Is this even possible?

I originally bought my Y560 with the i7 option because I thought I "needed" it. Truth be told, I haven't. What I do need now, though, that I didn't really need before is battery life (back in school with 3-hour classes at least once a week).

My model cale with a Clarkdale i7, which doesn't have integrated graphics. It's running on the 5730 at all times, and battery life struggles drastically. As far as I know, the motherboard/BIOS are the same between all models, though. Would it be possible to purchase an i5 off of eBay for $60 or so, swap it in, and have the switchable graphics work the way they would have if I boght an i5 model at the start?

 

I would've said 100% yes, but then I came across this: y560 i3 to i7 upgrade - Lenovo Community

I think this person summed it up pretty well:

You're going the opposite way though, so I don't know if you'll be affected by this. If you really want to do it I would find someone who had a generous return policy so you're not throwing your money away.

 

Well I'll be damned if the motherboards are different. I might stick with my original plan to sell the 560 and buy a 470 from the outlet, and get better graphics along with it.