FSB: Walmart version vs Costco version

Discussion in 'Acer Aspire One' started by zendik, Jun 26, 2009.

  1. zendik

    zendik

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    I saw a screenshot, don't remember where, of CPUZ running on one of the Costco machines and it showed the FSB @ 133 with a multiplier of 10 (1333Mhz). There was no context, so I don't know if it came that way or whoever posted the shot had used SetFSB to nudge it up.

    I know the Walmart ones come clocked at 1241Mhz (124Mhz FSB). The thing is, I keep reading about all these people clocking them up to 1.45Ghz, even 1.5Ghz, and mine crashes and burns frequently at pretty much any overclock. It will run almost stable at 1333Mhz, which should be the default in the first place, but anything very much over that and it crashes often. 1375Mhz is possible but I still get random crashes, programs failing to launch, all that stuff. 1400 and I'm lucky to surf the web for 10 minutes and watching Flash videos (the purpose of overclocking in the first place) crashes it pretty much instantly.

    I even swapped in a much faster stick of 2Gb RAM to make sure that wasn't the issue and there was no change. Maybe I just got a dud. It happens. Anyway: do the Costco ones come clocked at 133Mhz FSB? They're not the on the site at all, so I can't check there. I'm tempted to put CPUZ on a flash drive and go run it on one of the Costco display models. I'm guessing that since the Walmart one comes clocked at 1241Mhz, Acer took advantage of the lower clock to tweak the voltage settings down a bit to save a few minutes of battery life and reduce heat, which is why mine struggles to even run stably at what should be it's default speed.

    It's kind of a bummer, since clocking it up to 1.45Ghz would bring it more in line which the N270, which isn't exactly a powerhouse CPU itself, and would probably make fullscreen SD Hulu episodes possible at native resolution. As it is, shows are almost watchable fullscreen, but just sluggish enough to be annoying/noticeable.

    It's frustrating because this machine is awesome in so many ways, and if it was only just a tiny bit faster (as fast as my Wind), I'd be satisfied with it. And, yes, I realize the Wind is running at 1024x600, which makes fullscreen video much easier for it, especially in turbo mode (2Ghz), but I even switched the 751 to 1024x768 and fullscreen flash video was still a tad too sluggish.

    Anyway, enough rambling. Would be interested to hear if the Costco machines are more overclocking-friendly than the Walmart ones, though.
     
    zendik, Jun 26, 2009
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  2. zendik

    Balut

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    Just installed an ran CPUZ on my stock (well almost) Costco 751. FSB is 124.1 MHz. Only thing I did was install a 2GB RAM chip and swapped out the hard drivw with a spare (in case I decide to return this). Not real impressed with the sluggishness, but the screen is nice. Good thing I have 90 days to decide...
     
    Balut, Jun 26, 2009
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  3. zendik

    runtohell121

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    same, i have a 90 day return policy from costco :)
    my acer is running at 1.33 GHz when i first got it from costco..
    costco has no restocking fees on netbooks right? x.x lol
    right now Gateway has a new netbook that is probably better than this i think?
     
    runtohell121, Jun 26, 2009
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  4. zendik

    zendik

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    I wonder why some would be running 1241Mhz and some 1333Mhz. Are you sure yours was clocked at 133x10 when you opened it up?

    Seems kind of shady to me to clock some higher than others without a way to tell them apart before buying them.
     
    zendik, Jun 26, 2009
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  5. zendik

    runtohell121

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    [​IMG]
    i couldn't get SetFSB to work..
    Here's the information that's in my Properties when I first got the netbook.
    [​IMG]
    CPUZ
    [​IMG]
     
    runtohell121, Jun 26, 2009
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  6. zendik

    Eosblue

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    My Costco One says CPU Z520 @1.33 Mhz
    Underneath is says 1.24 Ghz 1.99GB Ram

    I just put in the 2 GB stick and the computer "feels" slightly faster. While I also have the 90 day deal, I don't see myself letting go of this computer mainly because it does what I want in a 2nd laptop (easy to carry on the road for away from home surfing.) I love the keyboard and the screen compared to my previous road warrior (the 8.9").
     
    Eosblue, Jun 27, 2009
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  7. zendik

    runtohell121

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    heh.. i guess i'm lucky or something then o_O the one on display at costco was 1.33 GHz also.. along with mine.. :D
     
    runtohell121, Jun 27, 2009
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  8. zendik

    Bols

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    Both windows "System Properties" and cpu-z will always say "Z520 @ 1.33GHz", no matter what the actual speed is. That is simply the name/descriptiono of the CPU itself. Says so on mine too, even both setfsb and NHC confirms an actual 1.24GHz.
    However, the CPU-z windows also has a field for "Bus Speed", which in the image above is 133MHz...if I'm not mistaken that means that processor is actually running on 1.33GHz (x10 multiplier). That is the one to look for to verify the clock. CPU-z here shows 124.1MHz.
     
    Bols, Jun 27, 2009
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  9. zendik

    runtohell121

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    well, whenever my cpu is actually at full speed, CPU-Z reports it running at 1330 MHz.
     
    runtohell121, Jun 27, 2009
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  10. zendik

    Felix[GER]

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    I believe your Acer is running at 1,33ghz from start up. It should be, this is the stock-speed of the Z520 Atom Cpu. But somehow, all our Acer 751´s are underclocked to 1240mhz by default. This can only be done by different BIOS settings/versions.

    Would you like to go into your CPU-Z and report if your Bios is other then my one?

    [​IMG]

    Greetings,
    Felix
     
    Felix[GER], Jun 27, 2009
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  11. zendik

    runtohell121

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    I'll do it later, too lazy to grab my Acer right now x.x
     
    runtohell121, Jun 27, 2009
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  12. zendik

    runtohell121

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    Okay, I've finally ran CPU-Z on my Acer. Here's the picture
    Seems like I have the same BIOS version as you, Felix. I don't know why my CPU was clocked at 1.33 GHz out of the box, never did any change in the FSB.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    runtohell121, Jun 28, 2009
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  13. zendik

    Felix[GER]

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    thanks for your screenshots, but i can´t see any difference to my Acer. At least we can use SetFSB to correct this issue ;)

    Asus will bring up a Overclock-option for their new EEE Pc 1101HA (11,6", Z-520 Atom, GMA500, same as ours). That would be a cool thing: http://www.liliputing.com/2009/06/asus- ... -bios.html

    But i don´t think Acer will offer this option, or?

    Greetings,
    Felix
     
    Felix[GER], Jun 28, 2009
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  14. zendik

    runtohell121

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    I'll be saying that Acer will not have the overclocking option, as seen on most of acer's netbook, there is no overclock options unlike Asus's netbooks
     
    runtohell121, Jun 28, 2009
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  15. zendik

    40rty

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    Alright well I'm going to Costco then to go pick up another 11.6 with similar specs. I'm wanting to put an end to the difference between the 2. I have a white one, which color should I get now?
     
    40rty, Jun 29, 2009
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  16. zendik

    runtohell121

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    costco only offers one color, black.
     
    runtohell121, Jun 29, 2009
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  17. zendik

    40rty

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    well blk its is. Do you really think its Hardware of software related?
     
    40rty, Jun 29, 2009
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  18. zendik

    runtohell121

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    what?
     
    runtohell121, Jun 29, 2009
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  19. zendik

    40rty

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    The Fact that SETFSB will not work cause of maybe Vista? Or is there really the diference where Cotco's and Walmarts are different CPU's? I would seriously love to OC this thing a tad and if someone can help me out I'll give a paypal donation. LMK
     
    40rty, Jun 29, 2009
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  20. zendik

    runtohell121

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    Have you try all the versions yet, basically from 85 and up, right now it is up to 90 i think?
    my acer aspire one 11.6" only works with version 88 or whatever the rest of the number is, other than that version, none of them worked. The newest one didn't work which was version 90.

    Here are soem versions
    SetFSB 2.2.114.86 - http://www.esoft.web.id/utilities/setfs ... d-pci.html
    SetFSB 2.2.115.87 - http://www.esoft.web.id/utilities/setfs ... d-pci.html
    SetFSB 2.2.117.88 - http://www.esoft.web.id/utilities/setfs ... s-fsb.html

    I basically tried all of them and found out only 1 of them worked with my Acer.
     
    runtohell121, Jun 29, 2009
    #20
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