G72 Motherboard and CPU upgrade

[Robsteady]

Hello everyone,

I recently acquired a G72 laptop from a co-worker. I jumped the gun and purchased an i5-540m without paying attention to the fact that I have a model 1.1 with MoBo part number 605139-001 in it. This means a different socket so the chip was a waste of money at this point. I have researched and it looks like the part number MoBo I would need to use the i5 would have been a 595184-001. From what I can see all the connections internally are the same (such as keyboard, power, right side USB). Is there anyone that could confirm or outright deny whether I would be able to purchase the HM55 HDMI UMA board and do a direct replacement/upgrade?

This laptop is already worlds better than the one I have replaced with it, but I'd love to get that extra boost out of it with the i5 I purchased.

[Huffer]

There are lots of G72s. Which one do you have? It may be that the motherboard you have is designed for a newer generation of the i-series processors. The i5-540m is first generation and frankly I would not give up the second or third generation to go back to a first generation. It would likely be cheaper for you to get a processor that will fit on the board you have than to get a board to fit the processor you have.

[Robsteady]

The computer is a g72-227wm. I know the motherboard has a socket 478 so it is an older socket and I can only go one or two levels up from the t4500 it has in it now. I pulled the part number for the motherboard with the 988/989 socket from the parts list in the owner's manual, the one that specifically fits the case I have. The only thing I wasn't completely certain of was whether or not any of the peripheral connections change from one version of this particular generation to the next. If there are any other part numbers or model numbers I can give to help clarify things just le me know.

[Huffer]

Here is the Service Manual:

Manual

I am sure it is not a Socket 478. I think it is a PGA 988 socket and the processor you have actually should fit. The manual does not show the T4500 as one of the processors used on that model.

[Robsteady]

I may be giving the incorrect model number but that is the manual I've been in a couple times to compare part numbers. Page 3-4 in the illustrated parts catalog section of the manual lists the "Intel Penryn MV T4500 (for model 1.1 only)" part number 591880-001 as an option. With the system booted and checking hardware specs it reports the 4500 as the CPU. I have also had the computer disassembled with the heat sick and chip removed, this is how I know it has a socket 478. As of page 3-6 in the same illustrated parts catalog there is a "GL40 UMA system board (for model 1.1 only)" part number 605139-001. I don't recall seeing the specific part number on the board when I had it open but the socket was definitely a 478 and the i5 I was attempting to install had almost double the density of pins as the old chip and socket did.

[Huffer]

You are right. It is a Socket P aka 478 so this model laptop actually straddled the Core 2 Duo world and the i-Series world. You apparently have the older type board that takes the previous generation processors.

[Robsteady]

Yeah, that's where my initial confusion came in after I purchased the i5 and I got frustrated when I went to install it and it was a different socket.

So as to my original question, is there any difference in the peripheral connections or heat sink routing that would stop me from upgrading the motherboard to the one with the socket 988? I would imagine the update to the newer board would be a simple matter of changing over, but I haven't found any side by side comparisons of all the connections to figure out whether or not there is anything different between the two. I'd easily change it over but I want to make sure nothing would stop me from being able to change over the board and CPU while leaving everything else (including heat sink and fan) alone.

[Huffer]

There are three different heatsink/fan devices in the Manual....one for each type of motherboard so I would say at this point you need a motherboard and a heatsink. I would do a google image search on the motherboard numbers and look to see if everything lines up. By the time you are done with this, you could have just bought an i5 laptop I am afraid. 

[TheSlamman]

Though old, I bid on the G72 model HP at eBay auction within the last hour and got the high bid, you can tell from the palmrest it's Pentium Intel listing is NOT CORE "i" technology, however, as mentioned, from the January Core Duo used introduction in 2009 to the mid 2010 dating of the G72 on some models, it does straddle the changeover from Core2Duo to Core i3, i5, and i7 Nehalem, all first gen Nehalems should work, with BIOS working to support maximum CPU and memory spec. Assuming the Intel last gen Core2 Penryn is supported (Intels PM45 or close to that) a maximum support of 8GB of DDR2 and Core2Extreme or Core2quad core could be used, this is stated right from HP's own Elitebook 8530 which I upgraded from their 8510 model and 69xx series as well, earlier (15 and 14 inch models I first owned initially) Now I have two 8510 and 8530s I bought, all those models support discrete MXM2 graphics, it's a shame this revision G72 does not, nor does it support dual SATA hard drives, like so many 17 inch model laptops do.  It's an entry level model in it's size range, as you can tell with minimum inputs and outputs, only three USB and no PCIexpress card slot, which all the 85xx series have (PC Card changed over to PC Express port cards with the last gen Core2Duo models; 8530. You might want to consider one