Dell Inspiron n5110 CPU Upgrade

[Danny31121]

Hi, i have a Dell Inspiron n5110 laptop with a "Intel® Core™ i5-2410M Processor (3M Cache, up to 2.90 GHz)" processor as the original processor in it. Its the 2nd gen i5 processor. It has a "Mobile Intel® HM67 Express Chipset (Intel® BD82HM67 PCH)" chipset. I need a replacement processor my laptop as the one it it stopped working. As the original processor was getting a bit slow for me i was thinking about upgrading the processor while replacing the old one. I searched for if the processor could be upgraded but i couldn't find a valid answer as i found multiple opinions.

I found one in dells forum
"http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/p/19482022/20256429.aspx" that: Inspiron N5110 supports i5-2410M, i5-2520M and i5-2540M processors from the i5 family said that only 3 processors of the i5 family are compatible:
-i5-2410M "http://ark.intel.com/products/52224/Intel-Core-i5-2410M-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-2_90-GHz#@specifications" - from the original setup
-i5-2520M "http://ark.intel.com/products/52229/Intel-Core-i5-2520M-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-3_20-GHz#@specifications"
-i5-2540M "http://ark.intel.com/products/50072/Intel-Core-i5-2540M-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-3_30-GHz#@specifications"
which are basically the same processors but only vary a little in terms of clock speed .

But searching up the "Mobile Intel® HM67 Express Chipset (Intel® BD82HM67 PCH)" chipset on intel's site showed up:
"http://ark.intel.com/products/52809/Intel-BD82HM67-PCH#@compatibility" 37 compatible processors with my chipset.
My older processor's socket compatibility is listed as "FCBGA1023, PPGA988". And the sockets listed in the chipset's "compatible product cpu" page also matches the socket.

So my 1st question is: Would my laptop support all of the 37 processors which are listed on "http://ark.intel.com/products/52809/Intel-BD82HM67-PCH#@compatibility" or would it only support the 3 processors listed in "http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/p/19482022/20256429.aspx"

The reason why i don't agree with the "official forums" is that they would only operate within the specified boundary of their company's policy and do not take responsibilities for suggesting anything more than what the product is made from (like: they wouldn't even suggest to use an identical 3rd party screw used for the casing and would only recommend buying their genuine screw from their authorised dealer)

I am aware that the current i5-2410M consumes 35W so that means that if i were to choose a processor of higher consumption wattage then i would accordingly need a more powerful ac adapter and that it would consume more battery as well.

(*)Also a note about the i5-2410M is that this processor has 2 cores and 4 logical processors which when i asked about to my computer professor, said it has 2 cores (dual core) and that each core has 2 logical processors on it. Which he said is similar to having to a conventional quad core processor. He explained to me that conventionally processors have a single logical processor per core and that a conventional quad core too would have a total of 4 logical processors. And this was the first 2 logical processors per core that he had encountered in real life.

So my 2nd question is: Is this really the case about the i5-2410M as being an equivalent of a quad core processor(*)?

 

[LookItsRain]

Hyper threading is not close to a true quad core. Compare a i3 4150 to an i5 4590. The issue with the upgrade i the bios and mobo dell has used, i would not try to upgrade due to that.

 

[Solandri]

While in theory the hardware should be capable of using all 37 CPUs, the computer's BIOS also needs to recognize those processors. It's possible Dell deliberately crippled the BIOS to only work with those 3 CPUs. You'll have to dig through the BIOS release notes to see if there's any mention of other processors. Of course you can always try it and see if it works.

If your processor is a 35W TDP, you should only replace it with another 35W TDP processor. The TDP isn't really measure a power consumption. It's a measure of cooling requirement (which is loosely tied to power consumption). So if you put in a 45W TDP processor, it may overwhelm the laptop's cooling system, resulting in the CPU overheating and throttling and you getting worse performance than a 35W TDP CPU.

The confusion over the i5 comes from the desktop and laptop i5 being different even though they bear the same name. The desktop i5 is a quad core without hyperthreading (4 physical cores, 1 logical core each). The mobile i5 is a dual core with hyperthreading (2 physical cores, 2 logical cores each). The extra logical cores on the mobile i5 come from using instruction paths in the CPU which aren't currently being used. So in ideal cases it's like having 4 physical cores. But in most cases it's only slightly better than having 2 physical cores.

 

[barneyco]

I replaced mine with an i7-2630QM, 100 bucks on ebay. First I installed A11 bios of the HP website. It works great. You will need to get a 90W power supply for maximum benefit, but it will still work with the original. I also installed 16gb of ram and an ssd. The entire package cost me $500, but the machine runs like a $2500 computer.

 

[Alexandru Raescu]

I replaced mine with an i7-2630QM, 100 bucks on ebay. First I installed A11 bios of the HP website. It works great. You will need to get a 90W power supply for maximum benefit, but it will still work with the original. I also installed 16gb of ram and an ssd. The entire package cost me $500, but the machine runs like a $2500 computer.

How did you installed 16gb of ram? I specifications it says that maximum supported memory is 8gb. I have a n5110 too and I really need extra 8gb of ram.

 

[david1180]

i run 16 gb on a n5110 also it says 8 total but will recog and use 16

 

[boxlikeman]

Hello i currently got given an inspiron n5110 it has an i3 2330M processor, you have any idea what processor i can upgrade to? ive never understood intel chipsets compared to AMD

 

[Christopher_55]

some web sites say you can upgrade to in i5 as long as you stay with the n5110 R15. but others say you can't and dell"s website is no help so hope fully someone can answer this 1 because i would love to know

 

[Christopher_55]

HERE WHAT I FOUND!!!! But you can upgrade to a maximum of i5 with 2.5ghz, which is not the best upgrade in my book. If you want nearly double perfomance or even better, try to increase RAM, replace the hdd with ssd( ssds are more than 10 times faster than HDD). Clean the laptop every year internally, and lastly replace the heat sink.. your laptop will become like a new one. Visually you can add decals to the laptop for a refreshing feel.

 

[Christopher_55]

sorry last one i found the upgrade for the dell inspiron i3-2330 ihg3000. Intel® Core™ i5-2410M Processor
(3M Cache, up to 2.90 GHz) with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology amazon got it for $50 dollars

 

[qidelephant]

I replaced mine with an i7-2630QM, 100 bucks on ebay. First I installed A11 bios of the HP website. It works great. You will need to get a 90W power supply for maximum benefit, but it will still work with the original. I also installed 16gb of ram and an ssd. The entire package cost me $500, but the machine runs like a $2500 computer.

You installed A11 bios from the HP website to the Dell n5110?