i5 i7 compatible, replacable?

main question: If my notebook has an i5 processor, can I take out the CPU, and replace it with an i7?

also: will there ever come out a 32nm mobile quad-core cpu? if yes, will these be compatible/replacable for the i5? (apart from TDP, and I have discrete GPU)

thanks
tom

 

They should be mostly compatible, but your system's BIOS may not support it. If your machine ships with an i7 as an option, there should be no issues. If not, it's very much a crapshoot, and the i7 needs a 45W cooling system, so you could easily damage your machine or CPU if it's not up to supporting that much heat dissipation.

 

1. i5 and i7 have the same TPD of 35 Watts Intel® Core? i7 Mobile Processor I7-620M - SLBPE Intel® Core? i5 Mobile Processor I5-540M - SLBPG
2. I said "apart from TDP" so you don't need to comment on that

 

The i7-620M doesn't "count" as an i7. It's on the 32nm process unlike the rest of the i7 line, and it's the only i7 dual-core. When most people talk about i7's, it's about the i7-720QM and above, the quad-cores. An i7-620M will almost certainly slot into any i5 motherboard. If you had asked that in the first place, that would have been the answer you'd get.

You came here for advice giving us very little information in a not-terribly-straightforward way, so I answered as best I could. Without more information about what actual machine you have, nobody can give you a straight answer.

 

32 nm mobile quad cores are due out (supposedly at the end of this year, Q4 2010) with the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture. It's been largely confirmed that the desktop version of Sandy Bridge (scheduled for Q1 2011 now) comes with a new socket compared to the desktop i-series (LGA 1155 instead of LGA 1156 or LGA 1366), but there's been no confirmation on the mobile front so we still have no idea yet whether or not you could slot one into current mobile sockets.

 

I'd bet it will be a different socket. We are due for a refresh in the next few months, which will still be for the current socket, but the next one will be for the new platform (following Intel's past track record).

 

I may be wrong, but doesn't the graphics card have to be compatible with the i7 as well? I know when you build a i7 machine on a website Dell/HP, you have to switch to the graphics on the customization as well.

 

There is no specific GPU compatibility with CPUs, they all should work. Some companies can limit the BIOS support to certain GPUs though.

 

yes this is the case but most laptops have GPU's soldered to motherboard so they're not replaceable.. anyways , as long as u have a regular i5 CPU , and not ULV or CULV , u should be able to swap with regular core i7 but maybe not the quad...