Upgrading ProBook 640 G1

[Ntact]

Hi there! I am looking to upgrade this nearly 4-year old laptop and have already looked into and priced the components I'm interested in upgrading. Thanks to this forum's easy search option, I was able to answer two questions outright that I had on upgrade possibilities: 1) I cannot upgrade the 14" LCD to full HD/1080p, and 2) I cannot install a quad core (MQ) processor. With that said, here are the current items in my laptop’s build that I'm looking into upgrading:

*CPU: - i5 4300M
*DVD-R/W: HP GUB0N
*DISPLAY: 14” 1366x768 (PN# 747752-001)
*KEYBOARD: standard non-backlit US (PN# 738687-001)

Here are the parts I'm looking to upgrade:

*CPU -> i7 4610M
*Optical -> Blu-Ray UJ262/UJ272 series
*Display -> 14.0” 1600x900 (PN# 747752-001)
*Keyboard -> Backlit (PN# 787294-001)

For those wondering, I'm looking for a little faster CPU speed as a lot of my apps are 1-2 core use and I figure the 4610M's 400MHz speed boost would help a little. Also, I'm looking to take advantage of my Blu-Ray movie collection in portable form while traveling hence the higher resolution and BD player want - which will also help in my Excel use for seeing more cells with less scrolling left-right and up-down. Also the backlit keyboard would be helpful since I do typing at night on the sofa with low light conditions.

I'd rather not spend $800+ on a new power laptop and the $288 for the above in upgrades would be worth it to me. I already purchased a 2x8GB PC3L-12800 DDR3 1.35v SO-DIMM memory kit (G.SKILL) as well as a Samsung EVO 860 500GB SSD (making the total upgrade $478). So hopefully all of that will extend this laptop's life for several more years. FYI I have high performance thermal paste used for my gaming PC builds, so that would be used on the faster CPU.

Does anyone see any compatibility issues with my current model? Please let me know if I need to give more details. Thanks in advance for all of your volunteer time here! You guys/gals helped me three years ago when I had a similar upgrade with a 2011-era Pavilion G7 which discussion is archived here. And that laptop is still rockin'!

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

Not sure why you say you cannot upgrade to a FHD display. I looked at the Manual here:

Service Manual

and a 14" FHD screen was an option and there is only one display cable used so it must support any of the optional display panels:

14-in. WLED FHD, UWVA 747753-001

https://www.ebay.com/itm/LAPTOP-LCD-SCREEN-FOR-HP-747753-001-14-0-Full-HD/372188669304?hash=item56a8...

On the backlit keyboard you will note in the list of system boards that some say they support a backlit keyboard and others do not and that means if your laptop does not have a backlit keyboard it likely does not have the header to attach the backlight power zif cable coming off the backlit keyboard so that one is a no-go. 

Since you already have a DVD burner you can upgrade to a 9.5mm Blu-Ray reader or burner by mounting a new bare drive in the same caddy and swapping over the faceplate/bezel. 

Yes you can upgrade to the i7 dual core but as you already recognize not one of the Quad Cores. 

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

[Ntact]

Hi thanks for the response! I questioned the 1080p because I read elsewhere that it has a different pin connection set up similar to your answer on the backlit keyboard. I'll go for the 1080p panel then since it's nearly the same price.

[Huffer]

Some are 40 pin connections but the one I linked to you is a 30 pin and should work. I would disassemble first and take a look at the old panel and an image of the new before I ordered. Measure twice cut once.