Upgrade AMD Athlon 1800+ (Socket A) In Compaq Presario 900 Laptop

[EchoLynx]

Since it was released, I have had a Presario 900 (915US to be exact) with an AMD Athlon 1800+ processor. I just finished putting it back together after cleaning, and now have the interest in replacing this Socket A processor with something faster. I am, however, concerned about installing a processor that generates more heat than the heatsink in my laptop was designed to handle. Also, I am not certain the motherboard will support a newer chip, as the repair manual lists this as the fastest chip this series shipped with.

What would you recommend?
  -  Don't even try! You'll melt something!
  -  You can try, but it probably wont work.
  -  Go for it!

[computeruler]

I cant find anything faster

[soybean]

Also, I am not certain the motherboard will support a newer chip, as the repair manual lists this as the fastest chip this series shipped with.

That seems to be a rather clear indication this is a bad idea.  Are you sure it's even replaceable?  Some laptops have nonreplaceable, soldered-in CPUs.

[patio]

Waste of time and money...

{unqualified opinion}

[soybean]

How much RAM does it have?  Will it support more?  If so, that's most likely your best, if not only, upgrade option.

[EchoLynx]

Is the CPU even upgradeable?

Yes. I took it apart to clean it and it has a ZIF socket directly beneath the keyboard, under a heatsink. The fact it's not soldered in makes me think it's worth a try upgrading it.

The only concerns I would have when upgrading would be overheating and motherboard/BIOS compatibility, correct? Theoretically, if the CPU supports the same socket, it's compatible. AMD is known for keeping sockets a long time for this purpose. (As far I know.) The 1800+ was the best they had when I bought this computer... so an upgrade for the same socket should work- right?

Does it support a RAM upgrade?

Yes. It shipped with 512MB of RAM, and is upgradeable to 1.0GB. (Keep in mind that a floppy drive was an option in this series.) I plan on upgrading the RAM, but I wanted to see if I could order both more RAM and a faster CPU.

[computeruler]

Go ahead and upgrade the ram but like I said I searched but couldnt find a faster cpu

[EchoLynx]

I can find a faster CPU, and so can many others.

http://forums.devshed.com/cpus-104/fastest-socket-a-processor-315562.html

And they seem to be around the same thermal rating...

[computeruler]

I think those are desktops though not laptops

[EchoLynx]

It is still the same socket, so there shouldn't be a problem as long as the chip doesn't exceed the power supply capabilities of the machine.