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    Acer 5920G Upgraded to T9300

    Discussion in 'Acer' started by nklive, Apr 6, 2009.

  1. nklive

    nklive Notebook Evangelist

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    I just upgraded to a T9300 CPU, I bought it in ebay for £120 only, brand new (not an ES), and it is great. It is much cooler than the T7300 I had. Idle temp is around 32oC where before were around 40-42 oC. Of course I don't know if that was because I put fresh AS paste on the CPU where before the T7300, I think, had a thermal pad (melted on the core).
    To be honest though, changing the CPU wasn’t as easy as I was imagined. :rolleyes: Unfortunately I didn’t take any photos as I didn’t know what I was doing but in the end all went well. I had to remove the graphic card and in order to remove the heat sink I had to remove a couple of other screws of the back chassis so I lifted it a bit to slide out carefully the heat sink. Then you remove the old CPU, clean the heat sink with ethanol and then place the new CPU, put some AS paste on the core and slide the heat sink in carefully and screw it tight on its place.
    It is slightly faster in the games and much faster in using other software like movie maker. The games are running much smoother now but that is with games that are close to 21-24fps. World in Conflict uses a lot of that CPU. I ran the benchmark and with High physics and the CPU usage was 98-100%, both cores. During gaming is much less around 35%, explosions produce CPU usage spikes. Temp of CPU is around 65oC most of time during gaming, but it can go up to 68oC if you demand more from the CPU. My wPrime 32M score was 41s-42s with the T7300 and now is just below 30s (29.687s). My 3Dmark06 score increased as well from 4240 to 4567. I am very pleased with the end result. :D
    Next thing is to upgrade to fast RAM like the 4GB (2x2GB) HyperX Kingston CL4 667MHz or 800MHz, then 320GB WD hard drive Black Scorpio and maybe try to upgrade to a new graphic card compatible with Acer 5920G with at least 512MB memory (9600M GS perhaps).
     

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  2. TehSuigi

    TehSuigi Notebook Virtuoso

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    Wow, congrats on the upgrade! I went to a T8300 myself (from a T5550), and really noticed the difference.
    If I were you, I wouldn't spend too much for the low-latency RAM. The gains you get from CL4 vs. CL5 are minimal at best. Go for a 7200rpm 320GB or 500GB hard drive first (or heck, even an SSD).
    As for the graphics card, you are correct that the 5920G does have an MXM-II card and CAN be upgraded. Unfortunately, there have been no cases of a successful upgrade to a 9600M GS or GT on that platform.
    Your best bet would be to move to either a GeForce 9500M GS (512MB DDR2) or a Radeon HD 3650 (256MB GDDR3).
     
  3. triturbo

    triturbo Long live 16:10 and MXM-B

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    Great upgrade indeed. I'm looking forward to change mine T5750 with T9500, but I'm still a bit short. After all it's a €200 processor, which is almost the cost of an Aspire One :) With this thread you give me more confidence to run forward as soon as I have the money :D
     
  4. wayneunique

    wayneunique Newbie

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    I'm looking at upgrading my 8920G from a T5750 to a T9500 and the only one I can find is a ES version, would this be a problem?
     
  5. TehSuigi

    TehSuigi Notebook Virtuoso

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    Possibly - the problem with ES versions is that they may not run stable or properly, even given stock voltages. They may have bugs or production issues.
    Oh, and they're technically illegal - engineering samples are not meant for resale.
    Just do for a T9300 - you're only losing 100 MHz, and you'll probably save a bucketload.
     
  6. triturbo

    triturbo Long live 16:10 and MXM-B

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    @wayneunique - I'm looking at this one. Not ES, trusty seller, reasonable priced.

    @TehSuigi - You are right, but I can't find good T9300, which is notably cheaper (€40-€50) from this one above.
     
  7. TehSuigi

    TehSuigi Notebook Virtuoso

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    It's still an engineering sample CPU - any CPU spec that starts with Q and is four letters long, instead of five letters starting with S, is an ES CPU and should be considered risky.
    ES CPUs are cheaper, but only b/c they were probably acquired through less-than-legal channels.

    For example, this is a retail T9300. This isn't.
     
  8. pandadin

    pandadin Newbie

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    hi
    i'm planning on upgrading my 5920g to a t9300 or above but i'm very very new to this, to TehSuigi, or any other experienced poster/upgrader, could someone give me a list of things i would need to upgrade a cpu, like which screw drivers, paste? any warnings or no no's etc... because i have zero idea. If you wonderful guys could help, i would love you ^_^
     
  9. nklive

    nklive Notebook Evangelist

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    You will need one screwdriver really and if it can fit in your laptop's back cover screws then it is fine (or maybe one step smaller). But to be safe you can buy a set of screwdrivers specific for laptops or consoles. Then you will need ESD antistatic gloves and an antistatic strip to handle CPU and anything inside the laptop as they are very sensitive to be damaged by electrostatic discharge. And finally, you will need Arctic Silver 5 paste or something similar, ethanol or a low residual solvent (high-purity isopropyl alcohol) and a LINT FREE cloth (a lens cleaning cloth or a coffee filter.) It is important keep the surfaces free of foreign materials and do NOT touch the surfaces. Always plan, plan, plan, before you do anything, because one small mistake can ruin your laptop. Get familiar with your laptop's inside, learn where is everything (RAM, graphic card, CPU, chipset, heatsink, fan etc) and if they are connected somehow. For example my heatsink is one piece and is covering graphic card, CPU and chipset. So I had to remove graphic card and then the heatsink in order to replace my CPU. There are other heatsinks that are 3 pieces or 2 pieces so you don't have to remove many parts and it is much easier. Another important factor is to remember where each screw goes or make a plan or a list. And finally, we are always here to help you.
     
  10. nklive

    nklive Notebook Evangelist

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    Just a small advice when you buy CPUs. Ask for the sSpec code of the CPU and try to google it. Usually that will send you to Intel's site which means it is real one and not an ES. Then be careful to pick the ones that are PGA (Micro-FCPGA) and not BGA (Micro-FCBGA). BGA are desinged to be soldered on the motherboard so they are manufactured differently from the PGA which are meant and designed to fit in a socket. If it is BGA with pins wouldn't be the same. I don't have personal experience, but, I don't want to, if you know what I mean. Like TechSuigi said ES are illegal and belong to the manufacturer (Intel) you are not allowed to sell them and you don't know how long they are going to live. But generally, the ES samples have ES written on them. Now and then, you can buy a T9300 around £110-£150 which is not a bad price. T9500 are very expensive and I don't think they worth it but if you keep searching you might find one. There are also other CPUs available T8300 or T7800, T7700.
     
  11. todd_aved

    todd_aved Newbie

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    hi nklive

    I found your thread as I was researching about cpu upgrades on acer 5920G. anyway, I want to upgrade my cpu. currently I have t5250 running at 1.5Ghz. I'm really looking forward to get t9300 running on my system, but the thing is there are 4 processors tagged t9300 but with different eSpec numbers... so I'm just confused which processor to go with. I was wondering if you could guide me through this dilemma...
     
  12. triturbo

    triturbo Long live 16:10 and MXM-B

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    Any of SLAYY, SLAQG or SLAZB would do the trick. Avoid SLAPV, because it's BGA CPU. ES CPUs are not recommended, but there are versions that are almost the same as the OEM CPU, but notably cheaper.
     
  13. frankf75

    frankf75 Newbie

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    After reading this thread I also decided to upgrade my 18months old Acer Aspire 5920 with Intel T5550 CPU and GM965 chipset.
    I bought a T9400 SLB46 but unfortunately notebook does not start. :confused:

    Any suggestions?
     
  14. weinter

    weinter /dev/null

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    Because they are different technology.
    Look here and here.
    Difference:
    FSB
    You should have checked first.
    If I am not wrong OP used a Santa Rosa compatible Processor while you bought a Montevina Processor totally different platform.
    OP used T9300 which has compatible FSB of 800 also Santa Rosa
     
  15. nklive

    nklive Notebook Evangelist

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    As weinter said the T9400 is not compatible with the 5920.
    The safe choices for significant upgrade are T9500, T9300, T7800, T7700, T7500, T7300. Only these ones will work in your laptop.
    I am not mentioning the extreme versions since we don't know if any of them are compatible.
    I don't know where you bought your T9400 but you can sell it in ebay and buy a T9300 or swap it with a T9300.
     
  16. kisetsu17

    kisetsu17 Took me long enough

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    If this helps any of you, I bought a T9600 from this eBay user here. Yes, I think I'm getting my item late, but it's because the seller's from US and I'm in the Philippines (different sides of the world lol) but he regularly gets his supply of CPU's, and they are all OEM CPU's.. I've seen him sell up to a <strike>T9800</strike> T9900 (which isn't compatible with 5920's) but also T9300's, etc.. PM him on eBay for more.. He does put up the CPUs for bidding, but if you're the only bidder you could immediately ask him to end it for you. :D

    Seems I'm gonna go ahead with the upgrades..my dad won't have the laptop for refund anymore, but it'll be a month before I get it back..

    Anyway hope this helps.
     
  17. weinter

    weinter /dev/null

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    But T9600 is a Montevina Platform Processor while 5920G is a Santa Rosa platform definitely not compatible.
     
  18. kisetsu17

    kisetsu17 Took me long enough

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    Well, there, I just said I bought a T9600, didn't say it would work with 5920's..my point is that that seller sells processors on eBay, and sells them quite cheap imo.
     
  19. frankf75

    frankf75 Newbie

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    Thanks @weinter and @nklive for the right info.
    I will trade my T9400 for T9300.
     
  20. nklive

    nklive Notebook Evangelist

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    I would have given you my T9300 which was new when I bought it a couple of months ago but only if you are around Manchester, UK. So we can both do the upgrade at the same day. Because I need the laptop everyday until October. But anyway good luck. Currently the T9400 is selling a bit more than the T9300 in ebay.
     
  21. frankf75

    frankf75 Newbie

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    I live in Belgium, and Eurostar comes only as far as London :rolleyes:

    eBay is not so interesting for me, as I already paid EUR 175 for the CPU, and my local shop doesn't want to take it back.
    Selling on ebay not only price would be much lower, but also there are transaction costs for me.

    I am interested. Do you have any suggestion how to exchange the CPUs?

    I thought of EMS shipping to your address.

    Frank

    PS: it is a retail T9400 SLB46 2.53/6M/1066, I can send you picture of CPU if you wish.
     
  22. proszper

    proszper Newbie

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    Hello,
    I would upgrade my laptop from T2370 (current) to T9300 with this.
    Could you please tell me, how can I make sure it is original not an engineering sample, etc? Will it work, because the FSB? (on my old laptop was changed and ok, but litle bit hot, but this is the same TDP)
    I'm not sure what is better to upgrade the CPU (like that), or the Geforce 8400m GS to 9500M GT? As I underdstand this is the best (nVidia) for MXM-II. Do you guys have some suggestions? The budget is for one now..
    Thanks (this is a good forum)
     
  23. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Wow look at that voltage your running.
    When I overclock my T7300 to 2.6ghz I use less voltage than your T9300.
    I bet you could undervolt a lot, did you try the undervolting guide yet:
    http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=235824

    I bet you could drop over 10C.
     
  24. TehSuigi

    TehSuigi Notebook Virtuoso

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    Proszper, the T9300 might be troublesome. However, if your laptop's got a dedicated GPU like the GeForce, you're on the PM965 chipset, so it would probably work. The chipset can easily handle the move from 533 to 800 FSB.

    That seller on eBay is notorious for selling ES CPUs - and that link you posted says right in it that these CPUs are engineering samples, just near-final ones.

    The better upgrade is the one that removes the bottleneck. What are you doing with your laptop? More encoding or CPU-heavy tasks would benefit from the Core 2 Duo, while more gaming would benefit from the MXM upgrade. But both are expensive and not really high on the bang-for-your-buck scale. Max out your RAM first, then consider a faster hard drive first - both will increase your system's general speed and responsiveness.
     
  25. proszper

    proszper Newbie

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    Hello, thanks.
    That was may feeling.. both seller and the bottleneck..
    I use it for gaming.
    I have got for last chistmas the GTA IV, but it doesn't run...than upgraded the RAM to 4G .. and couple months ago the HDD died... changed it to seagate 500GB (ST9500420AS) that was the fastest I can buy than here.
    I was not so happy with it, because it was slower on the game, and HOT, but cleared yesterday the fan from dust... and got better.
    So than will come the Graphics, but maybe better if I buy a desktop PC only for gaming, and leave this as it is...
    Thank you for your help.
     
  26. TehSuigi

    TehSuigi Notebook Virtuoso

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    Also true - you get a LOT more gaming power with a half-decent desktop than upgrading the CPU & GPU on your laptop.
     
  27. proszper

    proszper Newbie

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    Do you know where can I find relevant (like this forum) information which is the best half-decent motherboard and GPU for gaming on desktop PC?
     
  28. bigspin

    bigspin My Kind Of Place

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    Good old 5920. Mine still working hard 24/7 since 2007
     
  29. TehSuigi

    TehSuigi Notebook Virtuoso

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    How about our sister forum, DesktopReview.com?
     
  30. proszper

    proszper Newbie

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    Thank you, will look around, looks good as this forum.
    *Undervoltage is works found it here, still testing and will post the results there... now looks 15°C at least. :)