Need Advice Of EDGE 14 (0579-22U) CPU Upgrade

[yukikon]

Hi,
I own an EDGE 14 (0579-22U), Intel Core i3 370M @ 2.40GHz, K0 CPU with Win7 64bits OS. I need some advice whether is it possible I upgrade my current CPU to i7 CPU? Will SLBTQ or any other model CPU will fit in my motherboard?
Thanks.

-yukikon-

[underclocker]

Hello & welcome to the forum!

Lenovo's Hardware Maintenance Manual does list two i7 CPUs as options for the Edge 14, others may work, too --> http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail. ... MIGR-75051

From page 117:

Intel Core i7-620M Processor (2.66 GHz)
Intel Core i7-640M Processor (2.80 GHz)

The SLBTQ is the Intel Core i7-620M Processor (2.66 GHz).

The other item to check is the CPU fan/heat sink, which does not appear to change based on CPU speed (only CPU brand and/or video chipset). So reusing your CPU fan/heat sink should be OK (after cleaning and reapplying thermal grease).

If you perform the swap, let us know how it goes. Good luck.

[yukikon]

Hello underclocker,

Thanks for your quick response. I am still searching a better deal of SLBTQ CPU from eBay. The SLBTN (2.80GHz) is very costly. It sure will takes me some time to get the CPU for the upgrade.
I have a concern which is I run the CPU-Z on my EDGE 14 laptop I found that the socket type for my current i3 370M CPU is 989 rPGA but the SLBTQ is using "Socket G1 (rPGA988A)", so I am not sure will the SLBTQ fit in my motherboard. Any clue?
I sure will give you all the update if I manage to make the upgrade.
Thanks again.

-yukikon-

[yukikon]

Hello all,
Just wanted to give an update about my EDGE 14 CPU upgrade. I managed to replace my old i3 CPU with an i7 SLBTN M640 @ 2.80GHz CPU. The original CPU was a i3 SLBUK CPU. I was lucky to get the SLBTN CPU from eBay just cost me $52.50. With the help of referring hardware maintenance manual, the whole swapping process only take 20 minutes and no problem. For those who like to upgrade their EDGE 14 laptop CPU I encourage to do it and it is an easy upgrade. I can feel it after the CPU upgrade my laptop is running significantly faster than previous.
Thanks.


-yukikon-

[Laptopsurfer]

Hi,
Glad to have found this thread! Hopefully it's still open. I have just upgraded my Edge 15/E40 0578RW9 model with an Intel Core i7-620M SLBPD 2.66GHz 4M Socket G1 CPU from an Intel Core i3-330M Processor (2.13 GHz), C2.

I have cleaned the Thermal module with fan (for Intel® integrated graphics) and cleaned and applied new thermal grease to the new CPU.

Both the i7 and the i3 are listed as compatible parts for the Edge 14 by Lenovo at:

https://support.lenovo.com/gb/en/solutions/migr-75358

But the laptop/CPU overheats and shuts down completely quite often, sometimes when just running Chrome with multiple tabs open. The CPU heats up faster usually when more applications are running like Outlook and Photoshop and tends to shutdown.

The i3 heated up very often as well with multiple applications running but not did not freeze/crash as easily at the i7.

The thinking was the i7 wouldn't be having to work so hard to do the same applications as the i3 and thus would not heat up and crash so often. But it looks like the i7 heats up faster and creates more heat.

Even so, according to Lenovo the i7 is a compatible CPU and shouldn't have this problem. The only thing I can think of at the moment is to replace the Thermal module with fan with a new exact replacement, which is again approved/listed compatible with the E14/ E40 by Lenovo with FRU 75Y4481.

This is the same FRU as the one installed now.

https://support.lenovo.com/gb/en/solutions/pd002375

So, I am waiting for the new fan to arrive but in the meantime there are still crashes and I have to keep an eye on the CPU temperature. Like walking on egg shells and weary of running to many apps.

• • What do you think is causing this problem?
    
    Why do you think it is happening?
    
    How do you think I can solve the problem or mitigate the heat until the new fan arrives? I have already tried to run the laptop with out the thermal cover with little reduction in heat.
    
    What if the new fan does not solve the problem? What am I looking at replacing?

Many thanks,

[axur-delmeria]

1. You should monitor the system temps so you'll know exactly how hot it gets. Certain monitoring programs have graphs that also show how fast it heats up.
2. Disable Turbo boost.
3. See if the heatsink is mounted properly.
4. CPU may be defective/malfunctioning.

[Laptopsurfer]

Thank you axur-delmeria!

I use an app called Core Temp so it shows when the temp gets close to the Tk.max and what the temp is in real time so when to leave it alone before it crashes but not ideal. (Crashed while I was writing this!)

It seems turning off Turbo can be quiet tricky so just reduced my Processor Power Management to a max of 50% and minimum to 20% in Control Panel's power options. Both were 100% before.

Just ran some apps and live stream TV, and the temp is in the 70s as this is written so lets see how it pans out. Still not ideal to run at this temp.

Removed the heat sink multiple times and looks to be fine.

How would I check if the CPU is faulty/malfunctioning? Is there an app?

Thank you.

[TPFanatic]

Do you have good thermal paste applied? Something like Arctic Silver 5, a thin layer spread over the CPU die, will achieve good cooling results. With thermal paste, left is more.

[Laptopsurfer]

Hi TPFanatic,
I removed and cleaned the old paste and applied CoolerMaster Thermal Paste to the new CPU. The first application wasn't enough as the laptop crashed within a minute or so multiple times so I added more. That helped cool and stabilise the CPU but still crashed after a while when using more apps or just using Chrome.

So I added more again but still crashed after a while, while keeping an eye on the temperature. Each application was just smaller than a pea size with two applications, one one each CPU plate/contact.

So then, I adjusted the CPU maximum performance as mentioned previously and that has done the trick. This is still not ideal as I like the CPU to work at its best/maximum performance and not limit it as it is now but this seems to be the best solution until the new fan arrives.

Then I will increase the performance to see if it was a fan issue. My concern is it will still crash again but we will see. In the meantime, the CPU seems to work better than the i3 even with limited performance.

I have run multiple apps including Photoshop, live stream HD TV plus Outlook with very little or no lag, and none on the live stream, although as mentioned previously the temperature does run in the 60/70s Celcius and does tend to creep up.

Plus last night I did a transfer/copy of files to an external hard drive and the temperature was in the 80s.

Please could you give your opinion of if the new fan could fix the performance limit put on to the CPU and help cool it (obviously) and if not, what would you suggest would?

Many thanks,

[RealBlackStuff]

You could have bought a CPU that was heavily overclocked by a previous owner.

Adding forever more AS5 is not going to help.
For one thing, AS5 needs about running 200 hours (!) to settle in.
And AS5 eventually develops electric conductivity, catastrophic if you have too much paste as well as these little capacitors/resistors on your CPU.

Nowadays there is better thermal paste in the form of Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut or Hydronaut.
That settles right from the start.

[Laptopsurfer]

Hi RealBlackStuff,
Thank you for your post. How can you find out if the CPU was overclocked by a previous owner? An app?

The item was listed as brand-new and it did look like that when it arrived.

Regards,

[RealBlackStuff]

Ever heard of Chinese knock-offs?
They are great in imitating everything, including making used things look like new...

Unfortunately there's no way to check previous overclocking, other than possibly continuous overheating, even if a decent thermal paste has been applied properly.

I realized afterwards that you did not use AS5, so ignore that bit.

Some more Power Setting info: http://www.tomsguide.com/forum/77968-35 ... down-issue

[TPFanatic]

I've had mixed experiences with Arrandale CPUs some being hot, some not, and considering you did buy the fastest and hottest Arrandale out there it makes sense it's having issues.

Have you ever cleaned the fan housing of dust? That easily builds up in them. I would not buy a new fan but try to clean your old one, which requires removing the plastic fan housing from the heatsink.

[Laptopsurfer]

Hi TPFanatic,
Thank you for your reply. Yes the fan housing was cleaned of dust and dirt etc. Unfortunately, the fan is already on its way. An article online said my current cooling fan/system may not be sufficient but didn't realise there was no fan upgrade for the E14 / E40. The only option was to buy the same fan again but a new one.

Saying that, I did notice some of the black, maybe it's foam housing around the vents had hardened and fallen/flaked off the fan/heat sink near the vents.

This may be causing the fan not to work 100% as in cause airflow into/out of the fan? This heat issue has been rising over the past few months until the old i3 crashed a lot. So may be a new fan will help but we will not know until it arrives. What do you think?

Saying that, I just installed Thinkpad Fan Controller (tpfancontrol) and the fan and the program seems to work fine. A fault in the housing/foam may not stop the program or fan from working 100% but may cause a vacuum in the fan's air speed? This is guesswork but the new fan will hopefully tell. What do you think?

The temp of the CPU has not really gone down with tpfancontrol as it is in the mid-high 60s.

I also adjusted the system cooling policy to passive as a thread said this helped stop crashes. Will monitor to see if it makes any difference.