CPU upgrade in laptop

[idamaster]

Been contemplating this for a while.

I currently have a Dell N5050 with an i3-2350M
This is on a 01HXXJ Dell board, 35W.

These are tried and tested cpus for this laptop:
http://blog.parts-people.com/2014/12/10/dell-inspiron-n5050-compatible-cpu-processor-upgrades/

After doing a little research tonight, I came up with this list:
http://ark.intel.com/compare/53450,53438,50072,53464,52231

My current CPU is on the list, along with the highest "tested" CPU, but the i7 - 2640M runs at 35w on the same socket.

Wouldn't I be able to skip the i5 upgrade from the first link and go straight the the i7-2640M Upgrade?

I dont see any issues with it, but I'm not as experienced as members in the community. I need to replace my HDD so I thought might as well throw in $40 bucks for a processor that is loads faster.

Here is a side by side comparison:
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-2640M-vs-Intel-Core-i3-2350M

 

[theonerm2]

If you were to upgrade to the Core i7 2640m you probably wouldn't notice any real world difference in performance. Both processors are only dual core parts with hyperthreading. I highly doubt it's worth the effort to change processors. I changed my Core i5 dual core laptop CPU to an actual quad core CPU with hyperthreading and the biggest difference I noticed is that it drains my battery a lot quicker. I'm seriously thinking of putting the old Core i5 back in and selling the Core i7.

 

[Solandri]

In the mobile processors:

i3 = 3MB cache, hyperthreading
i5 = 3MB cache, hyperthreading, turbo boost
i7 = 4MB cache, hyperthreading, turbo boost (for dual core)

So really your upgrade mostly boils down to faster clock speeds from turbo boost. The extra 1MB cache on the i7 makes a small difference in certain applications, but it's not huge (else Intel would've made 4MB cache default).

i3-2350m = 2.3 GHz
i5-2430m = 2.7 GHz on two cores (17% faster), 3.0 GHz on one core (30% faster)
i5-2540m = 3.1 GHz on two cores (35% faster), 3.3 GHz on one core (43% faster)
i7-2620m = 3.2 GHz on two cores (39% faster), 3.4 GHz on one core (48% faster)
i7-2640m = 3.3 GHz on two cores (43% faster), 3.5 GHz on one core (52% faster)

 

[idamaster]

My question was if the i7-26xx was a compatible upgrade? It seems like it is, to me. I just wanted to make sure.