Asus N56VJ CPU upgrade from i5 to i7

microFarads

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Nov 13, 2010
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1) Can I exchange my Asus N56VJ i5-3230M CPU for an i7-3720QM or i7-3740QM?
2) The i5 is 35W and the i7 is 45W, but can the motherboard and the rest support it without any overclocking and NO heavy gaming usage? The chipset does.
3) Where will I feel the difference? Will it be only on multithreaded applications or in general usage as well?
Thanks in advance, guys! :)
Some info: The HM76 Express Chipset itself, alone, according to Intel ARK, supports the i7-3720QM but no mention about the i7-3740QM... Maybe it was newer than the list, maybe it is no supported... Which one it is possible to upgrade, please?
 

StarTrek2013

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Sep 19, 2013
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1. Both i7s are compatible with your mobo.
2. It should, 10W should not matter.
3. You will certainly feel the difference. The i7s have two more cores and performs much better in single-threaded and multi-threaded tasks than the i5. As for the difference between the two i7s, you won't notice a difference they are nearly identical. I would go with the cheaper one of the two.
 

microFarads

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Nov 13, 2010
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Thanks for your answer but please notice that we are talking about LAPTOPS here, this is a Laptop thread, and you seem to speak about desktops, Bronze PSUs... It seems not applicable... Please understand I am not sure I can take your answer as such. I am quite proficient in Destop computer buildind but not so much with laptops, hence my question. It is a laptop system.