W510 CPU upgrade

[chrisscass]

Hi folks,

I currently have a W510 w/ 720QM (1.6GHz quad core CPU). I know by default it states that the W510 can only accept 1st generation i7's, but I'm wondering if maybe the documentation hasn't been updated and if they can in fact support Sandy Bridge CPUs such as an i7 - 2630qm. I tried reading the latest bios for this machine, but it doesn't say anything about which CPUs are newly supported. I'm hoping yes as I have access to one of these CPUs, but I'm afraid the answer is no.

Can anyone confirm? Thank you.

[ajkula66]

Welcome to the forum!

No SB support on *10 series ThinkPads, I'm sorry to say. People have tried and failed...

[Medessec]

The best you can do is upgrade from the i7-720QM you have now to a i7-820QM, or a i7-920XM(both for sure will work). Best to do it now while the i7-720QM is worth something and you can sell it after upgrading.

[chrisscass]

Darn. Thanks for the responses.

[ajkula66]

I'd ask why you feel the need to upgrade the CPU in the first place?

With a proper amount of RAM (16GB or more) and a SSD, W510 is nothing to sneeze at...

What applications are you running that are maxing out the CPU usage?

[Adda]

Whatever you do, if you value a stable laptop, do not put a XM series CPU in there, the cooler can't handle it.

Best CPU to use is the 840QM.

[Medessec]

The i7-920XM is in the standard options list for the W510, so I kinda figured it'd be a fully supported processor. HOWEVER-there is an i7-940XM. THAT I would think twice before popping in your laptop- partially because I think there might be a BIOS lock on CPUs and it just won't boot, partially because it probably will run way too hot, but mostly because compared to the 820QM and 920XM, the 940 is so expensive it's not even funny.

But again- no chance the W510 can boot a Sandy Bridge or newer CPU... absolute best you can do is an i7-920XM. But really... the i7-720QM is already quite potent, I really wouldn't think it'd be worthwhile to upgrade from a great first-gen Core i7 to a slightly greater first-gen Core i7.

[Adda]

The i7-920XM is in the standard options list for the W510, so I kinda figured it'd be a fully supported processor. HOWEVER-there is an i7-940XM. THAT I would think twice before popping in your laptop- partially because I think there might be a BIOS lock on CPUs and it just won't boot, partially because it probably will run way too hot, but mostly because compared to the 820QM and 920XM, the 940 is so expensive it's not even funny.

The W510 and W520's are plagued by overheating problems, Lenovo simply did not test them properly before releasing them.
Core i7 CPU's consume power differently from previous CPU's, any 55w Core i7 CPU should consume the same amount of power, and run at the same temps.
So if it's a 920XM or 940XM, doesn't matter, they have the same power consumption, and will run equally hot, it's the same for 45w ones of cause.

But with a 45w CPU, and full load on CPU and GPU, the W510 only has 3-4 degrees of headroom before it reaches 91C and throttles, if that doesn't lower temps quickly, it will crash.
With core parking disabled, and the GPU undervolted, it'll run much cooler, 70-80C during heavy loads, it can still peak in the mid 80's.

But all in all the cooling solution in the W510, can just about handle 35+45w, adding another 10w would be asking for trouble.

I agree though, a 720QM is definitely a fast processor, only reason I'd have to upgrade beyond that, would be FL Studio.

[Q-Ball]

One thing you could try is this:

Purchase a W520 motherboard and your processor of choice.
You should be looking for boards that once held quad-core CPUs (as they have the 4 RAM slots).

Slot that in place of the W510's mainboard, drop that CPU in, connect everything up (but this time, buy some decent thermal paste like Arctic Silver 5), and voila!
Now you have a W510 with W520 parts inside.

You could even do this with a W530 and have an even newer CPU but that would involve either changing the keyboard to that crappy chiclet one (but if you think you like it better, go for it; the backlight will work on any W-series that can take the keyboard IIRC) or buying a standalone flasher and reprogramming the BIOS (which you'd be the first to do, by the way) to properly use the old keyboard.

[Adda]

One thing you could try is this:

Purchase a W520 motherboard and your processor of choice.
You should be looking for boards that once held quad-core CPUs (as they have the 4 RAM slots).

Have you tested this?

There are differences between all these models, particularly the way the cooler is mounted, until someone has tried this, we can't be sure.
IF a motherboard from a W520 fits in a W510, you would still have to use the W510 cooler, it is not good enough to handle the video cards in W520's.

[Medessec]

I don't think these sort of transplants are particularly justified yet... all these laptops are still pretty new and have good residual value in the market despite the cooling issues and the limitations. Parts and other units aren't cheap, or willing to slip out of hands very easily- some of these units are still under factory warranty.

I wouldn't be going that wild with W510/520s quite yet, especially W530s. If you were that desperate, I'd consider selling the W510 and pitching the money towards a W520 or W530.

[QWERTY Andreas]

I had a W510, and was very happy with it (but sold it off, needed the Money more - and a W500 is fine for me )

Anyway; make a custom thermal profile with TP fan control. That does really, really help a lot.

Disable hyperthreading. You usually don't need 8 threads.

You have to edit the registery. There is a key, that makes programs run n the fewest possible number of cores. Disable that one, then it will spread the proccess out between the cores. It will consume more power, but it will stay cooler.

[Adda]

Anyway; make a custom thermal profile with TP fan control. That does really, really help a lot.

Disable hyperthreading. You usually don't need 8 threads.

You have to edit the registery. There is a key, that makes programs run n the fewest possible number of cores. Disable that one, then it will spread the proccess out between the cores. It will consume more power, but it will stay cooler.

x2 with these tweaks, and aggressive fan control, and undervolted GPU my W510 usually doesn't go over 70C during load.

[adk]

Thanks for a wonderful solution
My Lenovo W510 i7 1.6Ghz was running extremely slow even with a Samsung 850 evo 250gb SSD.
After I have turned off Hyper Threading CPU option in BIOS, it is running very fast and smooth now. Thanks again.