MY acer 5315 experiance

as a newbie, i have marveled at all you guys have accomplished.
by chance, my wife, with the 500 dollar limit i gave her, bought me an acer aspire 5315-2698 from qvc. i think after send it over to me here in iraq she spent 575. it was 525 on easy pay.

after all this reading, i went out and bought a few things:

MICRON/SAMSUNG 2GB DDR2 2GB667SO 1 55.00 System/Device = Acer Aspire PC2-5300 667MHZ SODIMM
(from one of those ram websites...)

and

1 Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 2.1GHz Socket P 35W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80577T8100 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819111003
$215.99

I am going to need a little help as i have a few questions. I will post them very soon.

 

by the way, 271 plus 575 puts me at 846 i believe. before i ask my questions, what would the soon to be stats on this machine, given what it already has, be able to bought for on average on the internet?

also, could 846 buy me a preconfigured "what i am about to make?"

i just want to understand the finances of this. thanks!

 

first, my plan is to sell my old travelmate 4670 for about 500. its 2 years old but works well. i figure with 2.5 GB of ram (i think i have 2 - 512's) and a similar CPU, but this time a core 2 duo with much more FSB and L2 cache (not sure what those are, but more is better), i should be cruising along just fine.
for now, i love my lappy, and i am glad i didnt buy an dell inspiron mini 9 like i wanted to.

first off, what all tools and supplies do i need? do i need any type of goop or special screwdrivers or anything?

i think there is a pic on the net of the insides of this thing and what screws you will have to remove. i just hope all this actually does something. i would hate for the motherboard not to recognize her own new son...hehehe.

anyhow, as i get the parts and sell the old one, i will update this thread, as well as post my questions. i know the ledhead with the crop circle pic and the tangerine quote can help me. heh

p.s. battle of evermore is their best song.

 

also, i plan on keeping vista. i like xp, but i like this shiny new, slow OS too.
here are the basic stats on my current system before i do anything.

* Product Description: Acer Aspire 5315-2698, Celeron M 560 2.13 GHz, 15.4" TFT
* Dimensions (WxDxH): 14.4 in x 10.8 in x 1.7 in
* Weight: 6.2 lbs
* Localization: United States
* System Type: Notebook
* Built-in Devices: Stereo speakers, wireless LAN antenna
* Processor: Intel Celeron M 560 / 2.13 GHz
* Cache Memory: 1 MB, L2 cache
* RAM: 1 GB (installed) / 2 GB (max), DDR II SDRAM, 667 MHz ( 2 x 512 MB )
* Hard Drive: 120 GB, Serial ATA-150
* Optical Storage: DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM, integrated
* Display: 15.4" TFT 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ), 24-bit (16.7 million colors), CrystalBrite

* Graphics Controller: Intel GMA X3100
* Memory Allocation Technology: Dynamic Video Memory Technology 4.0
* Audio Output: Sound card
* Telecom: Fax / modem, 56 Kbps
* Networking: Network adapter, Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
* Wireless NIC: Acer InviLink 802.11b/g
* Notebook Camera: Integrated
* Input Device: Keyboard, touchpad, 4-way scroll button
* Power: AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
* Battery: Lithium ion
* Run Time (Up To): 2 hour(s)
* Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
* Manufacturer Warranty: 1 year warranty

i plan on uping the ram and cpu, as i dont see the need to get a big ole HD.
What is the easiest way to copy and paste or screenshot the before and after specs?

how would i go about doing before and after tests to see what all it can do differently?

 

hi mate, all the info you need about putting the new cpu and ram in is in here http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=251959 i have done similar to mine and it is great, good luck

 

Thanks for the post link. I think it will be a breeze. I did research and these 2 upgrades saves me about 200 to 300 dollars. it would be more if the lappy would have been cheaper. more to follow!

 

I have an Aspire 5315-2326 (Walmart's model) and got it for $400, it came with Vista Home Basic. I am a diehard XP pro user and had planned on replacing the OS with that BUT changed my mind.

I had never really used Vista before and had just heard people complain about it and figured I would hate it. The truth is i love it and I have no issues with it whatsoever.

I read online someplace that Home Basic also runs faster since it is bare bones, not sure if that is true or not and have nothing to compare it with.

I have noticed that virtually everything is easier to do with Vista from setting up a network to file sharing.

I also kept the Acer bloatware on here and think it is not that intrusive when I bother to use it. I however disabled it by telling the system tray not to load the junk on laptop startup. One can also just right click the green toolbar and choose "exit".

Enjoy your Aspire .... they really are pretty cool. I have used mine a lot and have not had any overheating issues like some people complained about in older models. I've chosen not to upgrade anything on this thing since i only use it for sofa surfing while watching tv and also use it for my radio show I do, just needed a fancy mp3 player basically.

I have NO complaints with this model and think Acer is a decent product thusfar. I have owned this for about 3 weeks or more now. I bought a two year service plan to total three years of coverage .... hopefully i will not even need it.

Also thanks for serving our country in Iraq. It means alot to someone like me as an American. While many are confused as to why we are there I am not one of those and say thanks.

 

well, i ordered the RAM and processor and I am now awaiting shipment of them to tikrit. its slow going getting anything here in the middle of nowhere. i recently added some games to the rig, as well as network magic for our lil network and adaware.

Now i have to track me down a small screwdriver and get ready to swap these 2 parts out. I wish i knew how that core 2 duo stood up against the 2.13 mhz celeron in this. i think doubling the ram and adding more horsepower to this baby should make it pur.

i noticed that the integrated graphics (which usually always suck) goes up to 256, but i can get mine past 8. Is there anyway to fix intergrated grapics properties? the bios doesnt want to let me! (and yes I have version 1.43!)

More later!

 

Also I want to note, the old processor has a 533MHZ FSB and Cache Memory: 1 MB, L2 cache; the new model has 800MHZ FSB and 3 MB L2 cache. (also being a core2duo and not a regular old celeron.)

How do I find out what that translates to or means to me?

 

as far as the video memory goes, mine shows 8mb in the bios, but in video properties it shows about 700 or so i think under vista.

as for the fsb, the higher the speed the better, also the more cache the better, it is like a buffer, when you have a smaller one it has to wipe and reload data more often, slowing the system down, the higher the mb the less you notice this

 

The faster fsb on the cpu makes a big difference in getting the best out of the 667 memory which should run in dual channel mode (using the intel flex technology) provided both slots are occupied, with the 512 in the slot nearest the motherboard. Maxing out the mb with 3Gb is worthwhile as it lets the X3100 grab and keep lots of RAM without affecting anything else.

Upgrading the wireless with an Intel 4965 ag draft n card is very simple (don't forget to buy an extra antenna) and gives you the benefit of fast resilient 54Mb connections using the MIMO capabilities of the card across the 3 antenna. The latest drivers are easy to find on intel.com.

The 5315 x3100 combination runs well with Vista Premium, with a good processor and plenty of memory - which you will have!

Its not great for 3D games, but you should be ok with Doom3 for some light relief !

Have fun and a big thank you from the UK for the valuable work you are doing in Iraq, it is greatly appreciated.

 

Well, I am still waiting for my stuff to come in. From reading other peoples posts, I see that patience is key. I don't want to be the guy who breaks the plastic piece holding all this in, nor the memory retainer clips, or anything associated with the motherboard. I may need me some detailed tips on how to properly remove everything and not screw it up. I know the walk though says what all to do, but in even more detail maybe, or just some things to remember.

I may buy a 1GB RAM chip to replace the 512 that I will be leaving in, but for now I will be leaving it and the wireless net card alone. The point of this upgrade was to have more power while saving money. If the end product doesn't come under the market value on the same thing with a new box, then there isnt much purpose to this. This baby works alright as is, but as a tinkerer and someone who can't leave well enough alone..."alright as is" isn't good enough.

As I get stuff in and make the changes, I'll update. I can't think of any program to run to give me a comparison, but I know this lappy takes a while to do anything. It is like it is trying to drink a thick milkshake with a coffee stir straw. The poor thing is itching to let loose, but Mr. Celeron just won't let it.

More later!

 

I just got the ram!!

So, i got my 2GB ram stick and was all giddy like a new school girl.
Now, what to do with it? Well, in the U.S. Army (God bless our Lil souls), just about everyone carries around a GERBER or similar benchmade all-in-one device.

I luckily found a small electronics phillips screwdriver to get 2 of the screws off, the other 2, i had to break out the gerber and touque them just enough to break grip, then i used the small screwdriver to finish them off.

now, the big honkin' panel in the back kinda had me for a second. the first few tabs come off easy, but the next DOZEN are a lil more difficult. Nevermind the 2-3 long ones on the right hand (fan) side. I found out that if you wedge a flat tip screwdriver and gently quarter twist it one way, then the other, then slightly pry up, that the tabs come out easily.

now i open up this beauty and see the board, a small watch sized battery that is being held on by a thread (literaly), the fan, the huge heatsink and heat tube combo that O-zone talked about. I had 2 512 DDR2's there, so, with my memory that i got from memorysuppliers.com, i took out the one farthest away from the motherboard. nicely, gently, and easily might i add.
2 things to remember: ground yourself first! seat the ram chip all the way in, firmly.

With all that done, I eyed my next task, put my case back on the same way and fired the bad boy up. First thing I noticed is how 2.5 GB is far and away faster than 1 GB. To quote that lil olympic gymnast shawn johnson from the ortega commercial, "it makes my taco POP!" LOL

Windows boots up faster, programs open quicker, and the clear glass widget thing on the desktop snapped into place. Now, vista is still slow as hell bloatware of an OS, but its better. I was wishing for XP (or my fave win95) right about then. (aside: I come from a time when there were 286, 386, and 486's...when chating was either Mirc or web based, and people still used telnet for bbs, MUD's, and other fun things. heck, when I took computer class in HS, we were taught BASIC on old 64's. My first browser for the net was NSCA Mosaic! Pmail and eudora were the web mail clients. Those were the days!)

All of this has me wondering a few things:
How do I improve my sucky WEI score of 3.1? Should I even care?
How do you adjust the amount of RAM that the graphics card skims off the top? (i have the 1.43 BIOS)
What will happen when I pop in the T8100 that I bought? (with a bigger FSB and triple the L2 Cache?)
So far, I am a happy camper. More to follow as always.

 

Oh, and I just read the whole CPU guide on this forum. Thank you Jesus for whoever wrote that! I now can halfway explain this crap to all the army guys wondering what the hell I am doing with this soon to be sub 900 dollar laptop.

If only I could figure out how to relate that article to what the RAM's job is.

To all the half dozen forums I signed up to trying to find the answers, only to be told "you cant upgrade CPU's"...Who's big pimpin' now?

 

well, i got the processor in a few days later after my last post. i did as the guides said, though i almost didnt have the thermal paste to do everything.
once i reinstalled everything, the improvement was like night and day.

i will put more down once i get time, but thank you to all the guides and help. i am now the proud owner of a kick butt sub 900 dollar computer.

 

Well, I have been asked by many of my buddies if they can do thier own laptop too! I think that out of all the previous laptops I have had, this one is my favorite. There are still some days when it is chilly that the lappy crawls along. There is no comparision from what I have now to what I did have. I wonder if increased the RAM to at least 4GB and I installed the 64 bit version of the OS if 1 ) would it make anything any better? 2) would my old ACER programs work? and 3) why even bother switching?

I will say that for any of you that decide to do this make sure and have a good flathead and crosstip crewdriver, have plenty of patience, have some thermal paste, as what is left over from the previous CPU might not be enough, and take your time. Have all of your CD's, DVD's or whatever you might need to do this.

The whole point of even doing this besides to see if it was feesable was because of the money you save. My baby runs just as fast as my old 1600 dollar lappy, minus the great graphics card. I think this was an experiement well worth it. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.

Oh, and hello from tikrit, iraq!

 

Arkieboy, it's good to hear another success story here on the forums! I myself upgraded the CPU in my laptop from a T5550 to a T8300, and the improvement is substantial.

As for the WEI score of 3.1, that's because of your graphics processor. Then again, WEI is a bit of a crappy benchmark, so just focus on boosting CPU, RAM, and hard drive power.

And regarding your questions about 64-bit, doing the switch can be a bit of a hassle. First off, it involves a clean install of Vista. Second, you need to have 64-bit drivers for ALL of your system's components. And finally, performance of 32-bit applications have an itty-bitty chance of being affected. Only pull the upgrade if you have money burning a hole in your pocket and time on your hands.

Otherwise, just get a 1GB stick and move up to 3GB, and sit there for a while.

After CPU and RAM, the next thing you should look to upgrading is your hard drive. Or better yet, sit tight and wait for solid state disk prices to drop into the mainstream. Faster operating, cooler running, lower power draw, and no moving parts (which means it can withstand drops and bumps far better than a hard drive).

 

thanks for the info. eventually i will get me a 1GB stick for the final upgrade. i may possibly try upgrading my acer aspire 5315-2698 to windows XP, seeing how they extended the OS out. thing i want to know is SP 2 or SP 3?????

i know that somewhere on here is a basket full of drivers for XP if i were to do this, but i will be missing out on all the acer stuff
more later!

hello from iraq again!

 

I just got a 5315-2713 from TigerDirect. This is my first laptop and to be frank I am shock at how upgradeable this is. I doubt I will ever do a cpu upgrade unless maybe in a year or two if this baby is still working.

This is my first latop and I upgraded the hard drive to a 500gb and memory from 1GB to 2GB. This Acer seems to be a pretty good machine so far.

Arkieboy thanks for serving will be praying for you. Do you know a David West he is in the Army? He is from St. Petersburg FL.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1620425232&ref=name#/photo.php?pid=164768&id=840679792

 

Arkieboy, even if you get XP Service Pack 2, it'll be updated to Service Pack 3 through Windows Update when you get on the internet.
Said basket of XP drivers is located here.

And as for the Acer stuff, you're not missing much. The Empowering software is largely front-ends for Windows stuff, and can easily be replaced or outright forgotten about. Just something to think about.

Keep yourself safe out there, and Happy Holidays!

 

well, I since i am seriously considering upgrading my OS back to XP (sorry, but somethings just suck for vista) i may visit the link. thanks for that link, buddy.

I am wishing I knew more about what happens when you downgrade...you know, I am sure there is a step by step guide out there somewhere for the 5315 series.

to the guy who didnt want to upgrade the CPU, man, you have NO IDEA what you are missing out on. get you a core 2 duo that suits your taste and get that 3 GB of RAM and this thing will be smoking. I myself wont be upgrading my HD...i am satisfied with 160GB and my external. The T8100 and 8300 are fine choices.

as for my servitude to my country, i am proud to do so, just as I am proud to defend the freedoms (or lack there off) that we share. I dont care if folks agree with the president and government or even the military. all i ask is that you always support your troops, who always just do what they are told. please dont judge us by the few bad apples. please know that i dont mind serving nor sacrificing for those who not only dont want to, or cant, or even those who could care less. i defend the freedoms of the patriot as well as the A-hole who burns flags. its all just part of the job.

 

What problems are you having with Vista? I admit that I only use my 5315 to experiment on and as a backup for my 7720, so it mostly gets used for web browsing, but I don't have any problems with Vista on it. I did uninstall Norton, the Yahoo toolbar and the Acer empowering software though, as well as all the Acer game zone stuff.

Oh, and Merry Christmas.

 

well, i am afraid to uninstall the acer stuff until i make a copy of all the crap I need. I dont have a spare copy of Vista. I do have an old copy of XP plus I have the SP3 CD. I just have a very slow connection and I have yet to download all of the XP drivers. That is 160MB's of stuff

i guess i just know how much faster my laptop would run with xp. it works ok, i guess. its all shiney and better looking, but it just runs so slow...and we all know as soon as a better version of windows comes out, vista is history.

I guess i might now want to mess with what is working well. for now though, i am preping myself for anything that might happen. the only part of the acer program i want to have for sure is the part that allows you to make DVD's of drivers and all the stuff so that if you had to you could reformat.

anyhow, the processor and the ram made worlds of difference. i can multi task now! the only thing lacking is a decent grapics card. maybe for my next act ill build my own desktop!

 

On my 5315, after restoring the default installation, I found that all the Vista drivers I needed for the 32bit version were in a directory called C:\DRV. Some of the drivers included 64bit versions and XP versions but not all of them. Also, I found that most of the Acer software was in a directory called C:\Acer. I don't know if you can actually install all the software successfully from these folders or not but some of the software folders include setup exe files. You should back these directories up at least to your D: drive so you have them available but if it comes right down to it, you always have the recovery partition available. Right?

Are you running SP1 of Vista? It is much faster for me then the original version.

 

after all this time..it still works well! i SOOO wish i could upgrade the freaking graphics card!!

I highly reccomend people get laptops like this for cheap and spruce them up. its fun and worth it.

i have two new questions:
is the Acer Aspire 5920 modable? also, is there a list of what all acers will take graphics/processor mods? I will assume all can take ram and HD mods.
thanks!