Worth upgrading cpu in non-gaming laptop?

[tocontactchristopherbrooke]

Hello everybody. I'm in the process of ordering new hardware for a 6-year old Lenovo Thinkpad t520 and I'm wondering about upgrading the CPU. I've ordered two new 4GB RAM chips and a new SSD, along with a new heatsink/fan unit and ethernet board. Since I'm going to be replacing the heat sink, I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile to replace the current Core i5-2520M CPU with a Core i7-2620M. The i7 would be 2.7GHz intstead of 2.5, but the only other difference is a slightly larger L3 cache. They're both dual core with Hyperthread. I have no GPU aside from the Intel 3000 unit built into the i5.

Is it worth bothering with a CPU upgrade? I don't game aside from a couple of old games on occasion. Mostly it's a workhorse laptop I use for everything from email and word processing to programming, image manipulation and software like Multisim and Unity. I normally run linux Mint, but have Windows 10 (ugh!) dual booted for software that won't run on linux. It's still a beast of a laptop and I'd like to keep it going for a few more years. It just seems a touch slow at times and if I'm going to tear it apart, I'd rather hit everything at once. Plus, $150 for a CPU is much less than a new Lenovo down the line.

Side note, can anyone confirm that the i7-2620 will work as a replacement for an i5-2520 on a t520? They both have a G2 Socket and everything I've found seems to say yes, but I'm not very knowledgeable about computer upgrades. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[QwerkyPengwen]

that model of laptop has an i7 variant which means you can upgrade to an i7. The i7 model is an i7-2640m rather than a 2620m. If you can get the 2640m within budget then go for that one instead of the 2620m otherwise the answer is more or less yes, you can put the 2620 in it and it should work just fine. Be sure to download the latest BIOS offered by lenovo for the i7 model and install it just to make sure it's not different from the i5 model BIOS and to ensure that it'll work properly.

 

[kraelic]

300 MHz extra max turbo and an extra meg of cache does not seem to be worth the trouble.

I see an express card slot.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/EXP-GDC-Laptop-External-PCI-E-Graphics-Card-for-Beast-Expresscard-w-Cable-AC773/222503476987?epid=17016016016&hash=item33ce3d9efb:g:3IMAAOSwq~tZQPeWv
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-DA-2-USFF-Power-supply-Optiplex-745-755-760-D220P-01-MK394-AC-ADAPTER/132676964160?epid=24012311797&hash=item1ee429cf40:g:3MAAAOSwluRbMFmf:sc:USPSPriorityFlatRateEnvelope!24228!US!-1
add your choice of GPU, 750 TI, 1030 GT, 1050 TI, and it will play back into the laptop LCD

Tried a eGPU on a vostro 3750, dell has to jump through hoops, but the lenovo seems to like eGPU better seeing t420 on youtube and t520 on some forums.

 

[anotherdrew]

.2 or .3 GHz more and 1 more MB of cache ... the difference is going to be pretty small (10% ish). I guess the question really is, how important is $150 to you?

 

[asoroka]

Is it really worth upgrading?

What is the cost of your upgrades vs a new laptop. Your keyboard, screen and battery will not last forever.
I think after 6 years you might be better served by a newer beast of burden.

 

[tocontactchristopherbrooke]

Is it really worth upgrading?

What is the cost of your upgrades vs a new laptop. Your keyboard, screen and battery will not last forever.
I think after 6 years you might be better served by a newer beast of burden.

$200 for new RAM and SSD. About $100 for a new heat unit and ethernet/back USB board. Processor might cost about $180. After playing with Lenovo's laptop builder, a new T580 would run about $1200 to $1400 (which is honestly cheaper than I was expecting, though, so maybe it's time to start putting some money away).

 

[anotherdrew]

You going from a standard hard drive to an SSD? If so, you will notice the difference more than any other change. If you do get the SSD, go big.

 

[tocontactchristopherbrooke]

You going from a standard hard drive to an SSD? If so, you will notice the difference more than any other change. If you do get the SSD, go big.

No, I've had solid state since the beginning, but after 6 years of operating system acrobatics and encryption, I think it might be due for an upgrade.

 

[anotherdrew]

Benchmark the old SSD ... Compare what you get to it's potential replacement (google benchmarks ... theoretic numbers are great, but hard to attain). That should give you an idea of it's good use of your money.

 

[tocontactchristopherbrooke]

Benchmark the old SSD ... Compare what you get to it's potential replacement (google benchmarks ... theoretic numbers are great, but hard to attain). That should give you an idea of it's good use of your money.

After looking up the old one, I just learned that I am indeed using a rotary harddrive. Quite a shock. I thought I ordered the laptop with a SSD. It's an old Seagate Momentus Thin 320GB drive. I don't know how it's survived banging around in my backpack all these years. Just goes to show that Lenovo builds good stuff with good parts. The upgrade I bought is a Crucial MX500 500GB SSD.

 

[mdd1963]

An SSD is a new lease on life for most laptops!

 

[anotherdrew]

An SSD is a new lease on life for most laptops!

Agreed ... and if your not happy I will buy you a beer.

 

[tocontactchristopherbrooke]

An SSD is a new lease on life for most laptops!

Agreed ... and if your not happy I will buy you a beer.

Ha! Sounds good. Thanks for all the advice.