Upgrade Dell Inspiron N7110 CPU

[ScribeWare]

I would like to upgrade the CPU in my Dell Inspiron 17R N7110 laptop. Here is what I know at this time: The chipset is an Intel HM67 Express. That chipset supports both 4-core and 2-core Sandy Bridge CPU's which includes i3-2330M (the current CPU), i7-2640M (2-core), i7-2670QM (4-core), and i7-2960XM (4-core) as well as many other Sandy Bridge CPU's (see Intel's website for the HM67 chipset to see the complete list). You will need at least a 130W power supply and I have a 150W. My Inspiron N7110 has a G2 socket also known as rPGA988B or FCPGA988. The current i3-2330M CPU uses a (G2) PPGA988 and the i7-2960XM uses a (G2) FCPGA988. The FCPGA988 is pin-compatible with the PPGA988 (see Wikipedia for the G2 socket). The i3-2330M is 35 Watt and the i7-2960XM is 55 Watt. The power supply will easily support the difference. Here is what I don't know: Although the package size is identical for the i3-2330M and the i7-2960XM (37.5mm x 37.5mm) the embedded chip appears to be about 25% longer for the i7-2960XM than for the i3-2330M so that there could be a problem covering it with the existing heat sink. I have not yet torn it apart so I am not sure that the heat sink would work. Second, while I have the current BIOS revision (A13), I am not sure whether or not the BIOS would support the i7-2960XM. Any assistance you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

 

[kookie3010]

have u check with the manufacturer?usually upgrading cpu on a laptop is a pain unless the other cpu option is listed on the manufacturer website.

 

[ScribeWare]

The Inspiron N710 in question is out of warranty so that is not an issue. Dell has no response except to say that upgrading as I suggested in my post is not supported and anything I do is on me. There are a number of third-party responses that indicate that some folks have various upgrades that have worked. I'm sure that the i7-2640M (2-core) upgrade will work. I have another post that indicates that he successfully upgraded to the i7-2670QM (4-core) worked for him. I am looking for information that would allow me to choose between the i7-2640M and the i7-2960XM before ripping the machine apart. If I don't get any definitive information, I will pull it apart and look at the heat sink and experiment with the CPU's.

 

[10tacle]

I can't offer a specific answer but I can tell you my experience upgrading my HM67 Sandy Bridge HP Pavilion G7 from an i3 2350M to an i7-2640M. The chips were the same size and fit on the heat sink perfectly. I did not need a BIOS update either. It was literally plug and play.

HP's support forum was excellent in giving me advice. I haven't had to deal with Dell in years, but I would hope they have a similar customer support forum where Dell employees answer tech questions. If the 2960XM is indeed a larger chip, then that could be an issue for the heat sink/fan assembly. The only real way to tell is taking it apart unless someone can specifically answer.

 

[kookie3010]

I can't offer a specific answer but I can tell you my experience upgrading my HM67 Sandy Bridge HP Pavilion G7 from an i3 2350M to an i7-2640M. The chips were the same size and fit on the heat sink perfectly. I did not need a BIOS update either. It was literally plug and play.

HP's support forum was excellent in giving me advice. I haven't had to deal with Dell in years, but I would hope they have a similar customer support forum where Dell employees answer tech questions. If the 2960XM is indeed a larger chip, then that could be an issue for the heat sink/fan assembly. The only real way to tell is taking it apart unless someone can specifically answer.

My only experience in upgrading a laptop cpu is in an old alienware m17x.the heatsink was good enough and the chip itself was plug and play.however if the chip is slightly longer u might need to modify your heatsink.

 

[dudeman509]

I went from a Pentium something to an i7-2670QM in a fairly thick Acer with a fairly beefy cooling pipe (Sandy Bridge CPUs get HOT!)

Cooling under heavy load is a major issue - the cooler pipe just was not cut out for for the 45W TDP. Once the CPU package temp hits 200*F, it will constantly throttle off and on.

I have a Dell Studio (1st gen) and the cooler sucks way more than the Acer's, and that's only a 35W chip in there.

 

[10tacle]

^^That's what I hate about working on laptops. Their crappy factory cooling solutions are extremely difficult if not impossible to modify. I can't tell you how close I've come to smashing a laptop on my patio's concrete in frustration, lol.

 

[BuddyGtr]

I would like to upgrade the CPU in my Dell Inspiron 17R N7110 laptop. Here is what I know at this time: The chipset is an Intel HM67 Express. That chipset supports both 4-core and 2-core Sandy Bridge CPU's which includes i3-2330M (the current CPU), i7-2640M (2-core), i7-2670QM (4-core), and i7-2960XM (4-core) as well as many other Sandy Bridge CPU's (see Intel's website for the HM67 chipset to see the complete list). You will need at least a 130W power supply and I have a 150W. My Inspiron N7110 has a G2 socket also known as rPGA988B or FCPGA988. The current i3-2330M CPU uses a (G2) PPGA988 and the i7-2960XM uses a (G2) FCPGA988. The FCPGA988 is pin-compatible with the PPGA988 (see Wikipedia for the G2 socket). The i3-2330M is 35 Watt and the i7-2960XM is 55 Watt. The power supply will easily support the difference. Here is what I don't know: Although the package size is identical for the i3-2330M and the i7-2960XM (37.5mm x 37.5mm) the embedded chip appears to be about 25% longer for the i7-2960XM than for the i3-2330M so that there could be a problem covering it with the existing heat sink. I have not yet torn it apart so I am not sure that the heat sink would work. Second, while I have the current BIOS revision (A13), I am not sure whether or not the BIOS would support the i7-2960XM. Any assistance you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

First of all, I am new here, so hello!

I do not know about the i7-2960XM and your particular machine... but I can say that the i7-2860QM works perfectly on my n7110 (I am typing this out on it now).

Before I upgraded from the previous i5-2450M, I went to the Parts-people... I am not paid by them, and get no kickback from them (I wish)... anyways, I used their free tool to search for compatible parts using the service tag from the sticker on my n7110. The i7-2860QM turned out to be the highest spec quad-core for my computer, so I ordered it off ebay and it is working fine!

Incidentally, I had the same question you had regarding the heatsink, so I called the Partspeople and their technician confirmed that if one sticks to the list of compatible upgrade options based on the service tag number, then there will be no problem whatsoever with using the original heatsink! I did however use grizzly kryonaut thermal paste to give it an edge.

I can say that upping from a dual-core to a quad-core is a HUGE increase in raw power/performance... I am so glad I finally did it!

If you do upgrade to the i7-2960XM, please let us know how it performs for you! Maybe I'll consider it a future upgrade for my machine if it works for you.

I hope this helps!
--Buddy

P.S. I know it is off topic from CPUs, but as an FYI, I also upgraded to 16GB RAM (even though Dell claims 8GB is the maximum). My system says that 15.6GB are accessible to my system, I can live with that!

 

[Darkness1187]

Hello,
I am also upgrading my laptop to an i7-2960xm and would like to know if there is any kind of problem just plugging it in and running it?? I just got off the phone with Dell Tech Support and they told me the highest my laptop can handle is an i7-2860qm. I'm also asking bios mods to see if the laptop can handle it. I'd like to know if he ever got this to work.

Thank You

 

[BuddyGtr]

Hello,
I am also upgrading my laptop to an i7-2960xm and would like to know if there is any kind of problem just plugging it in and running it?? I just got off the phone with Dell Tech Support and they told me the highest my laptop can handle is an i7-2860qm. I'm also asking bios mods to see if the laptop can handle it. I'd like to know if he ever got this to work.

Thank You

I would also like to hear back from ScribeWare on his experience with this upgrade one way or the other.

So far since I upgraded my n7110 to the i7-2860qm I have been VERY happy with it! I highly recommend this upgrade, but would love to know if the i7-2960xm would be compatible and/or if there are any special instructions to getting it to run reliably or not.

--Buddy

 

[Darkness1187]

Hello,
I am also upgrading my laptop to an i7-2960xm and would like to know if there is any kind of problem just plugging it in and running it?? I just got off the phone with Dell Tech Support and they told me the highest my laptop can handle is an i7-2860qm. I'm also asking bios mods to see if the laptop can handle it. I'd like to know if he ever got this to work.

Thank You

I would also like to hear back from ScribeWare on his experience with this upgrade one way or the other.

So far since I upgraded my n7110 to the i7-2860qm I have been VERY happy with it! I highly recommend this upgrade, but would love to know if the i7-2960xm would be compatible and/or if there are any special instructions to getting it to run reliably or not.

--Buddy

Hello,
I upgraded to the i7-2690xm. it runs, but I don't have the correct power supply anymore, so it's running at reduced speed and my battery is not charging till I upgrade to a 90w power adapter or more. I was told any power adapter for a dell where the plug fits should work. I'm shopping eBay right now. once it's installed I'll let you know how well it works. I'll post some RealTemp, CPUID, and Futuremark screenshots.

Thank You

current system specs
windows 10 64bit
i7-2960xm
16GB Samsung Ram
EVGA GTX 1060 3GB Graphics card eGPU setup via mPCIe
4HDD 1 internal 3 external

 

[BuddyGtr]

Hello,
I am also upgrading my laptop to an i7-2960xm and would like to know if there is any kind of problem just plugging it in and running it?? I just got off the phone with Dell Tech Support and they told me the highest my laptop can handle is an i7-2860qm. I'm also asking bios mods to see if the laptop can handle it. I'd like to know if he ever got this to work.

Thank You

I would also like to hear back from ScribeWare on his experience with this upgrade one way or the other.

So far since I upgraded my n7110 to the i7-2860qm I have been VERY happy with it! I highly recommend this upgrade, but would love to know if the i7-2960xm would be compatible and/or if there are any special instructions to getting it to run reliably or not.

--Buddy

Hello,
I upgraded to the i7-2690xm. it runs, but I don't have the correct power supply anymore, so it's running at reduced speed and my battery is not charging till I upgrade to a 90w power adapter or more. I was told any power adapter for a dell where the plug fits should work. I'm shopping eBay right now. once it's installed I'll let you know how well it works. I'll post some RealTemp, CPUID, and Futuremark screenshots.

Thank You

current system specs
windows 10 64bit
i7-2960xm
16GB Samsung Ram
EVGA GTX 1060 3GB Graphics card eGPU setup via mPCIe
4HDD 1 internal 3 external

Thanks for sharing your experience... you brought up a good point regarding the power brick. I forgot to mention the fact that I also bought a Dell power supply (130 W) off of ebay at the same time I ordered my i7-2860qm CPU. I did so because the 90 W power brick I had was old and may or may not have given enough power for the quad-core CPU (originally it was a dual-core i5) and I just did not want to take a chance on screwing up a new CPU for the nominal cost of a new power supply (I payed about $30 for mine on ebay).

I also had to buy a new battery as the original one would not hold a charge any more, so I found a place on ebay that was offering the larger 9-cell battery pack and it is even original Dell, not after-market and no signs of it being a refurbished battery... been using mine for about 2 months with no issues and I typically get 5 hours of use on a charge (with heavy usage such as watching youtube videos, building & managing websites, voip calls and some video editing, etc). I am pretty pleased with that.

In-case anyone needs a replacement battery, I got mine by searching for "NEW Genuine Dell Inspiron M5040 N5050 N4010 N5110 battery extended 9t48v 9cell", and got mine for less than $30 with free shipping.

I hope you get full CPU speeds once you get a proper power supply hooked up to your machine and I look forward to hearing more!

--Buddy

My System Specs are:
Ubuntu 16.04 64bit
i7-2860QM
16 GB Crucial RAM (1866 MHz)
250 GB SSD Samsung Evo 840 (Primary-OS)
500 GB HDD Toshiba 5400 RPM (Secondary-Storage) using optical drive conversion caddy