Upgrade CPU Question
 

I'll preface this by saying that although I'm a hardware head, I haven't poked a head into a pc in a Long Time

I have a Samsung NP350C-A05UK. Specs: i3 twin core 2.4 Ghz, 6G ram, 17.3" screen, Intel HD 4000 GPU, ssd 250G. I also upgraded to a 5A power supply because the 3.5A original made discernible noise when feeding an amplifier, and was, of course amplified.

Now the same box & model number is On_Sale_Today with anything up to an i7, or a broad spectrum of AMD Parts. Questions:

1. Could I upgrade it simply by changing the CPU? Yes, Yes, it says the screen sucks and the case is sad. 1600x900 is fine by me and I have black plastic, not imitation silver.
2. What would this do to frequency? Where is that set these days?
3. Could I upgrade to AMD parts, or are we talking a different M/B here?
4. Which i5 or i7 would you suggest?
5. Would extra heat be an issue?

Thanks for any thoughts.

you might be able to if you can get to your CPU and it has that socket, you just need to find out what type socket your MB has then find the CPU that fits it. if you can get a i7 8core :D I'd do that.

as far as the rest, I'd think if it is not soldered onto the board it can be replaced easily. you got to do some digging to make sure your board is compatible is all.
NP350V5C this shows it with a i7
https://www.samsung.com/us/computer/...5C-T01US-specs

Sockets Supported FCPGA988
Package Size 37.5 x 37.5mm (rPGA988B)
https://ark.intel.com/products/71459...p-to-3-40-GHz-


https://www.mouser.com/Semiconductor...a96s?P=1yy6erf

Intel Core i7-3630QM 2.40GHz 3MB Socket G2 Original Laptop CPU Processor SR0UX

$59 US

if you do go with a different CPU make sure you get some Thermal Compound for your heat sink, and rubbing alcohol to clean it and your "new" cpu.

changing to a 'different' mb in a laptop, not hardly AFAK, they are made like cell phone batteries, one size only fits that model.

heat, depends on watts it pulls and load you're running.

1. Most likely, but you're limited to cpu's of the same generation, or POSSIBLY 1 away. Mobile processors were almost always not electrically compatible from 1 generation to the next even when they used the same socket after Sandy Bridge (2nd generation Core). Starting with Broadwell, Intel mobile CPU's are soldered, so unless you know how to solder and are willing to desolder existing and resolder new (and able to find one not already soldered into a board), they're no longer replaceable at all.
2. Depends on the chip. Generally within the same generation i5 is faster than i3, i7 faster than i5. However if you have M and U versions, that changes some things as an i5m is faster frequency than an i7u due to voltage limitations (m is 35 or 45 watt depending on generation, u is 15 watt).
3. No, would require different motherboard
4. Depends upon which current chip you have, you didn't give a part number, just that it's an i3.
5. Possibly, again, depends on which cpu you have now, and which cpu you wanted to upgrade to.

about 1.: sometimes it helps to upgrade the bios, it increases compatibility with later CPUs.
but that's something you will want to research for your specific mobo.

Thanks, all for the replies. As for answers
1. On the cpu, I think I can upgrade, because this box dates from 2013 and has Ivy Bridge, after Sandy Bridge but before Broadwell. Soldering is OOQ (Out Of the Question), despite my experience.
2. Frequency: I deduce it's set in the APU. Mine is an 'I3-3110M' according to /proc/cpuinfo
3. AMD parts: Thought as much.
4. At 2.4 Ghz, which is fast, but not red-hot. I have an aversion to popping the case open as one arm is paralysed. I was intending to hand this job in. Sourcing & Landing a suitable cpu might be the major challenge.
5. Heat & power Supplies seem to be the big issues.

It's very easy to get a APU doing 77W, with HD2000/2500 Graphics, two or three steps backwards in graphics, frying my power supply, and overheating my box. I gather from This_Link that an i7-3770S, or i5-3475S gives me an upgrade in CPU @65W; An i7-3770T does it @45W.

@ BW-userx: Thanks for your reply, and your optimism. Your i7-3630QM certainly looks the business @45W, although there's an exhaustive job to be done checking packages, etc. It also has the Ivy Bridge.But is FCPGA988 =(plain old) PGA988?

This is looking like more messing that it's worth. An i7-3770t sells for over €200, and it seems it's only offered in exotic places (Excited States, China). BW-userx has the i7-3630 for $59, but I don't know yet about the package. I'll buy a bigger cpu next time. Add €50-€100 getting anything here (Europe), esp. with some dumb blonde starting trade wars. This is solved, because

1. Market upheaval of Xmas/Saturnalia is upon us
2. I have all the work of re-engineering a laptop with zero margin for error
3. Doing it yourself is one thing. Having to pay someone to do it is another.
4. I'm leaning towards just buy a bigger cpu next time.

If at some point you decide to pursue it, don't get a processor that's >35w TDP. The cooling solution is PROBABLY different in the laptop for the 35w vs. 45w, and you may actually see LOWER performance from a "better" cpu if you upgraded to a 45w CPU due to throttling to keep it within it's thermal envelope. Any 35w CPU should be drop-in for the cooling solution, however.

It's unlikely at this point unless my circumstances change. I'd sooner put up some cash & upgrade.
The fact that the best an i7 can do will not take me past Ivy Bridge is depressing.

Well, to be fair, upgrading from Sandy Bridge or later to Kaby Lake or earlier is an EXTREMELY minor upgrade. SAndy Bridge to Kaby Lake you're still only looking at 30% performance improvement when going from same tier processor to it's replacement. AMD not having anything even remotely RESEMBLING competitive meant Intel wasn't under any pressure to improve their CPU's greatly, and thus the generational improvements from 2nd>3rd>4th>5th>6th>7th generation processors was often <5% from one generation to the next. It wasn't until Kaby Refresh/Cofee Lake (8th generation) that Intel was finally pressured into releasing a real upgrade. So if you do decide to buy something newer for performance, unless going 8th or 9th generation, don't bother, it won't be enough of an upgrade (on a performance ONLY standpoint) to make it worth spending any money.

You're very well up on this, Timothy. We can kill this off.

My standard pc/laptop buying procedure is to have a look at specs, and prices on the higher end, and in the middle. From this I set a budget.

Then I hunt around, add in Linux friendliness of the various parts and try to optimize the choice down to a small number. Then choose one available one, preferably from a local or nearby international supplier where duties are not a concern. In the EU, it's easy to do that. So next time, I'll up the cpu spec significantly. I never worried too much about cpu spec, because when I worked in Industrial electronics, laptops were expendable tools. I did manage to trap an inductive spike in one (~10KV with significant current). It didn't do much after that :eek:. Now they're lasting.