Processor upgrade i5 3210m to i7

I own the DV4 5100 series and would like to know a few things about the posibilities of upgrading the processor of this machine. This notebook has an Intel i5 3210m processor, 8gb ram, 640 HDD 5400 rpm, and the Nvidia Geforce 650m and runs pretty cool even when intense gaming the Nvidia card doesnt get really hot, and the CPU doesnt go further than 80 C.

I keep track of the heat level every time and the CPU on idle sits at 36-42C, when surfing the web with lots of windows and watching videos up to 45-50, playing low intensity games like LoL it sits at 55, and with games that are really intensive it goes up to 70-75-80 depending on the game. The one time I got to 89C i played like 8 hours and the ambient temperature was 33C. The GPU doesnt have any problem with heat, it sits at a temparature way lower than the processor.

I would like to know the possibility of upgrading the i5 processor to i7, I know this notebook supports it because there were models that came with it and here is the service manual http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c03317323.pdf which states that it supports the

Intel Core i7-3612QM 2.1 GHz processor (SC turbo up 3.1 GHz, 1600 MHz/6.0 MB L3 cache,
quad core, 35 W)

which is the one I'd be looking forward to upgrade. I love 14" screen so the dv6 wasnt an option for me but what concerns me is the heat that this processor may generate because of the size of the notebook and the cooling, so if someone knows how much heat it produces compared to the i5 id love some information. At first glance I'd say that it shouldnt produce a lot more heat because it is 35W same as the i5 and acording to this: Intel Core i7 3612QM Notebook Processor - NotebookCheck.net Tech I may be right but I always read this forum and you guys have experience in this kind of things and I value that more.

Another related question is how dificult is to change the processor myself, I know notebooks but have never opened one myself except for HDD and RAM replacement, so Im a newb in that matter. If theree is too much risk in doing it myself and damaging something, Id like to know how much does someone ask $$ for this kind of work.

Thank you very much for your time! Sry for my english, and it is always nice to learn stuff from you guys! Have a nice day.

 

Simple answer and always wait for the complex answer. If BIOS support for a quad and CPU's are PGA (not BGA) if the access is not an issue it really is plug and play. I don't know your model so need some confirmation. If the same TDP then also thermal issues should not be a problem. TDP is not the CPU power draw or anything like that. It is the required thermal cooling requirements from Intel. So same company (Intel) and same TDP all good.

 

If you are upgrading to an i7, the 35W quadcores are useless and expensive. The reason is that the i7-3610m (or 3630m depending on availability) actually draw the same wattage as the 3612qm when clocked at the same speed using throttlestop. This means that if you get a 3610qm, you have more CPU power on tap and you can always downclock it if power/heat is an issue.
However, should you get the 3612qm, you cannot increase the speed if you needed it so it is a poor comparison.

 

I agree with Marksman30k. Don't bother with the 3612QM or 3632QM, go with the 3610QM or 3630QM. Also, when you go to swap it out, not sure if you changed thermal paste yet, but you will have to this time and if it's anything like Arctic Silver 5 or IC Diamond, cooling will be much better than the stock paste they use. I recommend IC Diamond only because it's not electrically conductive so if you goop a little bit on the mainboard you don't have to worry about shorting it out.

In any case, good luck, and hope it works out for you.

 

All advice given thus far is great and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Following up from HTWingNut's post, here is some additional info on thermal compound - though it's not as complicated as some make it out to be: Thermal Compound Roundup - January 2012 | Hardware Secrets

 

Thanks for all the input! very much aprecciated, learned a lot from that. I will start looking for processors taking into account what you guys told me, I dont live in the United States so shipping will probably be another thing to account for when I choose the processor.
About the Thermal compund I have heard of it but never done it, but I will certanly do it when i get the i7, my question is where do yo put the compound? in what part of the processor and how much of it, I guess I will search in youtube cause i heard its not difficult at all.
Ah, another question, does the GPU needs thermal compound too? and what other parts of the notebook need it?

Thanks again for all the information! Good day

 

You will NEED thermal compound, otherwise you'll burn up your CPU.

Simply put, buy some high % rubbing alcohol, 99%+ preferably, but at least 90% or higher. Just some soft paper towel too. Be sure to clean up the thermal paste that's already on the current CPU and heatsink thoroughly before installing the new CPU.

Apply the thermal paste in a line down the middle. People say you can use too much, but I'd rather see a little too much than not enough because too little can cause the CPU to burn up especially on mobile chips because they have no heat spreader it goes right on the die.

Visit artcticsilver.com as they have good recommendations on how to apply the thermal paste. Although I personally recommend IC Diamond for reasons mentioned before, mainly it doesn't conduct electrically, but has great thermal conductivity.

 

CPU and GPU both need it. HTWingNut has pretty much got you covered. It just needs applied to the heat sink(s) - about a BB size application should do it.