Acer 1662WLMi review

I recieved my Acer 1662WLMi 2 days ago( purchased from Newegg ), and after getting it configured, I'll give you my review.

Pentium 4 3.0 ghz- I'm an AMD overclocker by heart, but this P4 is very fast- and hot! Lotsa heat coming out the exhaust port under load. In the future, when prices drop and the warranty is up, I can see myself installing a P4 3.4ghz or higher.

Display - absolutely great, very bright & clear, no dead pixels-

Keyboard - very nice, just a bit of flex & the keys are not loud-

Touchpad- works vey good, especially like the scroll keys-

Battery Life - 1-1.3 hours- not great, but I'm planning on doing little on battery power anyway-

Hard drive- quiet - Comes installed with 2 partitions, each formatted to FAT32- converted both partitions to NTFS-

Here is how I did it - http://aumha.org/win5/a/ntfscvt.htm

Memory- I opened up the memory access and found the memory to be pc2700 CL 2.5 ddr- the chips are Samsung, though I can't read what the modules say on them due to stickers-

Combo DVD/CD Burner Drive - burns cd's at 16X, plays DVD moves great and reads DVD data fine. I have not yet burned any DVD's yet. Using Nero 6.

Software - other than the Acer utilities that come installed, the only app I have used is Power DVD- I ended up installing the full oem version I already had. I also did not use the Norton 2004- have another program I use.

Windows XP Pro - worked fine- installed the XP Service Pack 2 (SP-2) - windows update saw no hardware updates available.

Adapter- big, works well

Documentation- very good manual

9700 64mb Graphics - I installed the Omega 4.8 drivers right away, as they are optimized for ATI hardware and gaming. They include the Powerplay options for laptops. Also included is Radlinker, which allows you to set the core & memory speeds for any applications. The default settings are 391.50 core, 202.50 memory. I used Radlinker to overclock to 418 core, 243 memory for Doom 3 & Unreal Tournament 2003- no artifacts, still testing various clocks. Am going to take this very slowly because I am not sure how well the 9700 card is cooled.

Doom 3 - Using the trdemo2, score 35 fps, 2nd round. Plays Great!

UT2K3 - yet to bench- plays great!

3dMark 2001 - 8000 3d marks stock, yet to try overclocked.

Wireless - have not used yet-

Modem - have not used yet-

10/100 Ethernet - works great in a small network I created with my desktop's ethernet card-

USB- works great with my Logitech Optical Mouse.

Firewire - have not used yet-

I am using a Utility called SpeedSwitchXP that allows you to select your power use from the sys tray - works very well. You can check it out here - http://www.diefer.de/speedswitchxp/

Overall, for my first laptop, I am very impressed. Acer has built one fine machine, with overall great build quality and features. My only wants for this laptop are 1 gb PC3200 memory and a 60 gb 7200 rpm / 8mb cache Hard Drive.

I'll update this thread with more results when I can.

 

I continue to be impresed with Acer's products. Glad to see they have another happy customer.

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

Hondo2: Good initial review. I'm glad you are satisfied with the performance and purchase so far. I purchased mine on Monday but do not expect it until the end of the week. I am anxious to test it out. Thanks for the utility tip.

 

Ok, have a few benchies-

P4 @ Max performance-
all apps off-

3dMark 2001SE -

Stock - core @ 391.5 Mem @ 202.5 - 8162 3dMarks
o/c'd - core @ 418.5 Mem @ 243.0 - 9430 3dMarks

a rather nice improvement I'd say.

This 9700 has basically the same core as my ATI 9600 Pro AIW (aftermarket vga silencer rev 3 cooling)that is in my desktop - it is stable overclocked @ 466.71/370.29 - I think this 9700 has a lot of headroom for overclocking, the main limitation will be it's cooling ability. 10,000 3dMarks should be attainable.

We shall see....

 

More 3d2001SE Testing-

again,

default 3dmark settings
all apps closed
P4 Max Power
Battery Removed

435 core, 249 memory, 10,004 3dMarks

so this higher overclock decreased the benchmark

I removed the battery this time (100% charge) - do you know if this will effect my score?

I'll have to run it with it installed.

Acer Aspire 1662 WLMi
P4 3.0 Ghz
ATI 9700 Mobility o/c to 436/246
10,372 3d2001SE Marks

 

well I failed to note these 3DMark2001SE results -

426 core / 246 mem - 10,372 3dMarks- best so far

Acer Aspire 1662 WLMi
P4 3.0 Ghz
ATI 9700 Mobility o/c to 436/246
10,372 3d2001SE Marks

 

hi, could you check on which test in 3dmark2001 and 2003, fan starts to spin faster and louder (on stock settings)?. My machine is very hot and it happens in tests no.2 (2001) and no.1(2003). I got VPU recovery error once and I don't know why, maybe video card is overheating:?

 

if you are going into vpu recover, I'd suspect your drivers - what drivers are you using? I'm using Omega 4.8 Catalyst drivers. I'd recommend that you uninstall you ati drivers, reboot, then install the Omega 4.8s.

You can get them here - http://www.omegadrivers.net/

As far as the fan goes, mine cycles on & off quite a bit during 3dMark 2001 or gaming. That is normal. And yeah, quite a bit of heat comes out the exhaust port.

Acer Aspire 1662 WLMi
P4 3.0 Ghz
ATI 9700 Mobility o/c to 436/246
10,372 3d2001SE Marks

 

I have got the same drivers. I don't overclock it. It's strange that when I test it on 3dmark2001 sometimes I score 9750 (like today), and sometimes I have only 8000 points, just like you. Try to test it on 3dmark2003, I score 2750 (it's preety nice w/o oc).

 

Hondo2: When you converted from FAT32 to NTFS did you keep the original partitions ACER and ACERDATA? I would prefer to have only one partition but don't know if it causes any problem with any special data ACER may may loaded on the laptop if I change to one partition. Thanks for any help you can give.

 

I left both partitions as they were set up- I prefer having at least 2 partitions. That way I keep my OS on the main partition and my data on the other. Then if Xp gets fubarred, I can reinstall without worry of data loss.

I have 2 80 gb hard drives in my desktop, with 7 total partitions. Helps me organize everything.

Acer Aspire 1662 WLMi
P4 3.0 Ghz
ATI 9700 Mobility o/c to 436/246
10,372 3d2001SE Marks

 

OK, I received my new 1662wlmi Friday. I haven't been able to do anyting with it except condition the battery. Some initial comments: Nice screen - no dead pixels as far as i can tell. Playing a movie to drain the battery and got about 1 hour and 7 minutes. Keyboard is quiet and just a slight flex on some keys. I like the design or layout of the machine. Speakers could be louder while playing the movie but may be able to make some adjustment there. So far I am happy with the purchase. I won't be able to get back to it until late Saturday or maybe Sunday. Next I will be converting the FAT32 to NTFS. I will post more comments later.[ ]

 

Hondo2,Jedione.

A question for you guys, how hot are the palm rests when your 1662's are running high cpu load.

Thanks for any replies..[8D]

 

the palm rests get warm, the bottom can get very warm

Acer Aspire 1662 WLMi
P4 3.0 Ghz
ATI 9700 Mobility o/c to 436/246
10,372 3d2001SE Marks

 

Sir,

I am torn between the Acer 2012WLMi, and the Acer 1662WLMi. Although I do need mobility, I don't think I will be doing computing on the go. So On one hand, I have a centrino with around 4 hours of battery, and on the other, A P4, with around 1 hour.

Since you have given quite good review of the 1662, I am incliining towards that. I would like to knwo your experiences with the machine, the overall speeds, performance, and the pricing in your areas. I am located at Surrey, Canada, and am able to purchase the machine from the states.

Please help!

 

I bought mine at Newegg.com- I don't know if they ship to Canada- but they do ship to the entire US if are going there.

Overall I like this notebook very much. I have nothing to compare it to since this is my first notebook. I have read that the Centrino operates differently than the P4, thus the lower Ghz but equal performance.

My only beef with this notebook is the 4200 rpm hard drive- it operates rather slowly compared to a 7200 rpm model. I plan on installing a 7200 rpm / 60 gb drive in the future. I know this will increase the overall performance of the computer.

Acer Aspire 1662 WLMi
P4 3.0 Ghz
ATI 9700 Mobility o/c to 436/246
10,372 3d2001SE Marks

 

another thing to think about- if you are interested in battery life, the Centrino is the way to go. The P4 does not allow throttling in this notebook- this allows the computer to run a lower processor speed, thus lower power consumtion.

Acer Aspire 1662 WLMi
P4 3.0 Ghz
ATI 9700 Mobility o/c to 436/246
10,372 3d2001SE Marks

 

I did run it at default values, 1024 X 768, no AA-

Acer Aspire 1662 WLMi
P4 3.0 Ghz
ATI 9700 Mobility o/c to 436/246
10,372 3d2001SE Marks

 

hondo2, can you run 3dmark 2003 at default value please.

 

Uh, sorry, that was for 2001- I'll try 2003 later today-

Acer Aspire 1662 WLMi
P4 3.0 Ghz
ATI 9700 Mobility o/c to 436/246
10,372 3d2001SE Marks

 

3dMark 2003 results-

Default Settings, all apps closed-

Stock - Core 391.5 / Mem 202.0 - 2682 3dMarks

OC'd - Core 426.0 / Mem 246.0 - 3073 3dMarks

Hondo

Acer Aspire 1662 WLMi
P4 3.0 Ghz
ATI 9700 Mobility o/c to 436/246
10,372 3d2001SE Marks

 

I ran 3dMark 2003 on my desktop -

Abit NF-7S rev 2.0
Mobile XP2500 IQYFA 0343 MPMW
OC@ 220X12 > 2640 mhz
1.93vcore/2.9vmem/1.6v chipset
SLK-900a w/ Torin Blower 24v-39c I/45c L Ceramique
1gbMushkinLvL2/PC3500@434mhz 7-2-2-2
ATI 9600 Pro AIW OC@466/370
Antec Tower / SparkleFSP-530-GNA PSU

my 3dMark 2003 score for it was 4072, so I consider my laptop score pretty good.

Acer Aspire 1662 WLMi
P4 3.0 Ghz
ATI 9700 Mobility o/c to 436/246
10,372 3d2001SE Marks

 

In my 1662 one speaker is not working properly (something is not connecting inside). Probably it's bacause of the heat (when I got the laptop everything was fine). I think I will have to send it to Acer service.

 

make sure you check the AC97 Sound Application, and sound properties in the Windows Control Panel- the balance may just be set incorrectly. I'd also call Acer Support for their assistance.

Acer Aspire 1662 WLMi
P4 3.0 Ghz
ATI 9700 Mobility o/c to 436/246
10,372 3d2001SE Marks

 

I have reinstalled drivers, but it didn't change anything. My right speaker is turning off while using sound, but when I push laptop in a place that speaker is mounted it starts playing, and again stops when I don't push a little.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by haszek

 

Hey everybody,
I'm having a hard time finding another battery for this laptop. I know the battery life isn't the "best", so I think I'll just buy another battery, just in case I need it. Also, can anyone find out if there is a battery with more capacity? I ordered my this laptop from newegg last Fri and am still waiting for it to come, but it says that the laptop comes with an 8cell batter. Any help would be appreciated. Thanx!

 

Hello All, I just got 3 Aspire 1662 laptops for my office. Any good reason I should change the file system to NTFS?

Thanks,
brandon

 

Andybuf,
Usually, the only place to get larger batteries is from the manufacturer. If they haven't relased a larger battery, it'll be unlikely anyone else will have one.

Bjsvec,
Switching to NTFS in an office environment will offer greater security. Files & folders can be encrypted and access to specific files can be restricted.

-Vb-

 

I just bought the aspire 1662wmli and for some reason the cd-rom doesnt work, I can hear it spin but nothing loads and in My Computer the drive isnt there. Can any one tell me what i can do.

 

zyron182 i have the same problem, the computer can`t detect my CD-Drive, and i have one dead pixel I will try to return this laptop i get new.


Jovanoty

 

The problem is that the drive is broken. I have already sent mine back and i'm waiting for my new one. jovanoty what pixel is dead and is it noticeable?

 

o yea Jovanoty if you cant return it, the one year warranty covers it.

 

Hello,

I got my 1662 ealier this week and so far I am really pleased with the product. I drained the battery three times and on average I was able to get only approx 80mins (playing a DVD).

I am kinda concerned about the battery life so I am looking to buy spare battery. But like many posters on this forum I am having a very difficult time finding one. Some people have said that a TM 4500 series battery is compatible with a Aspire 1680 series notebook, will it work with a 1662 as well?

From reading other threads I realize that this type of question has been ask several times but I still haven't found an answer...can anyone help?

Thanks!

 

Never mind my question...I found this form:

http://aac.acer.com/app/akc/internet/rwpgslib.nsf/graphic+files/nb_accessories/$FILE/notebook-accessories.pdf

Looks like 1660 series uses the same type of battery as few other TraveMate series.

Thanks.

 

Dear,

I'm planning to buy this laptop... so... the battery life 80min was obtained with the minimum of processor speed? or you can decrease more the performance?
In resume: you know what is the maximum of battery life with the minimum of processor performance using word processor for example?

Thanks.

 

My desktop's recently packed up, and i'm looking at buying an acer notebook. I'm torn between the 1662WLMi and the 1522WLMi which seem pretty similar apart from the processor - the 1522 has a 64bit Athlon 3000+ instead of the P4. The 1522 is a bit cheaper.
Can anyone offer advice?