Chosen Solution
Can I upgrade my Inspiron 5737 to I7 processors so I can upgrade to windows 11 and do gaming?
Hi @meh7777 Check in BIOS for a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) setting, (enable/disable). I’m not sure if your laptop has a TPM module or not If the laptop doesn’t have TPM 2.0, Win 11 won’t work anyway. (it may only have TPM 1.2 or none at all). You can’t upgrade the CPU because the CPU is hard mounted onto the systemboard However, you can improve performance by replacing the HDD with an SSD and also upgrading the ram. (max. 16GB - 2 x 8GB modules) Here’s a link that shows what SSDs and ram are compatible with the laptop. (Supplier example only to what it may cost and what you need - there are a lot of other suppliers but you now know what to look for that suits you i.e. type of ram and SSD) Here’s the ifixit Dell Inspiron 17R-5737 guides that show how to replace the HDD and the ram.
I am unsure if you can upgrade your CPU but I have heard and seen Evidence that Windows 11 isn’t fully optimized for gaming yet, I would stick to Windows 10 unless you have a specific reason to move up to 11.
Even when you could upgrade before mobile became “BGA only” parts, it usually wasn’t cost effective as the laptop has other compromises you’ll probably want to address as well, raising the cost so much it didn’t make sense with how difficult it is. If you had a junk laptop or you got the CPU for practically nothing and you could gut it without damage, sure it may work out but even then, you had to be 110% sure, and be damned sure you knew it would work and the work was worth the steps involved. The cost-effective play for dealing with these machines is to find a used machine that’s got the right CPU and move the SSD if you can swap it yourself. For example, when I looked and planned to buy, I went from an EliteBook 840 G3 (Skylake) to the G5 revision with an i7-8550U/4K IPS (400 nits/60Hz) screen. Might as well seeing as I got it super cheap from a seller who didn’t know what they had and priced it as if it had the common FHD LCD (even though it caught me off guard to the point I had to see if it was factory - yes, it is) :-). I was like “there’s no way this is as good as it looks - what’s busted and expensive?”. None - just a good deal but I also got extremely lucky.That said, yes you can SOMETIMES rework the laptops if the chassis is cross compatible, but the board cost tends to be about as much as a used example with the supported CPU when it’s not radically different like the G3>G5. You can always sell the old laptop to a student or someone who doesn’t mind the built-in expiration date for a supported Windows install.
