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Upgrading from i3 to i7 in a Dell Studio 1558
Is it possible to change from an i3 350M to the i7 740QM
I bought an i7 740QM to see if it would work but after installing it, the laptop would not load, the backlight on the keyboard came on and the hard drive spun, but no signs of life on the screen and when i pressed the power button the laptop turned straight back off.
I checked the web and the i7 740QM did come in 1558's and from what i can see the is only one motherboard for the 1558. Am I wrong?
Or is it the BIOS which is stopping it?
When I put the i3 back into the laptop the computer booted no problem.
Thanks in advance
Brellyn
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September 2nd, 2013 08:00
I know this is an old topic, but I've just done what you're asking about. I have a 1558 with the A12 bios that was an I3 and upgraded it to an I7. The important thing to know here is that the Dual Core I(x) processors for this model have a built in graphics chip on the CPU. The Quad Core processors do not. You cannot upgrade the Dual Core motherboard with a Quad Core CPU. You end up with no graphics processor and no boot.
My machine had the I3-330m 2.13GHZ CPU. The appropriate upgrade for me was the Intel i7 640M 2.8GHz 4MB QS ES Q4C9 which I purchased and installed. It is a significant performance upgrade because you're upgrading both the CPU and the GPU at the same time. There was only a 1 degree Celsius increase in heat with the new CPU and my machine is running just fine.
Disassembling and reassembling your 1556/57/58 to replace your CPU is easy with the following youtube video:
Questions or problems? send me a tweet at @brellyn21
Struthers
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January 30th, 2012 04:00
thanks very much, i am guessing the i7 board will have a different part number then?
and i3's and i5's should use the same board?
thanks for your reply
ejn63
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January 30th, 2012 04:00
From what most have posted, the Studio series that shipped with the i7 used a different system board from the ones that shipped with lower-spec i5 CPUs. In other words, you'd need to find a board that supports the i7 (one that originally shipped in a system that had the i7).
ygohome
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March 8th, 2017 07:00
excellent reply Brelynn. I have the exact same laptop (studio 1558 with i3-330m and ATI gpu) and wanted to know if I can upgrade to i7-640m... and your reply answered exactly that. Thank you!
Kengland45
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November 1st, 2017 19:00
It sounds like you're contradicting yourself. You're saying that you performed an upgrade that one canNOT do. I also have that situation--a 1558 with a malfunctioning video. I changed the heatsink and fan. It worked fine for 15 minutes, and now I get lines. The display tested fine. I disabled the Radeon and still got lines, so I need to replace the mainboard. And I would like to use an i5 or i7...or at least a board with an i3 and the Radeon.
I used that video to guide me in changing the fan. But the touchpad no longer works. I wish the video was clearer.
There was a slight difference in the orientation of my board towards the end, but it was easily worked around.