spynoodle
Active Member
This may sound a little crazy, but I'm looking into upgrading the Atom N455 in my CR-48 to a dual-core Atom N570. For those of you that don't know, the CR-48 was a laptop that Google gave away to several thousand selected applicants in late 2010 and early 2011 to beta test Chrome OS. Here is the link to the unofficial CR-48 wiki. I'm well aware that all Atom CPUs are soldered to the motherboard, but I've found many videos on Youtube that describe various methods of reballing a BGA GPU, although I've seen little to none about CPUs in general. However, it would seem that this eBay auction for a pre-balled Atom N570 would make my process much easier than usual. To get an idea of what I would be trying to desolder, here is a picture of the CR-48's CPU.
Basically, I know that I would have to preheat the motherboard, hit the CPU with a heat gun, and then use a suction tool to remove the CPU from the motherboard. Then, I would have to remove the remaining solder from the motherboard and put the correct type of flux on the CPU "socket." Finally, I would have to position the N570 perfectly on the motherboard, and then repeat the heating process to flow the solder. Still, I have some questions. Why does the CR-48's current CPU have red glue on the corners? Is it just to hold it in? Also, has anyone ever attempted this on a modern Intel CPU in general?
The Atom N455 is godawful slow; it makes the browser lag somewhat when visiting even moderately complex sites such as eBay and Facebook. I've looked into overclocking, but it seems like it's impossible even with SetFSB due to the CR-48's PLL. A CPU upgrade seems like my only option to give this well-designed little laptop enough pep to be useful. I also have a Dell Latitude D410, so I'm not totally SOL if I screw this up. Does anyone have any experience in this matter?
Basically, I know that I would have to preheat the motherboard, hit the CPU with a heat gun, and then use a suction tool to remove the CPU from the motherboard. Then, I would have to remove the remaining solder from the motherboard and put the correct type of flux on the CPU "socket." Finally, I would have to position the N570 perfectly on the motherboard, and then repeat the heating process to flow the solder. Still, I have some questions. Why does the CR-48's current CPU have red glue on the corners? Is it just to hold it in? Also, has anyone ever attempted this on a modern Intel CPU in general?
The Atom N455 is godawful slow; it makes the browser lag somewhat when visiting even moderately complex sites such as eBay and Facebook. I've looked into overclocking, but it seems like it's impossible even with SetFSB due to the CR-48's PLL. A CPU upgrade seems like my only option to give this well-designed little laptop enough pep to be useful. I also have a Dell Latitude D410, so I'm not totally SOL if I screw this up. Does anyone have any experience in this matter?
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