If your tech savvy...

[exokinetic]

So after a lot of learning in the laptop hardware modification department, I just thought I had to share this.


Okay, so ALL over eBay, you can buy an HP ProBook 4320s for anywhere from $375-$450, basically the difference between a factory refurb, and a new in box.

I personally prefer the referbs, because I have worked in the RMA/Refurb department at a few tech companies, and the refurbs are generally the most tested, and on the latest firmware.


So these 4320s's are cheap because they come with a Celeron processor.


The cool thing about this, is that 4320s can be purchased from HP with that Celeron as the cheapest build, all the way up to a i7 640M (2.6-3.1 Ghz).


The REALLY cool thing, is all the processor options come with the EXACT same part number motherboard.

So you can buy that $375 4320s with a celeron, and buy a $150 i7 chip off eBay, and have yourself an i7 Laptop for just over $500...

Add about $80 for two 4GB DDR3 Modules

Add about $150-$200 for 128GB SSD

And that is $7-800 dollars for some of the fastest kit money can buy right now.


I have been using ProBook's for about a year and a half now, and three different models in the range, and they have all had very stable results with audio processing (I use Traktor, and Ableton). And my experience with these has really influenced my preference for business class laptops for audio processing work.


And on top of that, the 4320s is extremely easy to disassemble (provided you have the right drivers, notably a small (#8) torq driver) to access the processor for replacement.

I personally run a ProBook 5310m with a Core2Duo, cause' it works fine for me, and I dont feel like I need to upgrade...

But I originally built one of the 4320s's for my room mate, and he has been running strong on it for 3 months, with many live shows under its belt, and now I am building two more.

If you have the technical confidence, this is a combo that is VERY difficult to pass up.

[photojojo]

Nice post. Care to post some links on how to change a processor?

[exokinetic]

I suppose I could...


But actually the direction that I followed are the most detailed laptop disassembly instruction I have ever got my hands on.


The HP Maintenance and Repair Service Manual.


Every single HP product will have a download link to its service repair manual in the "Manuals" section, and the description of disassembly/ replacement/ re-assembly is straightforward, and alerts you to all the niglly little things you might find when taking the laptop apart (like where the plastics "clips" that you need to release are, and all the connectors and how they release).


You can actually do this type of modding with any HP laptop (probably other manufacturers as well, HP is just the only one I have found that have the instructions, and actual part numbers that WILL work for your particular model available for download so easily). All you need is to check your service repair manual and:

1. Make sure there is only one part number for the replacement Motherboard.

(if there are multiple replacement motherboards, check the processor list in the repair manual, and make sure there are no notations stating that certain processors are only compatible with the certain part number motherboard)

...If the above has shown you that all the processors that were offered for that laptop model are compatible across all motherboards that were ever installed in that model then you can move on...

2. Note the specific part number of all the processors that are listed as replacement parts for your laptop model.


That is the list of processors available for you to upgrade.

All of these processors have the same thermal characteristics, and will all operate well within their nominal operating voltage and temperature when installed in your laptop.


And thats how you do it!

[mattcheau]

great post (that would be even better if you can find me a probook priced at the low-end of your range). the cheapest that ebay has one listed for as i post this is $450, but still a great idea even at that price.

i do have a question though. not sure if you put an SSD in the machine you built for your friend, but if you did, did you mount it where the OEM drive was internally, or are you simply suggesting that the esata port be used to connect one (you may be able to tell that i'm completely unfamiliar with SSDs)?

[exokinetic]

Yep, replace it exactly where the OEM went

All HP business class laptops can be optionally purchased or upgraded with a 60GB, or 128GB HP solid state...

I personally bought an OCZ Agility 2, but ANY 2.5" SATA SSD will work perfectly in place of the OEM drive.


I'm actually toying with the idea of building a raid tower and installing windows 7 on it for my laptop to boot from eSATA.

So I will use my internal drive when I am portable, and when I am working at home I plug in the eSATA raid tower, and boot of that for maximum performance...


Muwahahaahahaahaha!

[mattcheau]

a raid tower . . . for my laptop to boot from eSATA.

=

[sarasin]

Thats sick!

Any chance you have any tips for my dead HP DV6000z?

Its in perfect nick...lying in my desk drawer. Can't bear to toss it out.

It was recalled as there was a factory fault where the graphics card on the motherboard burns out. Mine was one recalled (even though it was out of warrenty) and I got it back working. They had given me a new motherboard....but the same style motherboard that had been burning out. So mine burnt out again within 2 months.

Any magic you know of that I could use to bring this beasty back to life?

You seem to know the HP laptop well and I have good solid experience in fixing laptops myself. But not at the level you have it seems.

Sorry to bomb your thread....

[kilobytekaushik]

well done, any chance of such a thing on 15 inch hp laptops ? How will the celeron board support i7 , i3 can go for i7 but celeron?

[MiL0]

milomarked

interesting... although I wasn't aware that i7 processors are compatible with celeron processor sockets?

[exokinetic]

Thats sick!

Any chance you have any tips for my dead HP DV6000z?

Its in perfect nick...lying in my desk drawer. Can't bear to toss it out.

It was recalled as there was a factory fault where the graphics card on the motherboard burns out. Mine was one recalled (even though it was out of warrenty) and I got it back working. They had given me a new motherboard....but the same style motherboard that had been burning out. So mine burnt out again within 2 months.

Any magic you know of that I could use to bring this beasty back to life?

You seem to know the HP laptop well and I have good solid experience in fixing laptops myself. But not at the level you have it seems.

Sorry to bomb your thread....

And THIS is why I never buy a laptop with integrated graphics...


Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but a burnt out GPU means:

Dead mobo.


The GPU itself is physically soldered to the board, unlike our desktops where it is neatly removable and connects into a bus.

From my experience, the cooling solutions inside of laptops are NOT robust enough to cool a serious graphics engine, AS WELL as a CPU.

Sorry mate, but that thing is a paper weight... harvest the parts.




And as for the i7 fitting in a celeron socket...


Indeed Intel did release a few mobile Celerons in the µPGA-988 socket configuration specifically to fill in the need for an extremely low power CPU offering, with ought having to require a different mobo for the configuration.

Thank you HP for taking them up on it, and basing their laptop range on a Celeron to i7 scale.


Now you have to check your Service Repair Manual to make sure, but I have been able to do this across a few different models.


I am even upgrading the Core2Duo in my ProBook 5310m from an SP9300 to an SP9400...

Its only like a 1.8Ghz boost... but I like to tear things down and put new parts inside, hehehe.