8943G with i3 350, upgrade to i7?

Hi all, I've had my 8943G-5636 with the i3 350M processor since December 2011. How straightforward is it to upgrade it to an i7 620M? Some 8943G's came with equipped with it, so the compatibility should be fine, and there are a few 620M on the 'bay for around $150.

Acer specs:

Would it be a better idea to find a 740QM or 840QM instead? Am I missing anything else?

Thanks for the help!

 

Ok so it looks like the 620M is my only option, as it's the only dual core i7. The others I listed are quad core and won't be compatible with my motherboard. What else do I need to do for the upgrade? Bios update? Anything else?

 

Nowadays motherboards support processors regardless of number of cores. 740QM is the cheapest option (60$ on eBay). But it is better than 620M ONLY if you use professional software like for videoediting or other which can use more cores.

Yes, this Acer has dedicated graphics card and if it wouldn't, that would be the only reason to not support I7 as I7 do not have iGPU on-board.
Of course you can search the forum for owner's thread and ask there if anyone did it before.

 

Oh that's good to know! The 740QM is much cheaper than the 620M for whatever reason, so I'll go for it. Thanks for the help!

 

welcome. Just remember that 740QM will eat battery much faster and it is worse in single threaded and dual threaded applications. However if something need 3-4 cores then it is a winner.
I would personally get at least 820QM or 840QM.
740QM = 2.93 using 1 core or 2.64 using 2.
820QM = 3,06GHz using 1 and 2.8GHz I guess using 2 cores.
840QM = 3.2GHz/2.93/2.13 for 1/2/4 cores.

 

OK so I bought and installed a used i7 820QM on ebay, but the laptop would not power on at all, no fans no display, nothing. I put back the old i3 and it booted up fine. Am I missing anything else in upgrading the CPU? My system BIOS version is v1.00, would that be enough to cause the system not to recognize the i7? At this point it looks like I'm out of options and I'll be seeking a refund, unless someone here has any other suggestions I can try.

Thanks in advance!

 

Put I3 and then update BIOS.
After this take away battery, press and hold power button (or unplug CMOS battery and reset connector CMOS putting metal thing between 2 pins of connector for CMOS battery), put I7 and check that you put it right.
Assemble notebook fully and press power button. If still blank, take away RAM, press and hold power button and put RAM back.

You must have dedicated AMD graphics card, right?

 

Thanks James, I'll try that. And yes, I've got the ATI Radeon 5650 dedicated graphics card

 

Welcome. Maybe you have somewhere another stick of RAM rated at 1333MHz? Also you may try to leave only 1 module in the laptop.

In fact laptop must work with this CPU. If it will not... I am sorry. THis laptop comes with 740QM from factory so 820 is good.

 

No luck. Updated bios to 1.06, followed your no battery/press power button steps, and no change. Took out RAM, put different RAM in, one stick at a time, and no luck. I really really wanted this to work!!

The seller has agreed on a return, minus shipping and 20% restocking fee.

I may try again with a 620M or 720QM, I won't find another good price for the 820QM like this one (it was $85 with shipping)

On the plus side, I can disassemble this thing in no time now! Thanks for all the help James, I appreciate it.

 

I am really really sorry about this. I checked everything, this model comes with I7 so I was 100% sure it should... Is this CPU ES or OEM? If it is ES then it may be the reason it doesn't work. OEM should have this SLBLX written while if it has Q3B9 or other 4 digit number than it is ES.
If he didn't write that it is ES while it is then you don't have to pay any restocking fee or even return shipping.

I am trying to help you how I can because I feel bad for this, even though this is very strange.

At this moment I wouldn't buy any quad core CPU (even 740QM though it is supported), what it there is some setting in dual core notebooks which quad notebooks of the same model don't...
While I believe buying 620-640 would be too expensivу Intel Core i7 620M 2 66 GHz Dual Core CP80617003981AH Processor 0735858214025 | eBay
Intel Core i7 620M Laptop Mobile Processor 2 66GHz 4MB SLBTQ Socket G1 CPU | eBay
Intel Core i7 Mobile i7 620M 2 67 GHz Laptop CPU SLBTQ | eBay
Maybe 560M is MUCH worth to buy then Intel Core i5 560M 2 66 GHz Dual Core CP80617005487AA SLBTS Socket G1 Tested | eBay

 

I thought it would work too, I was excited to try it out.

I checked the pictures I took, and it says SLBLX. There has to be something different with the motherboards between the dualcore and quadcore models.