Topic: Acer Aspire X3200 Owner's Thread (Modifications/Maintainance)

[jackryan]

Thanks bro but GH? sorry don't understand? Where is this?

Greenhills (New Virra Mall)

[jackryan]

Such a tight place for the empty slot. I wonder it the fan or heat sink will hit the casing.

are you referring to the extra low profile video card or the upgraded CPU?

for the low profile video card, it fits nicely... i got pics and will try to post some later...

[jackryan]

From this site, the X3200 has several flavors...

http://us.acer.com/public/page9.do?sp=page4&dau34.oid=42001&UserCtxParam=0&GroupCtxParam=0&dctx1=25&CountryISOCtxParam=US&LanguageISOCtxParam=en&ctx3=-1&ctx4=United+States&crc=857090505

    Aspire® X3200
Technical specifications    
      
Processor
      AMD Phenom™ X4 Quad-Core Processor 9100e
(4 x 512KB L2 cache, 1.8GHz)
or
AMD Phenom™ X3 Triple-Core Processor 8450
(3 x 512KB L2 cache, 2.1GHz)
or
AMD Phenom™ X3 Triple-Core Processor 8400
(3 x 512KB L2 cache, 2.1GHz)
Chipset
      NVIDIA® GeForce® 8200
Memory
      4GB (2GB installed in each of two memory slots) DDR2 SDRAM
Storage
      Up to 640GB* SATA hard drive

Variable-speed Super-Multi drive
or
Variable-speed Super-Multi drive with Labelflash™
or
Variable-speed Blu-ray Disc™ drive / Super-Multi drive combo

Multi-in-one card reader supporting optional CF+™ Microdrive, CompactFlash® I/II, Memory Stick®, Memory Stick Duo™, Memory Stick PRO™, Memory Stick PRO Duo™, MMCmobile™, miniSD™, MultiMediaCard™, Reduced-Size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC), Secure Digital, xD-Picture Card™, USB 2.0 port or FireWire® (IEEE 1394) port

*When referring to storage capacity, GB stands for one billion bytes and MB stands for one million bytes. Some utilities may indicate varying storage capacities. Total user-accessible capacity may vary depending on operating environments.
Video
      Integrated NVIDIA® GeForce® 8200 graphics
or
Discrete NVIDIA® GeForce® 9300GE graphics

VGA and HDMI™ (High-Definition Multimedia Interface™) ports

Aspire® X3200-B3530A: 22" LCD
Audio
      Dolby® Home Theater™

Embedded high-definition audio with 5.1-channel audio support

Two external speakers

Headphones, microphone and five audio ports
Interface Ports
      RJ-45 LAN
VGA
Headphones
Microphone
HDMI™ (High-Definition Multimedia Interface™)
eSATA
FireWire® (IEEE 1394)
Two PS/2®
Five audio
Nine USB 2.0 (five front, four back)

AX3200-EF9100A only: DVI-D (graphics card), optical SPDIF
AX3200-U3600A, AX3200-U3630A only: SPDIF
Communications
      Gigabit LAN
V.92 modem
Included Software
      Acer® Arcade Live
Acer® Empowering Technology (eRecovery, ePerformance, eDataSecurity Management)
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader
eSobi™*
Microsoft® Works 8.5 (full version)
Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2007 (60-day trial)
McAfee® Internet Security Suite (60-day trial)
NTI Media Maker™*

AX3200-U3630A, AX3200-U3600A only: Dolby® Home Theater™

*OEM, not full-featured, version.
Drive Bays
      One internal 3.5" (occupied)
One external 5.25" (occupied)

AX3200-U3630A only:
Four internal 3.5" (one occupied, three available)
Two external 5.25" (one occupied, one available)
Two external 3.5" (one occupied, one available)
Expansion Slots
      One PCI Express® x1 (occupied)
One PCI Express® x16 (one available)
Dimensions
      10.4" (265mm) W x 12.4" (315mm) D x 3.9" (100mm) H
User Interface
      USB keyboard and optical mouse
Power Supply
      220 watts
Limited Warranty*
      One-year limited warranty*

[jackryan]

      

[goodguy939]

Since dq trip ang Vista naginstall ako ng XP professional.. ndi gumagana...  hanggang dun lang sya sa loading page tapos magkakaron ng blue screen saying Error...    Mga tol help me nmn... pwd b tlg ang XP Professional s X3200...

[Alfie]

I think you have to set the SATA to IDE(via Bios), if you plan to use XP as your OS.

This is what I did with my Laptop,and I'm not sure if the same priniciple applies.

[goodguy939]

Kuya Alfie.. dq makita yun cnsbi mo na SATA to IDE s BIOS.. konting tulong nmn.. i'm a noob po kc...

[Alfie]

If you're a newbie with PCs kindly just ask someone(experienced techie) to do it for you.

It's in the Bios of your motherboard, so if you don't know what you're doing; ask somebody who does.
Now if you want to learn, you can read all about it in your Motherboard's manual.

[Clondalkin]

Since dq trip ang Vista naginstall ako ng XP professional.. ndi gumagana...  hanggang dun lang sya sa loading page tapos magkakaron ng blue screen saying Error...    Mga tol help me nmn... pwd b tlg ang XP Professional s X3200...

Paki kwento mo how exactly you went through the XP install process. 

[goodguy939]

nkpnta nmn ako BIOS tapos nagchance nmn ako ng 1st boot device.. nacheck ko nmn lahat s BIOS.. ang problema lang wala tlg un SATA to IDE.. baka meron paraan para nmn magkaron ang BIOS ko nun...  wala ako pambayad s techie e.. sensha na, kya nagpipilit nlng ako matuto at magtanung tanung sa inyo...thx

[goodguy939]

normally installation lang gnwa ko.. set sa bios ng boot 1st boot device tapos sinaksak un XP PRO cd.. den install..  supposed to be gnun lang yun dba... ndi ako umaabot s part na magpapartition na.. nagkakaron na xa ng BLUE screen ERROR message.. puro number un nakasulat e.. d nmn ako marunong magbsa ng gnun... hehe.. since SATA nga yun HD ko tama c kuya alfie n dpat maging IDE un para gumana un XP.. kaso nacheck ko na yun BIOS setup q.. wala ako makita dun na chance SATA to IDE..   help pls..

[Clondalkin]

normally installation lang gnwa ko.. set sa bios ng boot 1st boot device tapos sinaksak un XP PRO cd.. den install..  supposed to be gnun lang yun dba... ndi ako umaabot s part na magpapartition na.. nagkakaron na xa ng BLUE screen ERROR message.. puro number un nakasulat e.. d nmn ako marunong magbsa ng gnun... hehe.. since SATA nga yun HD ko tama c kuya alfie n dpat maging IDE un para gumana un XP.. kaso nacheck ko na yun BIOS setup q.. wala ako makita dun na chance SATA to IDE..   help pls..

Kung tama ang intindi ko sa yo, you were not able to go through the installation process fully diba.   

Ganito try gawin mo.  punta ka muna ulit sa system set-up.  Dun so HARD DRIVE CONTROLLER setting, set mo sa "AUTODETECT/SATA" OR EQUIVALENT MEANING - The term "AUTODECT/SATA" might be a DELL standard..Im not sure..  Iisang setting lang yon within system set-up.  The default setting of brand PC is usually AUTODETECT/AHCI OR EQUIVALENT TERM.  You wont be able to access your hard drive that way and hindi matutuloy ang installation ng OS.  Good luck.

Other term for AUTODETECT/SATA is AUTODETECT/ATA.

[jackryan]

When your X3200 was still under Vista, it worked well?

When you attempted to re-install your XP did you re-format or just attempted to re-install on top of Vista? Also, what kind of Windows XP installer are you using? OEM version? Licensed version?

[cHess]

From this site, the X3200 has several flavors...

http://us.acer.com/public/page9.do?sp=page4&dau34.oid=42001&UserCtxParam=0&GroupCtxParam=0&dctx1=25&CountryISOCtxParam=US&LanguageISOCtxParam=en&ctx3=-1&ctx4=United+States&crc=857090505

    Aspire® X3200
Technical specifications    
      
Processor
      AMD Phenom™ X4 Quad-Core Processor 9100e
(4 x 512KB L2 cache, 1.8GHz)
or
AMD Phenom™ X3 Triple-Core Processor 8450
(3 x 512KB L2 cache, 2.1GHz)
or
AMD Phenom™ X3 Triple-Core Processor 8400
(3 x 512KB L2 cache, 2.1GHz)
Chipset
      NVIDIA® GeForce® 8200
Memory
      4GB (2GB installed in each of two memory slots) DDR2 SDRAM
Storage
      Up to 640GB* SATA hard drive

Variable-speed Super-Multi drive
or
Variable-speed Super-Multi drive with Labelflash™
or
Variable-speed Blu-ray Disc™ drive / Super-Multi drive combo

Multi-in-one card reader supporting optional CF+™ Microdrive, CompactFlash® I/II, Memory Stick®, Memory Stick Duo™, Memory Stick PRO™, Memory Stick PRO Duo™, MMCmobile™, miniSD™, MultiMediaCard™, Reduced-Size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC), Secure Digital, xD-Picture Card™, USB 2.0 port or FireWire® (IEEE 1394) port

*When referring to storage capacity, GB stands for one billion bytes and MB stands for one million bytes. Some utilities may indicate varying storage capacities. Total user-accessible capacity may vary depending on operating environments.
Video
      Integrated NVIDIA® GeForce® 8200 graphics
or
Discrete NVIDIA® GeForce® 9300GE graphics

VGA and HDMI™ (High-Definition Multimedia Interface™) ports

Aspire® X3200-B3530A: 22" LCD
Audio
      Dolby® Home Theater™

Embedded high-definition audio with 5.1-channel audio support

Two external speakers

Headphones, microphone and five audio ports
Interface Ports
      RJ-45 LAN
VGA
Headphones
Microphone
HDMI™ (High-Definition Multimedia Interface™)
eSATA
FireWire® (IEEE 1394)
Two PS/2®
Five audio
Nine USB 2.0 (five front, four back)

AX3200-EF9100A only: DVI-D (graphics card), optical SPDIF
AX3200-U3600A, AX3200-U3630A only: SPDIF
Communications
      Gigabit LAN
V.92 modem
Included Software
      Acer® Arcade Live
Acer® Empowering Technology (eRecovery, ePerformance, eDataSecurity Management)
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader
eSobi™*
Microsoft® Works 8.5 (full version)
Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2007 (60-day trial)
McAfee® Internet Security Suite (60-day trial)
NTI Media Maker™*

AX3200-U3630A, AX3200-U3600A only: Dolby® Home Theater™

*OEM, not full-featured, version.
Drive Bays
      One internal 3.5" (occupied)
One external 5.25" (occupied)

AX3200-U3630A only:
Four internal 3.5" (one occupied, three available)
Two external 5.25" (one occupied, one available)
Two external 3.5" (one occupied, one available)
Expansion Slots
      One PCI Express® x1 (occupied)
One PCI Express® x16 (one available)
Dimensions
      10.4" (265mm) W x 12.4" (315mm) D x 3.9" (100mm) H
User Interface
      USB keyboard and optical mouse
Power Supply
      220 watts
Limited Warranty*
      One-year limited warranty*

Wow, so upgradable pala ang x3200 natin hanggang quadcore AMD. Nice!

[jackryan]

Wow, so upgradable pala ang x3200 natin hanggang quadcore AMD. Nice!

I think it is... but you break your warranty and you have to do it knowing you upgrade at your own risk... in my case, I am doing it for the challenge of being able to do so and also as a bonus, if it works, make this baby more productive... however, the risk is significantly higher since I am doing it myself... the Acer hotline has not really been helpful...

-----Original Message-----
From: Acer Technical Support [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 4:01 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: CPU Upgrade for the X3200 [Incident: 081124-00abcd]


Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support
center. Below is a summary of your request and our response.

If this issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may reopen it
within the next 7 days.

Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you.

To update your question from our support site, click the following
link or paste it into your web browser.


Subject
---------------------------------------------------------------
CPU Upgrade for the X3200


Discussion Thread
---------------------------------------------------------------
Response (XXXXXX Z.) - 11/25/2008 02:01 AM   

Thank you for contacting Acer America. I’ll be happy to assist you. Since we have a large variety of products, the easiest way to compare them is to visit our website. Please visit http://www.acer.com/us (if you are in the US) or http://www.acer.ca (if you are in Canada). If you have further questions, after reviewing them online, you may call the presales department. Presales provides technical and warranty information for future customers. For assistance with this please call the Presales information line at 1-800-571-2237. Hours of operation are 8am-6pm CST, Mon-Fri. I hope this was helpful.


Respectfully,
Acer America
Online Technical Support

Customer (customer-name-here) - 11/24/2008 10:27 PM   
Hi !

I have an Acer X3200 and noticed that US models have the quad-core AMD CPU  ( AMD Phenom™ X4 Quad-Core Processor 9100e(4 x 512KB L2 cache, 1.8GHz) )

Is it possible then to have dual-core AMD CPU upgrade updated upward to this model using the same X3200 unit?



Question Reference #081124-00abcd
---------------------------------------------------------------
     Escalation Level: Updated 2 Hr
      Product Level 1: Desktop
      Product Level 2: Aspire
      Product Level 3: Aspire X3200
         Date Created: 11/24/2008 10:27 PM
         Last Updated: 11/25/2008 02:01 AM
               Status: Solved
       Date Purchased: 10/25/2008
     Operating System: Windows Vista

Serial Number
---------------------------------------------------------------

[Alfie]

normally installation lang gnwa ko.. set sa bios ng boot 1st boot device tapos sinaksak un XP PRO cd.. den install..  supposed to be gnun lang yun dba... ndi ako umaabot s part na magpapartition na.. nagkakaron na xa ng BLUE screen ERROR message.. puro number un nakasulat e.. d nmn ako marunong magbsa ng gnun... hehe.. since SATA nga yun HD ko tama c kuya alfie n dpat maging IDE un para gumana un XP.. kaso nacheck ko na yun BIOS setup q.. wala ako makita dun na chance SATA to IDE..   help pls..

I checked mine, once I got home, the MoBo Bios  is not the same as my Acer Laptop and the HDD does not have the IDE config, so that means this is probably for Vista OS only.

I've heard that some branded pc's are designed specifically for Vista, so it's probably best that you just repair back your Vista(hopefully you burned a recovery disc prior to this exercise).....

or try this...
Get another HDD formatted and partitioned.
Change the HDD.(either physical or if you have an enclosure with esata, incorporate...then go bios boot via optical, the boot will then ask where to install, then choose the newly formatted HDD)
Do a clean install...PRAY it works.
(reason for this is that I noticed the HDD is incorporated within a 4.5G space for the Vista OS as well as the Acer software,and this might be the one causing the error)

Other than this I don't know what else to do.

[jackryan]

Looks like we have to source for the 65watts quad-core AMD Phenom X4 9100eCPU somewhere else since it is only for OEM use...

---
http://forum.xcpus.com/xtreme-news/12217-amd-phenom-x4-9100e-review.html

Quote:
Originally Posted by beerandcandy 
is there a place to buy one? cant find it for sale

Nowhere

Quote:
Originally Posted by THG
For the time being, the Phenom X4 9100e will only be offered to OEMs; this decision is based on the faulty B2 stepping of the CPU. AMD wants to make sure that retail buyers are only offered Phenom CPUs without any TLB problems. Thus, the Phenom X4 9150e will be the first low-power version that will be sold to the general public. In the USA, PC systems with X4 9100e are already on the shelves.

Nevertheless, the low-power quad core may surface in some shops. This would not be the first time that CPUs intended exclusively for OEM hit the retail market.

AMD quotes a price of US$ 200 (approximately EUR 130) for the Phenom X4 9100e/9150e.

[jackryan]

The ff. refers to the 65watts Phenom X4 Quad-core CPU as the enabler for playing games a PC with this particular CPU with an overclock capability... BUT, price is a key consideration...

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-phenom-x4,1935.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-phenom-x4,1935-2.html

[goodguy939]

since wala akong makitang SATA to IDE sa BIOS setup ko natry ko na yun diskette na Via RADI drivers... when installing OS XPPRO i keep pushing F6 para magamit na yun driver n nadownload.. oo akala ko okey na xa hanggng s windows starting to setup, again, hindi ulit umabot s format.. dalawang klase n nagwa ko either papatungan yun vista/whole hdd and reformat muna yun full HDD.. same thing.. nagkakaron pa din ng error.. dalawang CD na nagamit ko.. XP HOME, XP professional... tulungan nyo nmn ako ow.. kahapon pq straight nakatutok sa pc and googling up to search for an answer just to install the XP version for x3200..

[Clondalkin]

since wala akong makitang SATA to IDE sa BIOS setup ko natry ko na yun diskette na Via RADI drivers... when installing OS XPPRO i keep pushing F6 para magamit na yun driver n nadownload.. oo akala ko okey na xa hanggng s windows starting to setup, again, hindi ulit umabot s format.. dalawang klase n nagwa ko either papatungan yun vista/whole hdd and reformat muna yun full HDD.. same thing.. nagkakaron pa din ng error.. dalawang CD na nagamit ko.. XP HOME, XP professional... tulungan nyo nmn ako ow.. kahapon pq straight nakatutok sa pc and googling up to search for an answer just to install the XP version for x3200..

Hijo, basahin mo ulit yung post ko sa taas.  I have encountered your error so many times with other brands.  Pati mga technician sa Cyberzone di nila alam eto with brand PCs.  Ang problem mo is due to wrong drive controller setting in the BIOS.  You want to set it to ATA or SATA properly.  You are NOT looking for IDE setting because your PC is SATA.    If you dont set it properly, hindi tutuloy ang install mo ng OS kahit anong gawin mong F6 or whatever - ni hindi ka lalagpas dun sa format.

Ganito gawin mo, pasok ka ulit sa system set-up and then hanapin mo yung current setting ng drive controller.  Scroll through all the pages.  It can look something like RAID/AUTODETECT/xxxxxxx - then isulat mo dito sa thread yung available options -usually 2 or 3 options ang available depending sa model ng PC mo. 

Kung ayaw mong maniwala, try to google about RAID/AUTODETECT/ATA and RAID/AUTODETECT/AHCI

[Alfie]

Clondakin- Tinignan ko rin ang akin X3200, walang drive controller iyun' MoBo mukhang naka-autodetect na siya, di tulad nang ibang mga MoBo, siguro ang MoBo na ito ay design lang para sa Vista, may naka-enkwento na akong Laptop na ganyan, ACER din' na di' pwedeng install ang XP.

Siguro ang dapat na ituro mo sa kanya kung saan madalas makita iyun' sina-sabi mong autodetect.
Pero ako ay walang talagang makita.
Hindi ko rin alam kung may flash upgrade O' downgrade ang MoBo na ito'. 


goodguy939, irestore mo na ang Vista mo, tutal, da-dating naman ang panahon lahat eh' Vista na, mabuti rin' mag -sanany ka na, baka ma-maya, tuluyan pang bumigay ang X3200 mo, sayang naman, pag nagkataon wala na ang warranty mo. :'(

[Alfie]

since wala akong makitang SATA to IDE sa BIOS setup ko natry ko na yun diskette na Via RADI drivers... when installing OS XPPRO i keep pushing F6 para magamit na yun driver n nadownload.. oo akala ko okey na xa hanggng s windows starting to setup, again, hindi ulit umabot s format.. dalawang klase n nagwa ko either papatungan yun vista/whole hdd and reformat muna yun full HDD.. same thing.. nagkakaron pa din ng error.. dalawang CD na nagamit ko.. XP HOME, XP professional... tulungan nyo nmn ako ow.. kahapon pq straight nakatutok sa pc and googling up to search for an answer just to install the XP version for x3200..

goodguy939- turo ito' nang techie dito sa opis, so wag mo akong si-sihin.
                 1) Restart, go F8
                 2) Choose MSDOS
                 3) type system.ini
                 4) look for Ide
                 5) save
                 6) refresh
afterwhich try again, hope this works.

[Clondalkin]

In the BIOS Set-Up, the heading is usually "SATA Operation".  So if the ACER System Set-up menu does not show that option, it is autodetect indeed.

However in goodguy's case, when installing XP SP2 CD, apparently the driver for the hard drive controller is not able to be "auto-detected."   The implication is, the CORRECT driver for ACER's particular hardware is not included in his XP CD.   Since this is a brand PC with legit Vista, it should have the restore disk that contains that correct driver.  So the easiest way out is to restore Vista.

Kung adventurous si goodguy, he can try to find the CORRECT hard drive controller (if you can identify that file sa recovery disk provided with your PC, or consult with ACER), and slipstream that file into the XP Install CD, or, save that appropriate driver into a floppy and install separately using F6 - then tsaka palang mag-reinstall ng XP.   Too much headache.  Just go back to Vista.
     

[Niknok]

guys, meron na ba nagtry mag upgrade ng x3200 with a bluray drive?  kaya ba with the current processor?  is this a practical setup to have a bluray HTPC player?

[Clondalkin]

guys, meron na ba nagtry mag upgrade ng x3200 with a bluray drive?  kaya ba with the current processor?  is this a practical setup to have a bluray HTPC player?

The processor of the X3200 should be able to handle BD since a member has already tested his X3200 on a very heavy content without GPU assistance - and it passed.

The questionable component is the on-board video.   BD or HD DVD playback need hardware acceleration.   BD drives usually come packaged with PowerDVD.  The last time I checked, mimimum DISCRETE graphics card requirement is a 7600GT.  It was OK with my HD DVD but a little big sluggish on fast forward.  Is the on-board graphics of this Acer as powerful as a 7600GT?  Definitely not in terms of 3D power as 7600GT can run even 3D games acceptably well.

What does "practical set-up" mean exactly? 

[Niknok]

thanks for your reply.  by practical i meant if i wanted an HTPC and a bluray player is it better to have an HTPC with bluray-drive or a separate HTPC and a standalone bluray player?

oh and im not sure i understood your reply.  you mean that bottomline the x3200 wont be able to play bluray HD movies unless the videocard is upgraded? i remember seeing a lot of threads about adding another card that works together with the onboard.  will this work?

[Clondalkin]

thanks for your reply.  by practical i meant if i wanted an HTPC and a bluray player is it better to have an HTPC with bluray-drive or a separate HTPC and a standalone bluray player?

oh and im not sure i understood your reply.  you mean that bottomline the x3200 wont be able to play bluray HD movies unless the videocard is upgraded? i remember seeing a lot of threads about adding another card that works together with the onboard.  will this work?

You mean the hybrid SLI between the on-board graphics and a discrete 8400GT or 8500GT? - you better check out if this will result in a card superior to a single 7600GT.  There is good hope because 8xxx series Nvidias have improved high def video engine (except for the 8800GT which is optimized for 3D gaming).   You'll have better chances if you simply insert a discrete 9500GT low profile but make sure that you're PSU has enough juice to run it.  A quick check at PowerDVD's minimum system requirements is a must.    Kung on-board graphics lang - dont expect too much on BD playback.  It might not even run at all - but that's just a guess.   

Kung powerful ang HTPC ko, I would put whatever accessory is available provided Im interested in it.  My desktops meet the required specs, but Im not interested in a BD drive at all.  I would rather have an NMT ..ahihihihi

Pero if ever Id be wanting a BD player, I would rather have a standalone BD player or PS3 para derechong kabit sa HDTV in another room. 

[Niknok]

Thanks thanks! i guess the acer is still a long shot from doubling as a BD player.  anyway, the truth is, like you im not that interested with the BD but i just had this thought  that in the very near future, BD's will be very affordable.  anyway, i guess by that time,  the BD players will be much cheaper as well.

[Alfie]

Yeh!!!...when the Blu ray take over, then it's about time to built a new HTPC....possibly a Quadcore,or if feasible a Multicore, with DDR3 chips Motherboard and Videocard and 8 gigs of RAM,an dof course the Blu ray Writer.

Yes for standalone players, maybe the DVD is here to stay,however, I believe that it's only a matter of time before we start using the bluray writers on pur PCs. 

We just cannot ignore the potential of the 25g single layered storage material. 

[jackryan]

I am just thinking that if local Acer office released the souped-up US / UK version of X3200, we should have received the quad-core AMD and BD for a price equivalent of USD$ 700 or roughly around Php 35k without LCD yet.

Which means from the price point of Php 19k, the 16k is the cost spread for the X4 phenom, upgraded video capability and BD drive, do you think we would have bought that model instead?