Possible to change mobile processor?

[PTrul]

Hi everybody. I'm from Germany, so excuse my English

I'm using an Asus F2FH Laptop for about 2 years with a Celeron-M 440 in it. I wanted to upgrade, but not to buy a whole new laptop, so I found some processors, e.g. C2D T5500 or T7400. My question is: Can I change the processor without problems? I think it relies on the BIOS of Asus, but it's from Feb. 2008, so I hope it works. And by the way, it has an i940 GML chipset.

(same question with WiFi card, wanted to change my 3945ABG to a 5100, would this work? Because there are several offers on ebay.)

Thanks for your help! Greetings from Germany!

PS: I won't ask Asus, because I think they want to sell new laptops and so they would say 'No it won't work'

[John_S_Intel]

Hello eismann, I'll try to address your questions here. My suggestion is that if you have any warranty left on your system and/or have paid for an extended service contact and are still covered, you should check with Asus first. I think you are pretty much at your own risk in attempting upgrades to your laptop. The first thing I see is that you mentioned that your processor is a Celeron M 440 and your chipset is a 940GML. What this tells me is that your CPU socket is the "Socket M" type. Any processor you wish to upgrade to must be compatible with Socket M. Newer processors (for Intel chipsets newer than the 940 GML) use the Socket P type processors sockets. While the newer CPUs may fit into the older socket, your system will not boot. It is also very possible that your BIOS will need to be updated to accomodate a different processor - even if it is Socket M compatible. Likely, you will have to work with Asus for any BIOS update that may be required. If you end up changing your processor, make sure to replace the thermal interface material (TIM). This material may be a pad or a paste and is used to transfer heat from the processor to the thermal solution (heat pipe or heat spreader). TIM is also something you typically get from your device manufacturer. I don't believe thermal interface material is supplied with mobile processors that are sold separatly. You might check ark.intel.com to see which processors are similar to the Celeron M 440 for a possible upgrade path, but the whether or not you can upgrade may well rest with Asus. As for the upgrade from an Intel 3945ABG wireless adapter to the latest 5100, I do not think this is possible for your particular laptop. From what I understand, the 5100 uses one more antennae lead than does the 3945, and there are some power/electrical circuit differences between the chipsets that support the 3945 and the chipsets that support the 5100. Please check the wireless support pages on support.intel.com to verify backwards compatibility for Intel wireless adapters. Best of luck.

John S.

Intel Customer Support*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

[PTrul]

Hey John, thanks for your fast answer!

I already contacted ASUS and they said the best CPU I could use ist the Pentium T2060, but I can't find too much information about it and it's hard to get, but I think it would work. The only thing I can do is to wait until there's a good offer on ebay, because it seems like there aren't any resellers. Thanks for the advice with the socket and TIM (although I already knew it ). In addition the newest BIOS is flashed and there isn't any warranty left. So there's nothing to lose. I hoped the T5500 would run, but it looks not so good. As I said, I look forward to the day when there's a cheap offer I'll tell you whether it works or not when I get it.

Well I was quite sure the new wireless adapter would work... because I opened my laptop and both cards have MiniPCIe, 2 connectors for antennas... It is already ordered and I think the package will arrive on friday or saturday, that's when I will try it. Either it works or I'll just send it back.

I couldn't find anything on the support pages to verify backwards compatibility, could you give me a link?

Greetings

[PTrul]

Okay I received the card yesterday and it works fine!

I reinstalled the drivers and first I wasn't able to connect to my router, but then I changed the security from WEP to WPA2-PSK and it works. Now I just need someone who buys my old card

Thanks for your help John, but maybe you can help me with the processor, it would be very nice!

Greetings

[idata]

Yes it is possible. before you attempt it make sure your out of warranty coverage. second figure out what motherboard it uses. Also make sure the mobile processor is socket M compatible processor. do not use the T5500 or the T7400. The front side bus of your current celeron (if you gave me the correct info) is 533 MHz FSB speed. use a C2D T5200, T5300 processors. these two CPUs are you best bet. do some extra research. good luck