Upgrading my ProBook 4520s

[CaptainYanev]

Hey there dear community,

I've been using my HP ProBook 4520s for well over 5 years. It has been serving me well throughout my college and post-college years so I decided to try beef it up a bit instead of changing it. My current system specs are these (got them with Speccy):

Operating System:    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
  CPU:    Intel Core i3 330M @ 2.13GHz 61 °C    Arrandale 32nm Technology
  RAM:    4.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 532MHz (7-7-7-20)
  Motherboard:    Hewlett-Packard 1411 (CPU 1)
  Graphics:    Generic PnP Monitor (1366x768@60Hz)
                         512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4500 Series (HP)
  Storage:    1043GB Western Digital Black2 WDC WD1001X06X-00SJVT0 (SSD) 42 °C
  Optical Drives:    DTSOFT Virtual CdRom Device    hp DVDRAM GT30L
  Audio:    AMD High Definition Audio Device

Now I did my fair share of reading and I've reach to two conclusions:

- This laptop simply is not designed to run quad-core or above CPUs so my two options are either i5 or i7 dual-core CPUs.

From what I read here and there, the most optimal CPUs that can be used on this particular device are the i7-640M, i7-620M and the i5-580M. I understand that if I go with either of these three, hte productivity would increase with about 25%-30%.

- I already upgraded the memory from 3GB to 4GB but to my understanding this laptop supports up to 8GB of memory so I am considerring getting a 2x4GB DDR3 PC3-10600 • CL=9 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR3-1333 • 1.5V • 512Meg x 64 SDRAM SO-DIMM 204-pin kit.

My storage is pretty much the optimal thing to get for this laptop (it has the SATA2 (3Gb/s) port) so a full 1TB SSD would be a bit pointless.

My questions are:

- Are there are problems or other things to consider about the possible CPU upgrade? I would love to see a video tutorial on how to properly to the replacement

- Am I missing something with the memory upgrade? I am a bit unsure about what the voltages should be on the memory sticks (1.35V or 1.5V).

- Is there anything else I can do for this in order to make it a bit more current (optical drive swap with something else, etc.)?

I would really appreciale each and every suggestion and comment.

Thanks!

Cap

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

i7-640M is the top processor. It is DDR3-1066 memory and that is 1.5 volt. The newer 1.35 volt memory at DDR3-1600 will likely not be compatible. HP is recommending this:

4-GB (PC3-10600, 1333-MHz, DDR3) 599092-001

http://www.amazon.com/HP-DDR3-SDRAM-Memory-Module/dp/B0030L3B8E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438431520&sr...

Your Service Manual

Youtube video

The tech in the video does not actually remove the CPU but shows it. Take the processor out carefully by turning the locking screw to "open" and lift the CPU out. Be extremely careful with the pins. Line the new one back up the same orientation as the old and drop it in. Just be sure to lock the processor retaining screw back down tight when you reassemble. You need to follow the instructions on cleaning and thermal paste installation. 

You may also want to consider a solid state drive. The gains to be achieved will be more noticeable than the CPU or the memory. Also keep an eye on what you are spending and make sure it makes sense. If I could only do one upgrade it would be the SSD. I would not bother with a Blu-Ray drive on a laptop. 

If this is "the Answer" please click "Accept as Solution" to help others find it. 

[CaptainYanev]

Hey, thanks for the  comment. 🙂

The drive that I have actually has a 120GB SSD in it plus a 1TB HDD (it's a dual-drive and the SSD pretty much maxes out the SATA2 bus so I wouldn't be seeing any benefits from going SSD-only on this).

I will check out the memory that you linked and if it's available here (I'm from Bulgaria).

Thanks for reminding me about the thermal paste, I completely forgot about applying a new one (the desktop computers that I've build usually came with a preapplied paste on the stock or aftermarket coolers).

I was referring to the optical drive because I wanted to know if it's possible to replace it with lets say another storage drive or something else (I haven't used it in years).

Thanks again 🙂

[Huffer]

Yes they do make optical drive caddies that will hold a hard drive. They are not bootable and access a bit slower because the optical drive bus is slower. Really about all it is good for is if you happen to require a big storage drive for pictures or music or maybe movies or a library of documents. The adapters are sold at many online sites and look like this: