C110 Upgrades

**AlexZiel** · 10-17-2007, 09:30 AM

I have an Acer C110 that I had been using for over 2 years. About 10 months ago I started using a Samsung Q1P UMPC. But I am finding I really miss the integrated keyboard and the 7" screen at the native resolution of 800 x 480 is just too small for many applications I use. So I am going back to the Acer but want to upgrade a few things. I'm starting by upgrading the hard drive to 160 gB and upgrading wireless to rev G. What have others done to improve the C110 series Tablet?

**bmhome1** · 10-17-2007, 12:27 PM

A 100GB 7200rpm Hitachi (last size) and MAX'D RAM are by far top two hardware upgrades for tablets.

**AlexZiel** · 10-18-2007, 04:30 AM

Thanks bmhome1 for the comment. I actually bought a 160GB 5200 rpm Samsung HDD which should arrive today from Newegg. I was surprised how inexpensive they are now, only $90. I actually upgraded to 1GB a few years ago. Longer battery life would be nice as well as a nicer screen. The screen on the Samsung Q1P is amazing.

**digitaldoc** · 10-18-2007, 04:41 AM

>>as well as a nicer screen.<<
My Acer C110 is still a great TPC but for the washed out screen. Comparing it with the Samsung is two different visual worlds. The difference is as striking as watching a black and white TV compared to a color TV :)
I'd love to buy another Acer with a longer battery life and good screen, with the same form factor and weight.

**AlexZiel** · 10-18-2007, 09:17 AM

Its too bad Chris that Acer didn't keep the C110 line and just improve it. I think its just the right size and form factor to carry around the office. The Q1 is very nice at just 2 lbs with the extended battery so if they could have lightened the C110 and improved battery life I would have bought a new one. Of course a great screen would have done the trick too!

**bmhome1** · 10-18-2007, 01:41 PM

My Motion M1300 was new when DDR2100 RAM specs limited to 1GB maximum. I was suprised seeing Sandra profile report showing 2GB RAM maximum using 2 512MB DDR2700 onboard. I tried 2 1GB DDR2700 Crucial chips and it WORKED! I have 2GB in both XP and Vista, fully recognized by Task Manager. Few believed me until I posted captures.

It may be a unique situation, but I would try running Sandra or Everest RAM profile on a C110 also. The added RAM really helped. Newegg has Crucial for under $70. Freeware Winaudit might also report RAM maximum, but Sandra did the job.

**AlexZiel** · 10-22-2007, 04:33 AM

I installed the new hard drive and network card and did a clean reinstall of XP tablet addition. The computer seems faster now, though it was never really slow, and having the rev G wireless speeds is great. Now I need to work on improving battery life.

**AlexZiel** · 10-23-2007, 04:01 AM

Tuesday was the first day I only used my improved Acer C110. I did power up the Q1P but only to get a file that I needed to transfer to the Acer. Overall it went well. The biggest plus is the larger screen. Compared to the 7" screen of the Q1P, the 10" screen is huge. I can easily work in all my applications, never having to go to full screen mode. While the screen quality and brightness are not even in the same league as the Q1P, it worked fine. I was actually impressed using it this morning to read the New York Times via their reader software. With the brightness set at only 17 (on a scale of 20) and sitting right next to a window the viewing experience was quite pleasant. I even read in portrait mode which I never used to do as the view tended to bother my eyes. While it initially did bother me I decided to try it for the duration of the train ride and apparently I got used to it. This is good news for me as its much easier to hold the Acer in one hand in portrait mode rather than landscape mode.

Battery life is decent at about 1 hour and 45 minutes with screen brightness set at 17 and WIFI on. However, this morning I used the device on the train with WIFI off and had 29% battery capacity left after using it for at least an 1 1/2 hours.

At the desktop I am using the same setup as I used for the Q1P. I do have the Acer port replicator but now that I only have three hookups (power, USB and external monitor) the desk just seems less cluttered without the replicator. However that may change if I connect external speakers. The Acer speaker is no where near the quality of the Q1P. However, since I don't listen to audio much at my desktop I will probably keep the desk less cluttered without the speakers.

As for using the Tablet screen as opposed to the Q1Ps touch screen, I think it will take some time to get used to. Its strange to see the cursor move all over the place as I move the pen across the screen. It also seems a bit sensitive since if I leave the pen hovering above an object such as the minimize or close buttons it will engage them after just a few seconds without my even touching the screen.

I also updated two drivers, the Wacom driver and Intel graphics driver. Lastly, I went to the advanced controls for the microphone and enabled "microphone boost' which improved the performance of the microphone.

I am blogging about this switch at my blog http://umpcsearch.blogspot.com/ so feel free to read more there.

**jim.hitch** · 10-24-2007, 03:44 AM

quote:Originally posted by bmhome1

A 100GB 7200rpm Hitachi (last size) and MAX'D RAM are by far top two hardware upgrades for tablets.

Yep. I'd completely agree with bmhome. I had an ailing C100. It was sick because of the lack of expandable memory. So I ebayed a C110 and stuck in 2GB RAM. A colossal difference. (btw I didn't get XP Tablet with the new machine and have gone down the linux road which is frankly amazing considering the lack of monetary clout, though the tablet - esp hand-writing capabilities - of Windows are superior).

What I haven't done is upgraded the HDD. I've been looking at the Hitachi. I see that the Travelstar comes as SATA or PATA, which I don't understand. Wikipedia seems to be pointing me in the direction of getting the PATA drive. Can someone confirm?

Thanks

Jim

**AlexZiel** · 10-24-2007, 04:24 AM

I uninstalled the new driver from Wacom that I had installed Monday. Whenever I hovered over a button, say the minimize button, the button would activate even though I did not tap on the screen. This problem went away after uninstalling the driver. Here is the description on the Wacom site.

Enhanced graphics driver Expand the capabilities of your Tablet PC with the enhanced graphics driver for Tablet PCs that use Wacom Penabled#174; technology! Please check with the manufacturer of your specific Tablet PC model to confirm that it was built using Wacom Penabled technology or read our FAQ to learn how you can check your Tablet PC yourself. Installing this driver will ensure that the same advanced pressure-sensitive features enjoyed by Wacom pen tablet users will also be fully supported on your Penabled Tablet PC.