Upgrading HP Pavilion 15-n051sm

[Darara]

Hello guys, 

Recently I upgraded my HP Pavilion laptop with an SSD drive and 8 GB of RAM memory. However, even after upgrading, laptop is running really slow. I am using it for Chrome (online video streaming), office work and some general networking (facebook etc.) Laptop turns fast, but after logging in, it becomes really slow. I can open max. two tabs of Chrome and forget about any other program because it becomes really slow. Browsing ebay - slow. It takes so much time to load a page and I have fast internet (20 Mbps) so internet is not an issue. i installed various versions of Windows 10 and even after clean install, it is slow. My question would be if it is possible to upgrade processor or motherboard (or both) in this laptop? If yes, which motherboard or CPU should I look for? I found AMD AM5200IAJ44HM A6-5200 APU Processor, which should be similar to the one my laptop has. What do you think? Is there a better alternative?

Thanks in advance for any suggestion. 

[Huffer]

You have an A4-5000M CPU which is at the very low end of the pecking order as far as capability. Unfortunately on your model the CPU (actually technically an APU since it has an embedded video chip) is soldered to the motherboard. Available motherboards for that model would have up to an A10-5745M APU soldered on. 

Your model originally came with FreeDOS OS so this would be your best upgraded board:

AMD A10-5745M A76M 2.9 GHz/2.1 GHz (4 MB, L2, 1333MHz DDR3L Quad 25

W) for use with FreeDOS and Ubuntu

738124-001

Pretty good seller offering the board for $75:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Touchsmart-15-n225nr-DDR3-AMD-A10-5745M-2-10-GHz-Motherboard-Tested/1432...

Manual

I usually discourage these kind of laptop overhaul projects but for $75 what do you have to lose? Your memory and heatsink, wifi card, SSD all that would swap over and it would be a drop in replacement. You would need a new Windows license or some way to activate it as this board would have no authentication Code for Windows built in and you would have to go old school and use a Key Code to activate. 

Post back if there are any more questions and please accept as solution if this is the info you needed. 

[Darara]

Dear Huffer,

thank you very much for taking time to respond in my thread. The main reason I asked for an advice is because I do not understand notebook motherboards and CPU's as much as desktop PC parts  Thanks for clarifying. 

As I understood, it is not possible to repleace CPU (or APU) since it is a part of motherboard, which means I need to change complete motherboard. 

When I bought this laptop, it had Windows 8 OEM installed. As I can see, you are mentioning this motherboard is for ubuntu/linux os. Will Windows 10 work with it? I have a Windows 10 OEM code for one more PC and I would be able to use it with this motherboard?

Thanks again for helping! I will make sure to mark your response as solution as soon as I buy this motherboard. 75 $ is not a lot of money if my PC will run faster afterwards.

EDIT: Found out the one you recommended does not shipp to my country.  I found one that does, so i am wondering if it would work for me https://www.ebay.com/itm/352563613741

[Huffer]

That is for the 17-f series. You have to get one of the motherboards listed in the Manual I linked. I looked up the model number you gave and the specs say it shipped with FreeDOS which is a common thing in Europe and Asia. All it means is that the motherboard does not have Code in the BIOS providing the Windows authentication Key. The hardware is otherwise the same as models that came with Windows Home or Pro. So yes you can install Windows 10 on it even on a motherboard that is for FreeDOS you just need to have an activation code to legitimize the Windows. Your OEM Code would activate an installation of Windows 10 onto that motherboard. 

So you are in Croatia? 

This one ships worldwide:

https://www.ebay.de/itm/100-TEST-Motherboard-Main-Board-734829-501-734829-001-734829-601-5-N-15-N013...

This is an A8-5545M board and uses integrated video not dedicated video so not quite as powerful as the one I linked above on USA eBay. This is a Chinese seller on German eBay but ships worldwide. This board would work; its only a little more expensive and would still be an enormous improvement over what you have. 

[Darara]

Dear Huffer,

thank you for your response.

Since this motherboard wouldn’t fit my PC, I looked the link you provided and the seller would shipp to my country. The only thing is that shipping charge + import tax would be another $74. So, I will need to find some cheaper option, or in case there is no cheaper option, I will buy from the seller you proposed.

Thank you once again for your recommendation.

[Huffer]

I answer a ton of questions like this here on the Forum and I suspect very few actual motherboard and processor upgrades actually happen exactly for reasons like that. Add up the expense, the hassle, etc. of a complete reworking of  a laptop that is fighting being obsolete, compare that to a shiny sleek new laptop and the latter almost always wins out. 

[Darara]

I am actualy thinking about buying the one you mentioned in your first reply. It is not expensive, the motherboard itself, but since seller is shipping via Global Shipping Program, I need to pay 55 USD for the delivery. So I contacted him to see if he can shipp through USPS or DHL.

The second one seems great as well, definately better than the one I have, considering seller shipps free of charge, it would be cheaper than the first one. It has test in its name, does it mean it is not AMD? I ll wait and see, but most probably I will buy the first one.

I am actually thinking of buying a new laptop, but this one I would pass to either my sister or cousin. However, since it is slow when only Chrome is running, I would not feel comforatabe to give it to someone and later on listen about how slow it is. I upraded from HDD to SSD first and it became little faster (in terms of boot time), RAM did help a bit (in terms of multi-tasking) but still, it takes a lot of time to open an application or to run Chrome with two tabs open. 

[Huffer]

Its an AMD board...the Test is just bad Chinese to English trying to explain they have tested the board and its in working condition. 

[Darara]

Got it.

I found another one https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MOTHERBOARD-HP-PAVILION-15-P-AMD-A10-5745M-HP-Spare-766715-501/1633751166...

I am sorry if I constantly choose wrong ones. I just enter A10-5745M into ebay search. 

[Huffer]

No use the HP Part number. I do not have time to do this but use the Manual I linked go in and look at the AMD motherboards with A8 and A10 APUs and run your eBay search using the HP Part number not the processor type. 

Again that one you found this time is not for your model.