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Studio 1558 CPU upgrade issue
Hello,
I have a problem upgrading a Studio 1558 laptop with i3 350m processor to an i5 430m which was working perfectly fine on another Studio 1558. When I switch the processors I get two beeps (which should indicate a ram problem but the ram is the same). Any ideas why this is happening?
Thank you for your time!
ejn63
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July 29th, 2017 07:00
Two beeps means no memory is being recognized. Have you tried reinstalling the memory module(s)? If the problem doesn't occur with the i3 but does with the i5, you've likely a bad memory controller - which is part of the CPU.
smith0071_a6e6c7
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July 29th, 2017 10:00
Thank you for your reply. I tried with 3 pairs of ram, all of which work with the i3 but have the same beep problem with the i5 - i am sorry, I meant I get 4 beeps, not 2. I tested to see if I get beeps without the ram, and that's when I get 2 beeps, which is expected. When I tried with just 1 stick of ram (on slot 1) with the i5, the laptop boots to a black screen and stays that way, no POST, no beeps, no nothing, but the fan is working. Any ideas?
smith0071_a6e6c7
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July 29th, 2017 11:00
Yes, the board for the i7 is different for sure, it's a quad-core CPU. The labels on the i3 board are pretty much the same with the i5 version of the laptop, so I was wondering whether it's some strange dell micro-revision limitation on upgrades...
So if I decided to buy another i5 CPU - i have seen versions of this laptop with i5-520m, i5-540m, i5-560m - do you think they would work (does CPU stepping count)? I know it's an old laptop but I really love this machine and I am planning to buy a new laptop when Coffee Lake laptops become mainstream.
ejn63
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July 29th, 2017 11:00
I don't think so. It's true that systems of that age sometimes use a different board revision for i7 CPUs, but the i3 and i5 have just about identical board requirements.
smith0071_a6e6c7
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July 29th, 2017 11:00
I see. And is it possible that there is a motherboard revision of the 1558 that supports only the i3 but not the i5 processors?
ejn63
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July 29th, 2017 11:00
I would venture that means the i5 CPU you have, has a damaged memory controller. Both those CPUs use the same RAM - and if the board works with all of the modules and the i3, but not the i5 -- the i5 CPU is somehow damaged (could be internal, or could be damage to one or more pins on the CPU).
smith0071_a6e6c7
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July 29th, 2017 12:00
And I guess there's no difference between the fan and the heatsink for the i3 and the i5? So I guess what I'm asking is, do you think it will work with another i5, say the i5-540m?
ejn63
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July 29th, 2017 12:00
The i5-540m was shipped with this model - whether there are differences in board revision may be difficult or impossible to determine. These were first generation Core CPUs -- there were revisions to them and to boards along the way even more so than usual.