[SOLVED] Can I upgrade this laptop's processor?

[ev3lyn]

I recently got for cheap an Acer Aspire 3830TG with an i3-2310M and a GT 540M and I was wondering if I could upgrade to, at least, an i5-2410M? Cheers

 

[ZeroDollarBudget]

Can you swap it? Yes. Will it work? probably not. The main board is only designed to support and supply 35w power, and the cooling solution is in the same boat. Not to mention the bios is designed for dual core cpu's and there is a chance it won't detect or support the i5 or even an i7.

You may be able to find a custom bios, and ways to get more power to the socket but for the money and effort just buy a better laptop. Even chromebooks or 2-1 notebooks would offer better performance for the money. For $199 to $299 (Canadian pesos) there are lots of options out there that will be a better solution then trying to upgrade the laptop.

 

[SamirD]

Yes, you can easily swap to the i5-2410m no problem since it came stock on this model:
https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/acer-aspire-timelinex-3830tg-6431

And because there were other i5 processors in the same family, some of the faster processors have also been confirmed to work here:
https://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Acer-Aspire-3830TG/3247

And you'll see a big boost in single thread performance with any i5 upgrade, but if you're needing more cores, you won't see much of a difference since the i5 has the same as the i3:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compar...i5-2430M-vs-Intel-i5-2450M/756vs796vs798vs800

But there are actually some i7 processors that are in the same tdp as the i3 and i5, and they provide even more single thread performance, although still restricted to the same number of cores as the i3 adn i5:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compar...20M-vs-Intel-i7-2640M/796vs798vs800vs872vs876

And the great thing is it looks like just as the i5 was stock on some models, it seems the i7 was as well:
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Acer-Aspire-3830TG-i7-SSD-Subnotebook.64409.0.html

And it seems even the highest processor in the i7 line that could potentially work, does as someone was selling one configured like this in new condition:
https://www.sparepartworld.com/acer...ne/aspire-timelinex-3830tg-serie/cpu-61847269

So in closing, not only will the i5 you mentioned work, but also even faster i7 processors--and all were at some point vetted and tested by Acer so it should be a simple plug and play affair. Happy upgrading!