How do I Customize an Acer Aspire AM3641-ED7200A Desktop PC?

The Aspire AM3641-ED7200A is a Windows-based desktop computer manufactured by Acer. Whether you are looking to expand the graphics capability, install a larger hard drive or increase the overall speed of your system, you can customize the hardware in your Acer Aspire AM3641-ED7200A to fit your computing needs. Customizing the hardware in your Aspire is straightforward, but requires that you open the computer up. If you are uncomfortable with this you should take your computer to a technician for customization.

Opening Computer Case

• 1

  Shut down your Acer Aspire computer and unplug all cables from the back of the system. This includes the power cable, monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers and any other additional peripheral connected.

• 2

  Place the tower on its right side in a work space with adequate lighting .

• 3

  Locate the two screws securing the tower door on the back left side of the case. Turn the screws counterclockwise with your hands to unscrew them.

• 4

  Slide the door towards the back of the tower and lift it off, exposing the internal components of the Aspire desktop computer.

Customizing Graphics Card

• 1

  Locate the PCI Express X16 slot in the bottom right corner of the motherboard. The PCI Express slot is located directly above the two PCI slots and below the PCI Express X2 slot.

• 2

  Remove the black plastic latch on the tool-less slot cover that corresponds to the PCI Express X16 slot. The latch is a black plastic piece that takes the place of a screw; you can remove it by hand. Remove the expansion slot cover.

• 3

  Insert the PCI Express X16 graphics card into the computer case, lining up the pins on the card with the PCI Express X16 slot.

• 4

  Press down firmly until the card locks into place. You should be able to access the DVI or VGA ports on the card on the back of the computer, if the graphics card is installed correctly.

• 5

  Reassemble the computer and connect the monitor to the PCI Express X16 card. Install the accompanying software and drivers.

Customizing Hard Drive

• 1

  Find an empty drive bay in the computer case, located near the front of the computer.

• 2

  Slide the green hard drive bay retention clip towards the back of the computer to unlock one of the empty drive bay slots.

• 3

  Insert a new SATA hard drive into the empty drive bay slot, with the ports on the hard drive facing the back of the computer.

• 4

  Slide the retention clip forward to lock the hard drive in place.

• 5

  Connect an unoccupied power cable (from the power supply) to the hard drive.

• 6

  Connect a SATA cable to the hard drive. Connect the other end of the SATA cable to one of the alternative SATA ports on the motherboard, located directly beneath the RAM slots in the bottom right of the motherboard.

• 7

  Reassemble the computer. Format the drive using the tools in Windows.

Customizing RAM

• 1

  Find the RAM slots on the motherboard, located on the upper right side and running vertically along the board. You can recognize RAM slots by looking for installed memory modules.

• 2

  Insert additional sticks of DDR2 533/667/800 MHz SDRAM into the empty slots. The Aspire AM3641-ED7200A supports up to 4 GB of RAM. If all RAM slots on your Aspire are occupied, remove smaller memory modules and replace them with larger memory modules.

• 3

  Press down firmly on each side of the memory module until you hear it audibly "snap" into place.

• 4

  Reassemble the computer and operate normally. You do not need to install drivers or software when expanding the RAM of your computer.