Acer Aspire A515 45 - Internals and upgrade options review

[@tommyd688]

Thanks for showing how the second SSD installs and where the hidden plug for it is.. Good upgradeability on this one and pretty good specs for the price. IPS panel is a +

[@archangelmichael1978]

Solid review, mate! I've been looking at this on Amazon and I think you just sold me an Acer. Cheers.

[@FrimleyComputing]

Good choice and hope all goes well. :-)

[@igrewold]

Good work man, thanks. There is a Battery off hidden button/switch that should be pushed with pin before one opens the cover. It's between the vents & Ethernet socket latch, it got symbol of lifted battery cell Or if the cover is open, it can be pushed by finger tip.

[@dorodo1125]

Great video, is really hard to find people who open the laptops and show what you can do with it.

[@camilosxt]

Great and complete review! And the quality of video and sound its really impresive too. The review was so complete, thank you!

[@SpaceFox93]

Thank you!!! For the life of me, the ribbon sata cable refused to go into the connector. I had no idea you needed to move the wi-fi card out of the way.

[@North_Nate]

Thanks for explaining the extra ssd installation

[@thomas1699]

I have the Aspire 5, i-5, version. It will run in hybrid dual channel mode with the 8 GB so-dimm, working in partial dual channel to match the 4 GB so-dimm on the board. 12 GB seems to be sufficient for web browsing and blogging. I can install a 16 GB so-dimm for 20 GB of RAM but . . . don't know if that would be worth the trouble. Might not see a great benefit in performance from installing the larger so-dimm. Hmmm

[@igrewold]

Man do you have any idea on how to change vram amount in bios from .5 GB = 512MB to maybe more 1GB or 2GB or 4G or 6GB or 8GB ? The bios is locked & totally minimal, does not give control over IGP, builtin graphics processor integrated

[@thefrecklepuny]

Just got thislaptop model with a 4 core Ryzen 3 5300U., 8GB RAM and a 128GB NVMe SSD. Paid just £329 from Laptops Direct. Fortunately I had a 512GB NVMe SSD to hand and upgraded to four times the capacity for zero cost. Only a couple of minir issues. Firstly, Win 10 and 11 fail to detect the wireless adapter so I had to complete the intial setup (esp with Win 11) via an ethernet cable. Could it be the drivers are too new? Secondly, this device is a fingerprint and dust magnet! Other than this, a nice laptop which is smaller than it looks in pictures given it's a 15.6" model. One thing I really did appreciate is that all the screws are of the same size! A big plus to Acer for this as it makes upgrading far simpler.

[@Eugene_FromUA]

What color do you have (silver or black)?

[@georgeboultadakis2215]

Pretty impressive how they gave us such options in such a small frame. Will removing the cover void the warranty?

[@Digilobop]

I don’t think so, I didn’t see anything on mine saying it would so probably not

[@mr.commonsense6645]

As far as I know, No but if you broke something in the process then it will void the warranty..

[@mirwaiz9619]

Nice video, you know more about the specs and tech in it than most reviewers i have seen.A question, can you add another ssd using the case they’ve given or is it just for hdd storage and also if i add 8 gb ram will i have 12?

[@FrimleyComputing]

You can add a 2.5" SSD using the kit provided and is you remove the 4GB SODIMM and add 8GB then yes, you'll have 12GB of RAM. Thanks for your comment and I was impressed by this unit. It's fast and looks great.

[@andresherrera7472]

@@FrimleyComputing so have 2 sock? For ram

[@t436]

@@andresherrera7472 no, just 1

[@Raybo1uk]

i never received this item in the box and when i try to contact Acer it says my serial number is no longer valid for support. Ive only had this laptop 2 weeks so whats going on and how do i get this upgrade kit? (A515-55)

[@RunningToast529]

Great video, but I have one question, I have 8gb of ram soldered on can I add an additional 16gb of ram in the extra slot for a total of 24gb of ram?

[@teamaker10000]

Thanks for video!!! It helped me a lot)

[@jeweells1215]

Hi, nice video!. If I want to upgrade the ram, do I need to remove the battery?

[@FrimleyComputing]

As long as the device is powered off there's no need to disconnect or remove the battery before removing the existing SODIMM and changing it.

[@jeweells1215]

@@FrimleyComputing Thank you!

[@wblazkowicz]

@@FrimleyComputing It's better to remove the battery, people may accidentally touch what they shouldn't. However, I have the same laptop and did RAM upgrade without disconnecting the battery 😄

[@igrewold]

There is a BATTERY OFF button between the ethernet latch/port & vents(cpu fan) that needs be clicked once

[@AlexvrbX]

No, you're right about RAM channels. AMD's chips don't support any kind of hybrid mode, so you're either single or dual... mismatching the channels means single channel. So I'm eternally frustrated that AMD lets partners solder RAM to the mainboard, let alone 4GB. 8GB would be understandable in budget builds, and give you room for an 8+8 upgrade. Better yet, no RAM soldered, and twin SO-DIMM slots. Because going single channel means murdering the iGPU's performance.

[@rustyyb8450]

Can't wake the laptop with my bluetooth keyboard. Tried many fixes

[@Bigstevoreno0655]

Do you ever review new desktop PC towers? I'm in the market for a new desktop PC tower to replace a 2006 Dell Dimension WIN XP machine. I'm in the #USA btw. Your videos are very good. 😎👍

[@abudyc]

How's the audio on this? I just bought an asus vivobook (ryzen 7 7730). Is the acer better?

[@MaddyLogan]

Can we upgrade the USB type C to have more of a PD and Video Output too ?

[@NoonaMoni8]

I need to upgrade the graphics card for this laptop. Do you think this is doable ?? I've upgraded the ram to 32gb but games are still crashing even at lowest settings. Trying to figure out why it's doing that 😑

[@RysioIt]

Hi are u sure than Bluetooth its 5.1 and not 5.0? 😉 but u make a Super Video! Thanks 😊

[@mparagames]

i wanna know if this laptop is capable of running at 25 watts of power when you are running heavier tasks, such as gaming.... such a thing is called a performance mode on the lenovo ideapad 3 BIOS, which also uses ryzen 5000 series CPUs

[@hafzalak]

I just baught this laptop day before yesterday. Its a good laptop.

[@ulubissepekte8071]

What do you think about the matrix and the antiglare screen? is the brightness enough for comfortable daylight work? Is there any trouble with overheating and loud work of the cooling fan? Speakers? Quality of the body and the biuld? Beg my pardon for so many questions...

[@adimajid5194]

If I upgrade to ddr4 ram speed 3200mhz will it give bad effect on this laptop? Does it also affect the duration of battery usage if the storage is upgraded too? On the official Acer website, there are no supported ram and storage options for this laptop.

[@dovahkingqcclips6913]

@@CognitiveComputations true but if the new stick of ram has different timings it will make the system less snappy and might introduce stutter and errors when using 2 or more stick of ram, the system will operate at the slowest ram speed installed...and if 2 or more sticks has different timings it might be a bad upgrade who leads to system instability

[@thomasheisler]

When i got my computer never thought i would be upgrading, could you help with finding ribbon cable and the hard drive bolt down frame thanks

[@morningglory102]

I'm NOT impressed at the fact that there aren't two DIM slots available for the ram upgrade. Would have been a great addition having 32gb of ram

[@NasirAlipro1]

Can i upgrade gpu? Or add a graphics card

[@davidszenasi3204]

Hello I have an Acer A515-56-31jk laptop and I want to upgrade with a 2,5” hdd. I have no answer via shops or internet which cable I need for this. In the shop they said sata but that’s far away from this cable in the video. Is anybody hier who can send me the right cabel type/name/serial for the upgrade? Thanks David

[@gabrielv.4358]

Review muito bom!

[@kissesbloody]

Fan is too loud sometimes, even while just watching KZbin @1080p

[@miroslavbrabec94]

Really? It is strange, maybe some things on background. AMD Ryzen 5 5500U is modern CPU.

[@jesusandrade1292]

Where you find the caddy and hdd flex sata cable?

[@jean-lucneveu]

Hi m did you find the caddy and flex cable reference? i did'nt find

[@jean-lucneveu]

i found my answer, it's already in the pc box!

[@Khalidawanvlogs]

❤❤❤

[@IIIMMII]

can u upgrade the videocard?

[@igrewold]

the IGP of 5500U is VEGA 7 or AMD Radeon Graphics 448SP since it's built into the cpu( actually it is called APU or SoC ) you can't But if the motherboard has MXM or port for external mobile card then maybe, you can add one, but it is a mess, since you have to edit bios or mod it It's better to have a laptop with preinstalled mobile GPU But there is something called ADT Link, it works as eGPU, it has m.2 connector, it is a kit, to have external graphics card internally on laptops, but the PCIE throughput is just x4 which iz quarter speed (if gpu used is x16) or half speed if x8) But it is much better solution than the IGP That kit needs ATX power supply, see ETA PRIME, he views this eGPU kit: Add A Graphics Card To Your Laptop Or Mini PC With This M.2 GPU Dock!

[@bason9511]

Can I add 16gb 3200 ram to this laptop or I can add only 8gb?

[@FrimleyComputing]

You can add a 16GB 3200 stick. The quickest would be 3200mhz 22CL - the laptop doesn't support faster and if it did it would downclock the same speed as the soldered ram anyways. As long as the ram supports that speed at "JEDEC" it will be fine. If the ram is marked as XMP it wont work.

[@bason9511]

@@FrimleyComputing thanks!!!

[@mparagames]

@@FrimleyComputing what about dual channel in such a RAM setting?

[@arunk5571]

Sir is the nvme slot pcie 3 or 4

[@veru2023]

Its ryzen 5500 u, so pcie 3. Only 11thgen intel has pcie 4 in this price range.

[@legends1012]

Does this laptop come with 8gb of ram dual channel, or is the 8gb of ram single channel? I'm thinking of buying this laptop and want to make sure it's capable of decent performance. Thanks!

[@Nestos209]

I believe the new model sold as 8gb ram has a soldered 8gb ram and an empty slot for a ddr4. If you get one for 3200mhz. They should run dual channel

[@gabrielv.4358]

Mine has 4gb soldered and 4gb in slot

[@legends1012]

Got it, thanks!

[@felix920]

is it the black version?

[@Skunkh42]

Is it the Acer Aspire 5 Laptop A515-45-R5B9?

[@Tnsvali]

yes is Acer Aspire 5 Laptop A515-45-R5B9 i have de same laptop but my laptop has 8 GB of ram glued directly to the board and I still have a free slot for other rams

[@fiorellarampal8998]

Can I change the keyboard for another backlit keyboard?

[@FrimleyComputing]

If the F9 key has the backlit keyboard symbol (looks like a flashing 'A' symbol) on it, then you'll be able to add a replacement backlit keyboard. If you don't have that key, then your system doesn't support it.

[@Firefrei]

@@FrimleyComputing i think you mean the f8 key

[@ramonreis5185]

it's dual channel with any memory

[@wblazkowicz]

You sure?

[@igrewold]

If the ram same size & same specification , i.e. 4 + 4 = dual channel, single rank both. 4 & 8 GB usually single rank If ram onboard is hynix 4GB 3200 MT & other is 16 GB (dual rank= means both sides of stick are filled, front & back) then it turns to 1.5 channel which is like the 4 half a channel & the dual rank is virtual dual channel therefore (1 + 2 ) = 3 / 2 = 1.5 So in conclusion, when ram usage of mixed ram is below the lowest , it is in dual channel mode, if above it turns lower to 1.5 channel or 1 it's a messy topic this, I have not seen none discuss it thoroughly yet, mostly theories

[@ramonreis5185]

@@igrewold oh sh1t.... How to test?

[@igrewold]

@@ramonreis5185 See LTT channel about RAM

[@igrewold]

Linus Tech Tips Just How Bad is Mixing Memory?

[@GeraldWs]

Hey, I have the pretty much same models, mine came with a ryzen 3 5300u, the question is, are the ram specifications is the same as the ryzen 5 versions? thanks

[@rustyyb8450]

When the laptop sleeps it starts up my external hard disk and keeps it running until I wake the laptop. LOL bad BIOS firmware 🤣

[@антигуль]

Can i add ram on this Acer Aspire 5 A515-45G NX.A8EER.00A? There is 8gb but i need 16gb

[@FrimleyComputing]

You can remove the single stick of RAM and add a 16GB SODIMM giving you 20GB in total, however it won't be dual channel but will give you the amount of RAM you need.

[@wblazkowicz]

@@FrimleyComputing you sure that it won't be dual channel? Because many people say it will stay dual channel with any ram stick

[@FrimleyComputing]

@@wblazkowicz It'll be dual channel if using the same speed & module type/capacity. Here's the Acer statement on it: "While your mainboard can use a dual channel 3200MHz module, it only is only capable of single channel operation at 2400-2600MHz with double-data rate DDR RAM."

[@wblazkowicz]

@@FrimleyComputing I think that statement was made for a certain mainboard. I added A-Data AO1P32NCSV1-BDBS 16 GB 3200 RAM stick, so now I have a total of 20 GB. Every tool shows that the memory is dual-channel. I understand that it's actually in Flex Mode, meaning that only 8 GB is dual-channel and 12 GB is single-channel. Graphics quality has worsened a little, but not seriously. I found that the soldered 4GB RAM is Hynix, and this A-Data 16GB stick I mentioned is also manufactured by Hynix, with literally all specs identical.