anyone running a i7 chip in their Aspire 5742g?

I'm going to experiment on an Aspire 5742G that has the nVidia graphics. But the graphics are switchable. So seeing as the I7 has no graphics capability on its own, like the i3 and i5 do, I figure that a change to the bios to set the nvidia graphics always on should work. Sound like a plan? I know the downside will be short battery life, and probably a screaming fan trying to keep everything cool, but what the heck, its a 6 year old laptop. That and I'm just dying to get a quad core into one of these things to see how it will perform. I have a spare motherboard and a few i5 chips as backup too.

I own a computer repair service, and often install i5 580M chips in the Aspire line where possable over the Pentium and i3's. A nice upgrade.

I did put in a Intel Quad-Core i7 740QM @ 1.73 GHz Processor (SLBQG) in a 5742 with intel graphics and although it started and loaded windows, unfortunately the screen was blank. (note to self: Duh.).

So, in a few days I'll be into the 5742G and let you know whats going on.

PS... Does anyone know how to get to the old pages that list all the build options for a particular model?

Thanks! Mark.

[Edited the thread to add model name to the title]

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philetus

You have 2 choices. Core i7 620m or 640m.

http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/CPUs/Intel/Core_i5_Mobile/i5-450M_(PGA988).html

Mark42

Those are both dual cores with intel graphics capability. I really want to get a quad core running, but this time with a picture on the screen. Have you tried the quad cores on a board with nvidia graphics?

philetus

Here's what the HM55 chipset will support,

http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-Intel_(chipsets)/HM55_Express.html

laurent_14

For information:

The original processors of Aspire 5742G:

Spoiler

KC.33001.DMP	CPU.I3.330M.2.13G.PGA
KC.35001.DMP	CPU.I3.350M.2.26G.PGA
KC.35K01.DMP	CPU.I3.350M.2.26G/3M
KC.37K01.DMP	CPU.I3.370M.2.4G/3M
KC.38K01.DMP	CPU.I3.380M.2.53G/3M/35W
KC.43001.DMP	CPU.I5.430M.2.26.PGA
KC.45K01.DMP	CPU.I5.450M.2.4G/3M
KC.46K01.DMP	CPU.I5.460M.2.53G/3M/35W
KC.48K01.DMP	CPU.I5.480M.2.66G/3M/35W
KC.56K01.DMP	CPU.I5.560M.2.66G/3M/35W.PGA
KC.58K01.DMP	CPU.I5.580M.2.66G/3M/35W.PGA

KC.33001.DMPCPU.I3.330M.2.13G.PGAKC.35001.DMPCPU.I3.350M.2.26G.PGAKC.35K01.DMPCPU.I3.350M.2.26G/3MKC.37K01.DMPCPU.I3.370M.2.4G/3MKC.38K01.DMPCPU.I3.380M.2.53G/3M/35WKC.43001.DMPCPU.I5.430M.2.26.PGAKC.45K01.DMPCPU.I5.450M.2.4G/3MKC.46K01.DMPCPU.I5.460M.2.53G/3M/35WKC.48K01.DMPCPU.I5.480M.2.66G/3M/35WKC.56K01.DMPCPU.I5.560M.2.66G/3M/35W.PGAKC.58K01.DMPCPU.I5.580M.2.66G/3M/35W.PGA

Mark42

Ahh, philetus, I see you use CPU Upgrade too! But I find that Intel ARK is so much more accurate. Check it out if you have not already. So, as you see, the I7 740qm processor is suppported by our dear, if not aging HM55 chipset. And as I stated earlier, I have had this quad core running on a standard Aspire 5742, just no graphics. The trick is to see if it's working with no screen. So I put a shortcut to a program that would play music in the corner of the screen, and then put in the I7. After the Win 7 start up sound, I just moused over and up, and clicked. Yep, it played music just fine.

So I moved to a 5742G thinking from the Acer schematics of the processing logic would work with the nVidia GPU set to be always on.

Still waiting on a replacement fan and other doo-dads to get the 5742g on Dr. Frankenstein's tech bench. LOL!

Thanks and anything else you can think of, please post it!

Mark.