New unboxing series available

I’ve just added a few new items to my “Unboxing Series”. It’s a simple photo diary that’s designed to give an idea of what a product looks like and what to expect when you open the box.

The parts are a result of the previous article designing a home theatre PC – so stay tuned for more on this little box!

• AMD Athlon X2 5050e Dual-Core CPU
  
• Kingston KVR800D2S5/2G DDR2-800 SODIMM Memory
  
• J&W MINIX 780G Mini-ITX motherboard
  
• Aywun/Apex MI-100 Mini-ITX Case
  

Upgrading computer without reinstalling Windows

One question that sometimes gets asked is, “How easy is it to upgrade a computer?” The answer is that it’s often quite simple (for someone who knows how to take apart a computer and replace parts). For others, just let your techie friends do the work.

Upgrading a computer can be a matter of less than an hour, including testing. This includes installing a new hard drive, adding more memory, etc. There are times, though, when upgrading a computer is not a simple task. One of the complications in upgrading a computer arises when your try to upgrade your CPU or motherboard, or both. It’s because Windows doesn’t like it when the core system hardware is changed. It might not even work at all.

But there’s a way around having to reinstalling Windows.

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CPU speed problem in Acer Aspire 3627WXMi

A first look

This Acer Aspire 3627WXMi (Model: MS2180) was purchased from Laptops Plus in Sydney, Australia. There has always been a problem with the laptop causing it not to run at its maximal performance. First of all, let’s take a glance at the specifications of this laptop:

• Intel Pentium M 740 (1.73GHz, FSB 533MHz)
• 14.1″ WXGA CrystalBrite TFT LCD
• Kingston 1GB DDR2-533 RAM
• 60GB hard disk
• Dual layer DVD-RW Writer
• Atheros 802.11b/g

The memory was upgraded from the stock 256MB by the dealer. As with any other laptop, there is a white label on the cardboard packaging that outlines the machine type, model, serial number and parts specifications. The interesting thing is, the label says that the CPU should have been a Pentium M 725A (1.6GHz, FSB 400MHz). However, the dealer remarks that the label was incorrent, and should have been the PM 740 instead. I thought, “Nice. Free CPU upgrade!”

1.7GHz CPU running at 1.3GHz

After a few days, the problem emerged. Even though the CPU is rated at 1.73GHz, the maximum speed attainable from this laptop was only 1.3GHz even when on AC power. Puzzled, I started to play around with the power management settings. In Acer ePower Management, CPU speed is already set to maximum, but the computer still runs at 1.3GHz max.

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