Question What laptop for fitting an i7 processor?

[Smeags]

Hi,

Newbie here. I have never opened up a computer before so I'm sure this is going to be a naive question(!), but an answer could be really useful.

I have an i7 processor at home, inside a now-unused laptop - unused because the screen is smashed up. I don't know what specific model / generation it is.

I'm now shopping for a new laptop. Now, rather than buying an expensive laptop with a good processor, would it be worth buying a cheap laptop (say, something with an Intel Celeron / Pentium) inside, and replacing the processor with the i7? Maybe I could grab some of the RAM too? Is this easy(ish) to do?

And second question... would I have to buy a laptop that comes with a specific motherboard that I can fit the i7 into? If so, could someone please shed some light on what I'd need to look for?

Thanks

 

[taeioum]

Which laptop is being unused? I'm looking for brand and model. (A serial number or service tag if your laptop has one) Most processors on laptops are soldered to the motherboard, making it practically impossible to replace/move the CPU to a different device. First you'll have to find out if the processor is socketed or soldered. If the latter, your search for an answer will probably end there.

 

[middcore]

This is almost certainly impractical.

Firstly, as taeioum mentions above, there is a high chance the i7 on your old laptop is soldered to the motherboard. Same goes for whatever chip is inside the new laptop you buy. Either makes the proposed swap impossible.

Second, even if it were possible to remove the CPU's from both laptops to perform the transplant, depending on how old the i7 laptop was that i7 is very likely to not be compatible with the socket in the new laptop. Intel typically changes their CPU sockets every couple years.

Thirdly, depending on just how old it is, the i7 in the old laptop may not actually perform any better than a mid-range chip in the new machine, making the entire endeavor pointless.

There are good reasons why upgrading/replacing hardware components in laptops just isn't really a Thing.