yes and no. I upgraded the cpu in my laptop(not really an upgrade, but I got an older 400mhz FSB model and shorted it to 533mhz to get a pretty good overclock). Problem is that you literally have to tear your laptop down to do it(including removing the lcd screen and taking off those pesky wifi antenna connectors). There is nothing that will cause long term damage, but there is always the possibility that you will screw up, and it takes about half an hour to 45 minutes to take it apart and then again to put it back together. This was with a dell, which to their credit, has some really awesome manuals on the website that show you have to remove/replace literally every single component in the system. You might have a little more trouble with HP if you are flying blind.