Is it possible to gut an x301 and put in updated hardware?

Could I take the processor out of an x301 and put an i-650 in there?


Clarrification:

Can I remove the motherboard and put an i-650 in there some way. Is it difficult to remove the motherboard?

 

The X301 uses the Core 2 Duo architecture so it wouldn't work with the latest Core i chipsets. Even so, the processor on the X301 is soldered on the motherboard (BGA) so you can't casually swap out the CPU even if you wanted to i'm afraid.

 

No, the processor is soldered to the motherboard.

EDIT: Hearst got it before me and I can't delete this post.

 

So the motherboard can't be removed?

 

You can remove the whole motherboard from the system, but you can't strip out the CPU as its soldered on the board which is what you asked initially right?

 

And there's no X301 board with the Core i CPUs. Laptop motherboards are highly specialized and can't be swapped as easily as a desktop board.

 

Just FYI, BGA CPU’s can be desoldered and upgraded... not an easy task and certainly, not everyone can do it (you need some professional equipment like an infrared soldering station), but I know people who have done it successfully, and not merely in the X301 but in rather more tricky PCs (the micro Vaio UX and the ultra-thin Vaio X505). Of course, the stock X301 mobo does not support i-core, and ZaZ is right; even if you find a mobo that fits, you would probably have to rewire nearly everything and I am not sure this is easy or whether it can be done.

 

what's an i-650?
If you want to put in a Core i7, that would be a big no. Unless you have a whole team of electrical engineers and motherboard engineers who will design one for you. On the other hand, you can remove the motherboard and you'll have a nice paperweight

 

(S)he means i5-650

 

A desktop processor?! Now we're really getting into insane territory here

 

Core i5-560M.
Core i5-560UM.

But, to the OP, short answer is no. You'd need a new (custom) motherboard that supports the Core i_ generation, which does not exist on the market. Laptops aren't like desktops where you can toss in a new motherboard into a 5-year-old case and have a powerful "new" computer, most components are custom-made for that model, especially in high-end thinner laptop models.

 

the OP said 650, and someone responded with "i5 650", which is a desktop processor. I just thought it'd be pretty funny if someone tried to put a desktop processor in their laptop

 

I want to put a desktop processor in an x301. I like challenges.

 

ASUS did... with the C90s