Upgrading processor

[badfish_e11]

Hello HP community.

I'm having a hard time with my laptop. It freezes non-stop and I am considering upgrading the CPU. 

What motherboard specifications should I know before starting to look for a new CPU? Could you please tell me?

Thanks in advance.

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

Intel Pentium N3540 with Intel HD Graphics (2.16 GHz, 2 MB cache, 4 cores)

That is what you have. The Pentium N is a very low end processor and I am sure the laptop was at a very low price point. The processor is soldered to the motherboard. No upgrade is possible for any amount of money that makes any sense. 

They do make an i7-5500 motherboard for that model but they are hard to find and crazy expensive. By the time you buy the motherboard and pay somebody to install it, you could just buy a new laptop and if you sell yours to Aunt Millie for doing her Instagram (all the laptop is good for) and buy one with a real processor you come out way ahead. 

I post here all the time and try to voice my opinion about why these low-end laptops with cell phone processors are even offered but the marketing people say that customers just are not willing to pay an honest price for a solid computer and the Geek Squad and other sellers do a very poor job of educating the public: yes it's a $250 laptop but what can it do? Will you get sick of it and just have to buy something else? Iron law: you get what you pay for. 

[badfish_e11]

Thank you for the information.

Would you suggest moving to a lighter OS like Win 7 for optimal work. The computer freezes every time it starts processing something heavier...

[Huffer]

You might have trouble finding Windows 7 drivers. I would actually go in the other direction. Windows 10 is a little more forgiving of weak hardware than 8 or 8.1 believe it or not. You need to to turn off all visual effects and make sure nothing is starting automatically and running in the background.