Upgrading Acer V3-551G CPU and Graphics

[Bozzio]

Hi everyone,
I have a laptop since 2012, Acer V3-551 8450, and since I can't afford a new one upgrading it seemed a good idea.

These are the specs:

Processor: AMD A8-4500M MaxTDP-35.1W
Motherboard: Model VA50_CM Chipset K15 IMC
Graphics: Radeon HD 7640G + HD 7600M
Bios: v1.03
RAM: DDR3 8GB

I was thinking, is it possible to upgrade the CPU, and if so, which could be compatible?
Also, could the dedicated graphic card be replaced with a newer model?

Thank you all for your time in advance, I've never built or upgraded any computer so I'm oblivious to the requirements, learning how to do it will be the next step.

 

[Robert Cook]

One cannot simply upgrade a CPU or a GPU on a laptop. such a change would require soldering skills that are practically impossible, and a really adaptive power supply system. Unless you are a professional solderer, and are willing to destroy your laptop, you probably will not even be able to remove the GPU/CPU. Then there is the fact that laptops only have limited power in their batteries, and their motherboards can only work with very tight voltage and power ranges. any component change could fry your motherboard or quickly kill your battery. while such changes are easy on a desktop, there is no way to do this unless it is an extremely high end laptop. so to put it shortly, No, you cannot, but you can save up to buy a new one that will be similar in terms of long useful life. that will be around $1000.

 

[Bozzio]

One cannot simply upgrade a CPU or a GPU on a laptop. such a change would require soldering skills that are practically impossible, and a really adaptive power supply system. Unless you are a professional solderer, and are willing to destroy your laptop, you probably will not even be able to remove the GPU/CPU. Then there is the fact that laptops only have limited power in their batteries, and their motherboards can only work with very tight voltage and power ranges. any component change could fry your motherboard or quickly kill your battery. while such changes are easy on a desktop, there is no way to do this unless it is an extremely high end laptop. so to put it shortly, No, you cannot, but you can save up to buy a new one that will be similar in terms of long useful life. that will be around $1000.

Thank you for the reply. I can see the soldering as a problem, although I've found numerous reports of people changing from a A8-4500
M to either a A10-5750M or a A10-4600M, since the socket and TDP are the same. Couldn't I just replace it with any cpu with the same socket and TDP?

 

[Robert Cook]

If you feel like you can obtain a laptop A10 and put one in, I will not stop, you, but please do bear in mind that it could fry your whole system.

 

[Bozzio]

If you feel like you can obtain a laptop A10 and put one in, I will not stop, you, but please do bear in mind that it could fry your whole system.

I didn't know it could have such implications, the only problem reported was the computer not starting due to bios incompatibility. If it can damage other components I'll save the money and build a pc in the future. Thank you

 

[Robert Cook]

Yes, frying is worse case scenario, but it is not a gamble worth taking, you can sell your laptop for something right now, but once you open it, it becomes worthless as people get paranoid.