HP g7-1113cl w/ AMD A4 Dual Core. Will A6 or A8 Quad Core Work?

I just bought this machine from Costco for my son, and it is much better than I expected - especially video performance.

Being the constant tinkerer, I noticed that the AMD A6 and A8 CPU's have the same socket and power draw, but they are Quad Core. Will this mobo support them? 'Wondering if there is a CPU upgrade path available for the future. Thanks in advance!

 

They should work provided that the CPU is not soldered on (use CPU-Z to confirm that it has the FS1 g1 socket) but the real question is whether it can handle the heat or not.

 

Thanks, R3d. 'Didn't think about the possibility of a soldered CPU, although the online service manual 'implies' that it can be replaced in case of failure.

As for heat, is there a significant difference if they both draw 35W? Also, do you know which chipset this mobo uses?

 

CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting

 

OK, was unexpectedly busy the last couple of days, but here is the info from CPUID:

AMD A4-3300M
Socket FS1 (937) Hmmm - no mention of g1 in socket
Mobo HP 3568 21.0A
Chipset AMD ID1705
Southbridge AMD A75
Graphics Radeon HD6480G 512Mb Memory

So, besides the heat, what do you guys think?

 

A gentle bump...

Anyone have any thoughts???

 

I might question as to whether or not the BIOS would recognize all cores of the new chip. Odds are likely yes, but that's just me.

Also, HP has been known to use different configurations of the same MB dependent upon the chip they are pairing it with. I.E. using a board configured to handle the power requirements of a dual-core CPU as opposed to using boards that could handle either dual OR quad core CPU's. The CPU's may even be of the same family and clearly meant to be interchangeable, however it does not necessarily mean that HP left that option open. But I simply may be over-thinking this.

 

Thanks, Izagaia - good food for thought. It sounds like the only way to really know for sure is to either contact an HP engineer or buy a used A6/A8 and experiment. The bummer with the latter option is voiding the warranty if there is some sort of security seal.

 

I'll sell you my A6-3400M for like $50 if you want to try it out. I was planning on buying an A8-3510MX.

 

Thanks, Disgustipated - that's a very good price. However, I have to confess that I'm afraid to risk the warranty so early (the Costco version comes with a two year warranty). I'm thinking next summer, so I can hopefully find out more in the meantime - and I'll probably go all-in with an A8.

 

Say, did the quad core ever work? Just curious. Thanks

 

Unfortunately, I didn't try it yet - I'm going to wait until 2012 to 1) get some more 'time' out of the warranty, and 2) hopefully the price of used A8 chips will come down somewhat. If I didn't get laid off, I would have done it already, but I need to be cautious now. If anyone else has the interest and the means and wants to give it a shot, please let us know your results.

 

Wow - I just saw this:

Buy.com has the refurbished HP Pavilion G7-1113cl AMD A-Series A4 17.3" Notebook for $380 with free shipping.

That is an amazing price!

 

I have a Pavilion Elite m9000t desktop and 23" lcd monitor that I purchased refurbished from an HP outlet store. Amazing quality compared to new. I would definitely not hesitate to purchase another refurb unit from them again.