1 hour with my new 5920G

Just picked up an 5920G from BestBuy for $1400 and have so far spent an hour playing with it. Here are my impressions:

Build quality: average
I don't like the springy noise the left mouse button makes, laptop doesn't feel as solid as my Dell 620 work laptop.

Sound: above average
This unit has the built in subwoofer, Dolby, "Virtual SuroundSound", I'm streaming premium Sirius radio and it sounds great. Haven't tried a DVD or music CD yet but so far its much better than other laptops I've used.

Performance: great!
I'm installing WOW right now and listening to Sirius through Explorer and writing this post on Firefox.. so far hasn't skipped a beat.. will definitely run other diagnostics like PI later. This unit has the T5250 processor.

Video/Display: good so far..
While the display is only 1200x800 I'm happy with the overall quality of the display. When I first powered on it had the awful light blue Acer background and I thought the video looked washed out. After switching the background to black I was relieved to find out it was just that background.. No dead pixels or light bleeding.

I've still got a bunch of CDs before WOW is installed and I plan to really give the 8600mGT (256MB) a beating tonight.

sooo.. in summary I'm pretty happy so far...

 

So you have lower power T5250 mine have T7300 Any way Create Restore DVDs b4 u do any thing.My hard is gone (After I delete my Partitions)
So my advice is don't touch your hard drives partition!!!! create Recovery DVDs for in case of emergency

I saw newegg.com reviewers say HITACHI Travelstar 5K160 HTS541616J9SA00 hard can dead without any notice:eek:

NewEgg.com reviews
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16822145113

 

Oh ya..umm. well I have a bigger penis!! j/k

Good tip on the recovery DVDs I'll have to do that next. As long as this puppy handles WoW and some other run of the mill turn-based strategy games I'll be happy.

Any other advice??

 

I remove all acer junkware after i create recovery DVDs
I only left ACER Arcade & launch manager & I remove all other softwares.
e-solutions eat ram & bootup time

Acer Drivers are OLD,So Update your intel chipset by newest inf & update your AHCI(SATA) Intel matrix Drivers(don't remove old Intel matrix or chipset infs just install new file & old files will be overwrite.
Also install latest Realtek driver(Coz my drivers have some sound quality issues)
Install all vista updates from Microsoft site(Not From windows update just go to Microsoft Download centre)

Microsoft Vista 32bit downloads
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/browse.aspx?DisplayLang=en&nr=20&productId=8D7DD8D7-1CA6-4632-BAEF-E7C0750ED02E&sortCriteria=date

Intel Downloads
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/default.aspx?iid=homepage+hdr_nav2_download

Realtek Driver
http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/SOUND-CARD/REALTEK/Realtek-High-Definition-Audio-Codec-Vista-Driver-R170.shtml

Latest Video Drivers
http://laptopvideo2go.com/

 

Great Advice Bigspin.
Do recovery DVD's make the system return to the state you originally received it in, down to the last detail?
Is it advisable to test that Recovery DVD's work after they are created? E.g. By formatting the system and reinstalling from recovery DVD?

 

No!!!!Do Not Touch Your Partitions Until You Confirm DVDs Working

Just Set D2D Recovery Disable From Your BIOS & Insert Your DVDs (Boot From Your CD-Rom).Try to recover your System using DVDs.If DVDs recover your system with out any error you can forget your recovery partition( But my hard dead after i delete my C & D partitions so be careful )
Now I'm on my second HDD Original HDD crash without any notice

You can read my Dead Hard disk story from here.....
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=136223

 

Didn't know it was available with anything but a T7300....

Does your version have the HD drive btw?

 

Mine have T7300 But no HD drive or Turbo memory (I use 4GB SD card Readyboost )

 

One BIG thing that bugs me with this laptop is that they placed a little bumper near the top lip of the display (left of the camera) that when closed lines up directly above the left click button for the scroll pad. What this does is when the laptop is closed and you put any pressure on the outside shell near the left side that bumper presses on the left button and you can hear that loud springy click noise... really bad design there.

Other than that annoyance I'm liking the laptop very much.

-- also mine does have the HD drive with HDTV out..

 

I didn't realise the specs for this notebook were so drastic. Some claim Core Duo Processors, others with NO Turbo Memory...

Well, I bought mine from a UK Supplier under the impression that the UK reviewers have models that would be released here.

So that = Turbo Memory a must.

We will see tomorrow morning .

 

Mine also have HDMI Out ,But No HD Drive I B'liv Faster processor is better than HD Drive
Annoying sound Hmmmm....I Never have that kind of trouble

Turbo Memory or Readyboost is not a must,Read this article and think twice

AnandTech Investigating Intel's Turbo Memory: Does it really work?
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=3009&p=7

For My Computer Specs Visit Here.............
http://acer.com.sg/products/aspire5920G/psp_aspire5920G.asp

 

Playing wow in window'd mode, writing this post, and listening to music... the slower processor performs great! I'm glad I don't suffer from CPU size fixation.. lol

 

Looks like BestBuy dropped the price by $200 ...

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8391901&st=Acer&type=product&id=1179876462320

Gotta stop by there and cash in on their pricing guarantee...

 

1x HD DVD (Speed). Is that satisfactory for watching a movie? Is it prone to any skipping or stuttering? If I remember correctly, I had a 4x speed DVD drive, and movies ran with stutters, not at all or with pauses.

Additionally, will it ever be made possible to get a HD-DVD rewriter in a laptop? I dread to think how long it would take to burn 25gb...

I see now why it is so cheap. Acer have released cut down versions of the same notebook. However, the example you displayed has no Firewire and no draft N wireless among other cost cutting (aka lower processor and secondary cache). It's good cost saving if you don't use those interfaces...

 

Not sure about the wireless, but the unit I got from BestBuy does have 1394..

I haven't tried the HD DVD yet so cant say how that performs... curious to see how it'll work as someone already started a thread about problems with it..

 

Let us know how it goes and what specs your machine has, i'm looking to buy it from the same supplier in the next day or two.

 

Watching HD movies on the screen will be no where near full HD quality because of the 1280x800 resolution - equalling 720p which obviously not as good as the proper HD quality of 1080p.

 

Received it today, and Im pretty impressed. The notebooks looks amazing, and the speakers really let it stand out.

I don't want to say anything more as not to be misleading, since this is my first notebook, and I've no experience with what is good and what isnt.

One question, the bluetooth shortcut button. When I click it, it simply says "No Device". Have they forgotten to include bluetooth into my machine??? Why doesn't it work?

 

You've pretty much summed up the machine , thanks for the input.

If your willing to look past the average build quality/port placement this machine is a steal considering the performance parts packed into it, along with an above average display/sound which adds to its 'entertainment machine' label.

 

I have to say the build quality is superb. In general, it feels very solid. If there was any problem, it is with the mouse buttons. They are very loud with a fat click sound. Yet, they response whereever you press on them. Unlike some buttons that only respond if you click them on a certain side. The hinges are very strong, and there is is only slight "forwards-back" wobble when purposefully shaking it. In every way, its better than my sisters 2 year old Sony Vaio FE series. Side to side viewing angles are okay but vertical angles get worse as soon as you move upwards off centre.

The usb on the right hand side is a non issue. I have my mx1000 dock in that port and it doesn't obstruct the dvd drive. The only thing tha twould block it is a fat usb drive, the kind that doesn't let you stack usb sticks next to each other when there are two free usb ports.

 

Lol, typical Acer comments.

User comments, such as darkspark, say the build quality is somewhat very good for acer's past standards.

The laptop sound contains the Dolby Digital Sorround technology which is found in higher prices machines - which isn't just above average, its very good.
On the other hand, the display isn't above average, its just average. For such a good perfomance and arguably a nice looking laptop, the screen at 1280x800 resolution is only decent for the minority of potential buyers.

 

I was basing that build quality comment off a couple reviews I've read now from a few sites, I guess it was wrong to assume and it is a typical Acer comment.

About the display though, resolution has nothing to do with display quality . Colour contrast ratios, display brightness, and viewing angles are the most important imho.

 

There is a little creaking on the top left front of the notebook (back of the LCD), feels like a mouse click and probably brought about by the camera/opening latch design. But thats about it. Pressure everywhere else is met by equal resistance.

 

i had this baby for almost a week now....so far i am impressed with the performance. yes it feels like plastick but over all it is worth it.
HDMI, 2 gigs ram, T7300 and 8600 GT....i paid for 1399 usd.
and it come with 2 gigs ram of usb memory...sweet.
Mine dont have HD DVD.... i paid 100 usd for 3 years intl waranty (spareparts n labor)..

 

Here in the UK, nobody yet sells the 5920 with a HD ROM. Therefore, will be there any use for the HDMI port if they isn't no HD ROM?

 

I would think the HDMI port is much simpler to use than a combination Svideo and RCA Stereo jack to output to TV. Even without HD-DVD rom I think its stillan asset to the machine.

 

WXGA or not, that's an awesome deal ($1100).

 

Yeh, I guess so.

Will future games be on HD ROM and Blu Ray disc? I was thinking, because if I do get the 5920, I would want to hook it up to my HD TV to play games - and obviously without a HD ROM fitted, then there is no point of me needing a HDMI port.

Anyway, is anyone willing to review there 5920?

Thanks, jam.

 

HDMI can easily be converted to DVI, which means you can digitally output to an external LCD (for which I'll be using mine).

 

Oh rite, thanks for that.

EDIT: Does the Acer contain a remote control?

 

The HDMI port is part of the 8600M GT, as any laptop with this video card could be manufactured with one (most don't include it though). As far as HD DVD playback is concerned, while you can't view 1080p on the laptop itself, the HDMI should give full HD to any monitor or TV you might own. Additionally, if I remember correctly, the 1x speed is the same as standard HD DVD players. More likely to be an issue with choppy playback is a system that isn't powerful enough to run the hungry H.264 and VC-1 decoding process quickly enough.

Fortunately, the 8xxxM series helps in the decoding process, unlike previous generations, significantly reducing CPU stress. My conclusion is that even the low end laptop should be able to watch 1080p on the HD DVD drive in its full glory.

 

To all 5920G owners, a few questions:

- Does it run hot?
- Is it noisy? And if the fans are noisy, are they on a lot?
- How is the screen? Are the colours right opposed to washed out?
- Is the lid a finger print magnet?
- Does the ceramic white looks like it's easy to keep clean?

 

>The HDMI port is part of the 8600M GT

The 8600m GT interacts with the HDMI jack through the mother board.
The 5920 graphx module is an upgradable MXM II.
There is no HDMI jack on it. The HDMI jack is on the mother board.

http://www.mxm-upgrade.com/index.html

Anyways.. This is good news for 5290 owners!!!

 

Hello,

Trying to set up my new 5920G. Has anyone tried to install new Nvidia drivers?
I always get the message from the Nvidia program that setup couldn't locate
any drivers compatible with the hardware on my system. What gives? I downloaded the latest that states it's works with the 8600GT. Any advice?

Thanks!

Mark

 

Mine Idle @ 45C(Night)-48C(Day Time)
I Run Orthos Priority9 For 10 Mins & Max Heat is 86C It Never come near 90C
Fan is Quite than my Old DV2000t .Fan will not hurt you much
Normally I Clean my laptop every week & It's not hard to clean, but lid is finger print magnet.

You Need Moded Driver inf.
Visit here...........
http://www.laptopvideo2go.com

 

Thanks for the info about a modded inf file. I had never heard of that before.
Can I trouble you with one more question. On that download link you gave me, which driver do you recommend? Thanks again!

 

What about vga temps,and generally temps when gaming??

 

When gaming the left hand side of the notebook gets Hot. Not so hot you will involuntarily move your hand from time to time, but your hand will probably sweat. Im guessing the graphics card is in the left corner of the notebook.

When gaming, the bottom and back of the notebook get increasingly hot as air is blown there. It could burn, so I would be careful placing delicate objects there...Ice cream would melt in seconds.

 

Υeah,the vga is at the left side..

You could try Riva Tuner to monitor temps.

 

I am also interested in being able to monitor the core 2 duo processor's tempurature, as well as the 8600m GT's grafx module tempurature.

Is there a program(s) that will work, and be accurate for both? If so, where can i get them. Thanx.

 

Can anyone confirm what kind of video memory is on this? Given the price, I will guess that its only DDR2, but looking at the value for money this thing has, you never know, it might just be GDDR3.

I went and checked this out at Best Buy today; I left with a pretty poor impression of the notebook. Its simply a fantastic notebook on the spec pages, under the skin, and on the outside (I even don't mind the port positions too much). I personally thought it was brilliant until I popped up the webcam (thats an awesome locking mechanism, like a car door ).

On the inside, it all goes wrong. The hinge is nice, but thats pretty much where it stops. Its light grey and boring, plus the LCD bezel makes the 5920 look kinda bulky. That can be forgiven, because of the shape of the outside. But the plastic interior feels very cheap and flimsy. The mouse buttons are atrocious, with not much travel and a very loud click sound; they also feel very flimsy, as though it might break or fall off at any time. The keyboard has a nice layout, but the light grey colour will become quite dirty, and it has a lot of flex, even when not typing hard. I forgot to test the amount of rippling when pressing on the back of the LCD, so I cannot report on that. Some of the styling is weird, like the right ctrl key cutting into the keyboard, the not-symmetrical mouse buttons (the left one is bigger and shaped differently), etc. The shortcut buttons felt cheap, like the mouse buttons. The plastic on the palm rests creaked. The build quality and material quality on the 5920 is very poor.

Best Buy had it next to a Gateway priced at $599. Even at such a lower price, it had much better quality, with a decent keyboard, aluminum palm rests, nicer mouse buttons, etc. Granted, it could not match the specs and performance of the 5920, but it had better build quality for almost half the price. For that reason alone, I cannot forgive the 5920.

I wanted to like it, I really did. The 8600GT + HD DVD for $1100 was really very nice, but the build quality torpedoes the rest of the laptop. I wasn't expecting it to be like ThinkPad quality in terms of build and keyboard, but I didn't think it would be worse than the bottom of the line computers at $600.

 

The Acer 5920 was co-designed by BMW.. Alot of car thought (like the webcam locking mechanism) went into it, you either love it or hate it.. Either way, it gives you the best bang for your $$$$.... And "yes", it is DDR2.

http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/notebooks/ontheradar/0,39050980,62015857,00.htm

 

Its not the design I'm having a problem with. In fact, I think that some of the design details are down right brilliant. Others are in kinda questionable taste, but there isn't any major flaws. The Asia Cnet review was so messed up. They were unfairly biased against it or something, someone must have paid them to disparage it.

Its really the build quality that kills it in my eyes. And yes, it does offer the best bang for the buck of any laptop out there currently.

 

I'm Currently Using 158.45 Modded Driver .Click on Below link to Download that Driver.
First Download Driver .Extract it into Folder & Download Modded inf & Copy it to your extracted Folder(Replace your original one from modded inf) .
When Installing this driver you will get WHQL msg ignore it & continue install

http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=13378

 

You are right Cnet reviews faver to DELL & HP mostly .Every other review sites say 5920 have good build quality & only miner Draw backs.But only Cnet Say this lappy is bad.

 

When I play Call of Juarez Dx9 Version about 30 min my OC vga temp hit 80C-86C (I OC it to GPU 600Mhz & Mem 460Mhz) ,But I can say its quite better than my old DV2000 GF7400 That bugger hit 90C without OC

VGA Idle @ 56-57C

 

While I admit I have little experience with laptops (I now have a Fujitsu 1536 which I believe is pretty decent, but I only got it about 2 weeks) I tested the 5920G and I didn't notice any of the problems you're talking about really (creaking, flexing). Of course the color is a dubious choice and will get dirty, and it's all-plastic, but that's what you pay for I guess.

 

Riva Tuner with Core2Duo plug in should do the work...

Hmm pretty good for being oc'ed and using only one fan for cooling...

If you put some thermal paste,and remove any dust filters if it has,the temps should drop a lot I believe...

 

>Riva Tuner with Core2Duo plug in should do the work...

Thanks... Just downloaded both of them! They will come in handy after i drop the 2.4GHZ core 2 duo into my 5920. Now i can compare the 1.5GHZ temps. to the 2.4GHZ temps.

 

damn 4-5 days till my laptop arrives ....i hate waiting for stuff esp new computers