AD03 Unofficial Service Guide

[dd_milkshake]

AD03 Unofficial Service Guide

I assume no responsibility for the damage caused by using this guide. Some steps may void your warranty!

Opening The Case
Unscrew the two screws in the back, slide the top shell open.

2.5' SATA SSD Sled
After opening the case, you'll see the 2.5' SATA SSD sled. The installation of a 2.5' SATA SSD is completly tool-less, just align the connector and put it in.

2.5' SATA SSD Sled Removal
Unscrew the three screws holding down the sled, then lift it up.
Note: These screws are shorter than the case screws. Do not mix them up.

Case Molding Removal
Unscrew the screws located in these four screw holes. These screw holes are a bit deep, so the use of an adequate length screwdriver is needed.

After unscrewing the four screws, you should feel the case molding has loosened a bit. Next, use a thin and rigid tool to pry along the sides to loosen up the plastic clips that holds down the molding. After the molding pops loose, be careful with it, since a Wifi antenna is attached to the under side of the molding.

Motherboard Components - Front

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On the motherboard, you will see two parts that are easily accessible. First of all is the RAM. You can replace the stock RAM with 3200MT/32GB model. Then there's the SSD, which is SATA SSD only. Personally I do not feel the need to replace this SSD because it is just a normal SATA drive, read/write speed will top out around 500 MB/s no matter how good of an SSD it is. If you have the need to expand storage, I recommend adding a 2.5' SATA SSD since the price is more reasonable than M.2 SATA SSD.

However, there's one thing I do want to change, that's the WiFi module that seats under the SSD. The factory module is Realtek, and I do find it to be very underwhelming. You have couple of options:
If you have a WiFi 6E Router/AP: Intel AX210, about $20 on Amazon
If you have Wifi 6: Intel AX201, about $20 on Amazon
If you have WiFi 5 (anything that's not labeled WiFi 6): Intel 8265, about $15 on Amazon

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Since the price difference is so small, I'd suggest going for AX210 once and for all. But before you do replace the WiFi module, make sure that you have downloaded the driver needed from Intel first. Although Windows 11 should have the driver for it, but to be safe, download it before you put in the new WiFi module.

Motherboard Components - Back
If you continue on the disassembly, disconnect the WiFi antennas first, that means you'll have to take out the M.2 SSD to get to it. Then, unscrew the four silver metal screws that holds down the motherboard, then lift it up at an angle to pull it out. Flip the motherboard over, you'll see the heatsink.

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Unscrew the screws holding down the heatsink in a criss-cross pattern, do not loosen one screw all the way as it will introduce uneven pressure on the CPU die. This is how you can replace the thermal paste with a better one. I repasted it with Arctic MX-6. Put the heatsink back and screw it on using criss-cross pattern as well.

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[dragonpoo]

Interesting and useful guide, thanks dd_milkshake for including it.

It makes me curious about a few things. First, you mentioned here and in another review that you wouldn't recommend updating the M.2 card. Have you tried an NVMe card in it, and did it not recognise it?

Second, do you have any benchmarks or temperature information about the before/after for changing the thermal paste?

I think the most interesting part was the suggestion to upgrade the Wifi chip. For $20, it seems like a really useful update to do, if someone had the network to support it. I will probably pick up a couple of those 6e chips you suggested, to try on different systems I have, and see which actually work with it. I don't have a 6e router yet, as I feel the tech is still too new to be stable, but it looks like a decent future-proofed piece of hardware to have for testing.

[hsehestedt]

Thanks for that guide. That is very helpful. I have a few additional comments to add:

1) The question was asked whether an NVMe M.2 SSD could be used. Unfortunately, this system will NOT accommodate an NVMe drive. I tested it just to be certain.

2) It was noted that the molding could be removed to access the M.2 SSD and WiFi adapter. I found it easy to service these parts without doing so. I only removed the 2.5" drive sled and that provided easy access.

3) It was also noted that he 2.5" drive could be installed without tools. My personal preference was to fasten the drive to the sled by using screws in the holes of the sled that align with the holes on the drive (on the sides of the drive). However, if you do so, you will need to provide the screws and they need to have rather low profile heads as there is not much room for protrusion.

4) As was noted, the Intel AX200 or AX210 make fine replacements. I got a HUGE performance boost in network transfer speeds by going to an AX210. For $20 I find it well worth the price. When replacing the adapter, just be certain the connect the antenna wires correctly. Before you remove the original Realtek WiFi adapter, take careful note of which antenna wire connects to the left connector on the adapter and which connects to the right. Place them in the same position on the Intel adapter.

5) Finally, for those wondering if the new Intel AX400 or AX410 can be used in this system: No, those adapters require CNVI2 which is not supported by this system (or any system with the N95 CPU).

[McHero]

Fantastic writeup! Great for someone like me awaiting my mini pc.
Will definitely order the Intel AX210 and download the driver then move to a USB thumb drive. Will also seriously consider a 2.5 SATA SSD. Will hold off on a memory upgrade.
Looking forward to working with all the users on this forum.

Robert

[dragonpoo]

Fantastic writeup! Great for someone like me awaiting my mini pc.
Will definitely order the Intel AX210 and download the driver then move to a USB thumb drive. Will also seriously consider a 2.5 SATA SSD. Will hold off on a memory upgrade.
Looking forward to working with all the users on this forum.

Robert

Welcome aboard, Robert (McHero)!

[dd_milkshake]

Second, do you have any benchmarks or temperature information about the before/after for changing the thermal paste?

While I do not have the screenshot, after replacing the thermal paste, my AD03 maxxed out at 54 celcius. I believe before repasting it was somewhere around 60. Not a big deal though, I just took off the heatsink to take a look at the CPU die and needed to repaste afterwards. It's not like these CPUs are thermal throttled or anything.

[Gabe]

I'm thinking of getting an AD03 next month. Specifically the following...

www.amazon.com/dp/B0BS9VXH1N

I don't mind the smaller SSD, as in 256GB vs 512GB, and for the RAM I'm going to buy a 16GB module myself. Likely this one, as I've had good luck with this brand on two other units (AM02 and AMR5). I'll likely replace the thermal paste with some Arctic MX-4 that I have at some point. I've already done this with my GK1, AK3, AM02 and AMR5, though in the first two I also replaced the aluminum shim with a copper one. The latter two don't use a shim. I saw a nice drop in temps in all four.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the N95 can do.

Edit (4/3): I ordered it, and the 16GB 3200MHz RAM module.

[Gabe]

I can confirm that this unit does NOT support NVMe. There's a setting for it in the Boot section of the BIOS, but it's likely just a standard part of the BIOS and doesn't apply to this unit. I tried two different NVMe drives, a 512GB XPG SX8200 Pro and one that came with my AMR5, and neither could be seen within Windows setup when attempting to perform a clean install. It's not really a big deal, as this kind of PC isn't made to be a speedy gaming machine anyway. I also did upgrade the RAM to 16GB, though with it only supporting a single channel the module runs at 1600MHz rather than 3200MHz.

Regarding the thermal paste, though I may still change it at some point as stated, the highest temp I've seen is 62°, and that was while it was both installing a cumulative Windows update and installing Logitech Options. I also ran a stress test with CPU-Z, and after ten minutes, which granted isn't a long test, it was hovering between 56° and 57°, so it's good enough for now. The unit appears to have a good thermal system.

So far, so good. I like it.

[kolaris]

Thank you for your post, it's very useful.

FYI, in my new unit and using my own stress tool, reaches an average maximum temperature of 57ºC (similar temperature as Gabe's comment, interesting...). My AD03 doesn't recognize NVMe either (tested only with a Kingston OM8PCP3512F-AA device) and apparently it works fine with an Kingston ACR26D4S9S1KA-4 memory module (4GB 2666MHz DDR4).