Seeking Expertise From Knowledgeable Resident Member: Identification of CPU Socket Type

I have been a fairly regular reader of these forums for some years now, and have gained significant knowledge & information here on a wide range of various topics/aspects of computer tech, and have always been most appreciative of all the excellent information exchanged here by members. In the past I have usually found the answer needed to most any specific question or issue I might be having, with any computer I may be working on, without having to create a post ...just by simply reading thru related posts on the forum until I found the best solution/best information. But now however I have a specific question that I have not been able to find an answer to (after extensive searching here and on a few other other forums, and of course thru searches using google), and I was hoping that one of the resident experts here might be able to answer this question for me.

I have a Clevo P750DM Laptop. This unit has no detailed documentation or paperwork or specific model identifiers ....or any CPU (also has no GPU, or RAM, or Hard Drive(s), and I am trying to identify if the existing CPU Socket is either a Haswell or Skylake (so I can purchase the correct one). I have come to find out that there are 3 different revisions of this particular P750DM model, and because of the fact that this particular version has a Thunderbolt Port, it is either a Revision 2 or Revision 3 (the most current revision), thus it would have either a Haswell or Skylake socket. However, in comparing it to other Haswell or Skylake sockets (using google image search), I was not able to positively identify it, was hopeful that possibly a knowledgeable member here could identify this particular socket type. Thus I have included some detailed pictures here of the socket in question (from my Clevo P750DM unit), and I am hoping one of the expert members here can kindly identify this specific CPU - Intel socket type. Appreciate any help that someone may be able to offer, thanks all !

 

Your right that is a bit hard to tell. You may actually have an easier time checking if it is DDR3 or DDR4 ram as they don't have the same slot location on the DIMM, so you would be able to just measure it and see which it is.

 

ahh, that is an excellent point, thanks for that great advice, I will try to ascertain if it is either DDR3 or DDR4 based on your suggestion, and will attempt to reference & confirm it from detailed pics & info related to both that I can find off the Internet, If I still find myself stumped, I will post some detailed pics here of the actual RAM slots from my P750DM laptop unit here ....along with any exact measurements that I can take that might differentiate DDR3 from DDR4. Thanks again for the great advice my friend !

 

That is either the LGA 1151 or the LGA 1150, depending on which processor it came with (4790k or 6700k architecture/series)

EDIT: Nvm im sure you already know that. Digging further..

But if the system has a Type - C (USB 3.1) / Thunderbolt 3 port, it should be Skylake for sure (LGA 1151)

 

yes, thank you ...you are right, I too have managed to narrow it down to being one or the other ( LGA 1151 or the LGA 1150 ), but I do sincerely appreciate your input nevertheless !

 

@chezzzz where exactly are you figuring that there are three different revisions? Are you referring to the P750ZM vs. P750ZM-G and the P750DM vs. P750DM-G? P750DM(-G) has Thunderbolt while P750ZM(-G) never did. Your machine has a Thunderbolt port. P750DM(-G) has a Z170 chipset, so it needs a Skylake chip. Moreover, you can check the model label on the main back panel and if it has P750DM on it then it's Skylake. Also I recall the motherboard should have a sticker with the model on it. Regardless, not sure where you are getting the idea that there are different revisions unless something goofy is going on (like mixing P750ZM and P750DM parts)

If that is not enough objective evidence, better start counting pins (and hope you are not off by 1)

 

That's Haswell. Look at the notches.

 

Sorry for any confusion, this was information (3 revisions of P750DM) that was conveyed to me by someone on another reputable forum who stated that they were somewhat familiar with the P750DM Clevo model line. this person mentioned that the lightning bolt symbol (on the chassis) indicated that it was either the latest revision P750DM, or the revision just before the current one (2nd revision) ...earlier models did not have that same etched symbol for Thunderbolt I was told. Since this is the first Clevo unit that I have come across myself (held in my own hands), I am not very knowledgeable on really any detailed or specific aspect of Clevo laptops (since the units are produced in Taiwan and are so varied in specs), so I am relying on information from those who offer what they do know thru their own experience with these laptops. thanks for all of that information you have kindly provided, I will indeed check on everything you have said. Much appreciated !

 

Just open up the socket and compare the pin layout. The tape is blocking a clear view. Just find the notches and it will easily show you based on the image I posted above. I'm leaning towards Haswell because of the two big ones with no pins but without actually seeing it with the cover off, I can't tell for sure.

 

That Lighting Bolt (Thunderbolt 3 im assuming) points towards Skylake. If you can post a picture of the socket with the bracket lifted and picture of the thunderbolt port, that would make things easier. AFAIK there arent any specific socket based revisions, there was the Haswell version and then the Skylake.

 

Thank you for you input and the detailed pictures, was quite hard for me to find anything picture-wise closely resembling the Socket on my unit, and I do see what you are saying here ....does look much more like Haswell based on that picture. Thanks again.

 

That's a Skylake socket and chip.

 

Ok, will do !

 

I just posted a picture of the Skylake socket and chip right above as well, just click the thumbnail and you have an extremely clear pic. Should be able to make 100% positive ID after that because Skylake puts pins around the notches, dead giveaway.

 

Thank you, yes ...I kinda thought the same thing frankly. I will take some additional pictures of everything that you all have mentioned, and will post those pictures here very shortly ....so we can have a definitive answer. thanks very much everyone for all the kind input, very much appreciated !

That is great, thank you very much ! I will crack open the back and compare and will let you know. Thanks again

Yes, I will most certainly post pictures here of everything that everyone has pointed out above so that there can be a definitive group consensus before I purchase any CPU for this Clevo P750DM laptop. thanks again all !

Thanks again everyone, appreciate all the great advice & kind responses !

 

You're welcome, that's what we are here for!

 

Hey All ~ here are some additional pictures that I took based on all the expert input and advice. I'm sincerely hoping that these newer pictures may shed additional clues on the exact kind of CPU Socket on this Clevo laptop, as I am still not quite sure if it is a Haswell or Skylake. Although I do see that this P750DM Laptop has a Thunderbolt / USB 3.1 type C Port (can see the lightning bolt symbol etched on the chassis in attached picture). As far as if this laptop takes DDR3 or DDR4 RAM (as Galm17 had pointed out), I was not able to determine that either unfortunately, as based on comparing the empty slots against pictures of both kinds of RAM (via google pic search)... it seems, to me at least, that the differences between the physical characteristics of DDR3 or DDR4 RAM are quite minimal, and the distinctive slot is very similar on both in terms of it's location on the RAM stick.Since I do not currently have either kind of DDR3 or DDR4 RAM available here, I am unable to check much more closely. As is seen in the picture of the empty RAM compartment, directly above the RAM slots is the product number for this machine : P/N: 6-77-P750DMOA-NO3. Anywayz, please take a look at the pics and please let me know if they help to shed any light on things, would most appreciate any input, or thoughts from knowledgeable members. Thanks again all !

note the Thunderbolt / USB 3.1 type C Port on far right in above pic.


exposed CPU socket pic 1

exposed CPU socket pic 2

 

Skylake. Thunderbolt + DDR4.

 

I give up. That's a Haswell socket. Every Skylake socket I've found has pins around those notches and that matches the bottom of the CPU. Haswell has the four blocks... But DDR4 and TB suggest Skylake but I can't find a single Skylake socket that looks like that.

 

Yes, i completely understand ....I searched quite a lot on the Internet and was not able to find any pictures that were similar, sadly.

Thank you resident expert Ethrem, your quick friendly response and expertise is most sincerely appreciated ! very warm regards from NYC

I will continue to try to find out someway, somehow ! all the best !

 

Grrr... They're dead pins. Okay, look at the two small notches at the top. It's a Skylake socket. I don't know why some have pins there and some don't.



Left matches yours. Look at the height of the two circular notches on the outside. Left is Skylake.

 

that is actually the picture that I was using (mostly) for ref, was giving me fits

hmm ...this raises another question possibly ...regarding the correct orientation of the CPU when I go to install it.

 

You can't mess that up. Those little circular notches on the outside? They're indented in the PCB that holds the chip.



See them at the bottom left and right on the chip itself? They align with the socket.

 

yes, I see what you are saying, and I agree. frankly, before I made this post, I was thinking it was Skylake (based on that pic too) ....but since there were subtle diffs between mine and the one in the pic, I was not feeling quite sure.

ahhh ...ok, I see, thanks for pointing that out, appreciate it. Guess I will be purchasing a Skylake .... and holding my breath as I install

 

I resorted to looking at the pins around the notches. Haswell's notches are further down. There's no way a Haswell chip would fit in that socket.

What threw me off is seeing all the sockets with the extra pins. Intel really didn't make it easy. Anyway, DDR4 is a dead giveaway for Skylake because Haswell cannot run DDR4 while Skylake can run both.

Only Haswell-E supports DDR4 which is an entirely different beast.

 

I completely understand, tis confusing to say the least ....I was actually beginning to question my eyesight
Sincerely appreciate all of your advice and help my friend !

I wont be purchasing immediately (have to find a good $$ deal first), so ...if you might happen to think of anything else you may not have mentioned, please let me know.
I will most certainly post back here once i have installed successfully ! Thanks again for all of your kind insight

 

Yeap Skylake! With DDR4. Haswell doesn't support TB3.

@Ethrem I think a lot of manufacturers just use the same pin layout and use a different outer stencil.

@chezzzz Please mask out your MAC-ID and the serial. Not suggested to leave all of that info the the interbutts.

 

Thanks for the confirmation my friend, very much appreciated !

 

btw. the the top RAM slot says on the left : DDR4

 

If you have a Microcenter you can pick up a 6700K in store for 310 bucks. If you just want it for gaming, the 6600k is a steal at 210. Honestly the i7 is more for real multithreaded apps like encoding and such. The i5 runs cooler and both chips overclock, you just get 4 cores with 4 threads instead of 4 cores with 8 threads. It's extremely rare I see all 8 threads in use on my desktop or my laptop but I run virtual machines and such which benefit from them. That's definitely a Skylake machine though without a doubt.

Well the odd thing is that the pins exist on the chip. I wonder if they just stabilize voltage or something? It's the higher end Z170 boards that all seem to have them. But that was one seriously infuriating puzzle. Leave it to Intel to make it so complicated.

 

LOL, I did not even notice that, too funny (my eyesight is even worse than I care to admit I guess). Thanks for catching that, and for letting me know !!

 

Yes, you are right, I will mask that out ...or delete that picture from the post ....thanks for the heads up on that !

 

Thank you for sending me that info, that is really a great help ....and yes there is a Microcenter not far (I just checked). Frankly, and I know this may sound a bit overly minimal, but I am simply considering making this a Linux Workstation type laptop ....and may not even opt for the dedicated graphics possibly ....as I simply want a laptop that runs fairly cool (this seems to have a very good cooling system), and as far as games, I can get along running the integrated graphics off the CPU (Linux always lags behind when it comes to keeping up with GPU Drivers & support etc). I have done that for sometime on other laptops running Linux, and find that I can still play some games doing that (not much of a serious gamer these days ....not since running the original Quake Arena or UT on an iMac a dozen or so years ago

I may actually do just as you say and opt for an i5 (6600k) to save a bit of money, as everything you say makes a lot of sense frankly. would you happen to know if there is a massive difference between the integrated graphics of the 6600k vs the 6700k ? thanks for that !

 

Nope, same graphics. The main difference is the lower threads, the base and turbo clock (but they're both unlocked so they can be overclocked), and the cache.

http://ark.intel.com/m/compare/88195,88191

I don't know if that machine will let you use the graphics though. I'm pretty sure desktop machines are connected to the MXM port only.

 

I see, that is an excellent point, I will have to research that more throughly ....was hoping to possibly avoid the additional expense of purchasing a GPU.
By the way, could you possibly make a suggestion for a good DDR4 RAM(Brand) to purchase for this kind of machine. I was thinking of either getting 16gb (2x8) or 32gb(2x16). Not quite sure if I need to purchase the 2400Mhz unless it will offer a significant difference in multi-task / performance boost.

 

I looked and you actually have to have an MXM GPU in that machine. The desktop chip doesn't support Optimus and there is no mux to allow graphics switching. Desktop CPUs can't support Optimus.

As for DDR4, you want to go with low latency 1.2v SO-DIMMS. DDR4 tends to have higher CAS latency which means for example some 2400 kits are no faster than some DDR3-1600 kits. I'd shop around. Also check out the P750dm thread and ask there what people recommend. I am still on Ddr3 Haswell machines because Skylake performance didn't justify buying a new motherboard, processor, and RAM.

 

ahh, I see, well that sux, I had just kinda assumed that using integrated graphics was a given no matter the laptop. I am currently using a Lenovo Y580 laptop which has a 3rd Gen i7, with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M / Intel HD Graphics 4000 - 2 GB GDDR5 SDRAM ....and I have never even bothered to use the dedicated graphics (I'm running Linux), I simply assumed that I could use this Clevo in the same way. Guess the next hurdle will be to figure out something for the GPU for this Clevo, sadly.

Thanks for the info on the RAM, much appreciated (sincerely). I will look into that as well, and will follow your suggestion regarding the P750DM thread. A very big thank you for everything, you have been invaluable my friend. I must now crash as there is early work tomorrow, but will check back in here to update my progress. wishing you a great night & all the best