Help upgrading Acer Aspire 5002

Hi Guys, I have an Acer Aspire 5002 that I picked up a few years ago. Now the issue is I can't seem to sell it, and I can't go any lower because then there is no point of selling the thing, might as well keep it. So instead i thought maybe I could upgrade it. I just wanted to know what my limitations were.

These are the specs, they've very similar to this review:

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2637

but here are mine:

AMD Turion 64 ML-30 processor 1.6 GHz
80GB hard drive
512MB of RAM

Not too sure what the kind of harddrive it is, sata or pata, I think it has a 4200 RPM, but i wanted to get a 7200 RPM harddrive. But was just wondering if my machine could support it, or if it's too much for my computer to handle.

Also wanted to up the ram seeing that i'm running at 512 mb ddr. I think it's 300mhz. I have 2 slots, and wanted to upgrade to 2 gb (1 gb per slot), but not sure if my machine can handle it.

If i could put in a better processor, then hell i'll do that too, but not sure if i can. Long story short, with this machine can i upgrade the ram, hard drive and processor. Hope you guys can help me out .

I took pictures of the stuff, ill put them up so you guys can have a look to see what i'm working with.

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v1740/15/0/28117649/n28117649_46267480_5936.jpg

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v1740/15/0/28117649/n28117649_46267481_6941.jpg

 

HDD is IDE/PATA. You can checkout the Samsung HM160HC/HM080GC or the WD Blue Series ( WD2500BEVE), for upgrades.

Memory is DDR -- So, look for DDR-333 PC-2700 SODIMM modules. You can upgrade it upto 2GB. You can also use DDR-400 PC-3200 SODIMM modules, which might downclock to PC-2700.

Processor - I think the ML-44 will be the fastest CPU available, though I am not sure if the BIOS will actually support it or not. A CPU upgrade will help, if you're running intensive tasks, such as video-encoding, editing, photoshopping, etc. If not, then forget about the CPU upgrade. You probably might have to disassemble the whole machine to remove the heatsink, which will be a PITA.

 

Andy you are awesome! I'm getting 2 GB for the laptop then. Do you think it'll make a substantial difference? or does it only depend on my processor for my machine to perform better?

Now are you saying I have a IDE/PATA hard drive? I will definatly check out your recommendations about Samsung and WE Blue series, but was wondering if i could get a 7200 RPM hard drive or am i limited to only being able to use 5400 tops for my laptop? Like something like a WESTERN DIGITAL 320GB IDE 7200 RPM 3.5" HD Caviar SE. I saw that online, and was curious, of course not 320, but just something with 7200 RPM. What's the difference between IDE/PATA and SATA?

Can I replace the processor? Right now I'm running at a 1.6 Ghz, but i'd like to use photoshop and maybe (probably impossible) autocad. You're awesome andy, thanks for getting back to me so quickly . What do you mean by a CPU upgrade? I'm sorry, I'm not very good with these terms and such, so all this help is really really great. Again, now sure what a heatsink or a PITA is. Hope to hear from you soon!

 

Dunno which OS you're running, but 2GB will be good for even XP. Though DDR SODIMM modules will be a bit expensive. I just checked out Crucial and it does say 2GB will be fine.

You can only install 2.5" Mobile HDDs. The Caviar is a desktop HDD (3.5"). Well, your notebook can only take IDE drives, considering the Toshiba you had installed hass an ATA-6/IDE interface.

There are no good 7200RPM HDDs with the IDE interface. The Samsung is the fastest and the WD is the 2nd fastest of all IDE drives. Anything else, will be slower than those two. And with a HDD upgrade, you'll notice the biggest boost in performance, so try upgrading the HDD first.

Forget about the CPU upgrade, considering you don't know what a heatsink is. I dunno as well. (PITA - Pain in the A$$)

And if you upgrade any parts, buy from a place where you won't have trouble getting refunds in case of an incompatibility. I am only advising on terms of the limited documentation I have about your system.

 

I'd just like to say I have an Acer Aspire 7110, and I recommend getting a single 2 GB stick rather than 2x1, because on mine the 2nd slot just seems not to work :/. I hope someone can say it works, lol.
EMZ=]

 

LOL, yeah i'm really not up to par in this computer lingo . But yeah, i already ordered two single 1 gb ddr sticks for my computer, so let's hope both slots work. I will get the WD i guess, it's the only one i see in my local computer stores, so in case it doesn't work i can return it. I'm running Windows XP on my machine right now. I'm also wanting to get a new battery cause well 1 h isn't very mobile. I have a 8 cell (4400 mAH) but i think its died since.I have two batteries, one that i bought with the machine, and one that acer sent cause i complained about its battery life. One has a battery life of 1 hour and the other of 1h40m, at LOWEST condition. Thinking of getting a 9 cell (6600mAH) but not sure as to how long it'll last, do you know? SO i guess for now i'm just going to upgrade the ram, harddrive and the battery and leave the processor as is seeing as to how i have no clue as to what to do with heatsinks and all . If you can offer any recommendations as to what i can do to make this machine run smoother, faster and more powerfully, please it would mean alot! hope to hear from you soon!

 

I've run into a big problem. After i opened up my laptop, to see what the ram and harddrive was like, i put everything back like i saw it. Problem now is I don't have any sound. The short cut keys don't work (Fn+ left/right arrow for me) and when i double click on the sound properties, it gives me only 3 options (wave, SW synth and CD player) and it has the advanced sound properties greyed out in the pull down. When i right click and go to adjust audio properties, the 'device volume' is set to low and greyed out. can you help me figure out what happened to my sound I tried restarting, taking everything out again and putting it back in (ram and HDD) and did a system restore. I also got this program to show me what drivers I was missing; it's called driver scanner. It said that i was missing a Realtek AC97, so i went to the site and installed it and restarted, still nothing Please help, i don't know how i suddenly lost sound on my machine.