2300 Upgrades available?

Hi, I was wondering what upgrades I can purchase for my 2300 series averatec laptop? I went to crucial.com and that said I could purchase a 2GB kit of ram for it. Is there a way to upgrade the cpu also? and other things like that?

 

I've heard that it's possible to get to the CPU to swap it up for a minor upgrade, however you'll have to update the bios for the new CPU to be recognized.

Probably not worth the small jump in performance.

 

I see it came with the TL-50 turion 64 x2 and there's a TL-64 available, which has twice the cache and is a bit faster core(s). i don't ever use laptops before this one and I guess my question is - can I change it myself easily?

 

Yes. Swapping the CPU is a very easy affair. All you have to do is remove the back panel, unplug the fan, remove several screws from the heat sink, and then you have access to the CPU. Of course you'd void the warranty, but I'm assuming no one bought a 2300 for that purpose.

 

thanks. I heard that even adding ram voids the warranty is that true?

btw i bought it refurbed but with extended service plan

also, do you think going from T-50 and 1gb ram to t-64 and 2gb ram would be worth it?

here's the ram:
CT626718 DDR2 PC2-5300 • CL=5 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR2-667 • 1.8V • 128Meg x 64

total cost for both would be like $410 or so...

 

Upgrading RAM shouldn't void your warranty. But changing the CPU will.

The RAM upgrade is worth it in terms of cost and return, but I'm not very sure about the CPU.

 

Averatec puts the VOID sticker on one of the screws where you have to replace the ram.

They have said however, that upgrading the ram will not void the warrantee. I haven't tested that personally, so good luck on that end.

You'll notice a huge leap in upgrading the ram alone.

 

thanks.. can I buy a battery which lasts longer too? also where would I find it and how would I know it's compatible?

 

Averatec made a higher cell battery, but IMO it's not worth it. If I recall it costs nearly 200 bucks and it's bigger, so it sticks out from your lappy. Why by a ultraportable lappy and have a battery that sticks out like a third nipple?

I'd say buy another standard 2370 battery and carry two

 

thanks, but I'm not going to tell my girlfriend to walk around with another battery, I'd be in trouble.

Is there any battery anywhere which will work, is the same size, and lasts longer?


oh, also, I found some programs on amd's website that are supposed to enhance dual-core functionality... I have no idea if this is a hoax or legit, can someone advise?

 

The dual core optimization file is not a hoax. You should actually dl and run that.

 

would it be recommended for someone who does ZERO gaming?

 

Don't have to game to enjoy proper performance

 

the reason I say that is because the page on amd's website only mentions improved performance with gaming...

 

Perhaps they say that because gaming is the most common activity that the average consumer performs, that could possibly utilize a processor more strongly than say, surfing the web.

 

I just upgraded my 2300 yesterday from newegg. I bought Gskill 2gb (2x 1gb) DDR2 DDR667 modules and a Seagate 100GB 7200rpm hdd. I put everything in and formated and loaded Vista Ultimate.

Now it runs in dual channel vs before only single channel mode. and I'm happy with that.

But for the life of me I can't figue out how to get the cpu to run at 1600mhz. Each core only runs at a maximum of 803mhz. Now, I may have been fooled here by the fact that 800mhz x 2 = 1600mhz (1.6ghz) and that is what the TL50 is rated for. Or am I correct in assuming that both cores should run at 1.6ghz?

Upgrades are cheap right now. But don't waste your time with the cpu, it's not worth the money, upgrade to 2gb's of ram (70 bucks) and then upgrade your hdd (120bucks) and call it good. If you want faster, but another laptop. I just use mine for school work (vb.net/asp.net) and some video compressing from my camcorder via 1394.

 

The stock XP-MCE in the 2370 doesn't smoothly ramp up & down the CPU cycles either, I'm guessing that's why there is the funky 'S'low switch. However, AMD does provide the driver to optimize CPU usage based on application needs and it works quite well.

And then there is Vista. I have contacted AMD and they said the support was now native in Vista. I contacted Microsoft and they said, yes it is native, but has to be supported by the BIOS. Finally I contacted AMI and they told me that the latest BIOS firmware released by Averatec for the 2370 (version 1.05) does not work properly with Vista for this function.

AMI indicated revised BIOS firmware would take care of it, but Averatec would need to release it.

I asked about the firmware for the 2371. Looking at the manual I saw it is using version 1.07. The AMI rep I spoke with said yes, that firmware does better support the CPU under Vista - however, that there are some minor motherboard differences between the 2370 and the 2371 and the firmware on the 2371 wouldn't work on the 2370.

So far as I know, right now, the only way to get Vista to change core frequencies on the 2370 is manually using a tool like RMClock.

As 800MHz is more than adequate for most of what I do, I haven't bothered, but I agree there are times when I want to kick butt (like video editing & DVD building).

Jim Johnson
Serenity Consulting

 

That is great info. Please post either the bios that will work or a link to that program "RMClock" and how to use it. That would be great. Can you setup profiles with RMClock so that you can run at 800mhz when you want and then 1.6ghz when you want just by changing the profile?

 

The 2370 BIOS firmware upgrade that fixes the speed issue under Vista isn't available. v1.05 is the latest available from Averatec - you can get from their site.

As for RMClock, please do a Google. I'm guessing it is available from the usual download sites. And yes you change speeds by changing the profile. Can another members step in here? It's been months since I've touched RMClock and I know there are more experienced users out there.

Jim

 

I have a 2300 not the 2371. Has anyone used the 2371 bios on the 2300 notebook ?

 

I just upgraded my bios to 1.5R from Averatec's site and my damn cpu is still only running at 800mhz per core even under maximum load (winraring two DVD's) This just makes me want to go Intel again. I went with this laptop because it was inexpensive, but now that I can't get the full speed out of my cpu's I feel ripped off. Time to use that app and see how that works out. I hate using 3rd party work arounds when it is something that should work naitivly.

 

I thought there were only the 2370 and the 2371 for that line?

 

Jackyl, I'm not trying to start a flame here, but please slow down and CAREFULLY read my previous posts in this thread.

You have a '2300 series'. The specific model is 2370. Averatec has replaced the 2370 with the 2371. However similar the 2370 is to the 2371, BIOS firmware for the 2371 is NOT compatible with the 2370. This is straight from AMI - the folks who provide the code to the OEM, in this case Averatec. As for that, Averatec has not posted any BIOS firmware files on its site for the 2371, so unless some hobbyist has extracted the code from a 2371, you aren't going to find it.

I said the latest BIOS for the 2370 (v1.05) would NOT fix your CPU speed issue under Vista. Again, this is a known issue at AMI. They know what needs to be done, this part of the code is in the 2371, but a BIOS upgrade doesn't come directly from AMI, it must be released through the OEM - Averatec. And so far, this has not happened.

While sure, this issue affects the performance of the 2370's AMD CPU, it is NOT an AMD versus Intel issue. A similar situation could just as easily exist there. The issue is Averatec has sold a PC as fully capable of running Vista, sold with a promise to provide Vista, provided the upgrade DVD's that clearly say support is through Averatec, and has now decided they won't support Vista on the 2370.

If you read through the thread on legal issues with Averatec, you will see that I have challenged Averatec through the California Attorney General's office. The issue has also been exposed through national media.

Complaining in this forum won't get you or me the needed BIOS release. However, if you take the time to ask Averatec Tech Support for help through their web site, obtain their email rejection, then start a complaint through the CA-AG's web site using a copy of the rejection as documentation, it will provide much needed legal pressure.

I happen to like my 2370 running under Vista. I just want Averatec to keep the promises it made to me when I purchased this PC.

Hopefully you'll join me in trying to make this happen.

Jim Johnson
Serenity Consulting

 

It is all good man,



I was just at Office Max today looking at laptops and I saw that they had a Everex ST5340T notebook for 699.99. Now after a closer look I found that this is the same unit as the Averatec 3200 series notebooks. The chipset is the same (Nvidia 410) and the video (Gefore Go 6100) and the complete chassis layout is identical. Just different badging and color.

And the Kicker is, it is running Vista and reporting the two cores at the correct speed (1600mhz). I check the bios to find it was running R1.09 7/6/07. I tried to do a search for this model as www.everex.com has the model listed but it was not a link like the other models.

I called everex tech support and talked with Darek Hall, he informed me that it is a new laptop and the site is not updated as of yet. He said that the site will have the drivers and a bios if it is available.

I'm more than confident that running the R1.09 on the 2300 series averatecs will take care of vista not running the cores at their full clock speeds.

 

I have been using RMClock with VISTA for several months on my 2370. I use the performance on demand setting and it works flawlessly. Both cores run at 1600 when needed. RMClock also has it's version of dual core optimizer for AMD. I highly recommend it.