Upgrading Acer Aspire 6935G

Hi everyone ,

i'm new to the forum but i've been reading ALOT the last couple of days .
It's a shame i didn't find this forum alot sooner , there's really alot of good stuff here !

Ok , on to my question :

i would like to know what my options are to really improve my laptop's performance . Would it be worth it ?
My specs are below . Thx guys

 

There isn't much to do really. You can upgrade the CPU to T9550, T9600 or T9800. I would go for the last two if you want to see any difference but there isn't gonna be much as you don't need more than 2.6 GHz today (depending on what you do though). Mayde change the HD to fast one like WD Black Scorpio, but I don't know if yours is already fast (16MB Cache, 7200rpm) or even go for an expensive SSD. Your gf, is it DDR3 or DDR2. If it is DDR2, then definitely go for a DDR3. Probably your MXM is type II so I don't think there is a better card available to buy. You can find in ebay 9600M GT DDR3 around £140. For the RAM I don't know if you can put more than 4GB but you will need 64bit Windows. The 4GB stick memory though is quite expensive now. Or you can go for low latency memory or higher clock (I don't know what you have really)

 

I really don't think you'll see much of a difference between your T9400 and even a T9800. Maybe if you're doing heavy encoding all day, but otherwise, I'd say your best upgrade course would be via SSD. You can get a nice Intel X25-M for $350, and it'll be way better than spending that $350 on 4GB DDR3 DIMMS.

 

The only thing you can upgrade is the processor, memory and the harddrive. You can go to an SSD if you like, but that will simply decrease loading times. A memory upgrade isnt necessary but if you have the PM45 chipset you can run 8gb of memory.
A processor upgrade may be beneficial depending on what you do.
If you do lightweight gaming, or pure internet and word processing than your current processor is fine. If you do CAD, media creation, Adobe CS3, video editing, or very cpu intensive gaming than a processor upgrade to a T9800 or a X9100 would be a good option. However those processors are very expensive and may not justify the rather minimal jump in performance.

K-TRON

 

Wow , very fast responses !! Thx guys

I think my GFC is DDR2 but i'm not sure , can't seem to find it on my laptop . I also don't know how anything about the latency of my RAM . Can you tell me how i can find out ?

I have a PM45 Express chipset . Does that mean i can put in 2 x 4GB DDR3 of RAM ? Or would that be DDR2 ? And do you recommend me doing it ?
I do like to game but the cost of a new CPU vs. that little bit of performance isn't justifiable for me . Rather spend it on a RAM or GPU upgrade . And besides i can play Crysis 2 , Left 4 Dead , COD 4 and CODWAW and other games really smoothly already .

 

I would spend it on the card you will see a significant difference (1000 points 3DMark06).
You can use GPUZ to see if you have DDR2 or DDR3 gf.
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/SysInfo/GPU-Z/
It tells you what type of memory your card has but at the bottom it gives you also the speed. So if your memory is rated around 400-500MHz then it is DDR2, if it is rated around 700-800MHz then it is DDR3.
And you can try CPUz to see the timings of your RAM
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php
Forth tab on the window will give you the latency for each RAM stick
Just make sure if you buy a graphic card from ebay that it will have an Acer bios unless you know how to flash the card with one.
For me it's not worth going over 4GB of RAM (not many games support it and it's too expensive) but you can use either DDR3 or DDR2. Having in mind the benefit/cost, I would say go first for gf, then HD, then CPU and finally RAM.

 

I don't think he can easily change his card, none of the guys mentioned it in above posts. That can be done but it is most probable that it is not DIY, well it is if your a bit skilled with that, but...
And since his card is one of the last from the MXM nVidia generation, that makes it even less possible.
So what left. HDD, memory and CPU. Cpu is already pretty strong.

 

As far as concerns gf compatibility, Acer is selling 6935G laptop with 9600M GT DDR3 or DDR2 so that is solved but I also mention the bios problem. You can wait then and see if anyone else will do it first. But as I said, regarding gaming, you would appreciate more the upgrade from graphic memory DDR2 to DDR3 than any other upgrade. I know it's not easy to physically change the card but it is as difficult as to change the CPU. For my laptop (I am speaking from personal experience), it is much easier to change the GPU than the CPU.

 

Ok , just checked my RAM and GPU and the pics below is what i get .

So say if i do want to replace my GPU ( wich i very likely won't do ) , what would my options then be ?

And am i right that it is possible that i can add 4GB DDR3 , for a total of 8GB DDR3 ? But would it make a big difference at all ? Seeing that Vista 32-bit only can use 3GB , would Vista 64-bit be able to fully use 8GB ?

 

I don't know too much about the GPU situation here, but nklive a couple posts back says there most likely isn't a faster GPU available for your laptop.

According to Google, the 6935G only supports up to 4GB of memory. The chipset should support a lot more, so you may be able to upgrade past 4GB, but it'll be very expensive and not worth the effort. A 64bit OS will recognize some insane amount of memory; definitely 4GB and 8GB.

 

Confirmed on the GPU side - although the 6935G does have an MXM-II slot, the 9600M GT GDDR3 is about the fastest card available on that platform, and thus an upgrade there isn't that big of a deal.
CPU wouldn't really give you much additional performance for the money you're spending - you would basically get up to 400 extra MHz but pay up to $400 to get the new CPU (from eBay).
I would consider a hard drive upgrade to the Intel X25-M SSD. Those things are blindingly fast, and will improve system loading and responsiveness.

 

So in theory it should work then ? If my laptop can only support 4GB , and my chipset can support more , where would the problem be for it not to work ?

But there's something else . Correct me if i'm wrong but i could only find 4GB memory sets : 2 x 2GB .
So even if my laptop could handle it i still wouldn't be able to put in 2 x 4GB DDR3 , because they don't exist yet , right ?

 

There are 8GB DDR3 sets but the are ridiculously expensive. Last time I saw, Crucial had a DDR3-1067 SO-DIMM set for around $650. Unless you will utilize it for work or research, not really worth it at the moment. As said before, upgrades for your memory and CPU will be pretty useless since you won't be getting a significant performance boost, so your best bet is going w/ a SSD.

 

Not much options left then

- So a better CPU wouldn't make much difference

- A better GPU also wouldn't be much better

- More RAM would probably be the best solution for increased performance but i don't know if 8GB DDR3 would be possible with my laptop .

I was thinking of a SSD but i don't think it would make that much of a difference with games . Especially not in multiplayer games , right ?

 

It won't improve your gaming performance, but it will speed up loading times.

I guess if you want better performance in games, your only option is to sell the Aspire 6935G and get a laptop with a better graphics card!
There's an Asus that crams a 9800M GS into a 15.4" chassis, if that helps.

 

LOL , no thx I'm very happy with my Acer.

I guess i have 1 more option left and that's with overclocking . Would OC drastically shorten my laptop's life span ?

If i get a nice result , nothing too extreme would that be only bad for my GPU or for my whole laptop in the long haul ?

 

Well, depending on who you ask, the 9600M GT are or aren't affected by the recent rash of Nvidia GPU heat deaths.
Overclocking may shorten the lifespan of your system, but maybe from 10 years to 7 years. You really gonna use this laptop for SEVEN years without upgrading?

Do what I did - get the latest drivers from Nvidia directly (as they allow overclocking), get RivaTuner or Nvidia System Tools, make small increment increases, and STABILITY TEST ALL THE WAY. Keep an eye on those temperatures, too.
I gained about 900 3DMarks in '06 by overclocking my GPU.

 

Really , that long before it would affect my system ?

I'm kinda scared of doing something that would mess up my laptop . But like you said , and the many things i've read about OC , is to take it slowly and to double check everything .

But before i do anything i really want to make sure my temps are going to be safe . I read about alot of people applying thermal paste before they start OC .

Is that difficult to do ? Did you do it ?

I've never opened up a laptop before , let alone doing something like that . If i don't do it right i can make things alot worse , right ?

 

Well, it can mess up your system. That's an inherent risk in overclocking, BUT if you do it safely and stably, and keep an eye on temperatures, you can minimize those risks.

Your GPU already has thermal compound applied to it from the factory - some people might replace that with a higher performing compound if they want, but I wouldn't worry about it. The Aspire 69xx series have the added advantage of a decent heat-spreader and heatpads on the GPU's memory chips, keeping them cooler when upping the memory clocks.

I only applied new thermal compound on my GPU because I was upgrading my CPU, and the copper heatpipes for the two are joined together.

And yes, if you don't do it right, you CAN make things worse. Too much thermal compound can actually act as a barrier instead of a conveyor of heat, cooking your system. Don't worry about the hardware, and focus on keeping your temps low through software.

 

I'm still a bit worried about my laptop's temps .

When i play the latest games it gets pretty hot , and living in a very hot climate doesn't help either .

I was thinking of buying a Zalman NC2000 to help make things cooler . Do you have any experience with them ?

Would it be a good cooler for my laptop or do you have some other suggestions for me ?

 

I do not have any experience personally, but I do know that they are among the best coolers on the market for a 16" laptop. Plus, all the vents on the bottom of the 69xx series are asking for a big cooler like the Zalman.
(get the black model if you can to match it with the laptop's design )

And you can't always gauge your laptop's internal temps by its external temperature to the touch.
Get monitoring tools like HWmonitor, GPU-Z, RMClock, etc. to keep an eye on everything.
Heck, there's even an Nvidia temp gadget for your Vista sidebar.

 

Ok then , thx alot , you've been really helpful !

I'll post my results here as soon as i can .

 

Please do - it's always good to hear how well our advice works.
Stick around, learn, listen, and contribute when you can.

 

Nice to know of what quality coolers are around, laptops mostly require them if they are used for long periods of time..

 

i see that Acer 6935 are now coming with 256 MB of dedicated graphics memory for cheaper price. But I am not sure about this as I got this info from this link http://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/store/dix_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0636453760.1256889040@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccfkadeijkddgddcflgceggdhhmdgmk.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=587418&category_oid=-34420#productInformationSection[/URL]

can anyone comment and advice on that information please.

 

Sorry to bump up an old post,

but this was very useful to me, one thing I am thinking about doing to my own Acer Aspire 6935g is upgrading to 8GB ram, reading this I am still unsure if I am able to,

Does anyone know where I can find information about where my laptop will support 2x 4GB DDR3 ?

Ta, Tom.

 

No worries about the bump, Digitaltom, but for the future feel free to make a new topic here or on the Acer subforum we've got here.
A good place to start would be Acer's own support site; which says 4GB is the maximum.
I still think that in today's computing environment, users will see diminishing returns going from 3GB to 4GB, and even less from 4GB upward unless they know for certain that they're maxing out their RAM on a regular basis.

 

Ahh thanks for the information, would of cost me a fortune anyway !!

 

it does PM 45 chipset so the max should be 8GB but there might some restriction.. i don't see how 8GB won't work.