Windows 10: Can I upgrade a Sandy Bridge CPU to an Ivy Bridge CPU?

I currently am using a 2011 Toshiba Satellite L755-S5214, which currently has an Intel Core i3-2310M, a Sandy Bridge processor. Chipset/Southbridge vendor is Intel, chipset revision is 09, and the chipset is HM65, with Southbridge revision B2. I also updated the BIOS to 3.60, which the date is 6/26/2012, and the brand is INSYDE. The laptop works well, but in gaming, it simply needs a little more power in both graphics and amount of cores. So now I want to upgrade to the Intel Core i7-3610QM, which is an Ivy Bridge processor. Both the i3-2310M and the i7-3610QM are VERY similar in their abilities, only that the i7-3610QM basically has double the cores, slightly more TDP, and more abilities. I've heard that Ivy Bridge is backwards compatible with Sandy Bridge, and I've even seen a couple videos showing that Ivy Bridge processors can be used on Sandy Bridge motherboards. So the question is: Will my laptop be able to use an Ivy Bridge processor?

:)

 

Intel graphics driver 9.17.10.4459: only Ivy Bridge or also Sandy Bridge?

Microsoft released a new graphics driver for Intel processors at
http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Search.aspx?q=9.17.10.4459.

However, this webpage explains absolutely nothing as to the application. AskWoody declared that it was intended for Sandy Bridge (2nd Generation Core) and Ivy Bridge (3rd Generation Core), but Softpedia reported that it is only intended for Ivy Bridge. Softpedia's
explanation makes more sense given the different architectures, but it's also possible that Microsoft bundled drivers for both generations in this version. Would someone from Microsoft please give the definitive answer?

P.S. I've already confirmed that Intel did not release this driver. This is 100% Microsoft.

 

Sandy Bridge E or Ivy Bridge

I think Ivy Bridge is going to be the better bet. The main things LGA 2011 has over LGA 1155 are:

• 32 PCIe lanes vs 16 in LGA 1155
• More 6Gbps SATA ports
• Quad channel memory

Regarding #1: Ivy Bridge will get an upgrade to PCIe 3.0 and will have the same bandwidth in 16 lanes as LGA 2011 has in 32 lanes. So this is meaningless.

Regarding #2: Most high end LGA 1155 boards complement the standard two 6 Gbps SATA ports with 2 more. Unless you're looking to do more than 2 SSDs it's unlikely you'd need/use more than the 2 (or 4) 6 Gbps ports.

Regarding #3: It's pretty easy to get a dual channel kit that will run up to 2133MHz with LGA 1155 and that makes up for quite a bit of the memory bandwidth difference.


Pros for Ivy Bridge:

• Smaller manufacturing process so it'll be more energy efficient.
• And the normal optimizations will increase core performance over Sandy Bridge E.

I'd definitely go Ivy Bridge. Outside of needing to fully populate 8 dimm slots (max of 64GB) or running large RAID arrays with the 10 SATA ports I don't see Sandy Bridge E being a gamer's chip with Ivy Bridge hot on it's heels.

 

Patching Sandy/Ivy Bridge PCs for Spectre v2


Just a quick note to share a possibly helpful trick for those trying to update microcode on older PCs (Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge CPUs, in particular). Because Lenovo does not support Windows 10 on my two Sandy Bridge laptops -- a T520 notebook and an X 220 Tablet -- the company's Windows Flash utility will not run while the OS is up and working. However, Lenovo does make an ISO available for bootable media that will run the BIOS/UEFI flash from an alternate boot into DOS. That's what I had to do to update those particular PCs. Along the way, I made a couple of mistakes whose recitation will hopefully spare readers in similar situations from repeating them unnecessarily:
1. I found the free utility FreeISOBurner does the job of creating bootable optical quite nicely. For whatever reason, I did not succeed in creating bootable USB Flash drivers from the ISO file.
2. When booting to DOS legacy boot is the only valid method. I had to switch the UEFI boot in my X220 from "UEFI only" to "Both" (supports either MBR or UEFI boot) before the machine would boot to the DVD with the BIOS Flash utility aboard. I had to do something similar with the Asrock Z97 Killer Fatal1ty desktop also, though Asrock's Instant Flash utility didn't require a boot to DOS along the way.
HTH,
--Ed--