AS6920 Owners Lounge

Aaron, sorry about relocating your thread into the 6920 Owner's Lounge; next time, please use the forum search function to see if a recent thread exists for your topic before starting a new one.

You seem to be exhibiting the classic symptoms of CPU throttling - not from heat, from Acer's own kerfuffled BIOS. Click here for the fix.

Just keep in mind that after doing all the upgrades - CPU, GPU, RAM, etc. - you might end up spending MORE than if you had just gotten a new system. Might.

OK, you want the best? Here's the best:
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo T9500 at 2.6 GHz. The Core 2 Extreme X9000 2.8 GHz could work, but it's rated for higher heat output than the regular ones. Also good calls are T9300 (2.5GHz) and T8300 (2.4 GHz).
RAM - 4GB of Kingston's HyperX CL4 PC2-5300/DDR2-667 SODIMMs. That being said, you're getting a very marginal gain; best to stick with regular CL5 PC2-5300/DDR2-667 SODIMMs.
GPU - Lucky you; the GPU in the Aspire 6920G can be upgraded. People have had success with a few modules, but the strongest two are the GeForce 9600M GT GDDR3 and ATi Radeon HD 4650/4670 DDR2.
HDD - Can't forget this piece. SSDs are cool, but prohibitively expensive. Opt for a 7200rpm spinner or the Seagate Momentus XT hybrid.

 

@Ring69 Just to add, I used Winphlash 64 bit to flash the bios which took like 30 seconds.

@TehSuigi Don't get too happy about the 9600M GT though, I'm still getting classic signs of 'blackout' during boot. To see the screen, I just connected it via HDMI to a TV.

Anyway, I did manage to track down and get hold of a person in this forums that DID have a successful upgrade but he did not reply the PM's I sent. Well I tried. Maybe you could try convincing him. He did mention in the first post that he could see the system bios after upgrade.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/acer/472913-whoooo-upgrading-completed.html

There was just too many options to list down but 1 thing which caught my eyes was the fan control. I reduced the temperature which when the high fan kicked it so the laptop remained cooler. I didn't bother to use the rest of the options because if I screw up, I'm gonna have to open up the notebook to reset the bios. You could see some screenies here.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/acer/480992-acer-laptop-phoenix-bios-bios-mod-request-129.html#post7038604

 

omg, realy ? fan control ? hahahha xD no more slow fan !!!
Why did you flash on windows and not in pure Dos ? isn´t less danger in Dos ?
I have a big problem, my battery is dead. Could that make me a bad flash ? execelente news on the fan control speed XD thats just great !

 

hello,

this is my first post on this forum. i have been extensivley reading any posts on the Acer 6920g. This is because a few months ago i decided to make some money and get into the laptop repair business. I decided to go with Acer as the specs make for good resale plus they look cool.

anyway, i'm currently working on serveral 6920gs rebuilding them. alot of them have power issues or need new screens etc

i was just wondering if there is a list of common faults and checks i could do?

also i have picked one up for my own personal use, i wanna max it out as much as possible. Will I really not get more benefit from a processor higher than a T9300?


also i saw in a few thereads a service guide was available, if anyone still has a copy it would be greatly appreciated. and if anyone knows a place to get decent priced screens that would help me also.

thanks in advance

oh and does anyone know the difference between these

INTEL CORE 2 DUO MOBILE T9300 2.50GHz/6MB/800MHz SLAQG

INTEL CORE 2 DUO MOBILE T9300 2.50GHz/6MB/800MHz SLAYY

 

Yeah cooler laptop but noisier fan

I guess Dos is safer as there is nothing running in the background. I was confident that my windows is running stable so I just flashed through winphlash. I've done previous bios flashes through windows and everything went well.

Well if you experience a power outage (very slim chances) then you're screwed Otherwise, bios flashes are safe even without the battery.

@kooli 9 Common problems with the 6920G would be system throttling of the CPU. This could be fix with the throttlestop software.
Refer to this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/acer/403988-definitive-guide-acer-aspire-gemstone-blue-throttling-issues.html

Remember to clean out the fan ducts (inlets) at the bottom as dust and dirt get trap easily on the mesh screen. Other than that I don't think there is any other major faults.

Regarding the CPU's, the only difference I could see is the different voltages. SLAYY requires lower voltages which might result in a cooler system. You can undervolt to make it even cooler. Maybe other forumers can provide more differences.

The only other proven working higher CPU is the T9500 which runs at 2.6ghz. Its just a 200mhz increment which you might not see any real world differences. Only in CPU intensive tasks you might see a very slight improvement. Nevertheless, if you could find a cheap T9500 I would suggest you go with it. Try Ebay there are lots of CPU's there. You could try the Core 2 Extreme X9000 but it might put out too much heat and might not be worth it to gain the extra 200mhz over the T9500. You do get an unlocked multiplier on the Extreme but I doubt the Acer could use it.

 

i am in a bit problem, how do you flash via Dos LOL

 

Thanks man, all i need is that service guide and i'm good to go

 

hahahhaha i have done it ! i have flash via Dos, and it was so easy and quick ! still i don´t kown what to change on it LOL

 

Kooli9, service guides aren't allowed to be posted on NBR due to the forum rules. That being said, if you allow emails from forum members, I can point you in the right direction.

 

i hope we can incrise the happy from this laptop, i am looking now, on how to make the laptop a better toy XD i have to say that modded bios by kizwan, are solid !

 

How do I allow emails?

 

Click here to access your Control Panel, and tick both "Receive Email from Administrators" and "Receive Email from Other Members." If "Enable Private Messaging" can be ticked, enable that too.

 

I was wondering if anyone encountered this situation with their 6920g that I'm now experiencing.
A few days ago I got a message from RMclock saying that the cpu was overheating at 100% and duely shut the system down. However now whenever I turn on the laptop all I get is grey streaks down the screen all over and I'm wondering if it's a GPU or CPU issue. Even when I connect to an external monitor the same issue is present so I ruled out it being just another monitor fault. Any suggestions?

 

@Suzuki
It has to be GPU- CPU would cause it not to start or to reboot almost instantly but wouldn't get damaged. What you're seeing looks like GPU that has been damaged especially that it's also visible on an external monitor.
What's more if system works "in the background" so to speak- it rules out the CPU.
It's a bit weird that you got CPU overheating message and ended up with a damaged GPU- were you playing a game at that time or something?
Do those artifacts show also in BIOS or only in Windows?

 

Yep, I was playing a game at the time and yes it does show up on bios as well as windows. I can tell all is working in the background under the smeared streaking across the screen as I can just about make out icons and other things. So I assume this means the gpu is completely shot and should think about a replacement?

 

It looks like you need a new GPU- look on the bright side though.
If you can find a HD4650 you can also significantly upgrade your computer.

 

Done. I think

 

There is always a bright side!
Although it does seem after a quick search that the hd4650 is as rare as diamonds falling from the sky.

 

would it be possible to point me in the right direction aswell please?

 

hi, I have acer Aspire 6920g
Processor: core duo T5750, 2Ghz
3Gb DDR2
AtI radeon HD 3650

Just want to know it it is possible to upgrade video card and add some more memory, and if yes, could you suggest me something it its worth doing it and where could I buy it please. thank you.

 

Yep, you could upgrade all those, but I would only upgrade the GPU (if gaming is your concern). The link in my sig points to my thread documenting my upgrading my 5920G to a ATI 4650. I'd recommend the 4650 DDR3, and that you purchase it on ebay.

Anything less than a DDR3 4650 would not be worth it. Actually, use GPU-z to find out whether you have DDR3 already, because if you do, no upgrade will really be worth it...

 

thanks for reply, one noob question. how do I find if it what ddr it has? I vent to gpu-z website but dont know what number to enter to find my card? thanks

found it its ddr2. I def want to upgrade it but would 4670 DDR3 not be better than 4650. And one more thing, would this GPU be different for laptop than for PC. Dont want to buy a wrong one. thanks

 

Yes....it is completely different than a desktop card... You need an MXM II 4650 (or 4670) module. A desktop card wont even come close to fitting in your notebook. Its about 3 times bigger. Again, you can't buy these at a Bestbuy... You'll have to resort to Ebay or something. If you find a link I'll confirm it is an MXM II card if you post it.

 

Could you give me an advice on 4650 or 4670? which one would be better? thank you

 

If they both have the same memory (DDR3) then a 4670 would be better, but last I checked they are hard to come by.

 

this is most likely a stupid question... but imma ask it anyway.

would it be possible to replace my t7500 with a X9000?

could my cooling system handle it?

(this is of course in a acer aspire 6920g)


**EDIT** I have my current cpu undervolted and it tops out at about 58-60°c playing crysis on max for 2 hours or so (fps lagggg but it's just a test)
so i think my system could handle the X9000

 

Welcome to the forums, ajbutch123!

That's not a stupid question at all - it's understandable that you want to crank more power out of your 6920G.
The X9000 is rated for a higher thermal output than the T7500, but I believe the 6920G's cooling system has plenty of capacity. I've got a T8300 in my machine, and I don't think I've seen it clock above 65 once.

Heck, you can even use an Acer user's favourite utility, ThrottleStop, to unlock the multiplier and overclock once you've upgraded to the X9000!

If you decide to go ahead with it, please check back in and tell us how it went.

 

thanks for the advice! I have been looking for ways to play some more recent games and I think that an upgrade to the x9000 and maybe another video card would do the trick

But, I do have another question. Would it be better to upgrade to the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 (DDR2) OR get another card with GDDR3 and less ram? I am leaning toward the 4650 because of the 1GB of vram, but if a card supporting GDDR3 would be better for gaming I would like to know ahead of time anyway... if it helps I'm using the Nvidia GeForce 9500m GS at the moment

 

When it comes to computer games, the GPU is more often than not the bottleneck and thus what you should upgrade.
The Radeon HD 4670 1GB DDR2 (factory OC'd HD 4650) is a highly compatible upgrade - see here for a guide and buy-now link.
You're right that a GDDR3 card might be better, but the GeForce 9600M GT has some minor compatibility issues with the Aspire 6920G. And besides, the Radeon HD 4670 is plenty fast even with DDR2 vRAM. Go have a look at the Acer MXM thread for more info.

 

yeah, well I have a MXM II slot and I found a card HERE on ebay and you can specify type II or type A, so I guess ill go with that

also what are your thoughts on overclocking my 9500m till I can get my hands on that card or one like it? I was using RivaTuner to overclock it about 6% but im afraid to go much more than that.

 

You can - try using Nvidia System Tools. It's got nTune in there.
I've overclocked mine up quick a bit as you can see.

 

did windows 7 service pack 1 solve any battery issues for anyone other than me?(currently running windows 7 ultimate x64) Last year I got an 8 cell battery for my 6920 and was having issues getting it to read correctly in windows 7, but after installing the service pack it was normal!

anyway... just thought I would see if anyone else noticed a change.

 

Nope, worked fine for me since Day 1, ajbutch.

In other news, got a replacement fan from Acer under my (soon-to-be-expiring) extended warranty. My fan's been making a death rattle or something for the past few months. I suspect a bearing's gone wonky on me.

 

8GB 2x4GB Kit Memory RAM for Acer Aspire 6920 | eBay
well, "Top-rated seller www.4allmemory.com" says my lappy supports 8GB of ram
is he right?

 

They also list the 8943G too :s

 

and.....
anyone here tried 8gb in a 6920G?
how could i tell if it really is supported?

 

well, the mobo in my 6920g finally gave up the ghost, and I decided to get a Sager np8170... but I do plan to fix it sometime this summer because it was a really good computer

so, if anyone knows where I can get a 6920g mobo (with the gpu mini pci slot) for cheap I would be really happy


I already looked around on ebay and can't find one for under $180

 

Motherboards aren't generally cheap...

 

if I don't find one before september ill just buy one, its worth it.

 

sorry for same question but how about 8gb in this laptop?
4gb is just not enough for 3D cad models I would like to try this but ram is still $100 each
4GB PC2-5300 DDR2-667 SODIMM 200-pin Memory
although this site does say max 4GB
sooo.. does any know body/like to hazard a good guess

 

Just replaced my TIM on the CPU and GPU since my brother bought Masscool Shin-Etsu G751 (one of the lowest priced pastes, though it has the one of the least amounts and is actually expensive per weight):

Newegg.com - MASSCOOL G751 Shin-Etsu Thermal Interface Material

I cleaned and repasted his Sony VAIO FZ's CPU and GPU since it was sooooo dirty and all his paste was dried and displaced to the sides. I had to take apart his entire laptop (screen, section above keyboard and three parts for the base) to get to the heatsink - what a pain! There were around 30 screws to remove to get to the heatsink. But his temps dropped over 40 deg C lol (idle was 80-85 deg C and now it's 35-40 deg C with load temps in the 70s). Ambient room temperature is around 23 deg C.

With the extra thermal paste, I used some for my laptop. Acer has a pretty good design and only needed to remove 6 screws to access the bottom, then 5 screws for the heatsink and fan. In comparison, my temperatures went down 5-10 deg C on load since Acer actually did a pretty good job (haven't changed the stock paste for 3 years) but I did manage to undervolt my CPU a little bit further! My max temps are still uneven at 43/47 deg C on 11x multiplier @ 0.9875V (originally 1.5V). Although 11x didn't want to be undervolted any more, every other multiplier (before 10x was 0.9750V) is now at the minimum 0.9500V! Been running stable on Orthos for 7 hours now. After 4 pasted dies, still enough left for 2-3 more. Not bad for $5. All in all, I'm pretty happy with my results and again give Acer props for building my laptop fairly well. If anyone needs help with taking apart their 6920G, just give me a shout. I do it every few months to clean the heatsink (but first repaste and also installed new wireless card).

 

I have an Acer 6935. Could the hard drive bay on this PC accept 12.5mm thick hard drives?

 

I as well have had a hard drive go bad. I replaced it and went into setup f2 to access BIOS so I could load software
from the CD, but this unit is asking me for a password to get into BIOS ! Does anybody know how to get to the BIOS
page ? I don't have the fainest idea what the password could be ????

Please enlighten..Thank you.

 

@n2gc
No idea but that can't be discussed here as it constitutes bypassing security measures which is against forum rules, sorry.
Contact Acer support with this issue.

 

Opps Sorry bout that. I went to forum rules and sure enough there is
a rule about cracking passwords. I'll be good.

 

Guys, I have a problem and, after a month cracking my skull for a solution, I can safely say that it is driving me crazy as I think it could be the end of my 6920g.

About a month ago, my notebook was working just fine until it simply reseted. And after that, the operating system was gone, so was the HD, the reset came out of nowhere, no temp issues, no voltage problems that would cause a reset... Everything in order but, the HD was gone. It wouldnt be detected by the BIOS and everytime I'd try to boot it, all it would say was "Operating system not found" or "Missing operating system".

I've replaced the HD for a brand new one, the first hardware upgrade I've had since I bought the model, still, the same message, "Operating system not found" but then, I cannot install Windows either. Everytime I try, it starts the process, copies the files and everything but, when it's time to start it, it just reboots, resets. Then the process starts again just so it can reboot again. Ive tried installing from a regular CD, DVD, pendrive, usb DVD drive...

I even decided to try a different OS to see if that could be the problem, after all, I've had my tough patches with Windows before but, it wasn't. I've tried both Ubuntu and more recently, Fedora, both of them, they either freeze when theyre loading their install or, they just reboot. Same as Windows.

Now guys, I really don't know what to do, people keep telling me its a motherboard issue, hence my fear of that being the end of my 6920g. I've tested the memory and the HD on other machines, theyre fine, I havent removed the processor but, the infinity of tests I've done into it and into the VGA, all came back just fine. Although, I must say, my processor had a problem once, for some reason I had to turn off the W7 drivers for it, otherwise, the pc would reboot. Or reset at completely random moments. Same thing happened in Ubuntu, and that made me wonder if it was a hardware fault... On safe mode it worked fine, and on normal mode, it worked fine as well, as long as I've had disabled the drivers.

And, to add more confusion on top of everything, the install of any OS sometimes takes more time to reboot or freeze, sometimes, it takes less, it just seems absolutely random. And I've once managed to install W7 all the way to the end but it wouldn't first boot. It would reset or reboot before I could see that beautiful welcome screen. And, afraid it could be related to the processor drivers, I tried to load on safe mode but, Windows wont take its first load on safe mode.

And, I can boot on Mini Windows XP, if anyone ever heard of it.

Also, quite obviously, that is not an MBR problem.

And excuse me for any errors in my writing or grammar, I'm brazilian. ;]

Whats wrong with this notebook here guys?!

 

Have you cleared BIOS and tried it again ? Maybe a
corrupted BIOS ? Seems pretty strange that it was working
fine 1 min and the next it went bad..Maybe a bad virus ?

Have you taken the back off and looked to see any kind
of burn marks or if it smell bad ? I guess you can tell I'm
just slingin' stuff out there..Maybe a worn out CMOS batt ?

I've had probs like this before, but they were desktops
and 4 things I found would mess em up and that was
the power, the CMOS batt, bad HD, and sadly a cooked
MB. I did find one that would go weird and it was a bad
slot in the mem on the mb. Sorry, wish I knew more about
Acers and PC's in general..

 

Thanks for the reply dude, and, yeah, I think I've cleared the BIOS, I mean, I've enabled and disabled everything that could possibly be enabled or disabled, I've restored the default options like a zillion times... No good.

A really bad virus... I've never seen a virus do that much damage but, I suppose it's possible...
No weird smells, no burn marks or anything, I've checked that too hahahah.

Now, a corrupted BIOS, I dont know, how do I know if it's corrupted?

Also, a CMOS batt? I don't even know what's that, I'd like to check just to see if everything is ok.

And... I've checked the BIOS a countless number of times, even before the whole problem appeared and, I dont know if I never paid enough attention or what but, I really dont remember the serial number being "12345678901234567" and the UUID number being "0101010101..." just "01" followed by "01". I'm probably being a little crazy but, is this normal?! Or is it the corrupted BIOS?

 

I've never heard of that before, but after I get done loading
all the drivers and goodies after a full format, I'll pull up
the BIOS in mine and see what's going on there and let
ya know. I got to say though, that 01 business is nothing
more than a dig deal. Like writing. And 123, etc.. sounds
fishy.

 

Please do dude, I'm... I'm getting sad.