Inspiron 15r 5520 CPU swap

[Skulblake]

Hello there !

 

I'm currently rocking 6 year old Dell Inspiron 15r 5520, and after upgrading pretty much everything I could in it (RAM, SSD...etc), I still get bottlenecked by my CPU (i3-2370M).

After scouting the web for information on how to swap the CPU for a better one, I found out that the 15r 5520 is one of the last models that hasn't its CPU soldered to its motherboard.

 

So the search for a better CPU began, and I came across this link  which indicates a pseudo-list of compatible CPUs.

The i7-3520M seemed like the better option for my use case, but I can't really tell if my motherboard is compatible with this CPU.

 

Here are the specs of my current machine :

• Model : Inspiron 15R 5520
• CPU : i3-2370M @2.4Ghz (Sandy Bridge)
• CPU Socket : rPGA 988B
• CPU TDP : 35W
• Intergrated Graphics : Intel HD Graphics 3000
• Motherboard Chipset : HM77 Revision 04

 On Intel's website, I was able to gather the following information about the I7-3520M :

• CPU : i7-3520M @2.9Ghz (Ivy Bridge)
• CPU Socket : FCBGA1023, FCPGA988
• TDP : 35W
• Integrated Graphics : Intel HD Graphics 4000

I found out here that my motherboard has a G2 socket, and FCPGA988 is just another name for the rPGA 988B socket (correct me if i'm wrong).

So, in theory, swapping my I3-2370M for an I7-3520M should be possible, and should work.

 

But before purchasing this CPU I wanted to consult you guy's wisdom, in order not to throw $77 down the drain.

 

Do you guys see any defect in my thought process ? Any recommendations, any warnings ?

 

Thank you in advance for your answers !

[Jurrunio]

https://www.dell.com/community/Laptops-General/Which-processors-are-compatible-with-a-my-dell-inspiron-15r-5520/td-p/4576061

 

Yes it will work, though try find the quad core 3612QM

[Skulblake]

12 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

https://www.dell.com/community/Laptops-General/Which-processors-are-compatible-with-a-my-dell-inspiron-15r-5520/td-p/4576061

 

Yes it will work, though try find the quad core 3612QM

Is the difference between 2 cores and 4 cores really worth it ?

I'm not a gamer, more of a poweruser, and I want my computer to be able to handle heavy multitasking (low level data science, and many Chrome tabs open) and be snappy. The cores on the I7-3520M are faster than the ones on the I7-3612QM which led me to think that the former one is a little bit better for my use case.

 

Would you recommend buying the CPU from aliexpress ? I can't seem to find them used anywhere else (at a reasonable price).

[Jurrunio]

9 minutes ago, Skulblake said:

Is the difference between 2 cores and 4 cores really worth it ?

I'm not a gamer, more of a poweruser, and I want my computer to be able to handle heavy multitasking (low level data science, and many Chrome tabs open) and be snappy. The cores on the I7-3520M are faster than the ones on the I7-3612QM which led me to think that the former one is a little bit better for my use case.

 

Would you recommend buying the CPU from aliexpress ? I can't seem to find them used anywhere else (at a reasonable price).

of course 4 cores is better than 2 cores. The argument of sacrificing core count for single core speed only makes sense when you have more than 4 cores.

 

personally no experience with aliexpress.

[Silver47]

1 hour ago, Skulblake said:

 

But before purchasing this CPU I wanted to consult you guy's wisdom, in order not to throw $77 down the drain.

So about upgrading laptops with socket-style cpus in general: I've done it in the past, multiple times without even needing to change the bios. Its definitley possible. Last time I did it was with a Medion laptop, swapping out a i3 3120m and putting in a i5 3210m. It made a noticeable difference in performance and since that laptop had a decent gpu for that time it was totally worth it. The bottom line is: If the i7 3520m (or similar) would have been available for your machine from the factory, there's a very good chance that its just gonna be a drop-in replacement, without the need to even chnage something in the bios. But you should make sure if those two chips have the same tdp, because if not the swap obviously isn't a great idea for multiple reasons. One thing you should keep in mind though: The i7 3520m is (like your current i5) only a two core / four thread cpu, so you might want to consider getting a true quad-core cpu if you allready spending the money on an upgrade. Maybe go with the i7 3612qm (or similar), generally you should look for a 35w part with the suffix xxxx-qm. In this case qm means quad-core mobile.

[Skulblake]

6 minutes ago, black0utm1rage said:

So about upgrading laptops with socket-style cpus in general: I've done it in the past, multiple times without even needing to change the bios. Its definitley possible. Last time I did it was with a Medion laptop, swapping out a i3 3120m and putting in a i5 3210m. It made a noticeable difference in performance and since that laptop had a decent gpu for that time it was totally worth it. The bottom line is: If the i7 3520m (or similar) would have been available for your machine from the factory, there's a very good chance that its just gonna be a drop-in replacement, without the need to even chnage something in the bios. But you should make sure if those two chips have the same tdp, because if not the swap obviously isn't a great idea for multiple reasons. One thing you should keep in mind though: The i7 3520m is (like your current i5) only a two core / four thread cpu, so you might want to consider getting a true quad-core cpu if you allready spending the money on an upgrade. Maybe go with the i7 3612qm (or similar), generally you should look for a 35w part with the suffix xxxx-qm. In this case qm means quad-core mobile.

Thanks a lot for the insight !

 

I found several listings of i7-3612qm CPUs on aliexpress that might be a good fit for my laptop.

 

In addition, the i7-3632qm (same TDP) seems interesting, but there's no log of it being recommended by Dell for the 15R 5520. Do you think it could also work in my machine ?

 

Do you have any experience buying used laptop CPU from aliexpress ? Is it worth the risk ?

[badreg]

8 hours ago, Skulblake said:

In addition, the i7-3632qm (same TDP) seems interesting, but there's no log of it being recommended by Dell for the 15R 5520. Do you think it could also work in my machine ?

The 3632QM is a refresh of the 3612QM, so it's basically the same chip with a 100Mhz boost across the board on the CPU and a 50Mhz higher maximum boost on the GPU. If one works, then the other one will too. If you can find it at a similar price, go with the higher clocked chip. Otherwise, the extra 100Mhz really isn't going to make much of a difference.

 

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Intel-Ivy-Bridge-Quad-core-Refresh.82948.0.html

[Skulblake]

Just a follow-up, just in case someone ends up wanting to do the same thing.

 

I just swapped my i3-2370M with an i7-3612QM, and it works perfectly on my machine.

You'll need to downgrade your BIOS to A14 (the most recent one is A16) in order for Turbo Boost to be enabled though.

I'm currently sitting at ~50°C at idle, with the same cooler, and the temps never rose above 70°C (thanks to the new application of thermal paste.

I recommend using this tutorial  if you want to perform the swap yourself. It's not very complicated, but you'll have to be careful.

Dell said the Inspiron 5520 couldn't handle more than 8GB of RAM, but mine has 12GB and it works like a charm.

 

The laptop is now a lot more snappier. It really feels more responsive, and going from 2 cores to 4 really made a huge difference in things like playing Youtube videos at a higher resolution/framerates (with the i3, it wasn't possible to watch a 720p60fps video, now it runs 1080p60fps very easily).

 

Finding the CPU was the hardest part, it cost me ~140€ (which is a lot for a 3rd gen) new thanks to a sale (i believe the listed price was around 350€ without the sale). But in the end, with regards of the benefits, I believe it's worth it, since I already frankensteined the hell of my machine and invested a lot in it, and don't really need a powerful desktop.

 

Hope this thread could help anyone in the future !

And thanks to everyone that helped me !

[raucze]

I know this thread is old, but if anybody is reading,  any pointers where I might buy the CPU from? I would want to try and refresh this laptop too with newer specs.

 

I'm currently running core i5-3210M on 4G RAM (800Mhz) and its no where near as good as my work laptop.

 

 

[Skulblake]

I guess you can try your luck on a trusted seller on ebay, if there is some listings at the moment.

I bought one on clearance on a popular french hardware reseller online (ldlc) but I haven't seen a i7-3612QM listed on there since.

 

I will probably update my setup soon. I'll let you know if I can't find any use for this CPU, maybe I could sell it to you.

[raucze]

Thank You, this thread came in handy in guiding me about my options to enhance the performance of my laptop.

 

Here's what I could accomplish with limited budget  ($250)-

 

Processor (core i7 3632qm) - $ 90

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Intel-Core-i7-3632QM-SR0V0-2-2GHz-Quad-Core-6M-PGA-988-Notebook-CPU/284090727312?hash=item4225207b90:g:VfgAAOSw8StfnOss&frcectupt=true

Thermal Paste (Noctua NT-H1 3.5gm) - $17

https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/cooling/thermal-paste/35795-nt-h1-3.5g?gclid=Cj0KCQiAzsz-BRCCARIsANotFgOajE-DF8MmPGFhG6z6ovzu4ec5W8IWjKqUmpdT2IWKLFGiqTVIMvsaAhLbEALw_wcB

RAM (Corsair DDR3 SODIMM memory 1333Mhz 16GB kit) - $59

I got it off an auction on ebay

Disk (Samsung EVO 860 500 GB SSD) - $65 (discount price)

https://www.centrecom.com.au/samsung-860-evo-500gb-25-sata-iii-ssd-mz-76e500bw

Wifi Card (Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260) - $30  (yet to arrive)

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/75439/intel-dual-band-wireless-ac-7260.html

 

 

Processor upgrade - 

I upgraded my processor from core i5 3210M to Core i7-3632qm (both are 35TDP), my BIOS version was A17.

 

  

 

If the system does not boot after replacing the processor, then reset the bios either by pulling out of CMOS battery for about 5 seconds or so, then the system will power on.

 

RAM upgrade -

Bumped from 4GB RAM (stock) to 16GB corsair value select. Apparently even MAC rams work fine with the system too.

I actually wanted to put in a DDR3L 1600Mhz ram, but I couldn't get one.

 

Performance-

 

 

I hesitatingly upgraded to Win10 from Win7. I might still go back to Win7 if I can get my hands on a retail version.

 

My boot time

 

The system is blazing fast for normal usage like browsing and light level gaming like the new Microsoft 'Age of Empires 2 DE'.I don't use the system for any programming as such and wanted to put some more life into it.As of today, the system is about 8.5 years old.

 

Things which didn't work -

1. I tried replacing the cpu fan with a new one I ordered off ebay and my system would randomly restart even on idle. The Event log showed it was PowerSupply Issue (41), and then I narrowed it down to the new cpu fan. I have returned it to the seller as 'change of mind'.

2. My built in speakers don't work and I tried ordering a spare from China via ebay, but it never arrived and eventually, I cancelled the order.

3. My bluetooth is not functioning after upgrading to Window10. Apparently intel Centrino N 2230 is not compatible with windows, so I've ordered an upgrade wifi card - the last of the HMW models 'intel AC - 7260'. I don't know if Dell has blacklisted wifi card upgrades on my laptop, but I will get to know in a couple of weeks.