Acer 5100 Turion X2 (TL-58) upgrade issue

hey guys,

I'd like to upgrade my Acer 5100 with some dual-core cpu, but it just fails. I ordered TL-58 (65nm, 1.9GHz) from eBay, machine didn't show POST. I sent it back and received another one, but nothings changed. Seller told that he verified both cpu's personally (they have a lot of sells, and it looks as truth)
I have the latest BIOS (3.13). And my MK-36 works just fine. Is anything I could miss with this? Maybe anything I could try. Is there possible any issues due to 65nm (my current is 90nm), maybe Acer 5100 has different revisions etc? Any help would be appreciated.

 

Technically TL-50 that has to work in your notebook as it's been available with it and TL-58 use the same Tyler core however 65nm version hit the market a year after the 90nm did so your BIOS may not recognize it properly.
It could work anyway but the reason why it isn't working is probably voltage- TL-50 has 1.075 / 1.1V mentioned for it ( here) while TL-58 1.075 / 1.1 / 1.125V ( here). The problem is there's only one Tyler 90nm CPU that is guaranteed to work and that is TL-50. Others may or may not work- there are different versions of TL-60 some that could work and others that may not work.

 

downloads thank you man, it brings some light to the situation.

But at the same time new questions appear
Isn't vcore controlled by BIOS? Or is it hardware (mobo) specific? Then is there any way to perform a vcore modding on laptop motherboard?

And in general if it is said, that vcore a/b/c , then it means that there're different cpu revisions which work on different voltage, or it means that this cpu require several vcore modes (for different freq. or power settings)?

 

V core a/b usually means from x to y where x is the lowest voltage for the lowest speed step (p-state) and y id the highest possible for the highest frequency. It can be controlled via software like RMClock but only lowered not increased.
Keep in mind that Turion CPU starts at full speed (hence the highest voltage) and speedsteps kick in later when Windows is loaded. If you enter the BIOS your CPU is running at max speed all the time. Now- with that in mind- your notebook is able to provide 1.1V for the CPU but TL-58 needs 1.125V at max P-state so it stands to reason that it shouldn't even boot. It's not that your notebook can't provide 1.125V- it could if it "knew" the CPU- the problem is that the BIOS is older than the CPU.

 

I appreciate your clear explanations.
But I have 3.13 bios version (from March 2009), it's the latest one. I'm almost sure it knows about 65nm socket S1 cpu's.
Dunno what could be the issue :|

 

BIOS 1.13 is a bit older than that since it's been posted on Acer ftp in August 2008. I don't know how would you be sure that it supports 65nm S1 CPUs -not that I'm saying it's impossible- but have you seen any 5100 running 65nm Tyler?

 

oh, you're right v3.13 is from Aug 2008.

but at the same time there are successful stories about 65nm: here, here and here.

They used 5102 (which is the part of 5100, together with 5101). Both share the same BIOS. Not sure about h/w (mobo) though.

 

I am answering the P.M I got from you here.
Yes I have a 2,3Ghz TL-66 in my Aspire 5100 with a 3.13 bios and it is 65nm.
It worked right away,I am using RM clock to lower the voltage to 1v,I can go lower to.But I guess it boots up with the original voltage.
My original CPU was a 2Ghz Single core one.
I dont know if it would make any difference if you reseted the bios,it´s done under the memory modules on a "thing" named"J2",ju have to short it with a screwdriver or a bit of cable.

 

Ryssen12
thank you very much! I cleared cmos, but it didn't give anything. btw, I believe I have slightly different mobo, cuz I didn't find "J2" thing (mine is named "JOPEN1", foto).

Also, seems that MK-36 also uses 1.25v, at least according to HWiNFO32 tool.

 

update:

I managed to check the cpu on another Acer 5100, and it doesn't work there as well.
But when I look under the memory I noticed J2. So seems it's not the issue. Though I don't know J2/JOPEN1 is either due to ATI x1100 vs. x1300 or some kinda mobo revision.

Also I've ordered three more CPU (yeah, I don't like to give up ) so we'll see if any works.

 

I checked BIOS v3.13 revision info, and found two places about TL-58:
1. v3.06: ADD TL-58 SPEED STRING
2. v3.08: The BIOS 3.08 only support TL58 CPU and 2 memory module UMA SKUs.

First of all, seems that TL-58 is supported by 5100. But p.2 seems a bit strange for me. Does it means that v3.08 the only version which supports TL-58 cpu?

 

The latest bios verision should always have all the previos uppdates in it.

 

well, yes. But I was trying to say, that if Acer highlights TL-58 in that manner, that probably there's some issue with it. What do you think?

 

Well it´s hard to say,there might have been an issue with it,but that should have been fixed in the later verisions of bios.At least I think so.

Edit:I found this servicemanual:
--removed--
and it mentions all CPU´s except the TL-58..so I dont know..

 

Ryssen12, you're right. I saw this manual before but I didn't take into account that TL-58 is missing; probably it seems strange that all cpu are supported except the one.
Seller refused to send several cpu, but will send TL-56 (65nm), so I will try luck with it soon.

 

dimic, did it work out with tl-56? i'm having exactly the same issue (mk-36 -> 65nm tl-58) and have a possibility to change it to tl-56 so any information would be much appreciated!

 

Actually Vcore a/b is the rated voltage for the chip.

If they state 1.075v -> 1.125v then thats the range that VID can be.

1.075v chips are usually higher in quality than 1.125v.

They usually have similar low speed state voltages.

 

well, I'm still waiting for a cpu (this is very unhappy deal from very beginning). The first TL-56 is considered as lost, so seller have send another one.

But as mentioned above, seems that any Tyler should work except of TL-58. I'm going to receive next TL-56 in 1-2 week(s), so you can wait until I receive it and leave a note here (if you want).

cheers,

 

ok, thanks! i'll probably get the cpu next monday and will give it a try so i'll leave a note too

 

so here's an update to my upgrade story. TL-56 came finally. Laptop works with it, but is extremely unstable. Few times I managed to start windows and ran some CPU benchmarks. But at the same time it fails many time on POST phase or during Windows loading. I spent about 40 minutes with the new CPU, and the half of time I was trying to load windows or at least pass POST.
I guess this problem is rather specific for my case (for exactly these hardware). It would be good to test the CPU on another laptop. And maybe I will make another try with another TL-56.

 

Be sure the cpu cooler sits as it should,had the same problem with my TL-66 one screew on the cooler didn´t pull down the coller as it should.It could be thats the problem.

 

I have a TL-60 that has a default vcore of 1.075v (the lowest) and is a very power efficient chip (you can use RM clock to LESS than 0.9v at its stock speed and its stable).

If you were willing to pay postage I would ship it out to you and you can see if it works. If it did £20 and you can keep it. If not just ship it back?

I like people trying crazy stuff

 

yeah sorry i forgot to leave a note... or actually i've been too lazy to... and i got the cpu only a few days ago... anyway,

TL-56 works very well and is running @ 2.2g stable. And actually, the tl-58 i had was DOA, didn't work on DV9000 series hp either.

 

well, seems this is the end of my story.
I didn't managed to have the seller to send another TL-56. He just made another refund.
But I ordered TL-60 (from another seller) which is a great CPU and it works with no issues.

kinda conclusion:
1. TL-58 (65nm) ain't gonna work with Acer 5100 (BIOS version history has some mentions about this CPU though)
2. TL-56 (65nm) should work (but in my case there was a faulty one I believe). But even if it works the memory frequence will be near to 600 instead of 667 MHz.
3. TL-60 (65 nm) works fine. I didn't find it hotter after MK-36 (90nm).

Thanks for everyone's help and participation!

 

Glad it worked out for you.
My TL-66 is for sale,just send a message,as I bought a Aspire 7745G.

Cheers!