Replace Intel CPU with AMD on Lenovo Y700

[cpasprey]

Hey there!
This is my first thread in this community and I'm glad to be a part of it.

I'm sure you've heard of the newly discovered major security flaw for Intel processors having to do with Kernel memory being vulnerable. I know the details haven't been made clear by Intel yet but I suspect it will affect massive amounts of the computer world.

I am looking into what I would need to swap out my Intel i7 processor and motherboard for AMD.

Machine: Lenovo ideapad Y700-15ISK

Here are some screenshots of Specs from CPU-Z:

 

[GhislainG]

You can't. Besides AMD also has an issue: https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/analysis/3023798/intel-arm-and-amd-all-affected-by-meltdown-and-spectre-security-bypassing-cpu-design-flaw

Edit: You should be concerned if you host services for customers on your laptop, but you can also apply the patch to secure your laptop.

 

[Supernova1138]

You can't swap to AMD without buying a new laptop. At the very least you'd have to find an AMD motherboard and CPU that will fit inside your laptop's chassis, and you probably won't find one. AMD has basically been absent from the laptop market for the past few years due to Bulldozer being very power hungry and running very hot. AMD has recently started to release Ryzen based mobile chips, but those will only be available on new laptop models.

In any case, the Intel only problem is being patched at the OS level, and the performance difference on consumer applications seems to be minimal. There are two other vulnerabilities that have come out for this that AMD is also susceptible to, so switching to AMD solely for security reasons is probably not going to be helpful. Just download the Windows update and carry on, the only situation where you might want to consider dumping an Intel system for an AMD system due to this would be if you're running some sort of heavy virtualization or database server where the performance drop might be larger.

 

[cpasprey]

Thanks to both of you for letting me know. I glanced at Newegg for motherboard/processor combos for Lenovo Y700 and did find one but it was made for a variation of Y700 that I don't have.

I was unaware that AMD processor's had vulnerabilities as well. The article I read had a statement from AMD saying they didn't have the issue that Intel has. I suppose they just have a different flaw.

I was really just anticipating that the patch would severely slow down my system but I don't have a server/virtualization or any customer services running on my laptop.

 

[DSzymborski]

Thanks to both of you for letting me know. I glanced at Newegg for motherboard/processor combos for Lenovo Y700 and did find one but it was made for a variation of Y700 that I don't have.

I was unaware that AMD processor's had vulnerabilities as well. The article I read had a statement from AMD saying they didn't have the issue that Intel has. I suppose they just have a different flaw.

I was really just anticipating that the patch would severely slow down my system but I don't have a server/virtualization or any customer services running on my laptop.

Honestly, it's best to see what happens and *then* decide if there's anything you need to do.

As for swapping to an AMD, as others have noted, you'd be buying a new laptop. Even if you found a perfect swap for the chassis, the way laptops go, you'd probably be paying most of the cost of a new laptop anyway. So you might as well just get a new one and have the benefit of a warranty.