Upgrading NUC5i5RYH

[JRayn]

I recently did a CPU comparison between my NUC's i5-5250U and the NUC5i7RYH's i7-5557U.

There appears to be a significant betterment and I was idly wondering whether it is possible to convert my NUC5i5RYH into an NUC5i7RYH.

Does anybody know whether this is feasible?

[n_scott_pearson · Accepted solution]

The SOCs appear to be pin compatible, so technically this would seem possible. There are three problems:

1. While these processors share a BIOS, the branding is going to be different between a NUC5i5RYH and a NUC5i7RYH. I am unsure, but this could create some issues.

2. The SOC is a PGA device, wave soldered to the board. Removing and replacing the device is fraught with issues.

3. The heatsink/blower unit on the i5 processor is designed to dissipate the heat of that processor. That on the i7 must be able to dissipate the additional heat. This may require a different heatsink/blower unit. It is unclear whether manual changes in blower management (via the fan speed control configuration in the BIOS) will be sufficient to overcome this.

Of these three, # 2 is the most problematic. In my experience, even when turning the task over to a very experienced technician with access to the best equipment, there is still a significant fallout rate. I thus cannot recommend the attempt.

Hope this helps,

...S

[JRayn]

Thank you indeed for your detailed answer. It really does sound like a dead duck.

I continue, therefore, to await the release of the 9th generation NUC.