Can i upgrade the MSI gx660 i5 laptops cpu?

[Guest]

Hello,
i was wondering if i could upgrade its cpu to a better one such as the i7 940xm. im amazing at bilding pc but laptops i have no clue on since im not sure about the socket or if it even has any. the chipset is pm 55 and for the i7 940xm its apparently pm 55 aswel

thank you very much

 

[hellwig]

It appears the mobile Core i5 450M processors use the same µPGA-988 socket as the 940XM, so that shouldn't be a problem. Your GX660 uses an HM55 chipset, which is compatible with the 940XM (http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=43127&processor=i7-940XM&spec-codes=SLBSC click "Compatible Products" on the left).

Therefore, I'm going to say you could put pretty much any mobile Core i processor in that machine EXCEPT you have to worry about power and cooling issues.

The 450M is a dual-core 35W TDP product. The 940XM is a quad-core 55W animal (and lesser quad-cores are 45W, only dual-cores go 35W or less). You could put a quad-core mobile processor in there, but it might have to throttle-down to maintain its cooling and power requirements.

I can't really answer if that's a problem for your laptop or not, but it very well could be.

 

[Guest]

so it MAY be compatible but it may also be reduced in performance due to power and cooling.

its a gamble but knowing it will fit and be sorta compatible is more than enough for me to take the gamble. i fount a 940xm for about 300 - 360 and considering i fount the gx660 for just under 1k it should still perform better than an i5 450m. obviously know one can know every varible and thus the true answer but even with the throttling issue it may face, it should still out perform the i5 450m and atleast the i7 720qm.

my next question is how would i install it? i mean is it simple as a pc where you got the case then heatsink then some thermal paste and the cpu?

so thanks for the advice and ill tell you how it is when i manage to buy it all.

 

[hellwig]

I've only opened up some older laptops, but the biggest issue will probably be opening the thing up (unless the case is designed with upgrades in mind, it might be).

If you are comfortable with computers, it shouldn't be a big task. The socket is uPGA so that shouldn't be different from other Intel sockets, just smaller. Just remember what you unscrewed from wear or disconnected from where and it should be easy. The cooler will probably just be a big block of metal that spreads out over most of the motherboard and might cool the chipset too. It will probably be screwed down to the chassis somewhere. Just scrape off the old wax/paste/adhesive and apply some new stuff.

Good luck.

 

[Maziar]

Hello,
i was wondering if i could upgrade its cpu to a better one such as the i7 940xm. im amazing at bilding pc but laptops i have no clue on since im not sure about the socket or if it even has any. the chipset is pm 55 and for the i7 940xm its apparently pm 55 aswel

thank you very much

Hello and welcome to the forums
It depends on the model that you have.
MSI GX660 supports CPUs up to i7 720QM
http://www.xoticpc.com/gx660053us-gaming-laptop-p-2850.html?wconfigure=yes
Where as GX660R supports CPUs up to i7 940XM
http://www.xoticpc.com/gx660r060us-gaming-laptop-p-2864.html?wconfigure=yes

 

[Guest]

hmm those are the US ones and the UK may have a dif form facotr and such since for the UK the gx660 has 6gb ddr3 so is it possible that the UK gx660 can support anything higher than the 720qm?

if not do you know any retailers that sell mobile cpus other than sellers on eBay

thanks for the help

 

[Maziar]

hmm,maybe the UK one is different from the US models,because i think you are considering this
http://www.microanvika.com/product.asp?PNO=MSI14023&MPNO=&PNAME=MSI-Gaming-GX660-15%276-W7HP-8GB-1TB&ref=&cam=MSI14023&key=774745
And it comes with i7 720QM(the US version comes with 740QM and allows CPU upgrades up to 940XM), so its the best to ask from MSI support to be sure.

 

[Guest]

no the one im after is this one
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=LT-025-MS&groupid=959&catid=1828&subcat=
which has 6gb ddr3 and an i5 but considering its £700 cheaper 😛

 

[Maziar]

I found this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_i7_microprocessors
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_i5_microprocessors
i7 720QM,840QM,920XM,940XM all share same socket(µPGA-988);whereas,
Core i5M CPUs support µPGA-989 which is different and therefore you can not upgrade it, but like i said its the best to ask from MSI to be 100% sure.

 

[hellwig]

Don't look at wikipedia, look at Intel's own website:

940XM: http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=43127&processor=i7-940XM&spec-codes=SLBSC (says PGA988 support)

450M: http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=49022&processor=i5-450M&spec-codes=SLBTZ (also says PGA988).

I'd trust Intel to know more about their processors than Wikipedia.

 

[Maziar]

Oh thanks for the links,it looks like wiki have to update their charts.
So if both are PGA988 then i think you can use 940XM on it.

 

[Guest]

ok thanks for the help