Considering X201 i7 or i5 mobo upgrade for X200

[madicetea]

I currently have a 7454-P12 P8700 planar in my X200, but I have interest in having turbo clocking from the i-series and an updated graphics chip-set from the products formerly Arrandale (even if the RAM doesn't improve much).
I've always been an i7 user when I first got my first Dell computers back in Secondary school, but many of the people I know and talk to will swear that battery-life vs performance vs heat-wise the i5 is very much worth a consider.

I looked on Intel ARK for some info, namely for the P8700 (https://ark.intel.com/products/37006/In ... 66-MHz-FSB).

I see a few choices for doing this, listed:

• i7-620LM (https://ark.intel.com/products/43559/In ... e-2_00-GHz)

• i7-620M (https://ark.intel.com/products/43560/In ... e-2_66-GHz)

• i7-640LM (https://ark.intel.com/products/43563/In ... e-2_13-GHz)

• i7-640M (https://ark.intel.com/products/49666/In ... e-2_80-GHz)

and for the i5, there are no low-power chips, but there are still two classes of 35W TDP chips

• i5-520M (https://ark.intel.com/products/47341/In ... e-2_40-GHz)

• i5-540M (https://ark.intel.com/products/43544/In ... e-2_53-GHz)

I know not to re-use the X200 fan and use the fan that comes with the X201 motherboard. I also see a 1MB loss of cache in the i5 vs the i7, but hear the cooler temps and battery life is much worth this.
Indeed the clock speeds are quite decent, and the graphics frequency is improved for i5 over the i7, at least on a paper comparison.

Many other things, from number of cores and threads to PCI Express numbers and Intel Technology options match to the dot.

I assume 2.5GT/s DMI is something around 2x that of the 1066 MHz FSB that all the Penryn Core2Duos will list.

Anyway, I'm just debating with myself (since they all seem compatible with the X200 chassis and the lid I have) with which of these processors would be best... Any advice (including on things I am not yet considering) appreciated, thanks!

I'd still want somewhere from 3-7 hours of battery life, using the 47++ battery.

[RealBlackStuff]

That CPU is soldered onto the mobo.
Unless you can DIY or have someone who can swap it for you, try and find a motherboard with such a CPU instead.

[madicetea]

As much as I admire and wish I had skills for unsoldering and resoldering CPUs onto planars, that will have to be a project for a day when I get more practice.

[thinkpadcollection]

Go with ivy bridge or later processors. These 1st Gen processor has awful performance (no better than 3GHz C2D and also slower, video slower and runs on SATA II, no usb 3) and poor on battery runtime.

Price on T530 and T430 has fallen so much already that it is worth thinking about now. They are no more than 200 or less USD.

Cheers, thinkpadcollection

[madicetea]

Go with ivy bridge or later processors. These 1st Gen processor has awful performance (no better than 3GHz C2D and also slower, video slower and runs on SATA II, no usb 3) and poor on battery runtime.

Price on T530 and T430 has fallen so much already that it is worth thinking about now. They are no more than 200 or less USD.

Cheers, thinkpadcollection

So I found a local 25USD x201 i5-540M board and bottom area. I am thinking of getting it.

I know that the prices on the other computers are falling, but the idea of doing a modification appeals to me quite highly.

Picture of said board:

(topside) https://i.imgur.com/2GBUNgL.jpg

(bottomside) https://i.imgur.com/gHIeB2P.jpg

Any opinions?

[alexcs1]

Hello, I've made this upgrade and it's all right. You need to use the i5 cooler, which is bigger, but fits into the x200's case.

[madicetea]

Hello, I've made this upgrade and it's all right. You need to use the i5 cooler, which is bigger, but fits into the x200's case.

Perhaps I should lock this thread or make an update in the top post, but if you look at my signature, you will see that I have completed this update with an i5 470M CPU board as well.

It went well and was really easy.