CPU upgrade question Probook 6570b

[ctrout]

I recently picked up a Probook 6570b as a hackbook project. I got os x Seirra loaded and running on a 240gb SSD and have installed a 1TB HDD in the optical bay. The system board has non-upgradeable Intel HD 4000 graphics but I upgraded to 8GB RAM to help with this. The last possible upgrade would be the CPU.

I have seen plenty of threads on this laptop that have a cut-and-paste list of processor options from the HP website so I know what the manufacturer recommends. The problem is, I want to know what others have tried and what their results were. After all, if I wanted to stick to HP's recommendations, I wouldn't have loaded the Mac OS onto a Windows based laptop.

I have seen similar HP laptops that went from 35w to 45w processors and even i5 dual core to i7 quad core processors but I've never seen anyone post results of attempts to upgrade the 6570b in a similar way. The reason I am looking to upgrade above the recommended CPU performance is because the best processor recommended for this machine is the i7-3540M which is only dual core. This machine is ivy bridge with QM77 chipset and socket G2, all of which will support quad core. I was looking at the low power i7 QM chips to keep the CPU wattage the same but there are only two that will work and they go for over $200 on eBay. If I am able to run a 45w quad core, I'll get better performance at about half the price.

So, has anyone ever tried something like a 3630QM or ideally, a 3840QM chip in one of these Probooks? If so, how were the results? If no, is there an online community that may be better suited to assist with this project?

 

[ctrout]

So here is a little added information that I found while researching this project.

The computer that I have (6570b) is covered in the same service manual as the Elitebook 8570p. The manual shows that the Elitebook can accept the whole range of quad core i7 CPUs, up to, and including the i7-3740QM (2.70-GHz processor (SC turbo up to 3.70-GHz; 1600-MHz FSB, 6.0-MB L3 cache, 45 W). The manual also shows that the heat sink is the same for both models. Since the heat sink that I have is therefore sufficient to cool a 45w CPU in the Elitebook, I see no reason to believe that it wouldn't cool the same processor in my 6570b Probook.

Additionally, there is another heat sink listed that is designed to remove the additional heat of a discreet memory GPU. Mine has UMA. I have looked at pictures of both heat sinks and the only difference in them is the addition of the pad that would contact the GPU for the one with discreet memory. I would assume that since they have the same dimensions, this other heat sink being designed to remove the additional heat of the GPU (and the 45w CPU of the Elitebook), would certainly handle the heat of only a 45w CPU.

I guess this leaves me to only two questions. Will the bios in my laptop recognize the i7-3740QM that I would like to install? If not, can I load the bios from the Elitebook to allow my laptop to make use of the processor?

Am I thinking clearly here or am I way off base?

 

[trents]

Whether the bios contains the necessary microcode to recognize the new CPU you have in mind is the most important question remaining to be answered. Do you have the latest bios installed?

 

[ctrout]

Whether the bios contains the necessary microcode to recognize the new CPU you have in mind is the most important question remaining to be answered. Do you have the latest bios installed?

Updating the bios was the first thing I did.

I posted this question on the HP support community forum as well and got a reply stating that the architecture of the motherboard will not support any quad core processor, even if the socket and the chipset support it. They said that it isn't a matter of cooling capacity or bios.

If I had an extra couple hundred bucks sitting around I would try it anyway. I mean, I'm sure that the Wright brothers probably heard it a million times that a machine that is heavier than air would never be capable of flight.

 

[trents]

Updating the bios was the first thing I did.

I posted this question on the HP support community forum as well and got a reply stating that the architecture of the motherboard will not support any quad core processor, even if the socket and the chipset support it. They said that it isn't a matter of cooling capacity or bios. Hogwash. The quad core chip is the same physical size and if it uses the same socket "architecture" then the only issues are bios microcode and cooling.

If I had an extra couple hundred bucks sitting around I would try it anyway. I mean, I'm sure that the Wright brothers probably heard it a million times that a machine that is heavier than air would never be capable of flight.

 

[ctrout]

This was the reply from the HP "expert."

"You are thinking that is for sure but the limiting factor is the circuitry HP installed in the motherboard, not just the BIOS. A quad core actually has a different pin arrangement (the pins look the same but different functions are assigned to some of the pins) than a dual core and you can accomodate quad cores or not based on the way the socket is configured. This socket accepts only dual cores and the i7-3540M is the top processor it will handle. This is not a recommendation it is a hard stop. Every now and then a processor not listed in the HP Manual will work but that is usually a processor that is similar to the ones in the Manual but was just issued by Intel after the Manual was printed. I have been here many years and have monitored CPU upgrades and never seen someone report getting a Quad Core to work where the HP Manual lists only dual cores."

 

[ctrout]

Well, I decided what the heck. I'm going to give it a shot. I just bought an i7-3720QM Socket G2 2.6GHz chip, tested and guaranteed working for $94.99 out the door. If this works, I'll be ecstatic. If not, I'll resell it on eBay at very little if any loss. Oh, and if it does work, I'll be sure to report back with my results.

 

[ctrout]

Well, it looks like someone has done this before. I hope that this guy wasn't trying to scam someone by advertising a 6570b with a 3720QM. If not, then I should theoretically have no trouble with this once my cpu arrives in a few days.http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Probook-...bbe664d&pid=100011&rk=1&rkt=9&sd=332002260410

 

[ctrout]

Update!!!

The cpu arrived today and I installed it and it is functioning perfectly! Both the bios and windows recognize the chip and report it as i7-3720QM running at 2.6GHz. I know that this is an older laptop and there will probably not be many people wanting to spend money upgrading an old machine but in case they do, I hope that this thread and the other two that I have out there on the web will be of benefit to someone. I would have liked to have used the 3840QM at 2.8GHz with the 8MB L3 cache but The 2.6GHz, 6MB L3, 3720QM was $100 while the faster chip was over $200 and only offers about an 8% performance gain. I determined that for me, the 3720QM was the best bang for my buck.


The 3840QM is the fastest 45watt chip so it is as fast as I would trust going in this particular Probook. As I stated earlier, the heat sink in this machine is the exact same part number as the heat sink in othe HP models that use 45w quad core cpus like the 3840QM so I believe that the temps will be fine.
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[29jacko]

Hello,

Looking at upgrading CPU on a 6570b, was originally going to go with a I7 3540M Dual-Core as HP advise this the highest spec upgrade that can be done. Then I saw your thread about successfully installing a Quad Core and that the elitebook of this era came out with a i7 3840QM: http://www.anandtech.com/show/6519/hp-elitebook-8570w-notebook-review-the-other-side-of-the-coin

I know its an old laptopbut it's solid as and I have the desk mount etc so think im going to go ahead and upgrade from an i5 3210m.

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-3840QM-vs-Intel-Core-i5-3210M

Hows it been running since the upgrade? any heat or other issues ? Did you upgrade the ram? If so what did you go with?

Thanks,

 

[ctrout]

The machine has been running perfectly with no issues whatsoever. It's been rock solid. I installed 8GB of ram but I don't remember what brand. I have always used Crucial in the past so there's a good chance that's what I used here as well but I don't remember for sure.

 

[29jacko]

Nice, thanks! decided i'm going to go all the way with 16GB Ram and a the 3840QM chip. Already have SSD. Started looking at the motherboards of 6570b & the elite version 8570p that came out with Quad core and they look to have the same internals so cant see why HP are saying it can't be done... Just one more question if you don't mind - did you upgrade the BIOS with the probook 6570b file or elitebook 8570p file prior to the chip upgrade?

 

[ctrout]

I didn't do anything with the bios. Please report back on your experience with the 3840QM. I was scared to go that far but if yours works, I may just be tempted to make another leap.