How can I upgrade my Acer 1810TZ? (maybe 8GB RAM)

cyttorak

Hello

I have an Acer 1810TZ with a Crucial MX300 SSD 275GB and 2 DDR2 ram module of 2gb each one (so, it is 4GB RAM) running Linux Mint 18.3 xfce

My bios version is v0.3115, with relase date 08/14/2009(and I don't know where can I find the last one)

I have been using this laptop for 9 years and I would like to use it 4 years more but nowdays I am having a bit problems with its performance.

What can I do to upgrade my 1810TZ?

Can it support 8GB RAM (2 modules of 4GB)? Would I really notice a performance improvement with 8GB?

Are there other options that I should consider?

My bios information, in case it would be helpful:

<pre>$ sudo dmidecode # dmidecode 3.0 Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs. SMBIOS 2.6 present. 35 structures occupying 1723 bytes. Table at 0x000E8070. Handle 0x0000, DMI type 0, 24 bytes BIOS Information Vendor: INSYDE Version: v0.3115 Release Date: 08/14/2009 ROM Size: 2048 kB Characteristics: PCI is supported BIOS is upgradeable BIOS shadowing is allowed Boot from CD is supported Selectable boot is supported BIOS ROM is socketed EDD is supported Japanese floppy for NEC 9800 1.2 MB is supported (int 13h) Japanese floppy for Toshiba 1.2 MB is supported (int 13h) 5.25"/360 kB floppy services are supported (int 13h) 5.25"/1.2 MB floppy services are supported (int 13h) 3.5"/720 kB floppy services are supported (int 13h) 3.5"/2.88 MB floppy services are supported (int 13h) 8042 keyboard services are supported (int 9h) CGA/mono video services are supported (int 10h) ACPI is supported USB legacy is supported Targeted content distribution is supported Handle 0x0001, DMI type 1, 27 bytes System Information Manufacturer: Acer Product Name: Aspire 1810TZ Version: v0.3115 Serial Number: LXPJ40200193507B9D2500 UUID: 97E9FFC8-8AEA-0D4F-BB9C-F707CCCF679A Wake-up Type: Power Switch SKU Number: Montevina_Fab Family: Intel_Mobile Handle 0x0002, DMI type 2, 16 bytes Base Board Information Manufacturer: Acer Product Name: Base Board Product Name Version: Base Board Version Serial Number: Base Board Serial Number Asset Tag: Base Board Asset Tag Features: Board is a hosting board Board is replaceable Location In Chassis: Base Board Chassis Location Chassis Handle: 0x0003 Type: Motherboard Contained Object Handles: 0 Handle 0x0003, DMI type 3, 22 bytes Chassis Information Manufacturer: Chassis Manufacturer Type: Other Lock: Not Present Version: Chassis Version Serial Number: Chassis Serial Number Asset Tag: Not Specified Boot-up State: Safe Power Supply State: Safe Thermal State: Safe Security Status: None OEM Information: 0x00000000 Height: Unspecified Number Of Power Cords: 1 Contained Elements: 0 SKU Number: Not Specified Handle 0x0004, DMI type 5, 20 bytes Memory Controller Information Error Detecting Method: None Error Correcting Capabilities: None Supported Interleave: One-way Interleave Current Interleave: One-way Interleave Maximum Memory Module Size: 4096 MB Maximum Total Memory Size: 8192 MB Supported Speeds: Other Supported Memory Types: Other Memory Module Voltage: Unknown Associated Memory Slots: 2 0x0000 0x0000 Enabled Error Correcting Capabilities: None Handle 0x0005, DMI type 9, 17 bytes System Slot Information Designation: J6B2 Type: x16 PCI Express Current Usage: Available Length: Other ID: 0 Characteristics: PME signal is supported Hot-plug devices are supported Handle 0x0006, DMI type 9, 17 bytes System Slot Information Designation: J6B1 Type: x1 PCI Express Current Usage: Available Length: Other ID: 0 Characteristics: PME signal is supported Hot-plug devices are supported Handle 0x0007, DMI type 9, 17 bytes System Slot Information Designation: J6C2 Type: x1 PCI Express Current Usage: Available Length: Other ID: 1 Characteristics: PME signal is supported Hot-plug devices are supported Handle 0x0008, DMI type 9, 17 bytes System Slot Information Designation: J7B1 Type: x1 PCI Express Current Usage: Available Length: Other ID: 2 Characteristics: PME signal is supported Hot-plug devices are supported Handle 0x0009, DMI type 9, 17 bytes System Slot Information Designation: J8B3 Type: x1 PCI Express Current Usage: Available Length: Other ID: 3 Characteristics: PME signal is supported Hot-plug devices are supported Handle 0x000A, DMI type 9, 17 bytes System Slot Information Designation: J8D1 Type: x1 PCI Express Current Usage: Available Length: Other ID: 4 Characteristics: PME signal is supported Hot-plug devices are supported Handle 0x000B, DMI type 11, 5 bytes OEM Strings String 1: String1 for Original Equipment Manufacturer String 2: String2 for Original Equipment Manufacturer String 3: String3 for Original Equipment Manufacturer String 4: String4 for Original Equipment Manufacturer String 5: String5 for Original Equipment Manufacturer Handle 0x000C, DMI type 12, 5 bytes System Configuration Options Option 1: String1 for Type12 Equipment Manufacturer Option 2: String2 for Type12 Equipment Manufacturer Option 3: String3 for Type12 Equipment Manufacturer Option 4: String4 for Type12 Equipment Manufacturer Handle 0x000D, DMI type 21, 7 bytes Built-in Pointing Device Type: Touch Pad Interface: PS/2 Buttons: 4 Handle 0x000E, DMI type 27, 14 bytes Cooling Device Type: Fan Status: OK OEM-specific Information: 0x00000000 Nominal Speed: 43690 rpm Handle 0x000F, DMI type 18, 23 bytes 32-bit Memory Error Information Type: OK Granularity: Unknown Operation: Unknown Vendor Syndrome: Unknown Memory Array Address: Unknown Device Address: Unknown Resolution: Unknown Handle 0x0010, DMI type 32, 20 bytes System Boot Information Status: No errors detected Handle 0x0011, DMI type 39, 22 bytes System Power Supply Location: OEM_Define0 Name: OEM_Define1 Manufacturer: OEM_Define2 Serial Number: OEM_Define2 Asset Tag: OEM_Define3 Model Part Number: OEM_Define4 Revision: OEM_Define5 Max Power Capacity: 75 W Status: Present, OK Type: Regulator Input Voltage Range Switching: Auto-switch Plugged: No Hot Replaceable: No Handle 0x0012, DMI type 40, 11 bytes Additional Information 1 Referenced Handle: 0x0005 Referenced Offset: 0x00 String: TestAddInformation1 Value: 0x06 Handle 0x0013, DMI type 41, 11 bytes Onboard Device Reference Designation: Onboard Extended Information Type: Unknown Status: Disabled Type Instance: 255 Handle 0x0014, DMI type 129, 5 bytes OEM-specific Type Header and Data: 81 05 14 00 4F Strings: em Test 1 Oem Test 2 Handle 0x0015, DMI type 136, 6 bytes OEM-specific Type Header and Data: 88 06 15 00 5A 5A Handle 0x0016, DMI type 4, 42 bytes Processor Information Socket Designation: CPU Type: Central Processor Family: Pentium M Manufacturer: Intel(R) Corporation ID: 7A 06 01 00 FF FB EB BF Signature: Type 0, Family 6, Model 23, Stepping 10 Flags: FPU (Floating-point unit on-chip) VME (Virtual mode extension) DE (Debugging extension) PSE (Page size extension) TSC (Time stamp counter) MSR (Model specific registers) PAE (Physical address extension) MCE (Machine check exception) CX8 (CMPXCHG8 instruction supported) APIC (On-chip APIC hardware supported) SEP (Fast system call) MTRR (Memory type range registers) PGE (Page global enable) MCA (Machine check architecture) CMOV (Conditional move instruction supported) PAT (Page attribute table) PSE-36 (36-bit page size extension) CLFSH (CLFLUSH instruction supported) DS (Debug store) ACPI (ACPI supported) MMX (MMX technology supported) FXSR (FXSAVE and FXSTOR instructions supported) SSE (Streaming SIMD extensions) SSE2 (Streaming SIMD extensions 2) SS (Self-snoop) HTT (Multi-threading) TM (Thermal monitor supported) PBE (Pending break enabled) Version: Genuine Intel(R) CPU U4100 @ 1.30GHz Voltage: 1.6 V External Clock: 800 MHz Max Speed: 1300 MHz Current Speed: 1200 MHz Status: Populated, Enabled Upgrade: L1 Cache Handle: 0x0019 L2 Cache Handle: 0x0017 L3 Cache Handle: Not Provided Serial Number: Not Specified Asset Tag: FFFF Part Number: Not Specified Characteristics: None Handle 0x0017, DMI type 7, 19 bytes Cache Information Socket Designation: Unknown Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 2 Operational Mode: Write Back Location: Internal Installed Size: 2048 kB Maximum Size: 2048 kB Supported SRAM Types: Synchronous Installed SRAM Type: Synchronous Speed: Unknown Error Correction Type: Single-bit ECC System Type: Unified Associativity: 8-way Set-associative Handle 0x0018, DMI type 7, 19 bytes Cache Information Socket Designation: Unknown Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 1 Operational Mode: Write Back Location: Internal Installed Size: 32 kB Maximum Size: 32 kB Supported SRAM Types: Synchronous Installed SRAM Type: Synchronous Speed: Unknown Error Correction Type: Single-bit ECC System Type: Instruction Associativity: 8-way Set-associative Handle 0x0019, DMI type 7, 19 bytes Cache Information Socket Designation: Unknown Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 1 Operational Mode: Write Back Location: Internal Installed Size: 32 kB Maximum Size: 32 kB Supported SRAM Types: Synchronous Installed SRAM Type: Synchronous Speed: Unknown Error Correction Type: Single-bit ECC System Type: Data Associativity: 8-way Set-associative Handle 0x001A, DMI type 16, 15 bytes Physical Memory Array Location: System Board Or Motherboard Use: System Memory Error Correction Type: None Maximum Capacity: 8 GB Error Information Handle: No Error Number Of Devices: 2 Handle 0x001B, DMI type 6, 12 bytes Memory Module Information Socket Designation: DIMM0 Bank Connections: 0 0 Current Speed: 1 ns Type: None Installed Size: 2048 MB (Single-bank Connection) Enabled Size: 2048 MB (Single-bank Connection) Error Status: OK Handle 0x001C, DMI type 17, 28 bytes Memory Device Array Handle: 0x001A Error Information Handle: No Error Total Width: 64 bits Data Width: 64 bits Size: 2048 MB Form Factor: SODIMM Set: None Locator: DIMM0 Bank Locator: BANK 0 Type: DDR2 Type Detail: Synchronous Speed: 667 MHz Manufacturer: Transcend Serial Number: 00028E9C Asset Tag: Unknown Part Number: TS256MSQ64V6U Rank: Unknown Handle 0x001D, DMI type 20, 19 bytes Memory Device Mapped Address Starting Address: 0x00000000000 Ending Address: 0x0007FFFFFFF Range Size: 2 GB Physical Device Handle: 0x001C Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x0021 Partition Row Position: Unknown Interleave Position: 1 Interleaved Data Depth: 1 Handle 0x001E, DMI type 6, 12 bytes Memory Module Information Socket Designation: DIMM2 Bank Connections: 0 0 Current Speed: 1 ns Type: None Installed Size: 2048 MB (Single-bank Connection) Enabled Size: 2048 MB (Single-bank Connection) Error Status: OK Handle 0x001F, DMI type 17, 28 bytes Memory Device Array Handle: 0x001A Error Information Handle: No Error Total Width: 64 bits Data Width: 64 bits Size: 2048 MB Form Factor: SODIMM Set: None Locator: DIMM2 Bank Locator: BANK 2 Type: DDR2 Type Detail: Synchronous Speed: 667 MHz Manufacturer: Samsung Serial Number: 79B36E25 Asset Tag: Unknown Part Number: M4 70T5663EH3-CE6 Rank: Unknown Handle 0x0020, DMI type 20, 19 bytes Memory Device Mapped Address Starting Address: 0x00000000000 Ending Address: 0x0007FFFFFFF Range Size: 2 GB Physical Device Handle: 0x001F Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x0021 Partition Row Position: Unknown Interleave Position: 2 Interleaved Data Depth: 1 Handle 0x0021, DMI type 19, 15 bytes Memory Array Mapped Address Starting Address: 0x00000000000 Ending Address: 0x000FFFFFFFF Range Size: 4 GB Physical Array Handle: 0x001A Partition Width: 2 Handle 0x0022, DMI type 127, 4 bytes End Of Table </pre>

JackE

>>>Can it support 8GB RAM (2 modules of 4GB)? Would I really notice a performance improvement with 8GB?>>>

Maybe. But even if the BIOS did recognized the full 8GB, probably wouldn't notice much improvement. You already got the biggest bang for the buck with the SSD. You can get later firmware updates here but I don't recommend doing it on a machine that's functional due to the bricking risk. https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support-product/1289?b=1 Jack E/NJ

wis

The device has 5 PCIe slots, but the Intel U4100 chipset will not support a M.2 SSD.  The Kingston FAQ webpage stipulated Intel Z97 or later.

The only remaining upgrade is the DDR2 PC2 RAM, but the price of  two 4gb sticks seems rather high.