Acer 5580, General Upgrade Paths

[CrazyNerd]

I am considering an Acer Aspire 5580. It is well configured for the money, and has a T5500 processor. The chipset is the Intel 945PM. I am interested in upgrade paths in the future. In general do most of the new laptops have socketed processors? So for instance, if I wanted to go to the T7200 or higher in the future, would that be possible? I would think it would be a drop in deal, assuming the BIOS did not do some tricker to deny the upgrade.

I am mostly interested in the CPU as far as upgrading. It will support 4GB of RAM, and I would think if a HD upgrade was necessary, that would be a no brainer as well, correct?

Do all of the Core 2 Duos run at the same voltage, or do the higher end models with the additional cache run a higher voltage?

Thanks, appreciate the advice.

 

[asusman]

You'd have to rebuy XP as your Acer comes with OEM version.

Just buy the best C2D you can get.

 

[CrazyNerd]

I am not worried about XP in the least... Is the upgrading I have in question even a possibility, or are the chips not removable from the mobo?

I cannot get exactly what I want unless I build one, which is too pricey. So I am left with getting something close, and upgrading it later when I deem it necessary to do so.

Thanks for the help.

 

[CrazyNerd]

So no one has any input?

 

[jimytheassassin]

here's a quick link for you which shows Core2Duo details. Nearer the bottom you'll see the votages are equal between models. The variation is for the speedstep that underclocks the CPU when it's idle sleeping etc. Heat wise You'll have to ask someone else who has direct experience, but I would be led to believe there is no dramatic difference. Still Acers are known to run HOT, and may already be built beyond normal tolerances causing additional heat to be a bad idea. Perhaps KillerNotebooks can chime in on this as he is in the know. If you upgrade, it goes with out saying any warranty will be void. Before doing so you should investigate the process and upgrade your Bios to ensure it will be compatible. Be aware of new intel revisions that may be incompatible with your motherboard before you buy. Acer forums are all over that experienced users may yeild help in deciding.. such as Notebook Review, Notebook Forums to name only 2. The same goes for RAM, as you should be sure that your future choice of brand will be supported by teh motherboard.. Sometimes conflicts can occur especially in Newly built parts. 2gig chips are hard to come by these days still. Also, it's likely it will still cost nearly teh same it does today. Pentium M processors still cost quite a bit despite being "old" tech. I wouldn't expect a t7600 to cost 250 in a year. The specs of the 5580 will survive you into vista should you upgrade from Windows XP. By the point you're ready to upgrade the hardware (two years from now?), it may still be cheaper to buy new again, then drop 500-700 and still be under performance per another 1000 dollar laptop. IMO, I would buy what you can afford now, and call it done in the case of the Acer 5580

 

[andito]

i need acer aspire mainboard price list. Thanks so much