Aspire 5315 CPU Step-by-Step Upgrade Guide

Rudzer: Run regedit, then check it you can see this key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ pe386

And did you ever recieve an error related to pci.sys ??

 

Nop, dont have that key.

And no, the only BSOD I got was the one with the error codes i've posted.

cheers

 

the first post of this thread now has all of the latest XP drivers for the ASPIRE 5315..
((as of 9-9-08)) and yeah there is a newer atheros driver, (but it sux)

these are the drivers i have been running on SP3 XP Pro since the day i found the various updates

may they bring you a performance boost!!!

bigO

the driver link is in huge GREY LETTERS near the top of post #1!

 

Hey I have a quick question BigO.

My new lappie came with a T5750, does that mean I could upgrade to a T8300?

 

Hey Krazy !!
Which lappy ??

 

hehehe,

Well to start with it isn't an Acer, but rest assured I still have my 3680!

It is the Gateway M-6862 that I got at best buy for $609 priced adjusted to $599.

Quick Specs:
Vista 64-bit SP1
T5750 2Ghz C2D
ATI Radeon 2600HD Dedicated 512MB GDDR3 grfx
250GB HDD
Webcam

It had too great a value for price to pass up! Reminded me of when I first got my 3680 at $350


On Topic: I was hoping to upgrade the CPU, but those Gateway forums don't have as nice an atmosphere. lol

 

I am sure that notebook would support all Penryns upto the X9000. Gateway doesn't reveal the enhancements made in the BIOS updates, but they do not limit the BIOS in anyway as well. All notebooks I have come across in the Gateway forum, get easily upgraded. And removing the heatsink is pretty easy I guess, as compared to the 3680.

BTW, that is a great deal !!

 

Cheers!!! lol, I might just delete my gateway post so I can come here for free help and claim it as an acer!

 

you should have no problems putting a T8300 in it....
i'll see if i can find some info on the CPUs supported by the BIOS

but the hardware will support it all the way.... the BIOS is the one question mark

 

Alright thanks a bunch if you could do that!

EDIT: lol, maybe I should start an upgrade thread over there!

 

Sorry to hijack guys....but what has happened to Hoggie ?

He hasn't posted for a while now

Cheers,
Theo

 

Hello, i changed the cpu of my 5315 by a T5750 (2x2Ghz @ 667Mhz) and it works fine twice faster than the celeron M550 for just 70$ !!!
(The cpu temp is good, between 45°C and 53°C)

Sorry for my english.

 

congrats on the upgrade RON..... enjoy the new found speed...

now if we can talk you into loading XP to replace VISTA you could have some real speed

 

Thanks but i have already installed xp sp3 with AHCI on my computer when i had my CeleronM (i hate vista^^, thanks for this thread)

 

glad to hear that.... my whole goal with this thread was to spread the word on how easy CPU upgrades are for these systems,,, and how much more speed a user can gain just by switching to XP...

so it sounds like you are zooming along now... glad to hear my efforts are helping others

bigO

 

Hi all. New to the forum. My Aspire 5315 is arriving today at some point and ive gotta upgrade the biatch! Been reading thru the post and found it really really helpful and lots of info!

The laptop thats arriving today is one ive ordered from: http://shop.carphonewarehouse.com/accessories/acer/aspire-5315-laptop-/

So im not sure what the 5315-**** numbers are... will this make a difference?

Where can I purchase the CPU/RAM from (UK Companies please)?

Thanks alot!

w0rd,
Stanny!

 

After reading more & more pages of this thread I think I have a few more questions! lol..

When I get my 5315:

Do I need to upgrade the Bios 1st (before anything)?
Can I make the CPU upgrades/RAM Upgrades with Vista on there if I want to put XP on the after the upgrades?
I have about £120 ($209) to spend on upgrades, what CPU/RAM would you recommend?

Thanks again!

w0rd.,
Stanny!

 

Ok, I've had a phone call - The 5315 is in my living room! Roll on 5pm babeh!

Edit: Oh thats in 3 mins!

 

those last 4 digits in the model # are used to designate different configurations....the 5315 is still basically the same just different RAM, HDD, CPU, ect


before upgrading your BIOS check and see what version is currently installed.
you can upgrade the RAM and CPU with either OS installed..
if keeping VISTA for a short time the RAM is going to be very important.
but a faster CPU would help VISTA after it has enough RAM!!

 

I've just upgraded my acer aspire 5315. Worked a treat. Probably cost me in the region of £55.

£20 on 1GB RAM.

£35 on a Intel core 2 duo T7500 This was meant to be £50 but the ebayer i bought it from took ages sending it so he compensated me.

I've just had a quick look on ebay for a T7500 and the cheapest i can see one at the mo is £99. You could also look at the T5450 which is a cheaper option, i think you can pick one up from ebay for roughly £50. Both are core 2 duo CPU's. I think for your budget you could get either and ram.

It might be worth having a look on the net for cheaper prices but i think you would be pushed to find any cheaper than ebay.

There is this website www.notebookwebsite.co.uk, i've never used it before so I can't tell you what they are like but they may have a cpu in there.

 

thanks for taking the time out to reply.
ill have a look when I get 5mins!

bigozone: the v. of BIOS is v.143

thanks guys!

 

then there is no need to upgrade since that is the latest official release

 

great stuff!

Ive created the CD last night by following "SOULPASS, the BEST 5315 XP GUIDE ON THE NET (SATA and All DRIVERS)" guide, another thing that was really easy to follow!

Gonna have a look around tonight for a new CPU & see what I can get hold of!

Cheers!

w0rd,
Stanny!

 

Details on my 5315.

Aspire - 5315-301G08Mi
P/N : LX.ALC0Y.626
Model : ICL50

CPU : Intel Celeron processor 560 (2.13GHz) - I will admit I thought this would be alot less than 2.13GHz
LCD : 15.4" WXGA Acer CrystalBrite
MEMORY : 1GB DDR2
HDD : 80GB
ODD : DVD Super Multi Double Layer
Modem : 56k
LAN : 10/100 Base T
Wireless LAN : 802.11 b/g
Softload : Windows Vista Home Basic SP1
WWAN : NO
Manufactured Year : 2008
SYSTEM BD/BIOS: 1.42/icl50 1.42

 

still you'd be amazed at the difference that even a T5450 will bring to many tasks... there is no way i would try to run VISTA on 1 gig and a celeron...

buy atleast a 2gig pc5400 200pin DIMM to upgrade the memory to 2.5 gigs and get a CORE2DUO cpu at the same time and you'll be amazed... a T7300 or T8300 would be my choice given the current prices..

 

What RAM would you recommend I get buddy? The main use for the laptop would be burning off DVD's and video editing...
VISTA is going tonight mate, thanks to that soulpass guide..

Also if I bought the T7300 or T8300, would there be any heat problems running XP?

Thanks mate

w0rd,
Stanny!

 

this is a 5 minute mod and works like a charm my 5315 now runs twice as fast thank you guys so much

 

first of all... make your factory restore disks before installing XP,, just incase you need to go back to VISTA at a later date... (i think it takes about 15 cds)
that's why i installed a DVD BURNER

any generic ram will work... i am partial to CRUCIAL ram... but that's like the chevy vs ford debate,,, kingston or any known brand will be fine...

don't fool with the ONLINE ram identifiers... they are a bit too conservative for what we are doing...

you need atleast a 2gig pc5300 ram (i mistakenly typed PC5400 earlier)
you may also want to get a 1gig pc5300 200pin DIMM,, using those 2 sticks you can max your RAM out at 3 gigs which is the max anyone has been able to get to work in the aspire 5315...

there are NO HEAT ISSUSE with any CPU upgrades other than the user who tested the T9300 and the T9500 found that he had to reinstall VISTA to get the OS to properly control the fan (it seems limited to the T9xxx series)

many users have just dropped the T8300 in and experienced MUCH LOWER TEMPS and thier fans don't come on nearly as much... the celeron is a very inefficient design and gives off more heat than any other socket P cpu i don't care what intel says about TDP numbers... speaking from real world experience any CORE2DUO will give off much less heat due to the SPEED-STEPPING which cuts cpu speed in half when not under heavy load....

and then you can UNDER-VOLT the CPU to extend battery life further... and reduce heat even more...

i can't imagine you doing much video editing on a stock 5315 with VISTA loaded on it... that has got to be slow

 

what did you do to your 5315?? CPU & RAM?? what are your current specs.

 

To be honest bud, I dont really tend on ever going to Vista.. I cant stand it.. Its slow & I dont like a change! lol

Generics :- 2Gb DDR2-667Mhz SO-DIMM: http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/product.aspx?code=ME-SO2-2048-67
Generics :- 2Gb DDR2-800Mhz SO-DIMM: http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/product.aspx?code=ME-SO2-2048-80
Kingston ValueRAM 2Gb DDR2 667MHz SODIMM Memory - http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/product.aspx?code=MEK-S2-2048-67
Kingston ValueRAM 2Gb DDR2 800MHz SODIMM Memory - http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/product.aspx?code=MEK-S2-2048-80

Which one of them would you recommend? They're from a company ive used in the past...

Ahh good to hear it about the heat!
Think im gonna have to save my pennies and get the T8300! I would have a look on eBay now, but im in work & they've blocked that site... ridiculous I know..

Thanks,
Stanny!

 

any of those will work but if i were buying, i'd get the KINGSTON 667mhz..
it's only 1lb or € more than the generic,, and if something went wrong and the seller wouldn't stand behind the product, it would not be hard to get a replacement from KINGSTON as long as you keep the bill of sale..

the chances of getting CL4 ram in the generic are VERY RARE,, and the 5315 cannot use any speeds higher than 667,,, so spending the extra to get the 800 MHZ ram is only benifical if you may be moving the ram to a system that supports it (which is a rare occurance) since the new systems that are just beginninng to come out use DDR3 which has 204 pins... so buy the cheapest you can within reason...

you may want to get one of these to go with the 2 gig piece...
http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/product.aspx?code=MEK-S2-1024-67

and the T8300 is a good choice... if stepping down to a lower CPU the T7300 is a cheaper and better option than the T7500

 

Your knowledge outstands me in every bloody reply!! lol

Thanks again m8!

So basically buy the following:

Kingston ValueRAM 2Gb DDR2 667MHz SODIMM Memory
Kingston ValueRAM 1Gb DDR2 667MHz SODIMM Memory

 

exactly.... that's what i would buy!!!

 

okley-dokley!

 

OK, so brand new user, but I am forever taking Dell Laptop's apart, so comfortable with this. Dell's are great for adding missing bits, so I thought I'd do a google for the Acer Aspire 5315 (as I'm another UK user on the whole Carphonewarehouse trip).

Anyway, spent about two days reading the whole thread, haven't even got my laptop yet. In fact only did the deal and ordered it this morning. However, I found an astonishing deal on Amazon.co.uk for T7500's, just whilst I was pricing them up for the pending upgrade. I have ended up with 2 x T7500's (boxed products) for £22 each and ended up with another £1.50 discount because I was buying two. No shipping charge! Incidentally they have put the price back up to £161 ??? Best price I could find for one on eBay was about £70 + p&p and many were ES models. So I'll eBay the other and get the cost back for mine ;-)

Can't wait for it to arrive, was gutted when they said it would take up to 28 days for the laptop to arrive.

Anyway @ BigO excellent guide, can't wait to get stuck in. In fact I do not know how I will wait for the 48 hour burn in test to finish before I upgrade, just to make sure the laptop is ok before the upgrade.

Thanks again folks

Bri

 

I think we may need to start a "processor deals" thread because $378 for a T8300 on amazon.com is a scary amount. lol

 

I've just ordered the Ram from Crucial. Only thing I can't seem to find is the DVD Drive swap thread, which is mentioned above. Can someone direct me to it, search seems to have failed me.

 

sell me that extra CPU.... i promise to put it to good use!

glad to see more and more people getting 5315's.... i had to buy mine for $348us,, but i have seen quite a few people from carphonewharehouse...

i wish i could get a deal like that in the states....

i honestly don't see why you shouldn't just swap the CPU before ever powering the system up..... i personally would do the upgrade first and then do the burn in. if you plan on running VISTA long term you should consider buying a 2gig PC5300 200pin DDR2 ram stick... you may get lucky i've seen some 5315's ship with 1x 1gig, while they originally shipped with 2x 512mb ram sticks... i have 6x 512mb sticks that need a good home.... but VISTA is a ram hog... and the 1gig that comes installed in the 5315 is barely enough to boot the system... so that should be your next upgrade!

enjoy the PC and feel free to ask any questions... i'll do my best to answer promptly..

bigO

 

Try, searching on Google. If you hit the relevant tags, the thread should come up. I don't remember seeing a DVD-drive swap thread, but swapping ODDs is a walk in the park.

 

i agree,, but keeping it maintained would be a real pain... that's why i just buy CPUs from EBAY... where i can compare current prices easily...

BTW i ran across a site selling 512meg pc5300 dimms for $104.95!!! WTH???

i think newegg has an NEC/SONY/OPTIARC 7950 (or some model similar) in the US for $49.95 (it comes with a 1 yr warranty)

i bought my 6550A 8 months ago and have not had any bad DVD burns yet... i think i may have had 2 CDs turn out bad... but that was likely due to cheap media.... using SONY +R DVDs i've had no problems.. so i highly recommend the NEC/SONY/OPTIACR line of drives..

and if you are looking for info on the actual replacement,, i can tell you it is simple... there is one screw you have to remove to release the drive...

if you look at the PIC attached to post #2 look to the left of the WIFI CARD.... there is one lone screw, you remove it and the drive slides right out... take the metal mounting adapter off the back of the original drive and attach it to the new drive.... slide the new drive in and then replace the retaining screw... it's that easy.

i've attached a PIC with the DVD retaining screw labeled....

 

Hey.
Ill give you a nice crisp £50 notes for that T7500 brother!
Thats if you havent already agreed anything with bigo & he's cool with it. Im in the UK as well, so shipping is less lol

I got my laptop Friday from the carphonewarehouse mate...

It arrived Nextday after ordering it So I think u will have it Monday probs

Ive just completed the Soulpass guide of installing XP it... Not one problem, so I congrat for that!

Anyways, let me know about that T7500 mate

Stanny!

 

Stanny has out bid me... j/k,,,, i really don't have the cash to spare at the moment, especially considering the overseas shipping.

how did the SOULPASS guide work for you??
did you notice i added a link to the first post with all the NEWEST XP drivers for the 5315... i think most all of the drivers from the soulpass driver pack have since been updated... just so you know!

 

Hehehe! thanks buddy hopefully he parts with it!

Couldnt have asked for an easier install to be honest mate.. Everything was in simple English, easy to follow Im just installing SP3 as we speak!

Ahhh no, I didnt see them, will check them out now thou!
Thanks mate!

 

do your windows updates and get the OS secure first... that should be the first thing you do... and then after having all critical updates and the OPTIONAL updates you may need installed... then reboot and create a restore point... then update the drivers with the newer ones i have posted and after all the new drivers are installed create an even newer restore point!

 

The T7500's haven't arrived as yet, coming from Germany, which is strange given the free shipping. So I need to confirm they are as described, but it lists T7500 800FSB Boxed. I expect them here on Tuesday/Wednesday hopefully with a laptop ;-)

I would be inclined to fit the CPU immediately, but I just want to make sure it's fine, because if there is an issue and it needs to be returned I'd rather have that BEFORE I've potentially invalidated the warranty.

Anyone have the models of DVD writer that will fit, so I can do an eBay search?

Bri

 

True!
Would you be inclined to sell one to a needly fellow Brit ?

Not sure of the writers that fit m8.. Anyone know if the hard drive can be upgraded and if so, too what?

Thaaaaaaaanks

 

Hard drive should be no issue, I haven't come across one that isn't possible let alone easy.

I have a brand new sealed 200gb laptop SATA drive that has been sat on the side for a month, so I have that as well.

As I said, ordered my memory a 2gb and a 1gb

I'm all set.

I'll let you know about the CPU, as I said I need to wait until they arrive and see if what I have ordered, is what I receive .....

 

almost any slimline DVD drive will fit in the 5315,,, as long as the replacement is based on the industry standard and not made to fit a certain model...

there are a few users here who have NEC/SONY/OPTIARC dvd burners installed... i have an OLDER NEC6550A and love it,,, i've not had one bad DVD burn (i do use SONY +R media),, and have only had 2 bad CD burns (due to cheap media)... i don't know what the OPTIARC burners are going for thru EBAY,,, but a NEW sealed NEC/SONY/OPTIARC 7950 (or something similar) is $50 from NEWEGG in the US and has a 1 yr warranty

the HDD is very easy to upgrade,, you need to buy a 2.5" SATA HDD,, any size will work... and while buying, buy an EXTERNAL USB HDD ENCLOSURE, then you can use your current HDD as an external... www.geeks.com has an $8 cheap enclousre,, i liked the first one i bought so much i ordered 3 more!

any SATA HDD (sata 1 or 2) and any size you wanna buy... i hear 500gig drives just hit the market!!

if you got actual T7500 RETAIL BOX cpus at that price, you must be a good person and KARMA is smiling on you... congrats again!

 

Im sure the model of the 5315 ive got has a built in dvd writer... it says it does...

 

I think it doesn't do Dual Layer though does it?

I've found one anyway, also an external housing for the old drive so it doesn't just get binned. Means I can use the old drive with servers and pc's that have a faulty (or lack of cd drive), it's self powered from USB 2.0, happy with that.

£6 from Hong Kong ;-)

Found a DVD Dual Layer Writer for £20 + 4 p&P in the UK. Also found an Intel 4965 AGN wifi card ;-)

By the time I've finsihed I'll have a laptop with almost everything in I could want, the only things I really would love is a dedicated graphics card and a larger screen resolution. Neither of which I believe are possible with this model. However for the cost of all this (the laptop is essentially free as I'm renewing my mobile contract anyway and I still got 2 new mobiles free!) which will be under £100 it will be a monster!

EDIT: According to the UK Website it may well have a Dual Layer .... I've ordered the other drive anyway, but I ordered one with good write speeds, even if I don't replace the internal one it makes an ideal drive (combined with the external housing) to fit in my laptop bag to use when I'm working on servers/desktops and I need a DVD/DVD Writer.

Also @stanny2k does the carphonewarehouse freebie model have the webcam built-in?

Bri