Acer Veriton N4640G CPU Upgrade to 7th Gen i5. home theater PC and it's struggling to play x265 10bi

dt1991
dt1991 Member Posts: 8

Tinkerer

Hi folks,

I have a Acer Veriton N4640G (VN5W2) (Bios: R02-A2) with i5-6400T and a 65W power adapter. (screenshots and CPU-Z dump attached)

I'm using it as a home theater PC and it's struggling to play x265 10bit videos. (7th Gen IGPU should fix the issue)

I can easily buy a used i5-7500 or i5-7400 (65W) CPU and a 135W power adapter.

i5-7400T & i5-7500T are pretty hard to find where I live.

Can I simply replace my 6400T with a 7500 (non T) and upgrade the power adapter to 135W ?

Do I need to update bios or any other changes?

Thanks in advance.

[Edited the content to hide sensitive information]

Answers

  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,065 Trailblazer
    edited May 8

    Your oem Veriton N4650G desktop with the i5-6400T cpu can't be upgraded to the 7th Gen i5-7500 cpu as the Acer bios for the N4650G is only programed for Intel Gen 6 type cpu's and the max cpu is the Intel Core i7 6700 3.4G 8M 2133 Quad Core 65W that Acer also fits oem to this desktop.

    If you want a 7th Gen cpu then the Acer Veriton X6650G desktop is the desktop that runs a Gen 7 cpu and is compatible with the i5-7500 or the i7-7700 cpu's. So, if you want to upgrade the desktop to a 7th Gen then you need to buy a Veriton X6650G mainboard that is compatible with the Intel 7th Gen cpu. I suggest that you should look at the newest Veriton X range of desktops, as they are far more superior to the Gen 6th or 7th cpu older desktops and this new desktop will run all the home theater and it will play x265 10bit videos. Good luck.

    If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

  • dt1991
    dt1991 Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer

    edited May 8

    That's odd. I can see that there are N4640G v2 devices which came with core i5 7400T

    Also, I found this thread in Acer community which says that R02 bios supports 7th gen

    If it's an R01-xx the motherboard supports only 6th gen, if it's an R02-xx version it's the motherboard that supports 7th gen.
    

    [Edited the content to hide sensitive information]

  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,065 Trailblazer
    edited May 8

    The Acer Veriton N4640G service guide that I have only lists 6th Gen Intel cpu's that are compatible with this desktop. If you are prepared to take the risk then go for it, I can't recommend a 7th Gen cpu into a 6th Gen cpu mainboard with a bios for 6th Gen cpu. Remember that anyone can say anything about upgrades but I'm only recommending upgrades that work 100% and I can give you proof that it works. If you want to believe that thread then upgrade to the i5-7500 cpu and see if it works, I can't guarantee that it will work so I will NOT recommend this upgrade. Good luck.

    If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,101 Trailblazer

    They have different motherboards for the 6th gen and 7th gen versions.

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • dt1991
    dt1991 Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer

    Thanks for the info. Can I replace the Pci 1X WiFi card with a GT 1030 or something ? I just want 4K 10bit X265 playback lol

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,101 Trailblazer

    No, a GPU like that requires use of the x16 slot and will not even fit in an x1 slot, not to mention the WLAN slot doesn't support anything but a WLAN card. You do have an x16 slot on yours, it looks like you can fit a low profile card in. Swap the PSU out for a 65W unit and you might be able to drive a 1030.

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  • dt1991
    dt1991 Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer

    Thanks but I actually don't seem to have a x16 slot. (motherboard image below)

    Also, is this accurate? Because mine is R02-A2

    If it's an R01-xx the motherboard supports only 6th gen, if it's an R02-xx version it's the motherboard that supports 7th gen. 

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,101 Trailblazer

    Here's the MB image from the SG:

    As you can see, the x16 slot (#12) would be under the cooling pipes. I believe you need the next step in case size to expose that slot. They made the base models, W1, W2 & W3, with more room in the case for each going up. The W2 and W3 both show the ability to put a GPU in. This is what I see for the back of the W1:

    I gather on yours the case stops right after the #11 USB port? That would mean on the front:

    the case would stop after #7?

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  • dt1991
    dt1991 Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer

    Yes, mine stops after #11 and #7 at the front.

    I'm not sure if I have W1, W2 or W3. My RMN is: VN5W2 and then their is (VN4640G_W) v2 - image below

    I will remove the cooler and check if I can see the 16X header. Thanks mate

  • dt1991
    dt1991 Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer

    Update:

    I checked and you are right about the 16X slot.

    Do you know how much power it can provide? If I upgrade to a 135W power adapter, could it provide 60W to the 16X slot?

    Also, are there any limitations on which GPUs I can use ? Let's say a GT 103 or 1050. Thanks

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,101 Trailblazer

    Yes, your is a W1. Here's a picture of the W2:

    and the W3:

    As you can see they both have more room for expansion. See that break in the case between yours and where the GPU is installed? At some point they offered expansion boxes to be added to your W1 to make it a W2, but after close to ten years it's going to be tough to find them. The larger supply will give you extra power for that slot, but any card that's inserted will be exposed, which raises the likelihood of a short and fried system by a bunch.

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  • dt1991
    dt1991 Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer

    Thanks for the info and for the warning. My plan is to user a PCI riser card and relocate the GPU with a 3d printed enclosure.

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,101 Trailblazer

    Let us know how it works out. :)

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  • Eryan88
    Eryan88 Member Posts: 3 New User

    Hello!

    I am eyeballing one of these units to use as a home server. I see that you posted a picture of the SG with the pinout of the motherboard. I am not able to find that document. Could you please tell me where to find it, or send me a link to download? Thanks in advance!

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,101 Trailblazer

    It is not available to the public. You either have to be an authorized Acer service center or there are a few of us that have been granted access so we can provide snippets.

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  • Eryan88
    Eryan88 Member Posts: 3 New User

    In that case, could you tell me if there are any fan headers apart from the one for the CPU, or what the 8, 9, 29 and 31 headers are used for?

    Thanks in advance!

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,101 Trailblazer

    Remind me next week. Some of the SGs are down right now but should be back up in a few days.

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  • Eryan88
    Eryan88 Member Posts: 3 New User

    I found a picture you posted on another thread exactly with the information I needed. Nonetheless, thanks. I have however a couple more questions:

    • I got myself a V2 version of this little box. Is the computer locked to 7th generation processors, or is it backwards compatible with 6th gen also?
    • The PCIE slot, is it 2.0 or 3.0? I think I read somewhere that it is 2.0, but I would like to confirm.

    This is an awesome little box. I find it sad that Acer does not make the service manuals available to the public. Other OEMs like Dell and Lenovo provide such documentation, or at least for their business models.

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,101 Trailblazer

    The chipset is 7th gen only if you have a 7th gen in now. They are working on the site issues but the SG is still not up for me, so I can't look up the PCIe generation.

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.