Chip upgrade?

[nonoapple]

..does anyone know if it's possible to put a faster processor in the motorola droid? ie: a snapdragon processor, a droid 2 chip, etc?...or maybe an amoled screen? or does it not work that way? thanks in advance

 

[Frisco]

Yeah, let's just build our own device with whatever hardware we like.

Yippee.

 

[thaDroidz]

I was wondering about hardware upgrades myself...

Droid2 donor?

 

[AlexMason]

Theoretically yes, the possibility of this happening is slim to none.

 

[Frisco]

One of the town techs here, with his own shop where he does refurb work, etc, tells me that theoretically any cpu can be thrown into any device. The misgivings have to do with that device's circuitry and whether or not it can stand up to increased frequency and heat generated by such an upgrade.

He refuses to do it, as it would be just as expensive as purchasing a phone with a fast processor, in most cases, he says.

 

[takeshi]

Possible? Yes. Feasible/practical? No.

or does it not work that way?

Bingo. Your phone isn't at all like your PC which has user-replaceable parts. Your processor is soldered on and even very skilled solderers would have difficulty in not destroying the processor and other components.

That's not even taking into consideration whether or not another processor (even from the same mfg/family) would even work.

 

[x026092]

Possible? Yes. Feasible/practical? No.


Bingo. Your phone isn't at all like your PC which has user-replaceable parts. Your processor is soldered on and even very skilled solderers would have difficulty in not destroying the processor and other components.

That's not even taking into consideration whether or not another processor (even from the same mfg/family) would even work.

I concur.

 

[Eugene]

With the right tools, an expensive soldering iron with the right tip for the surface mount device its possible. Then you have to check data sheets and see if the processors are pin compatible etc. i can replace small surface mount devices with a simple soldering iron, 14 and 16 pin DIP's but anything bigger needs the special tools.
It would cost more than a new phone by the time you bought all the tools/parts.
for example plcc soldering tips
plcc soldering iron - Google Search

then you need the nice temp regulated iron.

 

[shadowdude777]

I've often thought about why cell phones shouldn't be made modular like desktop computers are, and like laptops have started to become. I guess it might make them bulkier if you have a CPU socket vs a soldered-on chip though.

 

[Eugene]

Exactly, look how big laptops have become to where they are too heavy to carry around, phones would get that way too.
All my laptops are small enough to still be portable but unfortunately that means they are not modular at all.

 

[shadowdude777]

Exactly, look how big laptops have become to where they are too heavy to carry around, phones would get that way too.
All my laptops are small enough to still be portable but unfortunately that means they are not modular at all.

Just ordered myself an Alienware M11x for $550 new off Dell's website yesterday. I'm so pumped.

 

[barry99705]

With the right tools, an expensive soldering iron with the right tip for the surface mount device its possible. Then you have to check data sheets and see if the processors are pin compatible etc. i can replace small surface mount devices with a simple soldering iron, 14 and 16 pin DIP's but anything bigger needs the special tools.
It would cost more than a new phone by the time you bought all the tools/parts.
for example plcc soldering tips
plcc soldering iron - Google Search

then you need the nice temp regulated iron.

That won't work for a processor though. The procs in phones, and laptops are ball grid array. If you don't know what that means, think of all the pins on the bottom of a desktop processor, add a small ball of solder to that, then the chip is soldered to pads on the logic board. You need a special hot air reflow machine to do ball grid array chips.

 

[Eugene]

I remember seeing the droid disassembled early on, the processor was a plcc and had a rom/ram chip piggybacked on top of it. They are doing that with things now to make them thin, cut a square the side of the plcc so it sits inside the pcb rather than on top.

 

[Eckyx]

Even if it is pin compatible, the firmware would not work with it, and the voltage supplied to the older OMAP chip might fry a newer chip. Another point - you certainly couldn't use a snapdragon, because afaik they integrated a lot of things into their chip that were separate chips with a TI CPU.

 

[shadowdude777]

Again, this is why the cellphone component industry should become standardized like the desktop industry or like the laptop industry has sort of become. Users don't like everything to be proprietary and closed (though Crapple's successes as of late suggest otherwise).

 

[defkorn]

There is absolutely no reason to upgrade/replace the CPU on your phone, other than to say you did it.

 

[barry99705]

Again, this is why the cellphone component industry should become standardized like the desktop industry or like the laptop industry has sort of become. Users don't like everything to be proprietary and closed (though Crapple's successes as of late suggest otherwise).

Very few laptops can have their processor replaced. Some can do a video card replacement but it's pretty expensive. Mostly just the drive and ram, maybe the wifi card if it's not vendor locked.

 

[shadowdude777]

There is absolutely no reason to upgrade/replace the CPU on your phone, other than to say you did it.

Oh yes, because a 1GHz Hummingbird processor in a D1 (while impossible) wouldn't help AT ALL with lag issues.

Very few laptops can have their processor replaced. Some can do a video card replacement but it's pretty expensive. Mostly just the drive and ram, maybe the wifi card if it's not vendor locked.

Yep. The only companies that really allow you access to the innards are Sager/Clevo.