TrueJournals

I recently got a new laptop.  After a lot of searching, I decided on the Acer Aspire M5-583P.  Overall, it’s a really awesome laptop, and I just couldn’t find anything that came close to the specs for the price ($650 when I got mine).

There was one thing, however, that I was a bit disappointed in: the lack of an SSD cache.  I was curious how easy it would be to replace the HDD, but I didn’t want to open the laptop and void my warranty right away, so I started looking online for pictures of the internals.  Unfortunately, there seems to be nothing available.

So, I finally broke down and opened the laptop myself.  The laptop is super simple to open: just some screws that are easily visible on the back.  After that, you just have to pry the black bottom piece off.  That part is a bit challenging, since it’s protected by little plastic clips, but you can just gently tug at it a bit and it pops right off.

So, I present here… some pictures!

There’s a few interesting things I’ll point out here.

• It looks like there’s an open Mini PCIe slot!  (After some research, it could also be mSATA. Not sure how I can tell the difference at the moment).  I’m guessing that this means that at one point, there was an SSD planned for this laptop, but it never went through.  However, I’d really like to utilize that.  I’ll be searching for a decently cheap mini PCIe SSD.  If I find one, I’m hoping I’ll just be able to pop it in, install Windows, and have a faster boot 🙂
• Only one stick of RAM is immediately visible, and it’s listed as 4 GB.  Since the laptop has 8 GB of RAM, there’s gotta be another stick somewhere.  I’m guessing it’s hiding on the other side of the motherboard.
• A battery replacement doesn’t look like it would be terrible.  I didn’t try to pry the battery out, but it does just seem to be one cable between the battery and motherboard.  Hopefully if it came down to needing a battery replacement, I’d be able to do it pretty easily.
• The HDD is a Seagate Momentus “thin”.  The “thin” is because this thing is only 7 mm thick.  Most 2.5″ HDDs are 9.5 mm thick.  I’m guessing that I wouldn’t simply be able to replace the HDD with any old laptop HDD, and I would need to specifically get a “thin” drive if I wanted to go that route.  I’m not sure if anyone else makes thin HDDs of this nature.
• The HDD is only really held in by friction.  That’s right, there were no screws in the HDD once I took the cover off — it just pops right out.  I did not check to see if any of the screws on the back aligned with the HDD, so it’s possible the HDD is attached to the bottom.

Hopefully this helps out anyone else who is curious what’s inside their laptop.  And, hopefully, I can get a SSD in here really easily 🙂

UPDATE

A reader wrote me asking if opening this laptop would void the warranty.  I didn’t know the answer, but they contacted Acer.  Here, with their permission, is their conversation with Acer support (names removed, but this is the conversation in full otherwise)

[ACER SUPPORT]: Hi, my name is [ACER SUPPORT]. How may I help you?
[READER]: Hello, I want to ask some quick questions about a laptop I just purchased
[ACER SUPPORT]: Definitely.
[READER]: Okay. So I am using an Acer M5-583P-6428.
[READER]: I am an experienced computer tech, but this is my personal laptop. I’ve just made the purchase
[READER]: and I registered the product minutes ago with Acer.
[ACER SUPPORT]: I am glad to help you, [READER].
[READER]: I would like to know two things.
[ACER SUPPORT]: Okay.
[READER]: 1) Can I safely open the case and replace the existing 500gb Hard Drive (VERY slow) with a 128gb Solid-state drive that I currently own, without voiding the warranty?
[ACER SUPPORT]: Sure, you could.
[READER]: You are absolutely sure that I wouldn’t void my warranty by doing this?
[READER]: As a curiosity, do you know what WOULD void my warranty, in this regard?
[ACER SUPPORT]: Sure.
[ACER SUPPORT]: [READER], , the physical damage, crackled screen, liquid split void the warranty.
[ACER SUPPORT]: You can upgrade the hdd, RAM but not the processor.
[READER]: Okay! That sounds good to me.
[READER]: Now, my next question
[READER]: If I upgrade to the solid-state drive, I will no longer have my copy of Windows 8 on the machine.
[READER]: How would I go about replacing the OS with a legal version on the new hard drive?
[ACER SUPPORT]: You have the option to create recovery back up.
[ACER SUPPORT]: [READER], We do not recommend downgrading the operating system as it may cause hardware conflict.
[READER]: Yes, I realize. There may not be driver support for some devices in Windows 7
[READER]: I want to keep my copy of Windows 8, but I would need to transfer the license.
[READER]: You’re saying that I can make a backup in Windows 8
[READER]: And then use that to reinstall the OS legally to the new SSD?
[ACER SUPPORT]: Yes.
[ACER SUPPORT]: Please find the information on below link to create recovery back up.
[ACER SUPPORT]: http://acer.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/26287/kw/create%20recovery%20disc%20windows%208
[READER]: Okay.
[READER]: Thank you.
[ACER SUPPORT]: You are welcome.
[READER]: One last question: In the event of an expired warranty
[READER]: Say, a year down the road
[READER]: You’re telling me that of the RAM, CPU, HDD, and Battery, the only part I cannot easily replace is the CPU?
[READER]: Or, say, that I could replace the battery without voiding the warranty, if I had to?
[ACER SUPPORT]: Yes.
[ACER SUPPORT]: [READER], if you have any issues with battery, hdd issues we can help you with the replacement.
[READER]: Okay. I will keep that in mind.
[READER]: Thank you very much, you’ve been extremely helpful. Good day!
[ACER SUPPORT]: You are most welcome, [READER].
[ACER SUPPORT]: You too.
[ACER SUPPORT]: It was a pleasure assisting you. Thank you for using Acer Live Chat.
[ACER SUPPORT]:
Find solutions or advice from other Acer owners on the Acer Community! Give it a try today!

[ACER SUPPORT]: Take care, have a happy weekend.
[ACER SUPPORT]: Bye.
[READER]: You too!
[ACER SUPPORT]: Thank you, [READER].
[ACER SUPPORT] has disconnected.

UPDATE 2

I have just convinced myself that the spare slot is, in fact, an mSATA slot.

I had a spare mini PCIe WLAN card laying around, so I tried putting it in the empty slot.  I booted up the laptop… and there was no new hardware.  Since mini PCIe and mSATA are pin-incompatible, I have to now assume that this slot is mSATA.

So, if you’re looking to put a nice SSD in this laptop, go for it!  Just make sure you get an mSATA one 🙂