i3-3120M and i3-3120ME compatibility

[BI]

I've been thinking about a slightly upgrading my HM65 chipset based laptop from Pentium B950 (G2 socket) to something more powerful.

When I checked compatibility lists, i found that HM65 actually supports a couple of Ivy Bridge "E" model chips like https://ark.intel.com/products/65711/Intel-Core-i7-3610QE-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3-30-GHz- i7-3610QE, https://ark.intel.com/products/65704/Intel-Core-i5-3610ME-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-3-30-GHz- i5-3610ME, https://ark.intel.com/products/65698/Intel-Core-i3-3120ME-Processor-3M-Cache-2-40-GHz- i3-3120ME. Last one is the most interesting for me, since it has a non-"E" (embedded) counterpart named i3-3120M. 3120M itself is a quite good bargain in my country, but i've never seen 3120ME on sale actually. The questions are: What fundamential difference exists between 3120M and 3120ME, that HM65 Chipset is only compatible with Embedded model? Did anybody tried to use non-Embedded chips on HM65?

P.S. I know that https://ark.intel.com/products/50072/Intel-Core-i5-2540M-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-3-30-GHz- i5-2540M would be a better choice, but it costs twice as much as 3120M.

[AlHill]

You can view the processor differences here: https://ark.intel.com/compare/65698,71465 Intel® Product Specification Comparison

However, none of that makes any difference. What you MUST do is contact the manufacturer of your laptop and ask them what processors are supported by THEIR BIOS. Then, you can select from those processors.

And, that will only be possible if your current processor is not soldered to the motherboard (which it is not).

For fun, you can compare all four processors here: https://ark.intel.com/compare/50072,55627,65698,71465 Intel® Product Specification Comparison

For a processor upgrade, the new processor must be socket, chipset, and BIOS compatible.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005682/processors.html Intel® Desktop Processor Upgrade Information

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