Changing a laptop's processor is it possible? how do i know if i can

Surely all of you who are reading this article will have manipulated PC hardware, but would you know how to change a laptop's processor ? Surely the first thing you think is that it is not possible to make changes of this type in laptops, but that will depend on the way the CPU is installed.

Change laptop processor

Index of contents

For this reason it will be best to see when it is possible to change the processor of a laptop and also see if it is worth doing, so let's go there.

What is the CPU socket and types

The first thing we will have to know is what the CPU socket or socket is, you probably already know, but it is worth giving a review of its function and main types that exist today.

Well, the CPU socket is nothing more than the connection system used to install the processor on a motherboard or motherboard. It consists of a small square with different slots and an infinity of contacts, or in its case, holes that will make contact with those of the CPU itself to allow the case of current and data.

But also this socket has a fixing system using a lever and a metal plate that directly clamps the processor to the connectors to prevent it from moving and making bad contact.

Change processor of a laptop step01

There are three types of connection systems for a CPU socket:

• BGA: Ball Grid Array or Ball Grid Array, this type of socket connects the processor to the motherboard directly by soldering. This means that when a CPU has a BGA socket it will not be possible to change it, and it is also the one used in many laptops. This system is also used in most secondary chips on the motherboard, a clear example would be the chipset itself. LGA: Land Grid Array or grid contact array, this system is mainly used by Intel and AMD for the TR4 socket of the Threadrippers. The contact matrix is ​​in the socket itself, through fine filaments, while in the CPU there are only a few small gold-plated surfaces. PGA: Pin Grid Array or pin contact array, used for example in AMD socket AM4. It is just the opposite of the LGA, it will be the CPU that has the pins and the socket a lot of small holes to insert it.

What if the problem is not the processor?

There will really be few cases in which we are interested in changing the processor of a laptop, and the first thing to keep in mind is that new generation computers have a BGA socket, that is, with the micro soldered to the motherboard. So it will be impossible to make a CPU change unless we have a specialized center or go to the assembler.

In the event that we can do it, then we will see how, we will have to attend to certain questions to see if it really suits us:

Look at laptop hardware and identify bottlenecks

Change processor of a laptop step02

Our PC is slow, that of course, will be the number one reason why we are thinking of changing the processor. But is it really going to solve something for us?

We say this because we will also need to look at the rest of the components that make up the laptop, for example, the amount of RAM we have, the speed and the maximum capacity that we can install. It is possible that the maximum hardware is already installed in the laptop and the fact of buying a new CPU is not enough to see the improved power.

SSD vs HDD storage

Change processor of a laptop step03

What if the solution was to change the hard drive of your laptop ? Many cheap and mid-range laptops only have 2.5-inch mechanical storage drives under the SATA interface.

The first thing we will have to do is check that the laptop's motherboard or its technical data sheet contains information about the storage systems it supports. We could be surprised that it has an M.2 slot for SSD. In most cases, the verification will have to be done by eye inspection, although before it is worth looking at the specs on the manufacturer's page.

Also, if the 2.5 ”disk interface is SATA, we could acquire a SATA SSD and change it, thus increasing the speed of the equipment in a very noticeable way. For us this would be the most recommended if possible, and forget about changing the CPU.

Let's expand the RAM

After seeing that the first element to change logically would be storage, the second component would be RAM. There are modules of all kinds available in web stores and very possibly our laptop has SO-DIMM slots that allow you to change or expand RAM memory.

What we are going to do is check from the system how much RAM we have installed and how much we can install. We can also physically do this by disassembling the PC, so we will leave the two articles we have to choose the one you want:

We hope that this information has been useful to you to be clear when to change the processor of a laptop. If you have questions or want to add something, write to us in the comment box or in our hardware forum.