Acer Aspire 5532 Laptop Upgrade #2: Attack of the RAM
So many people have found my CPU upgrade on this laptop helpful it’s amazing! I’m happy to have helped you all upgrade your computers for only about $40 and I hope you enjoy them more now.
What else can we do on this thing? We can’t change out the video card, there are few laptops where you can. We can upgrade the hard drive… but big deal really. Make sure you are able to reinstall Windows 7 before buying a new hard drive by the way.
The only thing we can really do now is RAM. I’m looking at RAM now to upgrade to 4GB running dual-channel which will be another decent upgrade. It’s not going to be as big of an upgrade as the CPU I don’t think, but still should be nice.
Currently my 2GB stick is DDR2, NT2GT64U8HD0BN-AD, PC2-6400 from Nanya. I looks like it’s CL-6 (CAS Latency Wikipedia), and you might be able to get CL-5 but if it’s a lot more it’s not going to be worth it for me as this is just a work computer, no games.
If you’ve done the CPU upgrade already then you know how easy the RAM upgrade will be! For those of you who need pointers it’s as easy as this:
1- Turn off the computer and remove the battery
2- Locate the RAM cover (the big one in the center) and remove it
3- Remove the top stick of RAM
4- Properly insert the new stick of RAM. Put the gold contacts into the slot with the RAM stick at a 45 degree angle, then press the RAM downward and it will pop into place and be locked down if done properly.
5- Put the RAM door back on, put the battery in and start the laptop
You’re done!
It might be awhile before I pick up some RAM, I’m not in a huge rush to be honest. Anybody else upgraded theirs yet? Make sure your sticks match so you can run dual channel and make sure it’s switched on in the BIOS or the upgrade isn’t worth the money!
Thomas
Related posts:
Upgrading the ram is always worth it. Also , do you have pictures for your other cpu upgrade blog?
They are on the way… hate to tear down the laptop again as it’s working so nicely but I should have taken pictures to begin with!
Thomas
Upgrading the memory is the first thing I did, even before replacing the CPU, since it’s so easy. It also didn’t cost me anything since I had a pair of 2G SODIMMs laying around that just begged to be installed. I think my memory score went up .2-.3 after the upgrade, and CPU-Z confirmed that the memory now works dual channel whereas it was single channel before.
Overall not as impressive as gettring from single to dual core, but still worth it.
Did you check the RAM to make sure it’s 6400 and not 5300? RAM is definitely not going to be a huge upgrade but it’s worth it if you can get a 2GB for $40 or so.
Thomas
I checked the SPD defaults in CPU-Z, the new sticks had the exact same timings as the original ones.
Hi, I just purchased an Acer5532 and intend on upgrading my ram before I try too upgrade my CPU using your tutorial! Im not too tech savvy so forgive my ignorance. My Acer5532 came with 3GB Memory RAM installed. So does this mean all i have to do is purchase one 2GB stick of RAM? Or do I have to buy a two seperate 2GB sticks of RAM?
You can take out the single 1GB stick and replace it with a 2GB stick no problem. Just make sure the new RAM you buy is the same speed (6400) so that they will run in ‘dual channel’ mode. Running dual channel mode is going to give you a better upgrade than just going from 3 to 4GB.
Thomas
Thanks for all the great info. Very helpful…….one problem though….would someone please tell me what exactly to order if i’m trying to buy 1 2gb stick for the upgrade to ram. I have searched for specific numbers and such like “DDR2, NT2GT64U8HD0BN-AD, PC2-6400″ as one person has said, but i keep getting “item not found”. I guess what i’m asking is what exactly do i ask for so i get the ram stick that will fit my acer aspire 5532.
Thanks so much for any possible info.
Hi
Happy to help! Did you take out your 2GB stick and is that the model # on it? You can probably use pretty much any 2GB stick of PC2-6400.
I’ve added an Amazon widget with some suitable RAM choices for you.
Thomas
hey Thomas
Thank you for the info. i did not remember it at the time but the model# is the one you gave at the beginning of the page. I believe the PC2-6400 is the number i’m looking for. I just didn’t know how these things were labeled or if it had to be a specific model#.
It may just be me not knowing how , but i can’t seem to find any amazon widget.
Thanks again for all.
OK, Here is the bottom line on getting the proper RAM for an acer aspire 5532. I was surprisingly correct in thinking that just pc2-6400 or pc5300 was not all you needed. I have done more than enough homework on this “crap”.
I used cpu-z to tell me that my 2gb ram stick is a pc5300. The 1gb stick is pc6400…go figure…i took the chip out to see that it was a CL5 , do not mix this with CL6 as your computer will run the slowest one. There are also different pin #. Mine is a 200pin SoDimm. I assume (carefully) that all 5532′s are the same, but after what i’ve been thru God only knows for sure.
I order from amazon for about $45…here are the numbers
256Mx64 PC2-5300
DDR2 200 pin SoDIMM
I’ll update on how it works when i get it.
Note: Just because a ram stick fits and works does not mean that your memory is running optimal as i have learned these other things have to match.
2nd Note: Save your time and don’t spend a hour researching about matching density as some clowns would have you do.I know because they had me doing it. Unless your running a server there is a 99.9% chance that you have low-density
I forgot something important. Mine is a 667Mhz….some chips are a 800Mhz, so check that out too. Again i assume all 5532′s are 667 but how knows.
Hey Stan
All laptop *EDIT* DDR2 RAM is 200 pin SODIMM (Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Module), but not all RAM is the same CAS or the same mhz.
If you have PC2-6400, I would replace it with 6400. If you step down to 5300 your RAM will be running slower. If you buy 800mhz 6400, and your mobo supports only 667mhz 5300 there’s nothing bad that will happen, it will just run at 667mhz instead of 800mhz that’s all.
And you’re right, make sure you have two sticks that are both the same CAS, lower is better in this case so 5 is better than 6.
Thomas
Hi Thomas,
yea, i did learn about the hz thing, but i’m just trying to match the one 2gb that i have. i don’t want to spend a 100 for ram at this time for 2 sticks,. i should have mentioned that. My 1gb is 6400 yet my 2gb is 5300, kinda strange, but i went with the 5300 to match the 2gb thats in this thing.
Think about it, they put in a ram stick with a CL5 which is faster than the CL6, then the go and make it 5300 instead of 6400 to slow the dang thing down.
As far as the ram, i did see different sodimm pins ,one was even 144.
Don’t know what they go into, but they gottem.
i’ll let ya know what kind of performance i get….wish me luck.
My mistake, DDR2 SODIMMs are 200 pins, but old school SDRAM is 144 pins… but when was the last time we saw SDRAM?
Thomas
Ok, i got the 256Mx64 PC2-5300 DDR2 SoDIMM installed. At first the graphics (my lowest score) went down from 3.0 to 2.9. Right before i started to put this thing on e-bay for $5 for parts if they would sweep it off the street. I ran assessment again and the graphics went to 3.2 and the gaming went up .1 pt. Memory speed stayed the same which i think makes sense since the mhz stayed the same( i don’t know).
Hey Thomas, hope all is well. Did it make any sense to you for the ram to be offered as cl-5 with 5300 or a cl-6 with 6400
Stan, I don’t think you will find CL-5 PC2-6400, I think the CAS rating goes up as the speed goes up, but the speed increase makes up for it.
It’s been a long time since I really worried about hardware… like unlocking and overclocking AMD Athlons under 2 Ghz… that’s how long ago.
If you can support PC2-6400, I’d go with it, though it’s an expensive upgrade if you have to replace both sticks.
Thomas
Here’s an odd one. Upgraded my Acer 5532s BIOS from stock to 1.10, and now it shows my memory clock as 333Mhz, when it used to show 400mhz. Weird right? Does anyone know where to grab an older BIOS for this notebook? I want my 400MHz memory back. Acer only has 1.09 and 1.10 available for download. Nothing older. No memory timing settings available to manually set, so the new BIOS must downclock to 333Mhz by default.
That’s odd for sure! Turn off the laptop and check both sticks of RAM, are they 400mhz or not?
Flashing the BIOS to an older version might be difficult, do you know the version number? You’ll have to do some searching I think!
I can restart mine and figure out what version I have, what the BIOS says and what both my RAM sticks are and let you know.
Thomas
The sticks are all 400MHz DDR, and that’s definitely what they ran at pre BIOS update. You can set the BIOS to show this info at startup instead of the Acer logo.
Near as I can find, so far at least, backwards flashing of the BIOS for the Acer 5532 is indeed problematic. The biggest contributing factor being Acer’s unwillingness to post old BIOS versions for download.
However, I’ve seen custom BIOS builds for many devices, and I was hoping to find someone who has had a similar need to flash backwards. I’m not sure what version number downgrades the default memory speed. It was probably just for stability/compatibility, but I want my memory speed back.
I have searched the net quite a bit on this issue, and that’s actually how I found this page.
My old BIOS version was, I believe, around 1.02. There was no option for backing up the old BIOS before upgrading, or I would have. Bummer.
Hi. how do i increase or decrease my graphics memory?
Hi Thomas
Now that the cpu is done and everything is running as it should, As you said it’s time to think about the ram upgrade.
Have you done yours as of yet?
If so have you noticed any speed improvement after the ram was installed?
Was it worth the 50.00?
Thanks
Lou
I have a damaged Aspire 4730-4947. The dog threw up on it. Anyway, i also have an aspire 5532. So i TOOK THE 2GB ram and put it in my 5532. The only problem is one of them is a 6400 and the other a 5300. My question is is it better to have the two mismatched 2gigs or to have the matched 2gig and 1 gig? I also salvaged the 250GB hard drive. Im waiting on a TL-60 CPU. Some people hate but I love my Acer aspire 5532.
I did some switching around, im now running two 2gb 6400 cl6′s. im not noticing a huge difference but im hoping to see a change with the tl-60.
Hello Thomas,
So i was reading this and noticed that the RAM may differentiate between the 5532 so i opened CPU-Z and looked at mine and wanted to share and receive some input on what new RAM stick to get, if possible.
2 gb stick pc2-640 (400 MHz) made by nayna technology
1 gb stick pc2-640 (400 MHz) made my samsung
And im not sure about CAS not quite sure how to read that on CPU-Z… I guess it really shows how cheap this computer is if they dont put the same brand RAM cards in there LOL.
I also just purchased a TF-60 dual core. Ill let you know how the installation goes… if i dont hack this thing up lol.
Thanks
Anthony
Do you think you can do a post on how to upgrade the battery? I know its not hard to install but chosing the right one is kind of difficult.
Hi Miles
When you look for a replacement battery (like on eBay where they are $100 less than buying from somewhere like Best Buy… I can’t stand Best Buy!!!) you want to check a couple things.
You want it to be the same number of ‘cells’… did you know that if you open your laptop battery you will probably see six DOUBLE A batteries inside it!!?!?!?! Yah, no kidding, tear open your old battery and see for yourself.
You want the battery to have the same capacity, usually measured in mWh or milliwatt hours. A low capacity means it won’t hold a charge for long.
Look for somebody that says its NEW and has a warranty, don’t buy a refurbished battery.
Hope this helps!!
Thomas
Yes it does! Thanks so much. Also on more thing can I get a higher cell battery like 8 or 12-cells or more? It seem like the laptop is dieing quicker everyday.I try not to over charge it and only charge it when it almost dead.
Miles,
Allow me to make a small edit to my first post… You want the replacement to have AT LEAST the same amount of cells as the original.
If you find an extended battery with more that’s fine! The extended battery is going to be larger than the original; the extra battery cells will be in an extra row that will probably be sticking out the back of the laptop. If you don’t mind the larger, heavier battery sticking out the back of the laptop then by all means go for it.
I see 4400 mAh batteries and 5200 mAh batteries on eBay; probably want the 5200 mAh batt if you buy from there.
PS. Don’t forget we are a digital camera repair shop … if we can help you (or your friends!!) with a repair or DIY parts please let us know. Thanks!
Thomas
Okay! Thanks a lot again for your help!
can u help me bypass a blue box on my computer asking for my current password?? i have a acer 5532 notebook! i cant get into the os.
Hi Brannon
If it’s the BIOS password before the computer even boots up then there’s not much you can do! Years ago when I used to buy defective laptops to repair and resell we tried to find the solution but couldn’t. There are people out there that will charge you $100 to get rid of it, but I have no idea how they do it, sorry.
Thomas