Want to upgrade my G1S what can I do to it?

Hi All,

Not a very tech literate but I want to upgrade my hardware in my G1S-A1. I bought it in Aug 2007 and have had zero issues with it but was thinking of adding some more power to it. As of now everything is stock on it, I never changed anything on it hardware or software. This is what I want to upgrade:

RAM: Go from 2 to 4 (I think I will need a 64-bit OS though)
CPU: How fast can I upgrade to?
Video Card: Again whats the fasted I can upgrade to?
New Hard Drive: Any suggestions want 300GB Min.

Any suggestion on software improvements that will improve my machine. I was thinking of doing a clean reformat but everything has been fine with the stock set up.

Cheers.

 

RAM: 3-4 GB would be geat. To utilize the entire 4GB you will need a 64-bit OS, but the difference between 3 and 4 for common users/gamers is not key.

CPU: Search for the processor guide to see what socket/processor would work. You may need a bios upgrade/see if the upgraded processor will be compatible with your bios.

Video Card: Overclocking may lead to issues. 'Fastest clocks' refers to your personal graphics card; you will have to put in some time testing with a program like RivaTuner.

New Hard Drive: I prefer Western Digital, but Hitachi is very good and cheaper than WD. A 7.2k320 or 5.4k500 may be a welcome upgrade. Both drives will have similar performance because of speed or data density.

Warranty: You should still have a couple months left on your warranty, so I would hold off on upgrading the processor as it will void the warranty. If you want to upgrade the RAM or HDD, then make sure to save those components if you ever have to send it back for an RMA. I would dban the old hard drive and use the restore disk, then let it sit in your desk. If you do experience issues, Asus *usually* upgrades you to the G1SN with the DDR2 9500M. It is a bit of a stock performance drop, but definitely cooler temps. Some users also experience that the panels on the bottom of the laptop are a bit out of shape as a result of this upgrade. Users will usually overclock the 9500M since it is cooler overall to recoup their 8600M performance.

A clean format is always useful, but time consuming. If you do some of the above upgrades and see benchmarks/performance increase proportionally, than leave it as-is for a bit longer. I would make it a habit to clean install every 8-12 months. You may want to consider Windows XP as well. I would suggest Windows 7, but that is still beta. On my G2S it is very quick and not as buggy as Vista SP0 was when I got my machine. If you are daring, you may want to partition your drive with an extra 20-30GB for W7 to test it out. Best of luck!

 

the fastest supported by the pm965 is the t9300 or x9000

 

I think the OP was asking for an actual hardware GPU upgrade? If yes that is very difficult in a notebook, see e.g., the ASUS Info BoothFAQ.

For the G1S you could get the G1Sn motherboard which does include a newer (although not faster) GPU; in theory this upgrade does not suffer from the nVidia "bad bumps" syndrome and therefore is less prone to failure.

Another thing is that if you consider upgrading all those things you may end up with a pretty hefty cost; and you should also consider an entirely new computer, which may make more sense (especially since current mainstream components are possibly better than the maximum you can put in your G1S).

 

Thanks all,

After taking in you suggestion the only upgrade I will make is adding one more GB of RAM and upgrading my HD to a 320GB. I read somewhere that the video card is wielded to the mobo so it's impossible to remove and replace. I will likely not replace the CPU since I have never replaced a CPU on a desktop let alone on a notebook. Don't want really screw things up.

I have some questions about RAM. I know I have two 1GB sticks of DDRII 667MHz but I have no idea if they are PC2 5300 or PC2 5400, nor if that matters or what that means. All I know is I have to buy a 2GB stick of RAM that has of the same speed, not sure if it has to be the same brand. Also one I stick in the new RAM will the comp automatically pick it up. Any suggestions on what stick of RAM to buy?

For the HD I decided on a:

Western Digital Scorpio Black WD3200BEKT 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Notebook Hard Drive

I’m hoping replacing the HD won’t be too difficult. Hoping to find a guide on the net which I’m sure there are tons.

I think the hardest part will be the reformat of the Computer. I know there is a thread on here for G1S owners that has hundreds of posts, but the forum search tool isn’t working for me. I type in G1S as key word and nothing shows up. I’m not sure what order I have to install the drivers and such. I want a completely clean install of Vista with no ASUS bloat ware. Then add some of the useful ASUS software that came with the notebook afterwards; is this possible? Here is the order I imagine the reformat will take place in. I’m hoping all the drivers for the hardware aside for the new HD came on a disk with the notebook.

Install new RAM – Hope the comp recognizes it.
Update the BIOS to the latest version – I have yet to do this, I have read this is good to do.
Take out old HD
Put in new HD.
Install a clean version of Vista – Can I do this with the disks that came with notebook
Install mobo drivers
Install New HD Drivers
Install GPU drivers
Install CD ROM drivers
I guess the rest of the drivers that came with the computer.
Install a selection of software that came with the Notebook.
After all this search the net for updates both o software and drivers.
Think I will be done after that.

After writing all this I feel like I have no idea how to do any of the above LOL! I guess I need some serious education prior to attempting any of this. Any suggestion on guides or sites that will help me? I have reformatted my desktop before so I have some idea on what to do.

Cheers,
Bill

 

The Owner's Lounge you are looking for is linked from the Info Booth (see my signature).

"Install a clean version of Vista – Can I do this with the disks that came with notebook" Again Info Booth,FAQ question #14 I believe.

"Install New HD/CDROM Drivers" No explicit installation of HDD/CDROM drivers is required.

To find out details about your RAM, use CPU-Z. The RAM does not have to be the same speed, only the same standard (i.e., DDR2 in your case). The speed will default to the speed of the slowest RAM stick.

 

Info Booth
Let there be light!
Thanks EBE