DIY'er on a budget: P6100 / P6200 vs. i3 / i5 / i7

[bobtms]

Hi -

Any reason I could not upgrade a P6100 CPU-equipped laptop with an i5 580M CPU? These appear to be pin, thermal, FSB, and voltage compatible. It seems unlikely that the multiplier would pose a problem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Pentium_microprocessors#Nehalem_based_Pentiums_2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_i5_microprocessors

Background: I am a small business owner and need to order about 10-12 laptops, refreshing the T41p lenovos we are currently using. I am interested in in the HP G62t laptop or equivalent. I would like the least expensive "current platform" laptops I can get. A P6100 is about 400% the speed of a Pentium M 1.7GHz and appears to use the same platform as the latest i3 and i5 cpus. an i5-580M or i7-620M or i7 640M all seem like logical choices, nearly doubling the speed, but would add $250-$300 to my system cost today, or $20-$30 in about 3 years.

Advice appreciated.

 

[enzo matrix]

If the notebook came originally with the option of having the i5, then there should be no issues. But if not, it could work but it is impossible to determine for sure without trying. Here are the possible issues:

Bios compatibility: if it's not compatible, it might not work right or might not work at all.

thermal: if the laptop was not designed for it, it might not be able to properly dissipate the heat.

What are these business computers used for exactly?