HP Notebook - 14-ac108na Motherboard upgrade

[David229]

My wife has an HP Notebook 14-ac108an.  It was shipped with Windows 10, but is limited to on 2MB of memory soldered on-board.  It also uses a Celeron N3050 processor, which is also pretty lame.

It's a nice PC with a good keyboard and screen, but the low specification means its useless with Windows 10.  I was hoping to add more memory but becuase the memory is soldered on the motherboard and there are no additional sockets, the options for upgrading the system are zero.

Having checked out similar HP notebooks on Youtube its clear that the case design is used for other models with motherboards that feature memory sockets.

I would like to find out which other motherboards will fit in this case so that I can fit one with a better specification and make this PC useful.

If someone can provide a motherboard compatibility list or has possible suggesations that would be great.

With thanks.

D

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

Any of the motherboards listed in the Manual would fit in the chassis:

Service Manual

This would be the best one, with an i5 processor and a 2 gb discrete video chip:

Intel Core i5-5200U processor and 2 GB of discrete graphics memory

814049-001,

-501, -601

The -xxx options are for different OS licenses embedded in the BIOS. -501 is for Windows Standard. 

$180 on eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/p/for-HP-240-G4-246-G4-Intel-Motherboard-814049-001-814049-501/28011678577

HP will no longer have it in stock. You would need a different fan and heatsink if you go to a discrete video model. There are also memory slots so you would need RAM. Up to 16 gigs (2 x 8 DDR3L-1600).

Post back with any further questions and please accept as solution if its the info you needed. 

[David229]

Hi Huffer,

That's great.  Many thanks. I'll shop around and consider the costs.  I think $180 for upgrading to i5 is still cheaper than buying a comparable 2nd hand laptop.  I have 2 x 4GB DDR3 1600 in the garage so this would be good to go!

thanks again. D

[Huffer]

Consider it is DDR3L-1600 SO-DIMM just to be sure the memory you have will work because adding the cost of 8 gigs RAM I think would tip the scale towards a new laptop. However, you can likely find a lesser replacement motherboard from the list in the Manual for way less than $180. Anything allowing at least 4 gigs RAM would be a huge improvement. 

[David229]

Thanks Huffer,

I think that's what I have, and I think you're right the costs may not become value for money..  I did find an i3 version m/board on AliExpress for $80 which could be a better value option.

I'm just trying the exisiting set up with Linux Mint USB.  It's better but the lack of memory is still a problem and I'm not seeing as much improvement as I was hoping for. (Its a really bad PC!)  My wife has given this lap top to my son and I'm trying o make it workable for him.  I'll se what I can do with it this weekend before spending any money on it.

Best wishes

David