Swapping motherboards on the Macbook pro Mid 2010

Question

Is it possible to replace a MacBook Pro (Mid-2010) motherboard with a MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 Core i7) motherboard and CPU?

Answer 1

I would strongly recommend against mix matching hardware in laptops. I would HIGHLY recommend not doing that in any Apple product. The differences between the MacBook pro 2010 and 2012 are pretty big. Difference that will cause problems:

• Connections - Think need to plug into other things and when you're dealing with something as thin as that some connections might not reach each other
• Ports - The motherboards have different ports so they might not line up or may be missing
• Incompatibility - the chips (such as graphics) are different so compatibility issues may arise
• Sizes/ shape and mounts - Things need to be screwed into other things inside the laptop. If they move things around you may not be able to mount the board correctly. Also the height of the machines is different thus things can be arranged in other ways. This creates problems if your motherboard is way too small not allowing for certain connections or it needs to be placed somewhere you can't.
• Cooling - As mentioned by @Ultra cooling systems are vital in these small laptops. Cooling systems have the chance of not lining up. So even if you get the machine to boot you have a good likely hood of starting a house fire (Only you can stop house fires install smoke detectors now).

TLDR; Don't do it. They are different machines and laptops, unlike desktops, don't work well when it comes to swapping out parts.

Edit: Referring to your original question, I wouldn't be surprised if more than just the motherboard is damaged.