T7400 bottleneck

[slugger_2003]

Would the T7400 be a major bottleneck for my laptop? The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 9400 2GB RAM, 7900GS 256MB...which is the biggest bottleneck for games? Everything runs fine for me except games which aren't quite as smooth as I would like them to be.

 

[rflcptr]

THE bottleneck will occur at the GPU. What processor do you have currently?

 

[slugger_2003]

I currently have the T7400. Guys as my work told me today that it's not possible to change my CPU or G/card....oh bum!

 

[rflcptr]

Yeah, the GPU is your limiting factor. I don't recommend overclocking the card because it is cooled by a single heat pipe as opposed to (what it should have been) the dual heat pipe of the 7950GTX in the M1710. They have the same chassis, but Dell, I suppose, wanted to cut a corner or two.

Just a few defectives, eh?

Annnd no, on the 9400 (Europe) /E1705 (US) [really the same damn thing]:

-You can change the video card. It's expensive, but the component is modular. If, of course, you started with a discrete component to begin with. Finding a new one, that isn't already burnt out, is the trickiest part here.
-You can change the CPU. The chassis isn't exactly the most convenient for changing it, but it can be done. Do note, though, that the highest CPU you can use is the T7600, a mere "1 step" up from the 2.16GHz clock you have to the 2.33GHz clock the former is. The performance increase will be negligible, especially in games.

(please tell your dudes that I bought the E1705 originally, upgraded the CPU later, recased the entire thing in the black XPS one after growing tired of the color scheme, but not before noticing how all the components came together [my first laptop, so I was really curious!])