Intel Celeron 1000m Upgrade

[shahrya]

Hi i just bought a Asus X401A-BCL0705Y and it has a Intel Celeron 1000m and I'm looking for an upgrade. Does anybody know which CPU will be supported and has more core and is decent for multi taking.
Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[voltoid27]

The highest-performing options are the Core i7-3632QM or the Core i7-3540M. The 3632QM has 4 cores, 8 threads, and clock speeds of 2.2-3.2GHz (depending on load and temperatures) and will absolutely destroy your 1000M. The 3540M has 2 cores, 4 threads, and speeds ranging from 3GHz-3.7GHz. This one will be faster in general system use and many games, but isn't as good at multitasking. You can't go wrong with either chip. The 3540M will run you $120 on eBay, and the 3632QM...well, it's not as common as it used to be, and I couldn't find a decent price on it though. Put some time into looking, though, and you'll be rewarded with a chip that kicks some serious apps. (yes, I went there)

EDIT: Make sure you update your BIOS for max compatibility first, you can get it at http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/nb/X401A/X401A1AS212.zip

EDIT2: You'll need this too: https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1008276/

 

[shahrya]

so it is possible to upgrade the CPU on this laptop?? and are there other options that i have that might not be as expensive as this one??

 

[voltoid27]

Yes and yes. You can essentially use any 3rd generation Core-based socketed laptop processors, codenamed Ivy Bridge. (Theoretically Sandy Bridge would work too but there's no sense in going backward a generation) Here's a comprehensive list of all the potential upgrades you could do:
Celeron 1005M
Celeron 1020M
Pentium 2020M
Pentium 2030M
Core i3-3110M
Core i3-3120M
Core i3-3130M
Core i5-3210M
Core i5-3230M
Core i5-3320M
Core i5-3340M
Core i5-3360M
Core i5-3380M
Core i7-3520M
Core i7-3540M
Core i7-3612QM
Core i7-3632QM

The only options that have more cores are the QM i7's at the end, although every processor starting from the i3's have 4 "virtual cores" (or threads) powered by 2 actual cores, so you'll still get a performance benefit aside from the higher speeds. I don't know what kind of prices these chips go for where you leave, but at least you have options.

 

[shahrya]

HI the bios update link that you provided me with is it for the specific laptop that i have?

 

[voltoid27]

Yep, got it straight off the Asus website. It even has X401A in the URL

 

[shahrya]

well i checked the bios and the version is already 212 so i guess its up to date.

 

[voltoid27]

You're right, don't worry about it in that case. Go ahead and upgrade!

 

[shahrya]

okay i've already ordered the the cpu i will post back with the results thanks for your help.

 

[voltoid27]

If you don't mind me asking, which one did you get?

 

[shahrya]

well i went with the Intel I5-3340M i thought that was the best value. I got it for$50 straight now im not a complete expert on cpus but i think i got a decent deal. what do you think?

 

[voltoid27]

You did well, that CPU costed $225 when it was new in Jan 2013, and I couldn't find any other CPU that was a better deal. Well done!

 

[shahrya]

well thank you very much this was the first time i bought a laptop cpu and now i am assured that i didn't go wrong with your approval that is.

 

[shahrya]

hey i have changed the cpu of the laptop without any problem but when i use the laptop for more then about 20 mins it shuts of without any warning can i get any help with this ??

 

[voltoid27]

Sounds like it might be overheating. Can you download HWMonitor and check the temperatures while you're using it? You may have forgotten to remove the old thermal paste and add new paste.

 

[shahrya]

I have removed the old paste and put new on and when i read through so forums and it said check thermal paste and went back to check if it was adequate which im pretty sure it was because i usually go a bit over the required thermal paste and once i'll get time i'll recheck the temps and post them but other than that i remember the temps around 25ish not for sure but i'll post them. in the meantime is there any other problem that can be related to this??

 

[voltoid27]

You could try putting the old CPU back in temporarily to see if the problem goes away, and if it persists you know it's a problem with something else in the system. I can almost guarantee it isn't a software problem. Temps in the 25 degree range are nothing short of excellent, so I'm 99% sure it isn't temps. Just so I know exactly what's happening, you'll be using it no problem and then poof, it shuts off? No Windows shutdown sounds or anything? What's the battery status at the time of the shutdown? The more info you have, the better.

 

[shahrya]

Well when I had the old CPU this never happened so I'll try and put it back in could it be possible the CPU is bad?? And we'll two time the battery was charged and other time it was on charge and no there was no sound it will just shut down and yes it happens out of nowhere and around after 20 mins of use.

 

[voltoid27]

Could be, it might've been damaged by static electricity in transit or installation, or maybe by the original seller. I don't really have any way of knowing for sure. It really sucks that the upgrade hasn't gone well for you, I've had success with 3 laptop CPU upgrades in the past but those were all older, Core 2 Duo or earlier. I've even used a laptop CPU in a desktop, and I had a lot of stability problems there until I relaxed the memory timings; works great after that. You could consider me surprised that the upgrade didn't work out as well as I'd hoped.

 

[shahrya]

well i'm gonna go with the fact that it might be the cpu and try to get a replacement from the owner because i really can't think if anything else besides the fact that it might be the cpu i had the celeron on for like 6 hours straight probably more and it hadn't give me this problem. ill update once i've talked to the seller and resolve this issue with them.

 

[voltoid27]

Sounds like a plan. If the seller gives you grief saying "it's not compatible with your laptop" tell them they're wrong 😛

 

[shahrya]

Lol I'll see what they say and another thing I'm not sure but I posted a thread on the forum got no answer but I want to change the Wi-Fi card to something with Bluetooth is that possible??

 

[voltoid27]

Go ahead and PM me the link to that thread so I can answer it there. I've replaced Wi-Fi cards in 2 of the 3 laptops I've done CPU upgrades on, so it usually can be done. In one case I had to mod the BIOS to make it work, that was interesting...

 

[voltoid27]

I've been thinking about how weird it was that your upgrade didn't work, and I found this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/asus-x401a-upgrade-to-ultrabook-status.682599/ I was looking on Cnet too and someone figured this out:

"I ordered a replacement motherboard and they sent me the wrong one with the HM70 chipset. I don't know how to turn off the shutdown, but if you put the computer to sleep the clock resets, so I created a batch file that counts down and puts the computer to sleep every 28 minutes. It works this way, so it doesn't do the hard shutdown but goes to sleep, which takes about 3 seconds, and you can immediately wake it by moving the mouse. I plan to write a java program to count down in the notifications area, instead of having the batch file running in the command prompt which is not so nice."

If you're willing to deal with that nonsense, you can keep using the i5, but due to the HM70 chipset in your laptop and the nonsense that Intel/Asus pulled, the official max upgrade is the Pentium 2030M. And here I was thinking there wouldn't be any problems... 🙁

 

[shahrya]

So the motherboard doesn't support the upgrade so I guess I can change the hdd to sdd that should have a significant improvement in performance.