HP Envy 4-1030US Modified to a proper machine

So after my Alienware M15x took a suicidal drink of cola I got a check from Square Trade. I evaluated what I really wanted and needed in a laptop and realized I wasn't really playing any games. I went shopping at Micro Center and found that they this HP-Envy 4-1030US on sale. I got it for around $500 with tax. I had 16GB of Ram and an SSD that needed a home. So I went to work. It was pretty easy installing everything. Removing the bottom cover and then everything is instantly accessible.

A few months have passed and being a tech geek, I love to tinker. I recently went searching for possible upgrades for this little guy. I see that HP is now offering an Envy 4-1200 Ultrabook with an i5-3337U and Amd Radeon 8750M with 2GB of DDR3 Video memory. After some searching I found that I can order the board from HP for $331. It comes with an injected Windows 8 security cert. I honestly don't plan on upgrading to windows 8 I plan to stick with Windows 7 Ultimate that I have on here now. I don't have a touch screen anyway. I tried talking to HP technical support about this but I would have been just as successful talking to a bowl of potatoes.

Does anyone see any issues with this MOBO change? I plan to disassemble the laptop and put in the new MOBO and possibly a 256GB MSATA to match my 256GB SSD to possibly RAID 0 them for a little more speed. The processor will be a little bit faster and the dedicated graphics will be much better than the intel HD 4000 that is on my current model.

I am not familiar with the Windows 8 injected certificate stuff and wonder if this will matter for my desire to just keep Win 7 Ultimate? If the board doesn't fit then I have 21 days to return it so it isn't a big deal. I figure if it works and I sell my current board on eBay I should be able to almost break even on the MOBO switch.

So advice and comments appreciated!

 

i'd probably go the route of selling your current rig and buying new.. you'd probably break even at least. I don't know anythign about the windows 8 injected cert etiher, but as far as i know you should not have any problems installing win 7 on it. You would probably have to do a fresh install due to the amount of hardware change. It won't be as simple as popping in the HD and booting up right where you left off with your old build.

 

I can almost guarantee that in the two generations of envy from yours to the new one, HP has changed a screw location or internal dimension or something to make it incompatible with new generation parts.

Also, you have to make sure that everything currently associated with your MB right now will also be the same with the new one. Since HP locks down their bios with a "whitelist" lock to keep 3rd party additions out.

Finally, does the new motherboard come with the heatsink? Since the motherboard you have right now is using integrated graphics, you will need a new one to accommodate the AMD chip. Also, with the additional power drain from the new components, you'll most likely need a new power brick to supply the proper current.

You're really just better off selling the unit that you have right now and buying another one since the chances of getting getting everything set up are rather low.

Of course, if you really want to go for it and have success in it, then you will be a envy 4 owners hero and will give all of us with a similar rig a choice for future upgrading.

PS: Could you provide us with the location of the motherboard you plan on upgrading to?

 

Please tell me how buying a new computer for $700-$800 with all parts and specs exactly the same as the one I have except for the integrated graphics on the board, My computer is running a 3rd Generation i5-3317U Processor. I have 16GB of Ram installed and an SSD alongside the 32GB mSATA,would be better than spending between $200-$300 on a new motherboard and selling my current board for between $100-$200?

I am having trouble locating the correct part on HP Part Surfer though and can't find where I wrote down the part number. I recall it was very painful to find it on HP's website. It required searching through all matching model numbers and other such nonsense.