Acer Extensa 4630G (aka Acer Travelmate 4730G) CPU upgrade + pics (56k warning!!)(and a nifty surprise inside!)

I got my laptop this morning, and I was practically overspeeding (well, not really) just so I could go home and do my thang with it. So when I got home, I updated it to SP2 (since I restored it before sending it in for repair) and did the miscellaneous software tweaks I could think of as yet.

And then, it's time for the CPU Upgrade!! Wooooooot!

I. Introduction: How was my laptop (dubbed Ciel Noir v1.0) before?

Originally, my notebook came with an Intel T5800. Undervolted at 1.0500v, it ran cool enough at 2.00GHz, and I thought it had a busted thermal sensor since only the ACPI layer temp was working, and the Core 0 and 1 would show anomalous temps of either 4C or 20C or something lower or a bit higher.

Last month I ordered a T9600 from eBay (2.80GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 6M L2 Cache) and I only had an opportunity to install it today. Let's move on.

II. Tests for the T5800

I ran a test on how fast the T5800 boots from the Vista progress bar until when it loads www.yahoo.com (my homepage). Here's what it got:

Test 1: ~ 1:32.01
Test 2: ~ 1:31.00
Test 3: ~ 1:31.95

Sadly I didn't get the chance to record it since the phone I was using for timing it was the same phone I would have used to take a video of it. (My mom is in Singapore and she brought our vidcam lol). So I guess, an average of one and a half minutes is a good baseline.

III. Disassembly, my favorite part

So after I got those times, I shut down the laptop and then got on with disassembly! Yeah~~

I was helped by a service guide I grabbed somewhere, but it shows a Travelmate 4730G--but it kinda looked like (and had the same specs) as my 4630G, aside from three extra screws and an inverted LCD screw assembly (as far as I got into it lol)

So no more waiting, here are the photos:

Here are snaps of when I had the T5800 still inside:

</img>

The core temps are inaccurate--like I said I think my mobo sensors are turned off or something.

Here's when I already removed the HDD, RAM and the WLAN board:
BTW when you remove the battery pack, there would be five scews (seven in m 4630G) that yo should take off to remove the switch covers.

</img>
(I had the ESD wristband clipped onto he battery contacts )

To get to the mainboard, I practically had to take the whole laptop apart. So I removed the switch covers and the keyboard:

</IMG>

There's one particular chip that caught my interest.. It lies under perhaps the A-S-D keyboard buttons. Yes, it has a pretty big "INTEL" on it, but what got me was the little prints on the lower side of the chip.. It says Philippines!!!! And it was bought from Singapore.. Hmm.. Anyway. The photo's too blurred to put in, so..

After I removed the keyboard, I had to remove the FFC (or FCC? whatever lol) cables attaching the keypad, speakes, trackpad and te switchboar. It was pretty complicated at first. Then I removed the LCD panel. I had to ease out the antenna wires from below since it was attached to the LCD:

</img>

After I took off the LCD panel, I next had to remove the upper cover......quite intimidating sight, actually, lol:

I was practically shaking when I took this photo, since I was pretty afraid to ruin it. hahaha

</img>

I took out the mainboard from the chassis, and lo and behold, here it is:

</img>

Again, that dang shaky hand. lol

Well, at least the thermal module is clearly shown.

Before I took out the thermal module, I measured the GPU using a memory module (I was too lazy to stand up to get a ruler -_-') and it was pretty much the same height as a DDR2 module:

</img>

Here's the point where I'll ask something--would an MXM-II size card fit in there? I'll be trying to open up my laptop perhaps tomorrow since I think I put on too much paste over the CPU and then I'll take a formal measurement, but in this photo the blue thingy is pretty much the part where it might hit an MXM-II card.. Also, I noticed (but failed to take a photo of) two thermal foams making contact with the two memory modules on the card.. I'm not sure if all the MXM cards have the same memory placements, but in my thermal module the GPU part only has two elevations for the memory modules.. Would this be a problem in upgrading the GPU?

Moving on, after this I took out the thermal module, and then took out the card here it is in my hands.

</img>

I like how the NVIDIA embossed stuff and whatnot on the core got imprinted onto the thermal module via dried-up thermal paste, but the paste proved to be something gooey. Yuck.

I cleaned out the old paste, and then set it back. Next I switched the processor.

</img>

Oooh, mirror finish!

I got shocked at how much thermal paste there was on the 5800 when I removed it; it was just overflowing! I also noticed that the T9600 had a "wider" core than the squareish T5800.. Cool.

So after this, I reassembled the laptop (ofcourse putting a grain-sized amount of thermal compound before putting the heatsink assembly ) and crossed my fingers for the longest two seconds of my laptop's life! And then...

</img>

OH YEAH! IT WORKED!

I was kinda shocked. I was sure I did something wrong. So after that, I fired up Windows. After it got onto the desktop it even installed drivers for the CPU, and then prompted me to restart. I did, and then when it got into Windows again, I checked the temps.

IT WAS HIGH. Like, 69C IDLE (ACPI), HIGH. Why?

Well, like I said, I was sure I did something wrong, and I was right. I felt the vents. Hot, but no air. I forgot to put back the power cord for the fan!!

So I went back again, and this time I worked faster disassembling the laptop, I was even impressed of myself that I didn't have to use the guide the second time around. After I put it back, I fired it up again and timed the startup, same as with the T5800.

It clocked at about 67 seconds, so it's subsantial, at least for me. That's from a 2GHz/800/2M L2 to a 2.8GHz/1066/6M, so I'd expect as much.

So, after I've installed the T9600, here is what it says now: CPUID and CPU-Z, plus WEI index scores before and after.

</img>

</img>

</img>

The WEI improvement was pretty big, and the Memory increased more than the Processor, perhaps due to the faster 1066MHz FSB. Not bad, eh?

IV. Conclusions

Well, the upgrade went well, especially since this was the first time ever that I've opened my laptop. I don't think there are Aspires that have dedicated GPUS that don't easily go out the same covers as the CPU, Memory and HDD, so I think it's just Extensas and Travelmates that are this tedious to open up.

I'm pretty happy, though, since I got a pretty big noticeable boost in overall performance, although I had a few difficulties undervolting the processor. I did the half-multiplier mod for the RMClock, and the voltages kind of made no sense, giving me options as low as 0.9000v where I think the lowest the T9600 could go is a flat 1v. Right now I have the highest multiplier (in my case my 10.5x) at 1.1250v and everything else, actually, since it gave me an awful lot of BSOD's when I put the top multiplier any lower.

V. TEH BONUS!,

So....remember my mom has a 4620Z with a crappy Intel Pentium Dual Core T2370? She also has a GL960 Chipset. Says it only supports 533MHZ FSB processors...

....nah!

I tried to swap my T5800 into it anyway. If this was to work, then definitely this would be a big jump in performance, so I took the risk.

And it paid off!!

</img>

So this is another testimonial that the GL960 is indeed much more capable than endorsed! Well, at least, my mom's laptop got a bit more oomph.

I did testings prior and after the upgrade on the 4620Z.

Boot time T2370: ~ 2:32.41s
Boot time T5800: ~ 1:43.01s

It was also substantial. BTW since there were a lot of startup programs my mom needs, I just settled to time for it until the Vista Sidebar opens up. it was pretty consistent when I did it with the T2370, I did three tries and it gave me +/- 1.5s of that amount upthere.

CPU-Z and HWMonitor screens:

</img>

I thought before that the T5800 had busted thermal sensors. It turns out that I still can't read the temps for my T9600 now, and I could read the temps of the T5800 in my mom's laptop. Weird. What could be the problem?

Anyway, that's the surprise I was talking about. I might be making a full guide on how to disassemble/whatnot my laptop, but then again it's not too known a laptop, so there might only be very little people with this notebook here on NBR.

There it is folks. Now Ciel Noir is upgraded to v2.0. Sig to be updated soon lol lol. Thanks for reading!


~kisetsu17

 

Just looking at the pictures gave me a scare.
Great Job!!

 

Frankly, I thought it would be easier and less scary. Then I got to the mainboard. Woah

 

Congrats on the upgrade(s)!
I knew you could do it.

And you're right in that an MXM-II card would be a tight squeeze, but I wouldn't say it's impossible.
Looking at this page over on MXM-Upgrade.com, the mounting holes for the MXM-I and MXM-II cards are the same. The MXM-II card is only one centimeter longer than the MXM-I, and from the pics it at least looks like there's clearance.
It also helps that the second row of VRAM chips are across the top side of the GPU on the module. Your heatsink seems to have the right shape, but it may lack the heatpads necessary.
There's only one way to know for sure: GO FOR IT (when money's available)!

EDIT: And one more favour - please thumbnail the images you've posted here so the site layout doesn't get stretched. Do that, and this topic is going into the Ultimate Resource sticky.

 

Thanks bro!

IIRC the 4650 has four VRAM chips, right? I might only have to buy like two extra heat pads, since there are two already on the 9300M GS..

<s>Ooops. Sorry. How do I do this? </s>

NVM..did it manually.

Anyway, another question for the MXM 2.1 format--do all MXM cards have the same basic memory module layouts? Or at least the MXM-I and MXM-II? I haven't actually seen a 4650 so I'm basing my photographic memory on an HD 3400 photo I got somewhere..

Also, under the GPU and around the GPU core there are like mylar sheets (or something plastic) that kinda sticks to the motherboard and around the GPU core, respectively. Do you know what it's for?

BTW I might open it up once again this weekend to take proper photos of what I'm talking about.

 

The 4650 should have 4 chips: two across the top, two along the side.
That MXM-Upgrade.com page I linked to before has pics of the cards of MXM 2.1.
No clue about the mylar sheets - could be electric insulation, heat protection, or just ensuring that two parts of the laptop don't touch.

 

I kinda estimated the heatsink and if it would cover up the two extra memory modules from an MXM-II card...and I think it would just cover up to about half of the modules on the topside.. Would this suffice even if I put thermal pads on them if ever or do I have to mod the heatsink or something?