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Upgrading a laptop

Killer_Rubber_Ducky

Killer_Rubber_Ducky

Joined
Oct 20, 2009
Messages
2,881 (0.51/day)
Location
Corpus Christi, Texas
System Specs
System Name FumoffuFumoffu
Processor Intel i7 4770K
Motherboard Gigabyte Z87X -UD3H
Cooling Corsair H100i
Memory 16GB DDR3 1600 Crucial Ballistix
Video Card(s) Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 7970 OC
Storage 1- WD 500GB 1- Samsung F2 1.5TB 1- Crucial M4 128GB SSD 1-256GB ADATA XPG SX900 ASX900S3 SSD
Display(s) Hanns-G HZ281HPB 27.5'' 3ms Full HD 1920x1200 WideScreen LCD Monitor
Case Corsair Graphite Series 600T
Audio Device(s) Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Titanium
Power Supply Corsair HX 750W Gold
Software Windows 7 Pro x64
I want to upgrade the processor on my laptop. Is this possible? I have a Lenovo G570 4334 EUU. It has a Core i3 2370M currently and I have seen Core i5 versions of the laptop floating around. It has the HM65 Chipset so it should theoretically support up to an i7 Quad core. But I don't know and finding one of those chips on the cheap will be hard I think. I already upgraded my HDD from a 320GB 5400RPM to a 500GB 7200RPM drive. I plan to jump to 8GB @ 1600Mhz and then swap my wifi-n card for an intel 7200-series wifi-ac/BT4.0 card. I wish it were possible for me to upgrade the onboard NIC from 10/100 to 10/100/1000. The chipset supports 10/100/1000.
 
It may or may not work, the TDP may be higher of the i5 and your current powerbrick and cooling may not be sufficient. Look on intel site for the TDP
 
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Have you opened it up to see if its soldered in?
 
The biggest upgrade for a laptop is usually switching over to SSD. The cpu isn't soldered to the board and I would bet you could put the i5 mobile in there..i7 might be an issue with cooling and power draw.
 
If its anything like my Dell with an i5 the CPU is soldered to the board..this saves in cost and of course limits upgrading.

I had to take mine apart to find this out...and I needed to repaste the cooler anyways. Might be the same case for you too.
 
Never hurts to tear down and verify before making a purchase.
 
Kursah said:
Never hurts to tear down and verify before making a purchase.
Click to expand...

Yes, be sure to visually inspect prior to ordering. Taking apart laptops are no fun.
 
the current CPU seems to be a 35W TDP so finding a quad core in the 35W sector might be difficult. It would be nice if I could swap the board out with a Haswell or Broadwell refresh of the G570. A board that would be compatible with the current chassis. Sure, I could just buy a new laptop. But why buy new when I can "upgrade" the existing? I buy new when the current one dies. I kept my "crappy" HP until it literally died.
 
Ok, getting a new motherboard to fit is going to be a very tall order compared to a cpu swap. All I can say there is Good Luck with that. :)
 
Kursah said:
If its anything like my Dell with an i5 the CPU is soldered to the board..this saves in cost and of course limits upgrading.

I had to take mine apart to find this out...and I needed to repaste the cooler anyways. Might be the same case for you too.
Click to expand...
How did you upgrade the cooler?
edit: I woke up not to long ago and is evident by this post.
 
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james888 said:
How did you upgrade the cooler?
Click to expand...

You very rarely can upgrade the cooler. Usually you get to add a better thermal paste, maybe a better squirrel cage fan. But for the most part laptop cpu coolers are so custom to the build that they don't really make any good replacement or at least very rarely.
 
james888 said:
How did you upgrade the cooler?
Click to expand...

???

I said nothing about upgrading, but rather I stated I repasted the cooler. Short for re-apply thermal paste. :) Which alone was like an upgrade because my temps went down quite a few degrees idle and load.

Some folks will purchase the same cooler or take another laptop cooler and transfer the heatpipe over, maaaaaybe upgrade the fan...or modify the vents for less restriction, add taller feet for better under-laptop airflow. Honestly for the effort necessary for most laptops that are not high-end gaming-grade or CAD, upgrading cooling isn't generally worth the attempt beyond re-applying paste. Some higher-end gaming laptops though you can order upgraded cooling options, different fans, extra heatpipe options. Depends on the brand and model though.
 
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