phillip1762 Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 hey guys, was thinking of upgrading my laptop processor from i3 to i7. Will this be ok to do without updating the bios or will it break the laptop. Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corpius Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Laptops are notoriously difficult to upgrade the hardware yourself. What's the make and model of your laptop? A jump from an i3 to an i7 is pretty drastic. If they're part of the same architecture, it might be possible (for example: Haswell, Maxwell, Broadwell, Skylake, etc). Even then though, it most likely will not work if your CPU is soldered onto your motherboard, as is the case with most laptop CPUs/GPUs. In addition, even if the CPU is not soldered on and they're from the same architectural family, the voltage requirement necessary to adequately run an i7 (as opposed to an i3) may be too much for you BIOS to handle. In all honesty, I would suggest against upgrading your i3 to an i7. It might be cheaper (money, time, and stress wise) to just buy a new laptop with an i7 in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
senso Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 I have done that more than twice, and sold a handfull of laptop CPU's for upgrades, if its the same generation/family it will work. What laptop model is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soumen08 Posted December 26, 2015 Share Posted December 26, 2015 Should be possible as long as you stay within the same generation. My friend's Alienware M14X for instance came with an i5 which I later helped him upgrade to a i72670QM. This was easy because I had that exact CPU in my Alienware M14X. How much it would help your use case for would depend on what your use case actually is. If all you're doing is watching videos and surfing the web, I doubt you'll see much of a performance increase. If on the other hand, you're editing photos or videos, you'll see a sizeable jump. Might I also suggest getting to an i5 and getting an SSD? I believe that would leave you with a faster "feeling" system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grfgrf Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 It's probably for the best to just purchase a new laptop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diegomelch Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Most of the time CPUs for laptops, even used ones, are so damn expensive that you should consider buying a brand new laptop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prins_carnaval Posted May 15, 2016 Share Posted May 15, 2016 Also keep in mind that an i7 can use more power and your laptop might not be able to remove all that heat if it's built for the i3's power. To find this out, look at the TDP rating at the intel ark website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cailley06 Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 If you have an i3 and would like to upgrade to i7 , you might as well consider if it is compatible or not. I would just suggest replacing your computer. Find one that is built for a faster processor so that you will have better overall performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex1Lee Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Wouldnt it be better to sell your laptop and buy an i7 version back ? Could save you alot of time and effort, as you still need to buy an processor, you could better buy an laptop with it, solving compatibility problems right away. I personaly should save myself the effort of upgrading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
senso Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Laptops also need to be cleaned inside and repasted, and most of them are pretty easy to open up.. OP, say us your full laptop model. Some cpu's are indeed expensive, but it depends a bit on generation, and with some luck, maybe I have some i7 that I can sell to OP a lot cheaper than you can get them on ebay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iForeverNoob Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 I wouldn't mess around too much with laptops... that is unless you know what you're doing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techie Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 An i7 will take more power than a i3, so the cooling system must be very good. Not all CPUs can be replaced because they are soldered. It must be the same generation of the CPU and of course the same socket. If the same laptop model is also sold with an i7 the chances are good. But keep the points above in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zouglou Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 Doesnt seem like a good idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medz1990 Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 Quote they must be the same generation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runix18 Posted March 29, 2018 Share Posted March 29, 2018 Not knowing the laptop model, we are barling at the wrong tree. If the laptop is a model with a bga crap cpu, you are better of buying a new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.