Switching laptop parts

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FLARE

n00b
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Dec 18, 2009
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How universal are laptop hard drives and memory? Are they interchangable? Can you just switch it from one to another? Different brands. Thanks.
 
most laptop hard drives are either the older IDE or newer SATA, so they have to be the same, memory has to be the same type as well since you have DDR, DDR2, and DDR3.
 
Depends on how old your laptop is...
The newer laptops have mSATA or m.2 SSD's compared to regular SATA. The ram is also frequently integrated in the mobo (soldered on). This can severely reduce interchangability between laptops.
 
Same rules as a desktop. As long as the interface is the same, the parts are generally interchangeable.
 
Yep even replaced quite a lot of laptop CPUs as well.

The parts you can usually change are -

Ram
HDD
CPU (best to do some research but usually possible)
Wi-fi (though some HP machines throw a fit with this)
Optical drive (some plastics swapping might be required)

Sometimes the GPU if its a higher end model with a dedicated GPU card but I've usually only gone for like for like swaps with maybe more ram on them. Heat is a killer if the laptop isnt specced for it.
 
Thanks for the replies. The laptop is about 2 years old. I asked the question because people keep saying that laptops are hard to upgrade, making it seem like part sizes are not universal. How hard is it to replace hard drives and memory compared to desktops?
 
Hard drive and memory on laptops I've worked on was pretty simple, access both under the bottom panel.
some laptops have a dimm slot under the keyboard and one under the bottom access panel.
 
Agree HD and "usually" memory are ok to update. I would not be so confident in saying a cpu replacement would be possible. But yes if you want to put an SSD in to replace a standard HDD, you should be able to do that with a 2.5" drive.
 
this is how easy it is to upgrade my HP DV7 4060us. After working on a few of these DV7's, I wouldn't recommend them, seems to have issues with heat damaging the chips on the motherboards causing no video or no boot. this machine was a parts donor for a machine I was fixing for a friend, we ended up not using any parts from it and he bought the rest of the items to finish it off and gave it to me as payment for working on the other 2 DV7's. I paid for the SSD and Ram upgrade myself though.




I installed Diablo 3 on it just to see if it would work and it plays surprisingly well, was pretty impressed.

 
I was looking around, and noticed that there are different kinds of ddr3 memory, and that they are not interchangable. I got this from the internet.

" DDR3-800 memory is the slowest type of DDR3 RAM. It has a 100 megahertz memory clock and a 10 nanosecond cycle time, with a 400 MHz I/O bus clock. DDR3 is also sometimes called PC3-6400 for its peak transfer rate of 6,400MB per second. DDR3-800 differs from DDR2-800 only in the speed of its memory clock -- 100 MHz vs. 200 MHz -- and its cycle time -- 10 nanoseconds vs. 5 nanoseconds. As of 2011, this memory type is largely obsolete.

DDR3-1066

DDR3-1066, or PC3-8500, offers a 133 MHz memory clock and 7 1/2-second cycle time, with a 533 MHz I/O bus clock. This memory actually has a peak transfer rate of 8,533MB per second, rather than the 8,500 implied by its common name. This is due to the convention of rounding down decimals when figuring the data rate of memory.

DDR3-1333

DDR3-1333 memory offers a 166 MHz memory clock and a cycle time of only 6 nanoseconds. The I/O bus clock runs at 667 MHz. DDR 1333 is also known as PC3-10600, and may be sold this way by computer retailers, but actually provides a peak transfer rate of 10,667MB per second. Some manufacturers round this memory's capacity differently and may call it PC3-10666 or PC3-10700. However, these differences in marketing don't indicate any difference in memory speed or efficiency.

DDR3-1600

DDR3-1600 RAM offers 1,600 million data transfers per second and a peak transfer rate of 12,800MB per second. It has a 200 MHz memory clock and a 5 nanosecond cycle time, with a 933 MHz I/O bus clock. As of 2011, this RAM is the highest readily-available speed of DDR3, though faster RAM can be purchased through some specialty retailers.

DDR3-1800

Also called PC3-14400 and DDR3-1866, DDR3-1800 memory has a memory clock speed of 233 MHz and a cycle time just over 4 nanoseconds. Its I/O bus clock is 933 MHz. This memory offers 14,933MB per second as its peak transfer rate. Due to rounding differences, this RAM may also be called PC3-14900."

Now one of my laptops was made in 2012, while the other was made in 2013, so the age difference is not big. So maybe during that time period, the memory types were the same, but I haven't confirmed it yet.

Something else I would like to know is... Generally speaking, what types of tools are needed to change parts (hard drive, memory) on a laptop? For example, on the desktop, you would need only a philips screw driver. Is it the same for a laptop?
 
Zepher said:
this is how easy it is to upgrade my HP DV7 4060us. After working on a few of these DV7's, I wouldn't recommend them, seems to have issues with heat damaging the chips on the motherboards causing no video or no boot. this machine was a parts donor for a machine I was fixing for a friend, we ended up not using any parts from it and he bought the rest of the items to finish it off and gave it to me as payment for working on the other 2 DV7's. I paid for the SSD and Ram upgrade myself though.




I installed Diablo 3 on it just to see if it would work and it plays surprisingly well, was pretty impressed.

Click to expand...

nice pictures
 
FLARE said:
I was looking around, and noticed that there are different kinds of ddr3 memory, and that they are not interchangable. I got this from the internet.

" DDR3-800 memory is the slowest type of DDR3 RAM. It has a 100 megahertz memory clock and a 10 nanosecond cycle time, with a 400 MHz I/O bus clock. DDR3 is also sometimes called PC3-6400 for its peak transfer rate of 6,400MB per second. DDR3-800 differs from DDR2-800 only in the speed of its memory clock -- 100 MHz vs. 200 MHz -- and its cycle time -- 10 nanoseconds vs. 5 nanoseconds. As of 2011, this memory type is largely obsolete.

DDR3-1066

DDR3-1066, or PC3-8500, offers a 133 MHz memory clock and 7 1/2-second cycle time, with a 533 MHz I/O bus clock. This memory actually has a peak transfer rate of 8,533MB per second, rather than the 8,500 implied by its common name. This is due to the convention of rounding down decimals when figuring the data rate of memory.

DDR3-1333

DDR3-1333 memory offers a 166 MHz memory clock and a cycle time of only 6 nanoseconds. The I/O bus clock runs at 667 MHz. DDR 1333 is also known as PC3-10600, and may be sold this way by computer retailers, but actually provides a peak transfer rate of 10,667MB per second. Some manufacturers round this memory's capacity differently and may call it PC3-10666 or PC3-10700. However, these differences in marketing don't indicate any difference in memory speed or efficiency.

DDR3-1600

DDR3-1600 RAM offers 1,600 million data transfers per second and a peak transfer rate of 12,800MB per second. It has a 200 MHz memory clock and a 5 nanosecond cycle time, with a 933 MHz I/O bus clock. As of 2011, this RAM is the highest readily-available speed of DDR3, though faster RAM can be purchased through some specialty retailers.

DDR3-1800

Also called PC3-14400 and DDR3-1866, DDR3-1800 memory has a memory clock speed of 233 MHz and a cycle time just over 4 nanoseconds. Its I/O bus clock is 933 MHz. This memory offers 14,933MB per second as its peak transfer rate. Due to rounding differences, this RAM may also be called PC3-14900."

Now one of my laptops was made in 2012, while the other was made in 2013, so the age difference is not big. So maybe during that time period, the memory types were the same, but I haven't confirmed it yet.

Something else I would like to know is... Generally speaking, what types of tools are needed to change parts (hard drive, memory) on a laptop? For example, on the desktop, you would need only a philips screw driver. Is it the same for a laptop?
Click to expand...


Any laptop that new is using DDR3 SODIMMS, which are all fully interchangeable...If you were to buy say, DDR3 1600Mhz modules, but the MB was only designed to run with a max speed of DDR3 1333 (or lower), the ram will down clock accordingly based on what the BIOS tells it what to do. Don't waste your money on anything faster then 1333 (maybe 1600 if the price difference is SMALL) since most OEM systems are most likely using that speed.

One other note..You need to check on the OEM's website to determine the largest amount of ram (in GB) you can install. Some boards can handle 2GB, some 4GB, some 8GB or more..

You will need a #1 Phillips screwdriver unless the heads are smaller size 0s..Don't try to force them out with a screwdriver that is too large, you will just damage the screw's head and be SOL..
 
If you told us what you wanted to upgrade or swap and what laptop model(s) you are working with we could help much more. Most of what you hear about inability to upgrade laptops is CPU and video card proprietary issues, or they are soldered right into place.
 
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