The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Stupid question: Can I swap a i7 720QM to my Studio XPS 16?

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by alexzeon, Sep 24, 2010.

  1. alexzeon

    alexzeon Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    17
    Messages:
    358
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I'm just curious whether I can swap a quad core CPU into my i5-based Studio XPS 1647. The socket should be the same but how about BIOS support?

    Thanks!
     
    alexzeon, Sep 24, 2010
    #1
  2. anodize

    anodize Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    93
    Messages:
    1,478
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Nope. Doesn't work. The best upgrade cpu upgrade you can get is the i7 640m which is the fastest dualcore cpu on the market. I've seen a few on ebay.
     
    anodize, Sep 24, 2010
    #2
  3. kezuk12

    kezuk12 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    33
    Messages:
    316
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Not a stupid question, but nah it's not possible. Try the i7 620m or the 640m as anodize said.
     
    kezuk12, Sep 24, 2010
    #3
  4. alexzeon

    alexzeon Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    17
    Messages:
    358
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Too bad then...
    Oh well, I think I won't change anyways because the motivation for this is quad core...if only dual core is the choice, then i5 520M is good enough for me.

    Thanks guys!
     
    alexzeon, Sep 24, 2010
    #4
  5. Muscle Master

    Muscle Master Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    74
    Messages:
    289
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    but can someone explain why it's not possible!!!

    it uses the same socket so why not use the 1645's bios verses the 1647
     
    Muscle Master, Sep 24, 2010
    #5
  6. seeker_moc

    seeker_moc Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    354
    Messages:
    2,141
    Likes Received:
    21
    Trophy Points:
    56
    That's exactly what the problem is, the BIOS. The socket and chipset are the same, so there's nothing hardware wise that would prevent it from working. I don't know if anybody has actually tried it, but I'd assume putting an i7 720 into a 1647 would result in some sort of BIOS error saying that the processor (and it's assorted power/cooling tables) aren't found.

    You could try to force flash a 1645 BIOS onto a 1647 board, if it's even possible, but if it bricks your laptop, then that's between you and Dell. You could also find someone high-speed in BIOS modding work and ask them to add 720 support to the 1647 BIOS. I don't know of anyone personally who can do this, but there's lots of threads containing community modded BIOSes over in the Lenovo section.
     
    seeker_moc, Sep 25, 2010
    #6
  7. gaah

    gaah Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    180
    Messages:
    793
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    31
    I flashed the 1647 BIOS once on a 1645 by mistake, completely bricked it. I wouldn't even try the other way around (1645 BIOS on a 1647)...
     
    gaah, Sep 25, 2010
    #7
  8. anodize

    anodize Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    93
    Messages:
    1,478
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    lol, this question is like "we are all human. why two genders?" :p

    gender swap = a big no no.
     
    anodize, Sep 25, 2010
    #8
  9. seeker_moc

    seeker_moc Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    354
    Messages:
    2,141
    Likes Received:
    21
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Just so we're all clear on this, quad core = bigger/better = male. I guess that makes 1647 for girls.... :p No offense if any of you are actually female.... :rolleyes:
     
    seeker_moc, Sep 25, 2010
    #9
  10. Gloomy

    Gloomy Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    33
    Messages:
    422
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Yeah all 1645s are burly lumberjacks with a ton of chest hair and huge biceps.

    You 1647 people have nice breasts though thats about it
     
    Gloomy, Sep 25, 2010
    #10
  11. TimeWriter

    TimeWriter Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    244
    Messages:
    419
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    LOL that really made me laugh. :laugh:
     
    TimeWriter, Sep 25, 2010
    #11