Upgrading a CPU laptop (MP55 chipset)

[Ancipital]

I have a Toshiba qosmio x505 Q860 laptop with an i5 M430 2.27GHz CPU.
The documentation for the chipset (MP55) is here: http://www.intel.com/Products/Notebook/Chipsets/PM55/PM55-overview.htm
IT says that my chipset supports i7 extreme.

1. Can I physically upgrade the CPU? There is any slot to remove the old one?
2. Can I replace the old CPU with an i7 or i7 Extreme?
3. Will I see a substantial speed improvement?

Many thanks.

 

[ihog]

1. Possibly? I would definitely contact Toshiba. I'm certain that even if you physically can, you will void your warranty.
2. If you can physically upgrade the CPU, you have to make sure that Toshiba specifies what CPUs you can upgrade to. Even though that chipset techincally supports i7s, Intel did not necessarily make the motherboard that is in your laptop.
3. Probably not. What do you use your laptop for?

 

[Ancipital]

The laptop is really really old. So, no problem with the warranty.
I will try to find some data about i5/i7 to see if there is any real power difference between them. From what I remember the i5/i7 are almost identical. It was just a commercial gimmick.

I use the laptop for productivity mostly (programming, documentation, emails) and rarely gaming and movies.

 

[Ancipital]

I see the price for a Intel Core i5-4300M (in case it is supported by my mainboard) is huge: $225 (meaning probably 225 euros here in EU). And the speed advantage seems to be small. It seems is not worth it.

Update:
i7 920 XM is 401 euros ( http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-920XM-vs-Intel-Core-i7-720QM )
or 170 euros on ebay.de but I HATE ebay.

 

[ihog]

Frankly, it's probably not worth it to upgrade.