Acer Aspire One Ao722-0418

[Batman]

Hi everyone,

I've been researching about netbooks. I've looked high and low, and finally decided on one that I like, however, I want to know if upgrading the CPU is practical. Has anyone used an Acer Aspire One AO722-0418 before, and did it seem practical to upgrade the CPU? I know (after reading reviews) that upgrading the HDD in it was as easy as removing 3 screws, and I think it may be possible to upgrade the ram. But I want to know about the CPU.

I'm mainly going to be using this as my educational/experimental box running BackTrack. I just want to get a netbook that will last a decent amount of time, and will be able to handle the things I throw it's way in at a pretty decent speed.

Does anyone use netbooks running backtrack? Could you tell me why you like/dislike yours and why?

Cheers!

[thespiritbomber]

I can't say anything about your CPU question but I bought an Acer Aspire One 722-0825 two months ago and like it a lot. It's small, light, comes with 4Gb of RAM, and has a nice big hard drive. I can't say it's the fastest computer I've ever used but it's not so bad. I run BT5 on it and it does great when I turn off the fancy graphics on the KDE version. I've had some problems with Ubuntu, however. One problem is that if I leave it on for a long time the screen goes crazy like there's an short in the wiring or something, which I doubt is the case since it works perfect with BT5. Also, when I update the video card drivers with Ubuntu I get an "AMD Unsupported Hardware" watermark in the lower right hand corner. So, With all that said, I think Acer is a pretty good choice for a netbook. I'm fairly happy with running BT5 on mine but can't say the same for Ubuntu.

Oh, also I should mention, if you want to do any sort of packet injection you'll need another WiFi card. I got the Alfa from the hackshop. The last time I checked, the card that came with my netbook can't do packet injection.

Anyways, good luck choosing a netbook.

[NegativeSpace]

I think the thing with the most potential to cause problems is the fact that these netbooks usually have small heat sinks. Mine has a heat sink made of a flat piece of aluminum with no fins or anything. It's small and probably just barely big enough to keep up under load. A faster processor would probably need a bigger heatsink in the same amount of space somehow, and I suspect the same would be true for you if you upgrade your processor. A bigger/better heat sink might be an option, but It's going to be a whole lot of trouble to get a bigger heatsink to fit in s space that barely fits the one it was made for. I actually thought about making a copper replacement for mine (as opposed to the aluminum factory one), with a little bit of added surface area over the original, and this might be something you could do also.

It looks like all of the models in the same line as the AOD722 have identical or very similar processors, which means you probably wouldn't be able to buy a replacement processor from another very similar model of netbook that has a higher performance processor. I believe these netbooks generally have hardware parts that are more intended to work specifically with certain other hardware in order to keep size and cost down, as opposed to having a higher range of flexibility to work with many different hardware configurations. Even if you installed a new processor that happens to work perfecetly, I expect you will only see a maximum increase in performance of maybe 5% or 10%, due to the fact that the other hardware is designed for a certain range of performance.

I can't help but think that there might be a better option besides buying lower perfromance and then trying to upgrade it, at least as far as netbooks are concerned. If you are intent on doing that, maybe consider buying somethign with a lower end Atom chip, and upgrade it to a better Atom, since there is a wider selestion of different ones that use the same architecture/socket.

All that being said..... When you buy a notebook or netbook, you get a pretty big discount on each one of the individual parts than if you were to buy the parts seperately. Because of that, and the fact that most of the compatible processors are going to have similar performance, you are probably wasting your money on a potentially very difficult and troublesome upgrade that will net a very small performance increase. Don't forget that you will also be destroying any chance at keeping your warranty in tact.

I run BackTrack 5R2 on my AOD257, and it does work pretty well, but I have had a few problems. I'm not sure if they are caused by my hardware because I haven't used backTrack much at all before I installed it on the 257. Once in a while it locks up and I have to power it down and restart it. I also see some errors with Flash video that I don't see with Windows, but I didn't install BT5 to watch cats chase laser beams. My stupid Broadcom WiFi card even works, though I don't know if it will do packet injection yet because I don't know how to try it as of yet.Having BT5 on a netbook is super cool because you can take the thing anywhere.

Edited April 20, 2012 by NegativeSpace

[Batman]

Having BT5 on a netbook is super cool because you can take the thing anywhere.

Exactly why I want one.

You raised a lot of good points, NegativeSpace.

I knew there wouldn't be much room for upgrades, although there was some hope. Whatever netbook I do decide to get it will be strictly to run BT5 R2. I have a couple of other computers that are for other tasks, I just wanted a highly portable netbook with BT5 to add to my toolkit.

I tried doing packet injections before on my home network with my previous macbook pro and learned all about how some wireless cards don't support injecting. I am planning on purchasing the Alpha card from Hak5, along with my own pineapple, I just need to save up the cash! :)

Anyway, I appreciate you guys taking the time to give me your 2cents!

[NegativeSpace]

Whatever netbook I do decide to get it will be strictly to run BT5 R2. I have a couple of other computers that are for other tasks, I just wanted a highly portable netbook with BT5 to add to my toolkit.

If you will use only Backtrack on the new machine, there is a cool way to save quite a good percentage of the cost of the machine. I don' tknow if oyu have ever read the entire Windows 7 EULA, but I'll go out on a limb for the sake of argument and assume you haven't. There happens to be this cool clause in there, by law I have heard, that says you can 'return', your Windows product key to Microsoft, thereby relenquishing your right to use Windows on the machine, and receiving a refund for the value of the OS. Just make sure you don't try to run initial Windows setup before you do it. When it comes to netbooks, the price you pay for Windows can be a significant percentage of teh overall price of the machine. Maybe that could help you get a faster processor minus Windows, for the same price you would have paid for a slower one including Windows.

Edited April 21, 2012 by NegativeSpace

[jobdone]

There are a few valid points to be thought about here, these netbooks use certain CPU's because of their low power consumption(long battery life) and quite a few are 'on-board'. There may also be a bios issue with changing CPU's - not saying it's impossible though... overclocking may also be possible if you carry a car battery and a radiator with you..

[Batman]

If you will use only Backtrack on the new machine, there is a cool way to save quite a good percentage of the cost of the machine. I don' tknow if oyu have ever read the entire Windows 7 EULA, but I'll go out on a limb for the sake of argument and assume you haven't. There happens to be this cool clause in there, by law I have heard, that says you can 'return', your Windows product key to Microsoft, thereby relenquishing your right to use Windows on the machine, and receiving a refund for the value of the OS. Just make sure you don't try to run initial Windows setup before you do it. When it comes to netbooks, the price you pay for Windows can be a significant percentage of teh overall price of the machine. Maybe that could help you get a faster processor minus Windows, for the same price you would have paid for a slower one including Windows.

That's good to know, thanks. I'm afraid I haven't read the windows 7 EULA, but it was on my to-read list!