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Question

Can I upgrade processor in Toshiba Satellite C50D-A-133

Sep 30, 2018 8:03AM PDT

I have an i5 that I’d like to swap out. No idea of compatibility or whether the original is soldered in. Can’t seem to find any contact for Toshiba either so any info is appreciated!

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Rarely done.
Sep 30, 2018 8:09AM PDT

Here's why. The makers do not list compatible CPUs and given the issues of power, chipset and no documents about what the BIOS supports no one has a list. You have to risk it and see how it turns out.

My advice is to never do this. Upgrade the HDD to SSD (big performance jump all around) and get to 8 or 16GB RAM.

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SSD
Sep 30, 2018 12:26PM PDT

Makes sense, I’ve heard mixed things about upgrading the SSD. I’m running audio recording software and sometimes people mention that it doesn’t help as much, similarly some people say it helps tremendously. Thanks for your reply!

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Answer
The i5 WILL NEVER go into this model.
Sep 30, 2018 12:55PM PDT

I used https://www.heise.de/preisvergleich/toshiba-satellite-c50d-a-133-schwarz-pscgwe-01y010gr-a1008830.html to find this has the AMD E1-2100 CPU.

No laptop made supported swapping from AMD to Intel. Sorry I didn't answer your question earlier with a direct answer.

I can see why you are looking for a CPU upgrade as I read http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i3-M-330-vs-AMD-E1-2100-APU/m484vsm7613

I pitted your E1 against a first gen i3 from 2010. So let's move to the prior model Core 2 Duo from 2007.
http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core2-Duo-E4400-vs-AMD-E1-2100-APU/m3549vsm7613

That's one slug of a CPU.

This changes my view on this machine entirely. It's so bad that you could beat it with my 128 dollar HP refurb probook from groupon.com at https://www.groupon.com/deals/gs-hp-probook-6460b-14-intel-core-i3-2310m-2-1ghz-4gb-250gb-hdd-new-b and to show how badly your AMD E1 fared:
http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i3-2310M-vs-AMD-E1-2100-APU/m159vsm7613

DO NOT UPGRADE THIS THING. Shop for a replacement. Use USERBENCHMARK to compare your next laptop.