When You Really, Really Want to Upgrade a Tiny Notebook

Posted by timothy on Tuesday October 12, 2010 @01:59PM from the faint-of-heart-attack dept.

Benz145 writes "The famous Sony VAIO UX UMPC may have been cancelled a few years back by Sony, but the community at Micro PC Talk won't let it die. Modder Anh has carefully removed the relatively slow 1.33Ghz Core Solo CPU and installed a much faster Intel Core 2 Duo U7700 (a process which involves reballing the entire CPU). On top of this, he managed to install an incredibly small 4-port USB hub into the unit which allowed for the further instillation of a Huawei E172 modem for 3G data/voice/SMS, a GPS receiver, and a Pinnacle HD TV receiver. All of this was done without modifying the device's tiny external case. Great high-res pictures of the motherboard with the modded hardware can be seen through the link."

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Micro PC Talk? by Yvan256 · 2010-10-12 14:09 · Score: 5, Informative

Then why link at umpcportal.com instead of linking directly to the story at micropctalk.com?
Re:Reballed? by Cheerio+Boy · 2010-10-12 14:43 · Score: 5, Informative

What is "reballed" as in "reballing the CPU"? I am assuming it's repackaging the CPU or something, but I'm not sure. I read the article but that didn't offer much more insight than the summary.
BGA or "Ball Grid Array" chips don't have a standard socket and are attached to the board using literal balls of solder that melt when the whole thing is put in a re-flow oven. The chip is then soldered to the board. A good video on reballing a CPU is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97nxZwHG5bA

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