Cpu upgrade i3 to i7

[Nordwin]

Hello,

I have a laptop with an i3-3110m, which according to wikipedia is using PGA988B or BGA1023 and has the ivy bridge architecture. I guess the only way to find out if the cpu is soldered (BGA) or on a socket is to open it?

There are also fitting i7 processors, which use ivy bridge and have the same socket, but I want to upgrade to a quad core, which has a TDP of 10 to 20 W higher. Is there something, which needs to be done furthermore? Is this still possivle to upgrade or is it going to get temperature problems?

Thanks for any help!

 

[TechyInAZ]

I've also researched into it since my laptop (i5 2410M sandy bridge) has a non soldered cpu so I could upgrade it to a i7 quad.

From what I've read you can upgrade, however tried to figure out if you need a different power adapter but couldn't find anything.

I've quit thinking of upgrading my laptop cpu however, in my situation it's better to get a new desktop PC.

 

[stickmansam]

BGA means it is soldered so no dice

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/A-Complete-List-of-CPU-Sockets/373/4

 

[Nordwin]

I checked with Aida now, since there are different types of this processor, but mine seems to be on a socket (I am going to open my notebook to be 100 percentage sure)..

So do I have to worry about the higher TDP? And do I also have to adjust voltage settings in my bios??

Thanks for your answers so far!

 

[stickmansam]

i doubt most laptops will allow voltage control in bios or at all
though voltage might not be need adjusted

TDP should be a factor depending on which chip you get

 

[Nordwin]

i doubt most laptops will allow voltage control in bios or at all
though voltage might not be need adjusted

TDP should be a factor depending on which chip you get

So will the 20W higher TDP be a problem changing my Ivy Bridge i3 to an Ivy Bridge i7 qm? Or are the fans and the ventilation dimensioned for the best CPU of the family? I think I read something like this somewhere...

 

[stickmansam]

it depends if the OEM followed the TDP spec from Intel (in which case you are fine) or did their own measurements to cut costs (in which case you may face heat issues)

 

[Nordwin]

Oh damn and I guess there is no way to find out easily.. I mean I could write a Mail to the OEM, but I doubt they will answer and tell me in detail, because in my experience these guys from the hotline usually only tell you to be careful and not to make any changes on your laptop at all and so on and so on (since they may not even know these details and wont ask the product designers/developers).. I think calculating it by the number of fans and their sizes and so on is a too big task for me..

So I guess my only option is too look for references, if someone tried this with a similiar model (Median Akoya P7818) and if it worked fine.. I could also try to ask in the Medion Forum about it.

So if I decide to upgrade I am rather going to use a i7-3612QM, which I just saw also only has a TDP of 35W instead of an i7-3840QM with 45W TDP. Thanks again for the answers!


Ok so I did a system stability test using Aida64. Consequently the CPU usage went up to 100%. I ran this test for half an hour and the temperature didnt go higher than 81°C.

 

[stickmansam]

ofc check to you see if the chip is removable

also, you can use higher quality thermal paste that cna drop temps by about at least 5c off the current stuff probably

 

[Nordwin]

Yeah I opened it and indeed I am lucky and it is using the PGA988B socket.

So I have to make my mind up the next days which processor I am going to order... Its very tempting to upgrade to the 3840, which is about 20% better than the 3612.. Its a good idea to use a better thermal paste to compensate the 10W more of TDP. Anything else I could do?

 

[stickmansam]

don't think thermal paste can compensate for 10 more W but would help overall

 

[Nordwin]

Okay so for anyone who is still interested I did some further research and I think its just too much afford to cool down another 10W TDP.. Soo I decided to rather upgrade to the i7-3612QM or the i7-3632QM, which both are having a TDP of 35W aswell. They also are a bit cheaper and I think its still a huge change from an i3-3100M... But I think in this case safety first may be a good rule, so before messing up everything and causing a lot of costs, I rather choose the slower and cheaper CPU, which still will be very good!

Thanks for everyone for your opinions and tips!

 

[stickmansam]

good luck!