VRAM upgrade for Acer's with ATI 9700/64MB

Hello all,

Acer currently offers a number of platforms with ATI 9700, so I am hoping that someone may have already gone through this exercise.

Does anyone know if the video RAM can be increased for any of Acer's laptops with ATI 9700 and 64 MBytes of RAM?

Better yet, has anyone actually tried (and hopefully succeeded) to increase the VRAM to 128 or 256M? Is the video solution on the motherboard, or does it ride on a separate daughter card? Are there slots to add RAM, or did you have to remove what was on the board (daughter/mother/???) and start from scratch?

Does the system recognize automatically the extra RAM, or does something else have to be upgraded/changed/set?

Any and all help appreciated. I have my eye on the 4501 and just thinking about this as a mod in the future, after warranty.

I assume that the 9700 solution is implemented the same way for all the Acer's, but if you know differently, that would help.

NB boy

 

I don't think it's possible to upgrade. To lower costs, most chips are soldered onto the mainboard. There are only a few manufacturers that have a removable/upgradable GPU, but their systems are pricey, especially compared to an Acer. So I think you're gonna be stuck with 64MB.

-Vb-

 

Thanks for the help.

On further study, I think you are right and I am out of luck.

The acer 4501 spec lists under video:

ATI® MOBILITY™ RADEON™ 9700 graphics, on-chip 64MB DDR memory

On the ATI web site, the Mobility Radeon 9700 web page lists:

Multiple Variants For Ultimate Design Flexibility
MOBILITY™ RADEON® 9700 series is ATI’s eight generation of mobile graphics with integrated on-chip memory delivering true flexibility for numerous mobile form factors, from full size to “thin-and-light”.

- Discrete
- On-chip 64MB DDR (128-bit)
- On-chip 128MB DDR (128-bit)

If the Acer spec listed discrete, I'd have a shot. But now I seriously doubt that there are any additonal pads anywhere for more VRAM. Why Acer mfg. doesn't offer the third option is a questionmark for me, but at this price, Acer's spec. already exceeds my expectations.

That's OK. 64MB meets my needs and will more than do'er for me.

NB

 

It can be done if you can get a hold of a MR9700 chip with 128MB on die. Then you have to locate a company with a BGA rework machine that can remove the old chip and place the new which will cost you between $100 to $150.