Questions about Acer 2920Z upgrade

[rosco27]

I have an old Acer 2920Z featuring:
- Intel Core Duo T2370, 1.73 GHz, FSB 533 MHz, mult. 13x, volt. 1.075-1.175, TDP 35W, socket P
- ram 1 GB DDR2 PC2-5300 (333 MHz)
- motherboard "Calado", chipset Intel GL960 according to official specs, but Mobile Intel 965 Express according to CPU-Z
- bios Phoenix Technologies v.1.08
- hard disk Toshiba 160 GB, 5400 rpm, sata 1
- Windows XP Home

I'd like to replace the hdd with a ssd and the cpu with a more powerful one. My questions:
1) since the bios does not allow to change any parameters like FSB, multiplier, voltage, etc. I suppose I necessarily must use a cpu with 13x multiplier or am I wrong? e.g. T3400 or T7800 or T9600. The latters are Core 2 Duo, can they work on my mainboard?
2) is there a way to "unlock" my bios, letting me modify the values of FSB, multiplier, etc.?
3) can I install more than 2 GB of ram? support.acer.com says max ram allowed is 2 GB, but what happen if I put 3 or 4 GB?
4) do you think Windows 7 64 bit is too heavy to run on this machine, even if upgraded, or Windows XP (32 or 64 bit) is still the better choice?

Thanks for any help.

 

[rene13cross]

Wait, is this a laptop? If yes, then you'll have a heck of a time trying to upgrade the CPU. You could upgrade the RAM and HDD easily enough but at this stage you might nearly be better off getting a new laptop altogether.

RE your questions:
1) Depending on the manufacturer, the BIOS might only be coded to use that specific CPU. Even if you do manage to swap out the CPU with a better one, it'll probably not even be recognised by the BIOS.
2) No. Definitely not an easy way anyways.
3) No. The BIOS will use max 2GB only.
4) The laptop was built for Win XP 32 bit so you'll be better off with that tbh. Windows 7 is great but doesn't do great on really low end hardware. Something like Linux Mint will give you a nice boost though if you're interested in Linux.

 

[rosco27]

Many thanks for your fast reply.
It is a laptop, an old one, but it still works great. Yes, I think i can replace the ram and hdd with ease, but I'd like to speed the system up with a more powerful cpu, if I find it cheap somewhere like ebay... the most important thing it doesn't have to be welded to the motherboard. Ok, I'll keep the good ol XP!