Good morning ShaneTFletcher and welcome back to CH
Yes most sites will tell you that the laptop CPU's are not upgradable / changeable that is not totally 100% true "So, I researched about changing a laptops CPU. Every forum, blog, article state that 99% of laptops processors cannot be changeable. This is because most are stuck onto the motherboard with some sort of glue." Yes some laptops CPU's are soldered (not glued) into the motherboard and some are held in place in a CPU socket when any type of glue is used on the corners to help hold them down as the CPU heats up. The problem with making this change is finding what CPU options are out there for a certain PC. The major laptop companies are very tight lipped on upgrades when it come to CPU's.
But there are many variables to keep in mind even if the PC will run with a upgraded CPU. Will the heat sink cool unit properly, will the CPU fan be able to cool the faster CPU and this can also change the FSB speeds / CPU timings / Voltages and that will affect the memory settings too.
This too is kind of true but laptop and netbooks can have a zif socket or the CPU is soldered in place "
Every laptop I have looked at including HP Pavilion, HP G62, Sony Vaio, Acer, Dell and more do have changeable CPU's?" and this depends on the laptop model.
I can understand what you are saying here but what a lot of them are error in on the side of caution "So, the thing I am getting a bit mad about is that most computer knowledge people are giving wrong advise! with what information is available and the time spent on making that kind of drastic change if it does not work then it has to be R&R again to change it back if it doesn't work. Laptops are not as easy as most desktops.
This is not always true even if the CPU is in the same CPU chip family this is dependent on many things including the north & south bridge chipset's. But this is a good place to start to find out what CPU may be compatible "If you think I am telling porkies about this, find a laptop model (maybe yours), ebay or google your motherboard model (model name by using CPUID) and tell me if your motherboard doesn't have a changeable processor!"
Yes a lot of the laptops the GPU is soldered in place not glued these are called BGA (Ball grid array) "Only some laptops (Dell) allow a changeable GPU but 99% of laptops do not due to the graphics is integrated onto the mainboard" yes this kind is integrated / soldered If you see any glue that is on the corners to help hold them in-place for as the chip warms up and cools down because of chip creep. Dell laptops are not the only ones, Asus, HP, Alienware and a lot of other manufactures have upgradable video cards.
This is close but they are a zif (Zero insertion force) socket with a locking /actuator screw and not a slot the screw rotates the lock / actuator for removal & replacement of the CPU "Just to add: The processor slot is only in by a screw holder. Meaning you just rotate the screw to release the CPU!"
Long story short yes this can be done but there is a lot of variables to keep in mind when this kind of upgrade is done.
Hope this helps someone if they attempt to do this kind of upgrade. Mike
