For this “experiment”, I decided to use an Acer Ferrari 3400 notebook.  A flashy little notebook which was very fast, feature filled, and top-of-the-line when it was released 2-3 years ago.  But now the basic model with its AMD Athlon64 3000 CPU, 512MB of RAM, 80GB 4800rpm hard drive, etc. is starting to show its age.  Even though its features still compare pretty well against most current notebooks, it is no longer considered “top of the line”.  So how could I “upgrade” this notebook?

As you probably know, notebook computers are not really designed to be upgraded.  Most can handle extra memory or a replacement hard drive, but with a few exceptions they are not designed with upgradeable CPUs, Video Chips, or most other components.  Notebook computers, with their compact and specialized design, are not made with the component flexibility of your desktop computer.  So I had to consider “upgrades” that are possible on most notebook computers.

Using the Acer as a base platform, there are some products that I did not consider for this project.  Everything works on the Acer and it does have a modem, Ethernet, WiFi, and USB 2.0 ports.  If your older notebook does not have these features or a specific feature is now broken and not working on your notebook, you are in luck.  Almost every older notebook made in the last 7+ years has at least one PCMCIA or PC Card slot for feature expansion.  This is a standard interface and can be found on the side of your notebook.  A PC Card is a flat metal card that slips into the slot and adds additional functionality to your notebook.  There are cards available for USB 2.0, Ethernet, WiFi, Broadband modem, dial-up modem, and even biometric security.  Most of these cards are fairly generic and can be found at your local computer store.  This is an easy way to add or repair features on your notebook.  Newer notebook may have an ExpressCard slot which offers the same level of expandability.

If your notebook has a USB port, again there is a wide range of expansion accessories that you can add to your notebook.  We will look at a few accessories in this article, but there are many options available for you since USB became such an established standard.  With USB, you can add a keyboard, mouse, microphone port, sound output port, speakers, biometric security, flash memory card reader, etc.  Plus you can connect to external hard drives, MP3 players, CD/DVD burners, etc.  There is a wide range of possibilities.  If your notebook does not have USB 2.0, I would suggest using the PC Card slot to add USB 2.0 to your notebook.  It will make a big difference in performance and speed over the older USB 1.0 or 1.1 ports.

The first parts of this project will cover:
Part 1 - Introduction
Part 2 - Memory and Storage
Part 3 - Audio
Part 4 - Protection and Security
Part 5 - Power
Part 6 - Cooling
Part 7 - Keyboard and Mouse

In the future, additional parts may be added as we find other products and upgrade/expansion options that may be of interest to you.

—Harvey Lee
Senior Editor