Acer aspire ASE380 ram upgrade

[Rhythm_Man40]

I'm looking for a ram upgrade for my Aspire PC and information on processor upgrade.. I was looking online and there are 2 gb 533 memory sticks that are supposed to be compatible, but I don't want the lower end ram I want faster surfing and gaming ram 667-800.. I'm running the stock Amd Athlon 4400+.. I've tried contacting acer support in regards to these upgrades but I must keep in mind that this computer is somewhat obsolete... I've owned this Computer now for over 7 years with absolutely no adverse issues what so ever.. I'm running 4 sticks of 1 gb kingston 533 I'm under the impression that there is actually an upgrade to a 2 gb 533 but would that expand the max 4gb to 8gb with all 4 bridges being used..
This computer has actually surpassed my expectations.. Very impressed !! I use this computer constantly non-stop and surpasses all pc's I've owned in the past hands down.. I'm running a zotac 240gt zone vid card I'd like to power up the ram to run games a little smoother and upgrade the processor for smoother game play...
Also very impressed with the stack design on this mini tower... I wish they sold this particular stack on amazon..

Amd 4400+
4gb kingston 533 ram
0riginal 320 hitachi hd
Exterior buffalo 500gb hd
Exterior seagate 320gb hd
Interior Hitachi dvd/rw
Interior LG dvd/rw lightscribe
2x targa usb expansion to 8 slots
Zotac gt240 zone
24 inch asus led
19 inch acer stock lcd
Realtek 7.1 surround

Working on first build
Msi 870 motherboard
Unlockable core technology
Amd 3.3ghz x3 unlockable Phenom Quad 3.5ghz oc to 3.7ghz
Corsair Xms 16gb 1333 oc unlockable too 1866
WD blue 7200 500gb hd 16mb cache
2x 6750 his 1gb GDDR5 Crossfirex

I want to use my acer as the back to my experimentation.... So I want information on a processor and ram upgrade...

 

[GhislainG]

Where did you find that your system can support 2GB modules for a maximum of 8GB? All memory sites indicate that it supports a maximum of four 1GB PC2-4200 (533 MHz) memory modules. That info matches Acer's specifications: http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/desktop/0000/Acer/AspireE380/AspireE380sp2.shtml

I haven't been able to find out the fastest AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor that it supports, but it looks like it was available with a 5000+.

 

[totalknowledge]

You can increase the memory with a mod bios, but you are still going to bottleneck. I just replaces the motherboard with an ASRock N68C-S UCC. This eliminates any bottleneck from the motherboard, and gives you better system control with overclocking options.

I picked that board as it would let me upgrade the pieces slowly. I am about to up the processor to a Phenom II x4 960T.

Actually I think the processor is the last piece that was still from the e380.

ETA: I missed the part of your post where you are upgrading both the motherboard, and the processor. At that point the rest of it is all moot. You no longer have an e380, it just looks like one.

 

[Rhythm_Man40]

Where did you find that your system can support 2GB modules for a maximum of 8GB? All memory sites indicate that it supports a maximum of four 1GB PC2-4200 (533 MHz) memory modules. That info matches Acer's specifications: http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/desktop/0000/Acer/AspireE380/AspireE380sp2.shtml

I haven't been able to find out the fastest AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor that it supports, but it looks like it was available with a 5000+.[/quotemsg

My roomate has an acer aspire AM5100-U5301A desktop that's running a 6000+.. This is the ram info I recieved when I typed in my make and modal you can see that it list a 2gb 533mhz.... I'm looking at a duo opteron 2.8 ghz but don't know if the chipset is compatible.. I was reading somewhere on Amazon about someone upgrading a gateway 4200+ to a am2 quad.. Yah, it's all very confusing..... This is the link for the ram...

http://www.memorydepot.com/memorylist.asp?model=88605:E380%20%28ASE380-UD440A%29

 

[Rhythm_Man40]

Where did you find that your system can support 2GB modules for a maximum of 8GB? All memory sites indicate that it supports a maximum of four 1GB PC2-4200 (533 MHz) memory modules. That info matches Acer's specifications: http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/desktop/0000/Acer/AspireE380/AspireE380sp2.shtml

I haven't been able to find out the fastest AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor that it supports, but it looks like it was available with a 5000+.

Oh yah well I was told that the bridges can run 533/667/800 mhz chipsets.. I'm running stock 533 came with the unit with two kingston 1gb universal 533/667/800.. So I might just try ordering the 533 2gb just to be safe.. God I don't know.. Guess I'll get the info I need someday.. lol... Good Day

 

[Rhythm_Man40]

This is the website with the 800 mhz ram http://www.archmemory.com/ram.cfm/Acer-RAM-Aspire-Desktops-Aspire-E380-1GB-Memory-RAM-for-Acer-Aspire-E380-28793-39775

 

[totalknowledge]

From http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/desktop/0000/Acer/AspireE380/AspireE380sp2.shtml

256MB DDR2 533/667/800 SDRAM, 4 DIMM slots, Maximum 4GB
AMD AM2 Athlon 64 x 2 or Athlon 64 or Sempron (socket 940)

The spec's are incorrect however, its a socket AM2, it also has a maximum TDP of around 80. It doesn't handle 95 very well. To even run a lot of the processors you have to use a mod'ed bios. After you mod the bios you can use a phenom in it, but you will have a VERY hard time finding an AM2 < 80tdp processor that is significantly better than the one it came with.

Bios modding page:
http://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread-Acer-Aspire-E380-R01-C0-With-Unlocked-Overclocking-Options--4998?page=3

Like I said above you would be much better off getting a new motherboard.

 

[GhislainG]

This is the website with the 800 mhz ram http://www.archmemory.com/ram.cfm/Acer-RAM-Aspire-Desktops-Aspire-E380-1GB-Memory-RAM-for-Acer-Aspire-E380-28793-39775

It's a 1GB module for a maximum of 4GB. The performance difference between 533 MHz and 800 MHz memory isn't significant (2-3% at most because you probably can't use very tight timings on that system). Is it worth the expense?

 

[Rhythm_Man40]

From http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/desktop/0000/Acer/AspireE380/AspireE380sp2.shtml

256MB DDR2 533/667/800 SDRAM, 4 DIMM slots, Maximum 4GB
AMD AM2 Athlon 64 x 2 or Athlon 64 or Sempron (socket 940)

The spec's are incorrect however, its a socket AM2, it also has a maximum TDP of around 80. It doesn't handle 95 very well. To even run a lot of the processors you have to use a mod'ed bios. After you mod the bios you can use a phenom in it, but you will have a VERY hard time finding an AM2 < 80tdp processor that is significantly better than the one it came with.

Bios modding page:
http://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread-Acer-Aspire-E380-R01-C0-With-Unlocked-Overclocking-Options--4998?page=3

Like I said above you would be much better off getting a new motherboard.[/quotemsg


Well I appreciate the advice... I'd rather not take a chance upgrading a bio, only option for me is too just maybe try a 2.6Ghz opteron 940 am2 chip.. with the 1 mb L2 instead of the 512.. And my understanding is that the opteron is actually a step up from the athlon.. If I'm wrong let me know like I said I'm new and working on my first build.. This computer is a nice backup just in case something goes haywire with the new build....

 

[GhislainG]

If it's free, then give the Opteron a try. However it may not be supported on that motherboard/BIOS.

 

[totalknowledge]

It will not run the Opteron processor without a bios flash.

The best option is really to upgrade the motherboard. Even using the same Athlon 64 x2 4400+ processor you will see an increase in performance.

This motherboard will let you use all the other components you have now, and will let you upgrade slowly. You can upgrade the processor after the motherboard, then the ram after that.

It lets you use the older DDR2 Ram with any processor, or once you have an AM3 processor you can use DDR3 RAM.