a way to get a significant enough upgrade to make it worth it...otherwise just wait and go for whole new AM2 based system. Thanks for helping out a newbie!