HP Envy M7 n109dx Upgrade (all Possible)

[Luis2]

I would like to know all possible upgrades that could be made to this computer. I would like to max out this computer if possible.

[banhien]

Hi,

n100 series can have many different models/products (from n100aa to n199zz) what is yours ? Please use the following instructions to find out the model/product of your machine:

  http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00033108

You may want to read the following manual first:

    http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c04696907.pdf

Regards.

[Luis2]

It's the M7 n109dx.

[banhien]

Hi,

The following link shows its specs:

    http://support.hp.com/au-en/document/c04866083

It has current top CPU for normal laptops, max RAM (as in the manual above), FHD screen and, dual band wifi  .... Only one thing can slow its down: HDD which is 1TB 5400RPM hard drive .

My suggestion (if out of warranty), swap its HDD with a "hot cake" SSD (or HDD with 7200RPM and at least 32MB cache) and your machine can have a new life. From my experiences after swapping a dozen of machines, the quick and easiest way :

(a) Buy new SSD and put it on a HDD enclosure (or similar),

(b) Clone existing HDD to it (SDD can be smaller but in my cases I used equal or larger - capacity - HDD of each machine).

(c) Physical swap - older machines could take no more than 10 mins but new design may take 1 or 2 hours.

Regards.

[Luis2]

So is it not possible to upgrade the Processor to a Quad Core and the Graphics Card? Also, I was hoping you could suggest a blu-ray drive other than the original part that could fit this laptop.

[banhien]

Hi,

Firtsly I am a person who have never watched movies on computers therefore sorry about the ODD. Yes, you can upgarde to another ODD which also supports BD's. But

• for GPU (video card) is a no, no and
• for CPU you need to buy FULL new system board (or motherboard) with CPU as you can see on page #49 of the above manual and this is a very expensive upgrade.

Regards.

[Luis2]

Two questions now arise.

1) Do you know it I can add the SSD to the existing HDD without replacing it, meaning i would have both an HDD and SSD combo

2) Other than the original blu-ray drive, is there another one that you know that for sure would be compatible with my machine?

[banhien]

Hi,

2. There are many standard around but can be anyone standard. Page 28 gives you part number and you can replace yourself.

1. There is dual storage option: 2 HDD's or M.2 and normal HDD. Your machine has GTX card therefore the option is 1-TB + 256 GB M.2 SATA SSD (TLC)

Is it still under warranty ? If yes, you can do 2 but you can't do 1 as implied from the manual.

Regards.

[Luis2]

Thanks for your reply. Actually that's also why I asked. My computer only has the 940M graphics card which is not the GTX version. The GTX one is the 950M which is a better graphics card. There are two graphics cards for this model and I have the lower end one. Due to this, I am not sure if it's possible to have dual storage options on this machine since I don't have the GTX one.  That's why in one of my previous posts I asked about upgrading my graphics card because I know that a better one exists for this machine. Also, does HP have a center close to me that I could take my machine to so they could perform the upgrade.  To answer your question, my computer is still under warranty which is why I wanted HP to perform the upgrade if they had a center close to me.

[jkmatthews · Accepted solution]

I replaced the original hard drive in my n109dx with a 250GB SSD. I actually did a clean install if Windows 10, and eliminated all the included software that came with the computer. I saved the original drive in case of warranty claims that require the laptop be returned. There is no way to install a m.2 drive in the MB slot and have it be recognized by either the BIOS or Windows in the n109dx model. There is an ongoing thread on this forum I started a while back that is still being updated regarding this particular issue. It is apparently a BIOS issue, and HP apparently has no intention of activating that slot on the n109dx. You can add a second drive in the available bay near the battery. There are threads available regarding that install on these forums as well. If you search YouTube, there is a step by step video how-to. I also replaced my DVD drive with a Blu-ray purchased from a third party vendor. It was $10 cheaper than HP, and included the correct faceplate. I do not recall the vendor I used, but I just googled the laptop model and blu Ray and found the vendor. Sorry I am not more help with this, just wanted to share my experience, as it sounds like you are trying to do what I did with my n109dx.