New
#1
Cpu replacement
I have a Dell e5520 i3 laptop.8 gig ram(max)
Q can i just upgrade the i3 to an i5 or i7 cpu without any other components i.e just swap the CPU?.
regards topper.
Win 10 insider latest update as of 21/2/2020
Cpu replacement
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New #2
I just took a look at the Dell spec sheet for the e5520.
It uses the HM65 Express chipset and DDR3 RAM, with Intel HD 3000 graphics. So, it is was likely introduced 8 or more years ago. I don't use laptops at all, but I'd assume no fairly recent CPU would work at all----and laptops generally are a pain to upgrade other than hard drives and memory.
I'd try to think of another idea rather than think of upgrading an 8 or 10 year old laptop. Put the money into a new machine of a recent generation.
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New #3
The manual (available as a pdf here) says (unlike many laptops) the CPU is replaceable.
Apparently you could...
"...upgrade to one of the following processors.
Intel® CoreTM i7 (2640M)
Intel® CoreTM i5 (2540M, 2520M, 2430M)
You would not have to change the motherboard, but might have to change the AC Adapter..."
...according to this thread: https://www.dell.com/community/Lapto...878605#M652264
Presumably the AC adapter may need changing if your current one is too low a power rating.
Now where you'd get an Intel i7-2640M is another matter. Looks like a used one will set you back about £60 on ebay...
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New #4
I would also suggest that on a laptop the battery may be a weak point if the replacement processor required more power, all the laptops I've seen in a number of years always work off battery power - even when plugged into the mains supply.
The reason for this and a good thing is that this way the system will always work as if it has a UPS attached, if the mains fails then there is no delay, and potential data loss, before the battery takes over supply
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New #5
Does the laptop have an I3 2330M CPU now? If so, the I7 2640M is epecified with the same TDP: 35W. Battery life should not be any worse with the I7.
I question whether it'd be a major upgrade, though. The I3 has 2 cores /4 threads, with a base clock of 2.20GHz. The I7 also has 2 cores /4 threads, and a base clock of 2.80GHz. Maybe there's more to it than that (like instructions per clock), but it's not encouraging.
If the OP decides to proceed anyway, I suggest making sure that the laptop's BIOS is up-to-date.
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New #6
thanks for the info.yes i am still not sure i gain much better performance with this option.i will invest in a ram upgrade first(clock speed can be doubled with 1600mb)x8gig.
regards Topper.
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New #7
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New #8
The default memory clock on the laptop is 1333 MHz. DDR3L-1600 will probably run at that by default. It may not be possible to change that by a BIOS setting, because it's a laptop. If you have 4GB of RAM now, upgarding it to 8GB (the maximum supported) may help under some circumstances.
The only upgrade that would give a clear advantage is replacing the hard drive with an SSD. That will make the laptop feel a lot quicker. If the 5520 has the original 250GB hard drive, a replacement at the same capacity will be not much over $30US 240GB, 256GB, 250GB, United States, SATA III, 2.5", New, Internal SSDs, SSDs, Components - Newegg.com. A 500GB class one isn't a lot over $50US. United States, SATA III, 525GB, 480GB, 500GB, 512GB, 2.5", New, Internal SSDs, SSDs, Components - Newegg.com
One thing to keep in mind: the 5520 is an old laptop (introduced 2011). It makes very little sense to sink much more money into it. It'd be wiser to save for newer hardware.
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New #9
The i7-2640M has a cpu benchmark about a 50% higher than the i3-2330M.
Intel Core i3-2330M @ 2.20GHz vs Intel Core i7-2640M @ 2.80GHz [cpubenchmark.net] by PassMark Software
Having said that, you're probably not going to see much difference in general use, only if you use it for CPU-intensive work like video processing.
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