Aspire 5315 CPU Step-by-Step Upgrade Guide

hey i'm new here and don't know much about computer's
well more than the average but not enough to understand everything
in this thread.

so i apologize for any 'stupid' questions

i have an aspire 5315 with single core celeron processor

i want to upgrade it to a dual core but don't know which models are and are not compatible
with my motherboard and also where to buy a new processor ( U.K )

also when i install it do i need to do anything in my BIOS or can i just 'plug and play'?

thanks in advance

 

who would have thunk it! i cant wait for some pennies so i can add C2D! and all this potenial from a Freebie laptop. thanks for all the hard work guys, hackin insiration. im thinking of adding some more usb 2.0 ports as there is loads of free space inside. i will let you know how i get on!

Peas.

Matty

 

Hello, I'm looking to upgrade my Acer 5315 and i'm new to this. Which processor would be the best for my money and I was watching a video on youtube and i noticed they put some kind of gel on the chip when they install it, is this neccessary?

 

Personally, I'd go for either T7500 or T8300, socket P Merom, both are considered as best bang for the buck.
The gel you're talking about is called thermal paste. It's very important to be applied otherwise the CPU cannot be properly cooled and will cause your system to overheat. One of the best thermal pastes out there is Arctic Silver 5, you can find videos over YouTube how exactly it should be applied, AS site offer some instructions too, here.

Caution: You may need to update your BIOS before upgrading to the new CPU. If you do so please be careful as faulty BIOS flash can brick your laptop to a unrecoverable level!

 

Thanks very much for the quick response I greatly appreciate it, But I have one more question. What memory upgrade options do I have? I'm so sick of this 1g memory it sucks. Do you know if this computer can be upgraded to 4g?

 

I think you can upgrade to 3GB of RAM max due chipset limitations. And it's 3GB if you place the sticks in certain combination in the slots, don't remember how exactly. 2GB will work 100% no matter how you put it.

 

Hi evryone,

i wanted to pm bigozone for asking him about my cpu upgrade but couldn't.

i have an acer aspire 5315, the one with a builtin webcam, a celeron m 530, 2 gb of ram. it used to have a 120 gb hdd (i've put a 500 gb instead)

i'd like to know if i can put a core 2 duo t8300 inside as it is a 45 nm burnt processor, not like the t7xxx or t2xxx. the celeron m 530 is at 65 nm burnt.

will my motherboard accept the t8300 ?

it is an icl50
can i just install the t8300 and reinstall my os without doing anything else ?
thx for any help.

 

If you check the first post in this thread you'll see that T8300 is confirmed to be working for AS5315. All the 5315 has the same motherboard/chipset so T8300 should work for you too. You don't have to reinstall the OS, BIOS update may be needed though.

 

i've looked at the bios rom files given by acer (i have a insyde bios) and it says for all the versions: cpu support merom, merom-lite (it doesn't say penryn, but the t8300 is a penryn...

 

Look at the BIOS ROM files?
Just read the documentation. Penryn CPUs are supported.

 

I know this is random and a bit off topic, but I was wondering if this set of RAM would work in my Acer Aspire 5315-2153. I currently only have two 512MB sticks and its slower than you can imagine. I was also having problems using the undervolting. It won't allow me to change the voltage, the only option available was 1.2375 V.

I'd appreciate a quick reply on this, I need to order multiple items from Newegg and the sale on the one item ends on Monday. Thanks!

 

this memory works brilliantly in the 5315, especially if used with a cpu with an 800Mhz fsb

 

I want to thank you for this post, i was able to find an Intel core duo T5450 on ebay for $47. I put it in today and it works perfect! Thanks!

 

Hello, first of all I would like to apologize in advance and say that I'm very dumb when it comes to stuff like this. I just bought 3gb of memory and intel 7500, and I was wondering what bios version should I be using? I am also running vista and wondering how do I check what version of Bios I am using?

I would greatly appreciate your help and thank you in advance.

 

Well, I've just read all 97 pages/964 posts of this thread and must say a HUGE thanks to everyone who wrote constructive posts, you all know who you are.
An extra special huge thanks goes to BigO, dude, you rock. Seriously.

Just a little about why I'm posting here... I picked up a 5315 for $300 aussie, thats around US$190.
Was all cheery and happy 'till I used the thing for the first time.
Yeah yeah I had read/heard all about how bad vista was, but this is the first time I had used it.... I wanted to shoot myself.
I quickly started to wonder if I should have spent a couple of hundred extra for something with a little more balls.

Anyway, after a little while I found this thread and .... well, I couldn't be happier.
It's not often that I get lucky but how arsey (lucky) am I to pick up one of the most mod-able lappies on the planet?

Would love to 'upgrade' to XP, but don't have a copy of it, and really don't want to pay for one of the overpriced ones on ebay, so from what I've heard so far, will probably suffer for a while and upgrade to Win7.

Waiting for some socket P cpu's to pop up on the Ozzie Ebay, only seems to ever be socket M's on there
Looking around localy for the best prices on 3G of RAM. wheeeeee

Cheers again everyone, me happy.

Lappie specs:
5315-100508MI
Celeron M 540 @ 1.86GHz
512MB DDR2 667
80GB Hitachi HDD
Pioneer DL-RW optical drive.
Vista Home Basic + free bloatware ... grrrr

 

rolsanchez213,
The easiest way to find what ver bios you have is to reboot your lappie and hit the F2 key while the Acer splash screen is up.
This will get you into the BIOS setup where you can find the version info. Be sure when you exit to select 'Exit without saving'.... or however it's worded, nothing like a few accidental changes to make life interesting for you.

Another way is to click the Start Button(Vista) then System Information.
If there's no System Information link there, then click All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>System Information.
As to which version BIOS to use? from what BigO has said, v1.44 will be fine.
Cheers

 

OH!!
Guys, multiple posts, yeah I know, SORRY.
But I noticed that BIOS v1.45 is out, file is dated as modified 10 Nov '08.... why has no one else mentioned this?
Found it thru Acer Australia, but the file came from acer taiwan.
Link: http://audownload.acer.com.tw/BIOS/BIOS/BIOS_v1.45.zip?acerid=633643224971827506

 

Definitely owe everyone some thanks. This thread is amazing, and I've learned and discovered a bunch of stuff thanks to it. I ordered the RAM but the pack from the link that i posted disappeared... I guess they discontinued it.

 

Hey does anyone know how to Upgrade your 5315 CD-RW to a DVD Burner? I'v looked all over for this in so many threads and I cant find it.

 

Alright, so I have 3 GB of RAM installed in my Acer... However, it is only recognizing 1 GB. Any ideas?

Edit: Now it recognizes 3 GB, but bluescreens.

 

Swap them over, I can't remember which one goes where, but the BSOD's go away when the 2gig and 1gig are in the right slots.

I think the 2gig has to be in the bottom slot, but I could be wrong, the post that mentions the correct orientation is burried way back there somewhere, but just swap 'em over and all should be good.

Hope to be doing this myself very soon

EDIT: 2GB in TOP slot.

 

rolsanchez, there was mention made of this earlier in this thread, BigO has done it to his lappie, I'll see if I can find it.
EDIT: Even better, I found this other thread:
Aspire 5315 optical drive upgrade is easy.


I was fortunate in that my Aussie spec 5315 came with a Pioneer dual-layer DVD rewriter

 

Well I did have them set so that the 2GB was on top, but it didn't read more than 1GB. Now that I have the 2GB on the bottom, it reads the 3GB, however, it bluescreens.

 

Ah ok, that sucks.
Got any other modules to play with?
Maybe try a 512 with the 2, then with the 1, various configs etc.
This way you might find thru a process of elimination that one of your new modules could be faulty.


I've finally seen some socket P cpu's pop-up on Aussie ebay.... seems us aussies are getting stung..... (US dollars in brackets - BIN prices, including postage)
T5550 - used - A$92 (US$59)
T7300 - used - $182 ($117)
T7500 - used - $212 ($136)

 

Got it to recognize the 3GB and boot up, finally. Still seems sluggish...
Post #534 should be linked up on the first page, it has excellent instructions on how to install the RAM. What processor has the most bang for the buck and has an easy installation? Here are my specs:

Acer Aspire 5135-2153
Windows Vista Basic
3 GB RAM
BIOS ver 1.17
Intel Celeron (530?) @ 1.73 GHz

I have a few other questions though... Would it be faster if I used Readyboost with Vista, or if I downgraded to XP without Readyboost? Can you use one XP code for more than one computer? Are there any good ways to extend the battery life? Also, what's the easiest way to upgrade the BIOS? I like having a computer and not a brick...

 

Found a post by Quilty997, he had the 1GB in the bottom slot and the 2GB in the top slot, no problems.

EDIT: eeep! nevermind Glad you got it running.
I think the T8x00 cpu's are the best bang for buck, seems they are available from time to time at a decent price... I'm still waiting.
As far as BIOS is concerned, BigO posted the process pretty clearly here: UPDATING BIOS using the windows flasher
BigO is now using 1.44, but I can't find it anywhere, the Acer Europe support site has v1.43 available, the Acer Australia support site has v1.45 available, tho I don't know of anyone that has tried v1.45 yet.

 

Thanks for your help so far ///. So I just follow that link and select v 1.43?
Another big thing I want to improve on here is the battery life. It only seems to last an hour and a half at most.

 

Revised system specs:

5315-100508MI
Celeron M540 @ 1.86GHz
3GB Corsair DDR2 PC5300 CL5 - Woohooo! (was 512MB)
80GB Hitachi HDD
Pioneer DL-RW DVD
Vista Home Basic + free bloatware

Total system cost: A$375 (US$240)

The RAM wasn't as cheap as going thru feebay, but not far off, and I got it instantly, no postage costs, no waiting for delivery, no potential hassles.

Cold boot is quicker, how much I'm not so sure, but it's noticeable.
Vista is MUCH MUCH improved! it even looks different, there are now shadows behind windows, the window buttons(minimise/restore/close) now glow when I hover the mouse over them, they didn't do that before.
I'm guessing Vista has features that don't bother working if the system is short on memory?
Vista Experience score was 2.9, its now 3.5 (limited by the x3100 graphics controller) The memory score has gone up from 2.9 to 4.4
Programs now load almost instantly, I have Cyberlink PowerCinema on the system for DVD's, it used to take something like 15 or 20 seconds to load, its now up in 2 or 3, and.... theres new graphics in it too, some sort of airyfairy angel dust sprite thingies flying/hovering around in the media selection screen.

Anyway, I've dribbled on for too long now, happy I spent the A$75(US$48).
Going to update the Touchpad driver, cursor jumps around sometimes when typing. Gotta do BIOS too.

Now I'm really looking forward to getting the CPU done
Simo

 

shadow, head to Acer Europe ( here) and download v1.43, from there follow BigO's instructions from the thread.

When you upgrade your CPU, you will get longer battery life.
Sound kinda counter-intuitive I know, but the faster more powerfull CPU's can use far less power and run cooler!
I think (from memory), a few people were getting roughly double the run time from their batteries, this would depend on load though.

 

You've spent about the same amount I have so far. My RAM was a little bit cheaper (US$ 37.50) but the laptop was $200.

So now I just need to look at processors...
Incidentally, when you upgraded the RAM, did you look at the inside of the back case? You might see some black plastic on the vents. Rip that off and it cools the laptop better. I noticed a 10ºC drop.

Edit: May just be my imagination, but after I flashed my BIOS, it seems like the system boots and loads MUCH faster. Maybe it works better with the RAM or something.

 

Hehe, I'm itchin' to get a C2D in this thing!... waiting for something decent to pop up on ebay, tho I'm getting more and more tempted to get the T7500 thats listed.... 2.2 GHz, 4 Mb, 800 MHz should get me humming at a total cost of $577.. can't even get a decent eeePC or Netbook for that!! Haha.

The updated touchpad driver seems to have done the trick... no more jumping cursors when typing.

Gonna be a guinea-pig and try bios v1.45 tonight..... wish me luck

 

That's weird, on my 5315 (specs in sig), I only get a WEI of 3.2, due to the graphics, though I get a 4.8 on memory score even though only have 2GB. I'm guessing that the graphics benefit from more memory than 2GB.

With dual monitors and quite a few applications open, I get this:

Minimum Graphics Memory: 8 MB
Maximum Graphics Memory: 358 MB
Graphics Memory in Use: 182 MB

 

i just flashed to 1.45 from the Aussie site. Seems to be a little performance hit, but I could just be imagining things. I will test more

 

Ducks, Your guess is right, with 3GB my gfx mem is now at 384MB, the most the 960/965 chipset can use.

I think my mem WEI is only 4.4 because its limited by the Celeron.
CPUZ reports that the mem is clocked at 266 (CPU @ 533), latency 4-4-4-12
With a new processor and the clock at 667+, I reckon my score would improve.

Grab a 1GB stick before their price goes up. Most of the stores I went to when comparing prices didn't even stock the 1's anymore.

Wish I had a spare 2Gb stick and x64 windows, could test if BIOS v1.45 has fixed the 4GB mem problem.... doubt it tho.

BIOS v1.45 is working fine BTW, wish I could find a revisions list, anyone got any ideas?
EDIT: mooler, yup I reckon the system is a little quicker too.

 

Is that 4.4 WEI score just for your processor? My processor score is 4.7 and I have C2D t5450 installed.
Im looking to upgrade the cpu YET AGAIN. I can get a t7500 on ebay right now for 115 US. do you think the jump from a t5450 to a t7500 is worth it for 115 bucks?

Bios is working just fine and like you im looking for a list of revisions

 

Nah that score is for memory.
Processor(Celeron 540) score is 4.1
From what I have read, the 7500 is pretty good.

 

mooler, according to the benchmark tests on this site, the following is the top 10 list to suit the 5315 (there's no way to filter out only the socket P cpu's, so Ive done that here)

1 - T9500
2 - T9300
3 - T7800
4 - T8300
5 - T7700
6 - T7500
7 - T6770
8 - T8100
9 - T6670
10 - T5900

I have ignored the top most 667(T7600, T7400 etc Socket M's) and 1066 FSB cpu's
The T9x00's need a clean OS re-install.

Anyone know if the 1066 FSB cpu's can be used with the 800 FSB 960/965 chipset?
Wish I could get the 7500 for $115, best I can find locally is US$136

 

Short answer = no.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=306877
Oh well

BUT, someone in that thread said that the X9000 will work on a PM965 chipset....
Therefore might work on a GM965 chipset (PM965 + X3100).

So.... if the extra 10W TDP isn't an issue, whose got a X9000 or X7900 C2X to test if our BIOS will support?

 

thanks for the informations. I appreciate it. I waited too long to jump on the $115 deal. Now the next best is $130 but its used even though I dont think that matters too much

 

For all those thinking of switching to 3gb of memory It does work, but I only got it to work when the 2gb memory stick was on top. I'm only saying this because I read on a previous post that the 2gb memory had to be on the bottom. Well thanks for everyones help on this post anyways.

 

Hi guys!
First of all, sorry for my english, but I'm italian... so, please, be kind if I make mistake
I've seen all the great works you have made to upgrade this laptop (Acer 5315)...
I find a T5550 cpu, and I wanted to know if this cpu can be installed on this laptop... Is the socket the same? I have to upgrade the BIOS or something so?
Many thanks to all!
See u soon
Andrea

 

Hi Andrea.
Your english is fine!
The T5550 is a socket P cpu so YES, it will work.
BIOS update may not be needed, but if it is, v1.43 is available HERE.
And v1.45 is available HERE.

I recommend upgrading your RAM to 3GB too if you haven't already.
1GB in the bottom slot, 2GB in the top slot... makes a big difference to Vista.

Simo

Edit: On this day last year I was in your country... in Sorrento

 

Quick question would a P8400 work in a 4315, i have the chance to get one cheapish but the P has given me the fear, had a look on google seems to be socket P has lower power consuption and higher FSB.

Just not sure if itll play nice in a 4315.

 

Nope P8400 won't work. You need a Merom socket P C2D or dual-core with max FSB 800Mhz(T7500 for example) or a Penryn socket P with max FSB 800Mhz(T8300 for example). You cannot upgrade to any of the newest CPUs which support 1066Mhz FSB because your laptop has the old Santa Rosa chipset which support up to 800Mhz only.

 

Thanks for the reply, i was getting some conflicting reports about this, some said no wont work on gm965 chipset which has max FSB 800Mhz, others said the P8400 would just throttle back from 10066Mhz to 800Mhz.

Thread on here was getting pretty heated about it but didnt really answer the question.

 

I'm not sure if the CPU can "throttle back" I'd say no. And even if was possible I highly doubt the latest Aspire 4315 BIOS support the new generation Penryn CPUs...

 

Hello,
i have an aspire 5315. it had a celeron m 530
i bought from ebay a t9500 cpu and installed it inside.
when i boot, i see that the laptop works, but i have a black screen (i hear the fans and the leds are green).
i think i need to flash my bios, but when i tried with winflash (insyde flash), it didn't succeed.
i keep my old cpu until i can boot on the new one.
i don't even get the acer screen that would enable me to boot on a vista dvd.
i'd like to know how to flash my bios correctly.
i've burnt an iso from acer and tried but i get an error mbr or something like that.
this cd is to be used with command lines (in fact not really command lines but you need to type numbers answering questions.
the iso is available on acer website.

 

in fact i think that i should reset my bios like from factory and retry the cd, but i'm not sure. and i don't know how to reset the bios.

 

i hav 2 gigs of ram and think to put a 2 gigs module in the place of the 2nd 1 gig on the top socket.

 

I don't think the newer Processors (T9500) are supported, someone on here will confirm if they have installed one.