Upgrade G73JW CPU

Hi there,

Thinking about upgrading the CPU on my G73JW-3DE from i7 740-qm. Looking at this CPU i7-940xm extreme edition ( Intel® Core? i7-940XM Processor 2.13GHz/8m/1333 | eBay.

My question is would this work, and would this be a good idea?
It says on Intel's website here ( Mobile Intel® HM55 Express Chipset) that my chipset is compatible with the CPU and has a TDP of 58.5 and the processor has a TDP of 55(max).

Also upgrading my RAM to 16gb!

So would it work, and do you think this processor is the best bang for my buck?
Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Charlie

 

Check out the Asus forum, there are a couple of threads discussing this, e.g. here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus-gaming-notebook-forum/565573-920xm-purchase.html

The HM55 chipset doesn't support more than 8GB RAM, unless I'm very mistaken.

940xm is a great CPU, but you better go with a 920xm, it's cheaper and you won't notice any difference, unless you start with hardcore bencharking including auxiliary cooling. So 920xm from ebay is definitely the best bang for the buck first gen i7 CPU (about $300).
The CPU works fine in the G73JW, but it's a real pain to disassemble the system, especially if you're doing it for the first time. And you will loose your warranty since there's a stupid "warranty void if removed" sticker in the CPU heatsink.

Edit: RAM is limited by the CPU, max RAM that's possible is 8 GB, save your bucks.

 

so should I buy a 920xm and keep my 8gb of ram?

 

Yeah, 16GB RAM definitely won't work, and you can easily bring the 920xm to 940xm levels, as I said, you don't notice a difference unless you push the CPU to its very limits, but you can't do this anyway without additional cooling, so yes, 920xm is imo the best option.

 

It said on the link you gave me that gaming isn't actually affected that much by a better processor, it is my 460m graphics card which takes all the strain. Is this true? I really wanted it just to make it a more powerful allround pc. So you think I should go with a QS 920xm? Thanks

 

No, that's not true. Generally most games are limited by the GPU, not the CPU, but it always depends on how it is coded... Starcraft II for example of GTA IV have a heavy CPU use and therefore benefit a lot from a better CPU. Even though a CPU won't give you an increase in FPS in most games you'll notice differences. It runs much smoother when there are a lot of enemie for example etc.

I can't tell you whether you really need a better CPU or not, generally a i7 740QM won't bottleneck the 460m, at least not in most games. If you compile a lot of code or use CPU bound software for image rendering and video editing you will greatly benefit from a 920xm.

 

Nope. The most you'd be able to run would be a 920XM or 940XM.

 

That, i'd go for a 920xm, cheaper and you can still bring it on par with a 940xm since both can be overclocked to death. Given sufficient cooling that is.

 

Even if you cant replace your CPU with a Sandy Bridge i7 2820qm, the unlocked Core i7 920xm is a good alternative.
I dont know how high it will OC, but probably more than stock speeds ofc.

 

My second question is would the 920xm or 940xm burn my laptop to dust? My chipset has a TDI of 58.5 and the processors have a TDI of 55(max). So will it not burn the house down?

 

With a good paste job, it will run at the same temps as that 740qm or even lower. I can push mine at 2.7GHz and still stay at reasonably safe temps. 90C is a bit hot, but considering the massive OC and prime 95, it'S not bad at all. Of course, the max OC will depend on ambient temps.

 

My 740qm runs at about maximum of 75C in heavy heavy gaming with the stock paste. So how hot would the 920xm get? Someone in the feedback page of ebay said they overclocked theirs ro 3.7ghz! What would the temps be like if I were to do that too?

Thanks,
Charlie

 

3.7GHz would require some rather extreme cooling method. At 24C ambient, running wPrime 32M bench, i hit a max of 89C at 2.7GHz, you should get lower temp while gaming since the CPU load won't be 8 thread running at 100%.

 

Usually you can't get to 3.7GHz on all cores with a 920xm unless you increase the core voltage.

How hot it runs always depends on how hard the CPU is being used. 3.3-3.4GHz on all cores should work fine for most games, but if you do some CPU bound rendering it will run too hot at these clocks. That's because games don't give the CPU a 100% load all the time, just as tijo said.