Upgraded Acer 3680 Celeron CPU to a T5300!

I've upgraded my T2060 to a T7200, and went from 1GB to 2GB. The only problem is the 2GB I got is Samsung PC6400, and I know the i943 should max at 667, but cpuz says that DRAM is still running at 266 (533). Anything I can do to get that up to 333 (667)?

Thanks!

 

I don't think i943 support 667Mhz FSB....

Edit:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=206137&page=13

 

Fair enough, guess I missed that. Thanks!

 

I wonder why Crucial suggests 667MHz RAM for i943 laptop.
http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=F7BD4E41A5CA7304

 

Hi everyone-
I’m new here, but have spent time over the last week going through almost every page in this thread and am planning an upgrade to my system based on the best info I’ve seen shared here
Not so long ago, I got a free 3680-2022 with a damaged screen. After replacing the screen, hard drive, and re-soldering the power jack to the power board, I learned about the possibility of a processor upgrade! Judging from the ram sticker code and previous posts, this version of the 3680 is based on an i940. And so, I’ll be upgrading the motherboard to a new i943 (mb.azl06).

Here’s what I already have:
3680-2022: i940 based with Celeron M 430 Processor and a new screen
- DVD-RW burner from another Acer
- 500GB Seagate, 7200rpm
- (1) 1GB PC6400 (800MHz) ram module – capable of running at 533MHz.
- (2) 512 MB PC5300 (667MHz) ram modules- capable of running at 533 MHz

Here is what is already in the mail and on its way for the project:

- Old 3680-2633 bottom assembly off ebay with what seller says is a bad or untested motherboard. I’ll just test this to see if I am lucky enough to have found a working motherboard in this $20 total cost lower housing.

- New i943-based motherboard, because I can safely assume the newly ordered 3680-2633 bottom assembly does indeed have a dead motherboard inside.

- T7200 Core2 processor – 2.0GHz, 4MB cache, 667 FSB.

- Bluetooth 2.1 module and 6 pin cable – same as the type that was or is sold on oldegg. I’ve always wanted to see the little front blue light switch do something on this acer!

- Silicone keyboard protector – I’m going to see how it works and fits, was $3 on ebay.


The next thing I need to order is another memory module to pair with my 1GB, but I’m not sure if it’d be better to go with a 1GB or 2GB module, as I’ve seen in at least a couple of posts that 3GB should be able to run on a 940 and 943 acer 3680.

Here, Andy mentioned selling a 3680 with 3gb ram: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=4242766&highlight=3gb#post4242766
Benvaderjagt reports having a 940 running 3gb: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=4683295&highlight=3gb#post4683295

I plan on using the system for occasional video encoding when traveling, so that extra gig of RAM could really help me out if i go 3GB. However, my concern with using a pair of unmatched modules is that I don't know whether or not they will run in dual channel mode, or perform just like single channel. I know that intel has a memory interleave method called Flex Mode which allows dual channel usage of different sized modules, and only a small cost to overall performance when compared to a matched pair of modules. From what I’ve read so far, Flex Mode has only been available on chipsets after i965 series, at least this is the case with desktops.
So far, I’ve tested my 3680-2622 with two 512MB modules, and a 512 paired with a 1GB. On cpu-z and sisoft, it appears I am running in dual channel mode with either of these combinations. The difference in memory benchmark scores is minimal on my system, but I’m thinking this may be due to my processor being single core and non-multithreaded.

My question to anyone who can help here:
On a dual core system, has anyone been able to compare 3GB (2GB + 1GB) to the same system running 2GB (1GB +1GB matched pair) ?

Thanks to everyone for making this a great thread!

 

In my experience, all of the ZR1 (3680) boards that I've bought on eBay have been perfectly fine. They either had bad hibernation data or a bad power board (or even just a bad power jack). I've gotten at least a few dozen boards this way.

As for the RAM, if you have lots of sticks to try out, you may get lucky enough to find a working combination. Also make sure that it actually -tests- good, such as with memtest86. I don't know what the magic combination of chip, order, and motherboard is, as I've only gotten it to work once or twice. If it helps anyone who knows more about it, I was able to use the same sticks to get an Acer 5315 up to 4GB. It didn't always POST, but if it did, it always tested all 4GB as good.

For encoding, the total amount of RAM will be secondary to the speed of the RAM. (This doesn't apply to most computer uses, but encoding just streams data in from the hard drive and then back out to the hard drive.) Your 500GB hard drive is going to help encoding speed a lot, but you will probably see the most speed improvement by using two hard drives. (The trick to getting good speed is to use a MiniPCI-Express to SATA+USB card, running that to a second hard drive outside of your laptop, and using USB wireless or something like that in place of your wireless card.) If the software can pull video from one hard drive and stream it through the CPU and out to the second hard drive, then the amount of RAM will not matter.

You may also see a very large increase in speed by overclocking your CPU! Your PLL should be the ICS95431BGLF. As long as you can overclock the CPU (using something like SetFSB) and it passes tests like mprime, then you should be fine. (In my experience, overclocking the CPU in a laptop results in almost no change in heat, because the voltage stays the same.)

Good luck, and have fun!

 

Thanks for the reply, benvanderjagt!

It'd be great if the motherboard in the case winds up being a good one- I'd have an extra motherboard to experiment with!

For the possibility of an external dedicated capture drive, I found a $10 dual-esata pcmcia card on ebay (based on a VIA chip) which seller claims can support raid-0. I also discovered a low latency (3-3-3-8 @ 533MHz) line of kingston ram which I think is set to run at a maximum of 533MHz, and is branded Hyper-X. If a cheap 2gb module of this or something with a similarly low latency @533MHz can be found, I hope to test it in my setup. According to CPU-Z, my current memory (1gb and 512mb) is running at 4-4-4-12@533MHz.

So, I am still thinking of 3GB, but don’t know what mode this 1+2 pair would operate in. I’m not sure if the 943 can operate in flex mode, but if it does, an unmatched 3GB should be as good as matched dual channel for the first 2GB of space in the set, right? Here is a link to a nicely written guide by intel regarding memory placement and memory modes for their desktop boards:

Desktop Boards — Single / dual / flex / triple memory modes

I do see some 945 boards on the list below the guide, so perhaps the 943 and 940 can run in flex-mode even though they're pretty old? I look forward to giving FSB overclocking a try, but I wonder how FSB overclocking will be affected by running memory with a max speed of 533. Maybe it'd be better to stick with memory that can go faster just for the possibility of overclocking? I'll test overclocking with my current memory and this 940 board with Celeron first.

Thanks!

 

That sounds like a good idea. Theoretically, that card should run at a maximum speed of 133 MB/sec, so I would recommend one single 1.5TB or 2TB drive instead of a RAID. Most 1.5's sustain around 100MB/sec, and adding a second drive will just add overhead and power requirements. When possible, your input files should be on the faster drive and output files on the other.

You know, I'm not really sure if these 943's work in asymmetric dual-channel mode or not. I know that some Intel chips will, but many memory tests will not acknowledge that it's enabled.

Have fun overclocking. Those Celeron M 4x0 chips usually only overclock a little, since they're Core chips. The M 5x0 chips overclock like mad, since they're Core 2 chips. My best overclocking experience on one of these Acer 3680's (which is my best laptop overclocking experience ever, actually) was with a T5300, which I've gotten up around 2.6 GHz. ;-)

 

Wow, didn't know setfsb already has support for this PLL (ICS954310BGLF)! It is so easy to FSB overclock or underclock this 940 motherboard. As I am typing, this old Celeron M 430 is running at a stable (prime95 tested) 2100MHz Now I just need to figure out how to set up something that would effectively be a setfsb profile, or need to get autotool to work- here is a link to autotool: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...auto-tool-v1-0-oc-your-cpu-automatically.html


OMGSnarf – Yes, I think these motherboards do support 667 for the fsb of the processor since processors with 667fsb are able to hit their rated speeds (T7200 will run at 2GHz), but the memory on these motherboards is fixed at 533 MHz, unless overclocked by using a program like setfsb. Most 667 (PC5300)or 800 (PC6400) can run at 533 mode, so it shouldn’t matter what memory you’ve chosen if it’s just for normal use. I am currently running a mix of PC5300 and PC6400, with both running at the same timing @533 .

However, using CPU-Z during a front side bus overclock, I’ve noticed my memory which is running at 533MHz keeps its factory preset timings – for example 4-4-4-12. What this should mean is that even though the memory has the same number of clock cycles per action, those clock cycles are occurring more frequently than the memory was designed to do. Benvanderjagt or anyone else out there – any luck with a particular brand or model of memory? Too bad we cannot alter memory timings in the bios.

Now that I can see how front side bus overclocking works, I wonder if it is maybe the case that the few core2-based processors which are by default set to run at 533fsb (such as Celeron M 520 or T5300) are really designed to be pushed to 667fsb? Well at least the t7200 has a 12x multiplier, but I don’t know if going to 800MHz fsb is possible using 533MHz memory timings. Has anyone had success with overclocking a 667fsb core2 on this laptop (such as T7200, T7600)?

 

That's one thing I like about overclocking the T5300. The front-side matches the memory bus. I've overclocked the T5500 a bit, but I've gone past it with the T5300 because of its high multiplier.

 

acer 5570-2607 intel calistoga i943gml supports core 2 duo T5550?

 

No, the 5570 is a socket M laptop. The T5550 is a socket P processor. It supports the T5500, assuming the BIOS is 1.3505 or newer.

 

hello there and i’m happy for those who made the upgrade successfully but i have a question if you can help me i have an acer aspire 3690 and in my device manager under processors it shows that i have intel celeron M CPU 440 1.86GHz the question is can i upgrade the cpu with the Core 2 Duo T5300 or higher let me know if u know please.
thanks in advance

 

The same is true for your laptop as for the 3680's. Check the sticker on the memory slot. If it starts with MBTEB, it isn't dual-core capable. If it starts with MBAZL, then check your BIOS. If your BIOS is 1.3505 or newer, then you should be ready for a socket M Core 2 Duo.

 

hello Benvanderjagt i ceck the sticker on the memory slot and the number is:
MB AY 7020027250......and the bios version is v 3.50 what do you think can i upgrade or not, but if yes do you have any ideea wich cpu can i use.
Thank you mate for your help
Cheers

 

Hello there again i want ask if anybody knows a way to uprade toshiba cpu, or can i find the instructions, i have a toshiba satellite p200-1ee,Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T5250 this is the cpu, if anybody can help me.
thanks

 

Yes, you can.
I have MBAY 702002... MB and BIOS version 3.33,upgraded to T7200 without any issues.

 

thank you for your help can u tell me what is the high cpu what i can use, and if u know how to upgrade my hdd as well i will much apreciate that mate.
Thank you one more time

 

Ellalan thank you for your help and one more question if can help me i have another laptop is an toshiba P200-1EE and cpu is Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T5250 (2M Cache, 1.50 GHz, 667 MHz FSB) and i want to upgrade it but i dont know how to check the compatibility and all that staff what need to be check if can help me i will apreciate that.
Thanks

 

You better ask about that in the Toshiba forum, Toshiba Laptop Forums - Toshiba Notebook Computer Discussions

 

I think that you can go up to T7600 but I would suggest a T5600 or T7200 will be sufficient and economical, I'm not an expert and learned a great deal from many in this forum therefore I urge you to wait for others to chime in.
As for the hard drive upgrade, there are many "How To"s in youtube and this link(for an Acer 5100) will give you a rough idea of replacing HD.


Taking apart Acer Aspire 5100 laptop >> Inside my laptop

 

Ellalan Thank you one more time for your help mate you are the best

 

No problem, you are welcome.

 

Hello i want to let you know that today i upgrade myCPU on my Acer Aspire 3690 i upgrade to intel core 2 duo T5200 and everything is working perfectly.
Thanks to everyone for helping me.

 

I would like to confirm that I CAN NOT UPGRADE TO A Pentium Dual Core T2330 (SLA4K)

My specs are:

Acer 3680 - 2464
Bios 1.3508
Motherboard MBAZL
Chipset 943GML

Am I missing something? I had to turn back to my Cely 520 (SL9WT) because I couldn't make my laptop boot with the T2330.

Any recommendations?

Best Regards.

 

T2330 is a socket P Processor, you need a socket M processor. If you are looking for Dual Core processors, T2350,T2300 and similar from this page will work: List of Intel Core microprocessors - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I would go for core 2 duo T5200,T5300 or T5600.

 

My friend, thank you for your info.

I think I missed that one, they look the same!! I'll get a Socket M now.

Best Regards.

 

You are welcome.

 

Hello all,

I tested the motherboard and power board included in the base, and after finding that it worked, I rebuilt the laptop around it with the T7200! After replacing the OCZ freeze with arctic silver 5 and lapping the heatsink with fine grit sandpaper the thing was running so cool that the fan hardly turned on. I took pics if anyone is interested.

Everything ran excellent except for now the mini-pci port and lan no longer worked (this was after reinstalling XP, and trying some portable distros that worked fine with the old mobo). Thinking it might be a bad motherboard, I opened up the factory sealed, new motherboard from ebay and put the processor in that. Now, everything works great except that instead of having a mini pci slot as was the case on the old motherboard, this new one has what i believe to be a mini pci-e.

Question to anyone who can help with this:

Has anyone had luck with using a pci-e ssd, tuner, or video accelerator in this slot?

I really don't want to waste the only slot on wifi, since wifi doesn't have the bandwidth requirement of something like an SSD.

Thanks,
Azl

 

I sure have, azl. And by the way, have you tried overclocking that T7200?

One of my more involved mods was to strip a cheap USB hub down as small as it would go, connect it to the BlueTooth connection, tie into another USB port for 5v (since the BlueTooth connector only gives 3.3v), and install USB digital TV tuner, Wireless N, BlueTooth, and a very common USB keyboard and mouse adapter. I then installed an SSD that was most likely in an Asus Eee as the primary storage device in the MiniPCI-Express slot. The TV tuner, Wireless N, BlueTooth, and keyboard and mouse adapter still don't come close to the bandwidth of the USB port, largely thanks to the fact that digital TV tuners use so little bandwidth compared to analog.

The truth is that the MiniPCI-Express slot is really best used for SSD, since almost everything else is easily accommodated by USB. However, another thing I've done was to install a MiniPCI-Express to eSATA & USB adapter, which is an extremely simple and inexpensive device. Having another hard drive controller can be handy.

There's another often unused USB port on the power board. The Webcam port is a reversed 3.3v USB port as well. I've used that for flash storage and bluetooth as well. I often find myself taking advantage of that port when the WiFi switch is broken or when there's some other problem with the built-in wireless. I will end up taking apart a USB wireless adapter, cutting off the USB connector, and sneaking it -under- the power board.

One thing I would really like to do is use like a 64GB flash drive on one of the internal USB ports, install a really fast SSD in the MiniPCI-Express slot, and use it as swap space for Linux (or Windows, I suppose) to make up for the usual 2GB memory limit. But of course, at some point, spending money on memory for an older laptop becomes less cost effective than it's worth.

 

Benvanderjagt-
I haven't tried overclocking the T7200 yet, but can't wait to see how fast it runs since this is fast enough just as it is. So much quicker thank the celeron!

So you were able to get the mini pci-e to run a SSD? If i could get one of those mini pci-e to sata/usb adapters that are selling for about $5, It'd be nice to be able to use that for an internal USB. The esata pcmcia card i got works excellent- it's faster than I thought, so not sure if i'll need any more sata. I've seen pata and sata mini pci-e ssds, and i'm not sure which one to get. Were you able to get the system to boot from ssd?

About the webcam connection, I think if i need 5 volts to do an internal mod like adding a flash drive, maybe it'd be best to just take that from the power board's usb. Do you remember the pinouts for that little webcam connector on the motherboard? Too bad nobody makes a ssd/wifi/internal usb combo card

Thanks

 

*nods* Right, that's what I mean. I take the 5v off of the USB ports there. I believe it was VCC, +, -, GND, so the center two pins are the reverse of a standard USB pinout. At the moment, I can't remember whether pin 1 or pin 4 is GND, but simply powering it up and testing the first and fourth pins with a multimeter will show which is which. As long as you reverse the middle two pins, you should be fine. I don't recommend trying to pull ground off of the webcam connector, either, especially if you're doing SMT soldering like I usually do.

(If you're doing SMT soldering, you will probably want to remove the connector. If you're doing that, be careful. One mistake I make is to try to remove it with just a soldering iron. When I finally start getting a pin up, the whole connector starts to pull up, and then the fine wires get pulled up from the board. Instead, I'd mask around it with foil tape or aluminum foil, then desolder it with a painter's heat gun or with infrared if you have access to an IR station.)

You know, I'm actually not sure if I ever booted from the SSD. I'm pretty sure it would, since it identifies itself as an IDE device. I did easily get it to boot from USB flash drives, since that's one of the BIOS options. If booting from Linux on a USB flash drive, it's trivially easy to make the boot loader boot Windows, Linux, etc. from the SSD.

The MiniPCI-Express to USB/eSATA adapter is nice, but if what you're after is USB ports, I'd probably just make a couple hubs off of the bluetooth and/or webcam ports.

And remember to twist your USB data wires if you can. (-:

 

Is this the only way of installing a SSD drive? If so, whats the best drive I can replace the stock 80GB 4000RPM drive with?

 

Hi, the easiest way of installing an SSD is to buy a SATA based SSD. They're available from many computer parts retailers, and they slip right in where the hard drive was. SSD's have several technican benefits, but if your goal is space and speed, then I would recommend a simple 500GB or higher 7200rpm hard drive in place of your 80GB. They read and right multiple times the speed of most 80GB SATA drives, and you can get them starting around $80.

 

I should clarify. Many of the aftermarket mods that I do are intended to leave other parts of the laptop as they are. For example, moving the WiFi to a USB port and putting an SSD in the MiniPCI Express slot will mean that I still have WiFi and a hard drive, but there's also an SSD hidden inside the casing. There are certainly simpler ways to do things, and for most people, that's the best way to go. I add speakers inside my laptops, but most people it would just make more sense to plug in some USB-powered speakers.

 

benvandergagt, this is from wikipedia:

EeePC flash connector
Some netbooks (notably the Asus EeePC and Dell mini9) use a variant of the PCI Express Mini Card for flash or SSD. This variant uses the reserved and several non-reserved pins to implement SATA and IDE interface passthrough, keeping only USB, ground lines and maybe the core 1x bus intact.[6] This makes the 'miniPCIe' flash and solid state drives sold for netbooks largely incompatible with true PCI Express Mini implementations. Also the typical Asus miniPCIe SSD is 71mm long, causing the Dell 51mm model often being (incorrectly) referred to as half length.

Lots of the SSD drives seem to be from or for eeepc, dell mini and the do it yourself boards seem to be for the most part passive (pin to pin) which should mean that these things won't work on a true mini pci-e, right? I guess I am having trouble figuring out if this acer motherboard is truly pci-e or if it's like the asus or dell: an IDE or SATA ssd capable slot that only looks like a mini pci-e. If so, maybe that'd mean wifi cards wont work in this slot? I wonder if what you were testing was a 3690, or perhaps another acer model?

If it is truly mini pci-e, I suppose I could just use the slot for a 802.11n card (install a 3rd antenna external connector). Let me know what you think

Thanks,
Azl

 

Hmm, that definitely brings up some new questions. I'm pretty curious now! I might go buy another one just to answer those questions. At any rate, using the MiniPCI Express slot for Wireless N does give you the third-antenna connector, where most USB dongles have one antenna, meaning that you get a max of 450Mbit instead of 150.

 

I'm just going to assume that this mini pci-e slot is a true mini pci-e, and that it won't support pata or sata ssds. If it is a true mini pci-e, it should have as a part of its spec a set of USB accessory pins. I've seen a few devices that make use of this such as a wifi/bluetooth combo card, a mini pci-e to sd card reader, and a device that combines a GPS device with an HSDPA 3g modem. Functions are split in these things - for example, in the wifi/bluetooth card, the wifi runs over pci-e, and the the bluetooth runs over the pci-e slot's usb accessory pins.

Another such device is a wimax/wifi combo card. Reading that my area will be covered by a wimax network soon, I've decided giving installation of the intel 5150 abgn/wimax card a try. I believe the 2.5GHz Wimax runs over the accessory USB, and wifi is over the pci-e. Wimax antennas must be compatible with wifi, since these things are being installed on the newer centrino2 laptops. It only has two antennas, so the 802.11n speed will be limited to 300mbps, but hey that's fast enough for anything really! The two antenna mode is much cheaper too, only $23
Thanks for your help as always benvanderjagt, I'll post results after installing it.

 

Well I got the wimax card, and the wimax device (usb on pci-e) is not showing up. So now I wonder what sort of pci-e slot this is? If if can support an SSD and not just a usb flash SSD over pci-e, then it'll be either SATA or IDE type that uses the unused or differently used pins of what should have been the mini pci-e spec. Benvanderjagt, I wonder what sort of non-usb SSD it was that you tried before on this pci-e slot?

 

hello guys..
after reading many2 pages of the first, now I want to ask your opinion on my laptop..what chipset on my mobo???

my laptop acer aspire 4310 Celeron M 520 (1.6 GHz, 533 MHz FSB, 1 MB L2cache)
here more info from pc wizard and cpuz

 

from information above..
what proseccor can match with my mobo??
(i'm sory if my english very bad)

 

I think your chipset is 943GML if your laptop is:
Acer Aspire 4310-400508Mi - Asianic.com.ph
but it is safer to make sure by opening the back cover where the RAM bay and check these numbers(pic).
If it's 943GML, any Socket M core duo and core2duo will work. T2600,T2400 core duo or T5300,T5600 and T7200 core2 Duo's are my choices.

 

I've opened it but I'm confused because after opening the laptop memory there is no sticker on the bottom ..

maybe because I have a acer different series, so do not find in the same place ..

but I will be dismantled again, tomorrow I'll post when it found it ..

BTW i have celeron 1.6 ghz not 1.73 ghz...

 

This number is in the ram .. but I can not open it so I just peeked at it ..

This example image ram with the sticker..
A = MO: 0000 1024 1677 (with a smaller font)
B = 554U701031G72404092201B (with larger font)
click the picture

 

Yes, it's 943GML chipset and you can drop in any of the socket M cpu mentioned in earlier post.

 

thanz ellalan..

i'm very confused about my laptop,,coz i want to upgrade its cpu

can you tell me how can u know my laptop has chipset 943??? so if my friend ask me about their laptop i can answer it..

sory if my english very bad

 

The number in your motherboard label begins with MB.AZL0......... and look at the attachment and it says 943GML chipset, actually I got that from the original post in this thread.
Don't worry about your English, you are doing fine.

 

From what I've seen, any zr1 motherboard that was paired from the factory with a mobile celeron 520 (based on core2) is going to be a 943 chipset. Has anyone seen a celeron 520 on an acer zr1 motherboard which isn't a 943? I'm still trying to figure out this wimax thing. Tonight, I'll be looking up the pinouts on my pci-e vs a normal pci-e and trying to wire up the webcam header to those spots on the intel wimax pci-e card to be able to test the wimax USB device on it

 

ellalan,, do you think i can use Core 2 Duo T7200 – 2.00 GHz (4 MB L2, 667 MHz FSB)...
while my ram support just 533 fsb and my cpu before just 533 fsb???
i know spec about my laptop from here
Acer Support - Aspire 4310 Series Specifications

 

Yes,it will work.