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2.3GHz, 2.6GHz, or 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.7GHz) with 6MB shared L3 cache.

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Upgrade CPU on MacBook Pro Retina 2.3 GHz

Hello

So I have bought an MacBook Pro Retina (mid 2012) with 2.3 GHz. Now I think that it is a bit slow and because the New Haswell CPUs just came out, I think the IveBridge CPU will become cheaper.

So my Question, is it possible to upgrade to an 2.7/2.8 GHz CPU?

If yes, does anyone have some experiences with it?

And is it worth it or should i better sell the Computer and buy a newer one?

Thx a lot for an answer.

Leo Studer

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

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Even if you had a socketed Ivy Bridge desktop system the currently released Haswell CPU's use a new socket LGA 1150 with Haswell Vs LGA 1155 used for Ivy or Sandy Bridge.

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No - laptop CPUs are soldered to the logic board. Your only recourse is to sell the computer and purchase a faster one.

Remember to return and mark accepted the answer that best solves your problem.

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3 Comments:

Okey, thats bad :/!

Thx for your answer.

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The real question is who does GBA soldering rework? When that is available to us Apple and the other manufactures will not be so thrilled with their planned obsolesce!

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Matthew - Keep wishing, never will happen!

The real issue is costs: Cheaper or more reliable to replace the logic board than trying to replace the CPU chip.

Besides, you'd need access to the exact same chip, you couldn't swap it to something else.

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Just heat up your board for 48 hours @ a good low temperature, grab your $80,000 dollar rework station, and try out a new, faster cpu! :) report back here with results. cmon its easy ! Haha..

I believe it just takes more skill set and knowledge about electronics, processors and computers altogether! (not that its impossible to upgrade the cpu..) you just have to lift it off the board at high temperatures .. (It gets all sciencey...)

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techetc - Sorry it's a little bit more than that. The logic of the CPU and the connections on the logic board need to be compatible. Ivy Bridge & Haswell do not use the same connection architecture, so one can't replace one for the other.

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Get a desoldering hot air gun or rework station. A good one can be found under $100. The high end ones ($600+) are for people who intend to make a business out of fixing motherboards etc. I've done solder rework on a BGA chip cellphone and repaired it. Simple IF you have steady hands.

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Yes a heat gun will desolder small SMT devices, but not a laptop CPU's they require a special heat oven. Even still you can't buy the Laptop CPU Apple uses which you would need to. So you're just wasting your efforts and in the process killing a working system. Again the answer here is NO from someone who has tried.

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haha, not if you have a ton of dead macbooks in your shop and you can find a donor cpu on a dead board...

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I have the same question. BGA resoldering isn’t a concern, there’s another tricky thing - EFI and configurational smds on the board. For instance, if you want to upgrade RAM it’s tottaly doable except you MUST KNOW which smd configuration is needed for your new setup, so you have to change it in a very special way.

Is that the same for CPU? Or the work is to simply resolder the new chip?

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@intenditore - While you maybe skilled enough and have access to the correct gear to take off and install the RAM chips it it's not something a DIY person can do.

The CPU is well beyond what even the most skilled person could do and you can't easily get the correct chip.

It really just makes economic sense to just replace the logic board at that point. Besides the risk and costs of failure. I for one have seen to many messed up boards from people who don't know their limits.

Here's the IFIXIT guide you'll need to follow MacBook Pro 15" Retina Display Mid 2012 Logic Board Replacement It also has the parts info.

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You know, I can only partially agree with you. CPU from China (second hand of course) is about 4-7 times cheaper. Even if you sum it up with the heat fan and UV heater, it's still much cheaper. You only need to be skilled enough.

But an adequate estimation of your skills is the key not to mess up :D

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A one time job does not make economic sense!

If you are setting your self up to do board level repairs (100's of boards) then it might make sense. Even still, getting used CPU's is a very risky venture! If the CPU was socketed then I could see it. I would recommend you visit Louis Rossmann's YouTube vids to see how he replaces MacBook CPU/GPU's. There's a lot to it and you need the proper tools as the thermal distortion if not done properly will cause the chip to fail prematurely.

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Wow. This Dan guy must work for Apple or so. He really dont want anyone to think it is possible to upgrade a cpu.

I managed to upgrade my i5 to a i7. Bga pins on a series of cpus like haswell for example are all the same. No different pins.

I used a Haswell i7 from an death Sony Ultrabook Mainboard - CPU rarely gets damged on a Mainboard.

U just have to flash SMC with a donor file and ur good.

….

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That's an incorrect answer actually. Not all laptop cpu's are soldered in and most of them are up gradable . That being said the mac book pro retina is soldered in. However you can upgrade the ssd. Ive also heard that if you are still under warranty you can purchase upgrades through apple .

If you would like help upgrading , feel free to contact me at Steven.krupski@live.com

Update

@ mac It is relevant to the problem as the user was asking about a possible upgrade.

Knowing that not ALL CPU's are soldered in may help them in their decision.

I was just quoting your earlier comment and clarifying. If you don't understand the importance of giving clear information then the problem is with you and not with me .

Possibly misleading the end user is simply incompetent and only troubling to those involved. Any professional would agree that being precise and exact when you give advice is a must.

@Dan So once again not ALL laptops have soldered in CPU's in fact most of them don't. Intel isn't the only one out their also that is not the case with the pin gate arrays (PGA),

Perhaps your time would be better spent learning how to deal with end users and bettering your relationships with others instead of arguing over someone else's statement that had nothing to do with you in the first place.

Now if you had listed some other models that have soldered CPU's or laptops that have upgrade potential that would have been helpful.

Throwing a few models that are soldered isn't really relvent in the context applied nor is it making you sound any smarter.

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Steven - Sorry to say machead is correct here. ALL of Apples Intel CPU'ed laptops use soldered on CPU's. Some early PowerPC laptops had socketed chips. As such you can't swap out the CPU chip.

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Please read the comments fully before posting a reply. If you read his statement

"All laptops cpus are soldered to the logicboard " this can be misleading as a generalization as 90% of laptops do not have soldered processors. While this may be true to most apple laptops it should be said as such and not ALL laptops . In addition if you read my comment I clearly confirm that the retina macbook pro had a soldered in processor.

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Steven - Please review Intel's CPU guide. In reviewing it you will find most of the Core2, Ivy & Sandy bridge Mobile CPU's use BGA-1224 or BGA-1023 (ball gate array) package which require soldering. While you can find a few which use the PGA988B or PGA478 (pin gate array) these systems tend to be the larger older systems.

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There is no way upgrade the processor unless you know what you're doing with a soldering iron and some magic.

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3 Comments:

Two year old question and you added nothing that had not already been stated. This answer helps no one.

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but i laughed lol

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A hair dryer may come in handy as well...

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leodaniel will be eternally grateful.
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