Acer Aspire 8930G Owner's Lounge

Unfortunately that was the case. Black screen and nothing else. Reverting back to the p8600 brougth back to life the system. I then upgraded from the original
bios the notebook came with (1.6) to 1.10 and then again to 1.13. In each of the cases, it has not worked with the q9200.
Just now, after your question, I checked on the Acer site and there is a new BIOS 1.14, so I have reflashed it, and retried. Unfortunately it does not work either and I will have to sell the CPU in ebay at a loss.

Regarding to acer being able or not to tell if the cpu is good or not, let me remind you that these systems have different policies regarding to what to support or not. When you buy a desktop motherboard, the manufacturers go after maximum support of components because that is what the market they are catering for demands. That is why, when there is a change of definitions in the supported processors table, the manufacturer will update their bioses microcodes with the new updates... they will even allow the system to boot if it actualy matches the family Id of the table regardless of their lookup procesor string id.
My point is that the support philosophy for notebooks is completely opposed to what PC users (myself included) are used to. Even if your chipset/platform does support the NEW cpu, manufacturers oftenly choose to keep the supported processors on their notebooks to the common minimum denominator... that is, all the cpu the platform can support THAT the product profiling department thinks could make it into a final SKU for a given model. That does not mean that all the supported processors will be actually featured into a final product, but it means that there could be chance of that happening... and to make it simpler one BIOS image is kept for all SKUs under a product "model".
So it is simple, the new bioses include the support for the new processors contained the new SKUs over the product "model", and of course some patching. You can be lucky, unlucky, or you could buy a "generic laptop".

Now, generic laptops are those bulky, plasticky, badly built notebooks whose manufacturers actually work with the philosophy of the traditional "pc freedom". They support anything under the sun, and that is how it should be. If they only made "decent" machines ... That is why they only account a very small % of the market.

Anyway... I am kind of bored of all these restrictions, but I am well aware that I am part of a very small minority.


Regards,


Francisco.

 

Ok, checked with CPU ID and I have the PM45 chipset.....is thee anyway of knowig if it'l take 8GB Ram?? did a search and found one site which reviewed the 8930G and one comment was that it was upgradeable to 8GB...CNET though which is a US site.

 

doesn't seem to work on windows 7 pro 64 bit

 

Yes I have read that too, but I have not been able to actually confirm that from an official source. Last thing I would like to do is expend roughly 300 pounds and then having to resell it at a loss through ebay...

Anyone with a first-hand experience?


Francisco.

 

That was my concern. 4GB seems fine now for Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit but in a year or 2 it may start to struggle once more 64 bit software comes out.

 

dont upgrade 8930g with quad is not working i tryed with q9000,acer dont want to tell you but i found that 8930g with q9000 used different MB

 

Any 8930g owners that already has quad core when they bought it can confirm their motherboard ID's or information using cpuid or some other tools?
So we can identify where is the difference why it doesn't work on these self-upgrades.

 

Sure here you go,
CPU-Z reports the (useless?) info that:

Intel Mobile Core 2 Quad Q9000
codename Penryn
socket P (478)
45 nm

Fimily: 6, 7, A
Ext. Family: 6, 17, R0

Model: Aspire 8930 PSMBOU-1234567
Chipset Intel PM45 rev 07
Southbridge: 82801IM (ICH9-M)

Using bios 1.13, I think it came with bios 1.10 (but not sure).


Are there any other tools I could lookup for more information?
Or is this enough for you to determine possible differences in models?

P.s.
I am using 4GB on a 64 bit Vista
I would also like to know if the memory can be expanded to 8 GB.

 

Alright guys
My Core 2 Extreme X9100 Arrived just now and glad to report that the upgrade went smoothly.
Bios detects everything perfect



Usually GPU idles out at 60 degrees C. But my only problem is that while gaming, GPU temps rise to 100 degrees C
No throttling problems but this high GPU temp has me worried.

Is this normal ? I had the same problem before processor upgrade. Any suggestions to bring GPU temps down ? I used Arctic Silver thermal paste for both CPU and GPU .

 

im on win 7 64 bit and my fingerprint readers working fine without this

 

Holy mother of Allah...

Mine goes on 100% load to 78degree with max overclock..
beyond 78C i get artifact and shutdown

So maybe your sensors are different than mine

 

It should also be some difference by having different processors and graphics card:
T6400 2 Ghz 9600M GT-1024 and probably 1 GB DDR2 versus X9100 3.06 GHz, Nvidia GeForce 9700M GT 512MB GDDR3

 

yea but though you said the problem occured even before cpu swap?

 

While applying thermal paste on the GPU, I removed a black tape like plastic pasted around graphics card core. But no reductions in temperature.

It seems that the thermal paste has settled in and gaming temp under max load is now 95

Yea I know 95 also is bit too much. Any suggestions ?

 

Asteroids????

 

What's that?

 

You see, I have this problem, though I haven't upgraded my CPU.
I noticed that I've got the BIOS issue where my CPU temp readings aren't updating - is it possible that this is stopping the detection of the temperature and thus causing the laptop not to throttle? I don't experience *any* slow down whatsoever, I just experience the laptop turning off when it's getting too hot - that makes me think something's not working.
I'm a bit iffy about updating my bios, don't wanna accidentally kill my warranty - so I think I'll try ringing them and seeing if I can get them to suggest updating it.

But I thought I'd check, is this even a sensible idea? Or should it be throttling anyway?

 

for those with stuck core temperatures, I have the same thing.
I use HWmonitor.
The core0 and core1 temps doesn't move at all but there are other entries under ACPI which I think refers to the cpu temp and what the laptop users to determine when to throttle/shutdown.
It has TZ00/TZ01, can you guys check if this goes up during cpu intensive applications?
The other TZVR/TZVL seems to follow the gpu temps.

 

@sanke, i know you just opened your notebook to change the cpu. did you clean out the heatsinks fins? a lot of dust accumulates there.
I use to get 90+ degress as well at full load but know almost drop 10degrees after cleaning.

 

My notebook is a month old and there is absolutely no dust inside

 

Hi,

Here is some absolutely correct info for people wanting to upgrade their 8930g with Core Duo to Quads.

First of all: NONE of the 8930g notebooks support Q9100, Q9200 or QX9300 Quads. PERIOD! Acer has NEVER MADE a motherboard or BIOS (1.0 - 1.14) for 8930g that supports the MICROCODE of those processors.

That is a checked (physically) and confirmed FACT!
For your own sake - DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY OR TIME.

NOW GOOD NEWS!

IF your 8930g shows the following specs under "MOTHERBOARD" in CPU-Z:

Model: Aspire 8930 PSMBOU-1234567
Chipset: Intel PM45 Rev. 07
Southbridge: Intel 82801IM (ICH9-M)

AND (VERY IMPORTANT!) it is using 1066mhz DDR3 memory (NOT DDR2!), which means that it FULLY supports 1066mhz FSB, then:

You CAN UPGRADE to OEM Q9000 SLGEJ 2.00GHz 6mb L2 cache.

This is how their Quad Core 8930g's come from FACTORY.

As a matter of fact, if your 8930g has the above specs you can use (or upgrade to) any of the following OEM (not ES!) processors:

P7350 2.00GHz
P8400 2.26GHz
T5800 2.00GHz (The slowest one, anybody would want to upgrade =)! )
T6400 2.00GHz (Same turtle as T5800! )
T9400 2.53GHz

and the rest of the 45nm Core 2 Duo family including Extreme with 1066MHz FSB.

And FINALLY:

Q9000 2.00GHz (As fast as you can get on this notebook. Period! )

KEEP IN MIND, that if you are upgrading from slower processors that have 25W thermal design to Extreme or Quad with 45w thermal design you will get a noisier and hotter machine. But as long as you won't try to OVERCLOCK (which InsydeH20 bios DOES NOT support natively!) and clean your vents, you will be fine, even under long full loads.

Hope this answered MANY questions.

AR.

 

In my machine, TZ00 and TZ01 are definitely CPU related. TZ00 is labeled as "Motherboard" by Everest, and TZ01 is called "CPU". When I stress the CPU (I use mainly OCCT), the temperatures that raise are those two. Both of them get hot very slowly, but TZ00 gets hot way faster than TZ01.

TZVR and TZVL are indeed tied to the GPU. Stressing it (with FurMark) makes these two raise in unison with GPU temperature. They show a few degress less than GPU, though.

What is really disappointing about this laptop is that every program shows different temperatures and some show certain temperatures that others miss. Luckily, I don't suffer from throttling, but it can be distressing if you are experiencing it.

 

Great info. Thank you very much.

It seems that my unit is not upgradeable:



This fits your requirements, but memory is DDR2 according to CPU-Z. Everest does not agree with this and says I have DDR3.

Which program should I trust? Can you tell me what chances do I have of being the owner of a upgradeable machine?

EDIT: Modules are Micron 16JSF25664HY-1G1D1. This is DDR3 according to Google.

 

First i suggest using CPU-Z 1.52 "no install" version (32 or 64 bit) for correct readings.

If your memory is Micron 16JSF25664HY-1G1D1 x 2 then you are just fine.
Those ARE DDR3 1066 memory modules, and you CAN upgrade.

8930g's also come with Elpida PC3-8500F 2gb DDR3 modules factory programmed to overclock to 1200MHz.

AR.

 

What Starsie tried to say is that it looks like you have ddr2 but thats (just like like me) when you upgrade to q9000 it will show dd3 weird stuff right!

 

CPU-Z 1.52 says that I have DDR3. Thanks.

 

I still think powerful C2D should be faster than Q9000 under normal operating conditions

 

There is a problem with older CPU-Z versions and 8930g's that use T5800 or T6400 processors. They run on 800MHz FSB forcing ram to run at 800MHz also no matter what type it is DDR2 or DDR3. It confuses CPU-Z, so i suggest looking up in Google by part number.

 

That's what apparently happened to me, but I have a P8600 and my RAM runs at 1066 mhz.

 

new notebook drivers 195.62 whql on nvidia site
http://www.nvidia.co.uk/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-uk

 

That is AWESOME!!! Finally!

 

That is true, but only for programs that CANNOT utilize multicore processing. Since these days 99.9% of programs and games support multicore (besides the fact that Windows 7 utilizes multicore 100%), Q9000 kills any dual core at it's 2.00GHz.

Here is proof: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php

Just find CPUs and compare.

Cheers.
AR.

 

That is only under ideal conditions when one is sure all cores are getting utilized

 

OK. This is for people, asking why when they overclock 9600/9700GT video cards on their 8930g they get higher temperatures on the CPU and vice versa.

Simple.
CPU and GPU on 8930g share the SAME radiator which is being cooled by just ONE fan (i wouldn't say a week one though). So WATCH YOUR TEMPS and BE CAREFULL.
The fan creates a fairly good airflow (not only air, but DUSTflow too!), so it is a good idea to unscrew it from time to time and clean the radiator.

AR.

 

The new Nvidia drivers 195.62 WHQL are crap as I cannot adjust brightness

Tested by Windows Hardware Quality Labs ?? Haha

 

Same issue here.

 

I had some issues also when i just downloaded and tried to install over the old drivers. But all good now and the new driver is smooth.
They completely redid the whole driver package, so in order to get everything working, you got to MANUALLY (and completely!) uninstall ALL previous NVIDIA stuff and then install the driver. Ignore when it offers to uninstall FOR YOU. Uninstall everything (Driver, PhysX, ect.) from the Control Panel. Then reboot and if Win 7 installs the generic driver, go to Device manager and uninstall the video card from there also by right clicking on it. Don't forget to check "Delete the driver softrawe for this device". Reboot. Win 7 will try to install the generic driver again, but it won't be able. THIS IS WHEN YOU START INSTALLING THE NEW DRIVERS !
Please be aware. IF you already tried to install THIS new driver over the old one, then you will PROBABLY get lower "Windows Experience Index" scores on graphics and memory after "Re-run the assessment". It has NOTHING to do with the new driver, it's a windows installer problem, that messes up older and newer packages. The sad thing is, that once it is done, even if you go through the whole procedure of MANUAL uninstalling and installing after that, IT WON'T fix it. The new driver package WAS tested by me on both x86 and x64 Win 7 (on 8930g of course!) fresh installs and it gives ABSOLUTELY same WEI scores as the previous one. Some games and especially CUDA decoding run much smoother and faster with the NEW driver.

Hope it helped.
AR

P.S. For people with brightness issue. Same problem - not the DRIVER, but the windows installer. Follow the plan and it will work.

 

@starsie

I have no problems installing these drivers. Just that brightness doesn't work

PS: The procedure u described is a bit confusing

 

So starsie, if I understand it is possible to upgrade our laptop only with OEM cpu? And for the quad only Q9000 will be suitable? I'll look for a q9000 then. thanks for all these informations. bye

 

Brightness works just fine with this driver. I know it, 'cos i can adjust it RIGHT NOW.
If you want to fix your problem, you got to completely uninstall all Nvidia drivers and programs and then install the new package.
About my instructions being confusing. I'll try to make it as plain as possible.

1. Go to CONTROL PANEL and uninstall:

Nvidia Display Control Panel
Nvidia Drivers
Nvidia PhysX

Reboot

2. After reboot Windows will try to install IT'S OWN (integrated) video driver automatically.

IF it says: "Driver for this device was NOT installed", then go ahead and install the new driver pack.

IF it says "Device driver SUCESSFULLY installed", then do the following:

Go to "DEVICE MANAGER" , find your video card in the list, right click on it and choose "Uninstall". When prompted check "Delete the driver software for this device" and click OK.

Reboot and THEN install the new driver pack.

Hope this was less cofusing.

AR

 

OK.

Here is an update for people with BRIGHTNESS problem.

Despite the fact that not all 8930g's have the problem (like my own main 8930g), it apparently EXISTS!
After hours of testing on 3 8930g's with different configurations, windows versions and driver packs i hereby confirm that IT IS a NVIDIA DRIVER 195.62 problem.
It gets solved by replacing some of the new .inf files with older ones. It is not really a USER FRIENDLY solution, therefore i decided not to post instructions. IF i find an easier way i will post.

I bring my apologies to sanke1 and x64man.

AR

 

Hi, I can confirm the issue existed on mine and the solution, thank you, cured it..
Chris

 

Hi, numbers are meaningless I'm afraid..
Chris

 

@ chriscatt

Can you tell us your GPU temperature under full gaming stress ?

@ everyone
I am kinda running into another small problem. I feel sometimes theres a little lag from my keyboard and some keys don't register if i type fast.
Is this a known problem ?

 

Wow, starsie. You seem to know a lot about our 8930Gs and your post are very informative and helpful. You rep power marker is going to grow fast

 

I don't experience it. I can press random keys like mad and every single one gets shown in the screen. Maybe you are running a program which is sitting between your keyboard and everything else and screwing it up. Try to boot in any OS other than Windows (any Linux live distro or DOS running from CD will do the trick) and check if it happens there.

 

Its not a lag. I think I have to press all the buttons very hard and if its a feather touch, it fails to register. Anyway, I hate UK keyboard due to weird placement of buttons. Ordered US keyboard for £5

 

Hi All
Im looking at getting a Q9000 quad core processor for my 8390g which has a T5800 in it at the mo , by what i have read my motherboard will accept this processor and the ram is DDR3 but what i want to know is do you need to change the heatsink ?
There is a cpu on ebay which is brand new but no heatsink and no box...do they come with new heatsink if you get one boxed ?
Any help most appreciated
karl

 

I have exactly the same problem with my keyboard. I often have to read what I've typed and go back and rectify things.

 

What drivers do you have?

I tried uninstalling and reinstalling to no avail. The fingerprint reader is still upside down...