Upgraded Acer 3680 Celeron CPU to a T5300!

[meegulthwarp]

I have no idea. How can I tell?

BTW Orthos confirms the CPU runs at full-speed at load.

Download RMClock, HWMonitor or Everest Ultimate for looking at your temps. They are all freeware except for Everest Ultimate but I think they have a free "Home" version.

RMClock is my favorite because you can also use it to undervolt your CPU to make it even cooler. If you are interested, this thread explains how to undervolt.

Did you use AS5 (thermal paste) or something similar when installing the new CPU?

[randomazthoughts]

yeah but the t1500 is an absolute pain to get a hold of whereas there are loads of 1400's around at the moment and I think I found a seller that has both the 1400 and 1350 so I am going to go ahead with the 1400

[meegulthwarp]

Good luck, let us know how the upgrade goes and if the T1400 is successful.
If it works that is good news for my 940GML!

[deanrich]

I have been reading through this thread the last few days. I have a 3680--now about 2 years old, with 1.5G of RAM, stock HDD, etc., running Vista Home Basic. I use it for basic word processing, internet work, etc., some business presentations. It's a basic, reasonably light, cheap laptop--I think I paid $299 for it at Microcenter, and even with upgraded RAM it was cheap.
BUT: before I get into upgrading the processor--which it looks like I can do, and do for $25-30--how much performance increase can I expect with an upgrade like the T5200? Would it be smarter just to go to XP instead of Vista--not an option at the time, but one I could do now?

Rich

[meegulthwarp]

Welcome to NBR!

Firstly upgrading from a stock Celeron at 1.8Ghz to a C2D T5200 at 1.6 may seem like you are losing processing speed but because the C2D features 2 cores you are essentially running at 3.2Ghz. That is not to mention that the T5200 has Speedstepping (which will help with battery life and heat) and is 64-bit compatible if you ever want a 64-bit Windows. The T5200 will give a huge boost in load times and any type of multitasking that you do.

Secondly, if you are just downgrading to XP you still have the same hardware so you will still be limited by the Celeron, which is quite a severe limitation in my books. You may see an improvement in load times and whatnot because XP is made to run on less requirements but a simple $30 upgrade will make a world of a differnence.

Personally, I think its a no-brainer. While the prospect of opening up a laptop may put some people off, I believe its an educational experience and loads of fun.

[deanrich]

Thanks for the insight. I've been "under the hood" of most of the computers I own personally, including getting into my wife's Averatec to solder down the power connector, a common problem on the model she owns. Having downloaded the service manual for the Acer, I don't think it'll be difficult, though it makes it look like a lengthy process to get right to the CPU.

Rich

[meegulthwarp]

Its not all that difficult, its just annoying to take almost every screw out to get something that should be so easy to access. Some of the screws are in odd places and since I did it without a manual it took me around 20 minutes to get the thing apart. Now I can do it in less than 5 minutes.

[meegulthwarp]

Just fried my mobo by pulling out the LCD power when I thought the laptop was off but I still had the battery in. Schoolboy error...

Anyone know if it is possible to replace the little bit (I forget its name, see pic for details)? The motherboard still works fine and will display on an external monitor but won't push the pic to the LCD screen.

Edit: oops, no pic, I'll upload it when I'm back home. Its the little black thingos on the other side of the white LCD connection.

[benvanderjagt]

ohh ouch! >_< um, I don't see any attached pic, but if you're referring to a motherboard part, it may be impossible. if you can give a pic or more descriptive name I might be able to help.

[benvanderjagt]

. . . Edit: oops, no pic, I'll upload it when I'm back home. Its the little black thingos on the other side of the white LCD connection.

Hmm, looks like these: https://www.auk.co.kr/kor/01_product...p?pno=S72N33SF

I would guess they could be replaced. Is one popped? If so, something else could have received a bad level of voltage, too, but if you have a bad ZR1 board handy, it's probably worth trying to swap 'em.

Oh, and I have a couple dead boards if anyone wants 'em. I'd take just shipping cost for them. I don't know what the forum rules are about that, though.