Acer Aspire 1410 and 1810T Timeline (single core) 11.6" Thread

For just taking notes get a cheap used or refurbished 9" or 10" netbook for around $200 or $250. Later on you can get a better and bigger one -- by then there will be more choices.

 

I received my 1410 just a few hours ago and wanted to give an initial report on some tests I have run. Unfortunately I have a class shortly and will not be able to do more until later tonight.

1) Vista feels extremely sluggish after a stock bootup. No doubt this is partly due to bloatware, but I imagine it would be very discouraging to a normal user. It feels much, much better under Windows 7 x64, which I installed almost immediately.

2) Someone mentioned they could not run 1366x768 resolution. This is working fine for me and is in fact the default. I have not had a chance to use HDMI out to my TV but will hopefully try later tonight.

3) Youtube HD full screen videos work fine, including the Lady Gaga video. I tried the unlabeled HD video, the one labeled 720p30, and the one labeled 720p25. All worked perfectly.

4) Here are passmark results:



I will try to test HDMI out, 720p, 1080p, ESPN360, and Hulu HD later tonight. Otherwise, my initial impressions are that I love this laptop in terms of performance, value, and aesthetics. If you have a request for any pictures, videos, or tests to be run, please feel free to ask.

 

Just wanted to report on my first few hours with the 1410:
- Looks and feels great. Aesthetically, I'm very pleased.

- I don't have win7 yet (will upgrade once it's out), and vista is of course a slow/resource hungry beast. Youtube HD is a no-go in fullscreen.

- I have some electrical noise in the headphone jack. Seems to be from the hard drive... I've seen worse, though it is annoying if no music is playing.

- Have been having problems with the webcam. It seems to work fine in Acer's utility, but it breaks after about 10-30 seconds in skype. The call keeps going, but my video is frozen to the other person. Also, skype performance seems generally very low, and the video I see is noticeably degraded compared to my T60 with a Core Duo 1.83 GHz. Not sure if the problem is due to skype itself, webcam drivers, or insufficient CPU. I do know that skype likes to take all the resources it can get for video compression, but so far the quality and video freezes are unacceptable. This is with and without the acer VCM utility, which I've now uninstalled. Anyone else run into this problem? Any crucial driver updates that might fix it?

I'm optimistic, and still pleased. It's the right form factor for my needs, so I just hope that the skype issues work out... this is the single most important feature to me, and I'll have to return it if there's a fundamental problem that can't be fixed with new drivers.

 

Maybe this Fudzilla article will clear things up, although it does say "apparently".....

"Intel is planning to launch two rather interesting CULV parts in late September, the SU2300 and the Celeron 743. The Celeron 743 will be 100MHz faster than the current 723 model, and it will launch at the same price as the old 723, $107.

The SU2300 is a bit more interesting, as it will cost $134 at launch, and that's half of what an SU3500 goes for these days. However, unlike the SU3500, the SU2300 is apparently a dual-core. Although it features just 1MB of cache, and runs at 1.2GHz, it still this sounds like good value for money, and its obviously a much better choice than the Celeron 743.
Intel's branding tends to be a bit confusing, and bear in mind the single-core SU2700... has more in common with the SU3500 than the SU2300."
________________________________________________

Translated message #144 at the Benyouhui site says - next week the SU4100 and SU7300 will arrive in the 3810. No surprise!

 

futile: your cpu score is much higher than what I and phil got using passmark 7, you sure you didnt get a dual core by accident in yours? you sai dyour using win7 x64, did you put it in basic desktop theme/mode or are you using aero and transparency and such?

Also I did my battery test running winamp 2.95 streaming music (shoutcast.com) constantly with no errors or hickups while watching the task manager with screen brightness two notches above lowest setting, got 4.5 hours exactly then it powered off.

The cpu for some weird reason was going 30-40 percent the whole time while winamp was streaming music using the intel 5100 wifi at wireless n speed to router with max power save mode on. so I would say 4.5 hours for a load constantly with screen on the whole time, now if you use system off and on with internet access and have screen turn off u would get 5-6 hours of it not being constantly used! Also first time battery was discharged from full to empty and you have to do this 5-6 times to get the battery calibrated for maximum capacity! Not too shabby!

debating on trying windows 7 retail oem or windows xp sp3 on the 500gb western digital I have yet to thrown in, this crappy hitachi drive it came with is so slow!

 

I have the Gateway EC1803H (the Gateway version of the 1410) and I found that audiodg.exe uses a lot of CPU cycles whenever I play anything with sound. Disabling the Dolby Sound Room feature fixed it.

 

Gaming on the Acer 1410 or Asus 1101HA ?? Read here:

http://www.liliputing.com/2009/09/acer-aspire-1410-vs-asus-eee-pc-1101ha-gaming-edition-video.html

Looks like the 1410 wins out easily. But the whole idea seems silly to me... these are not gaming laptops.

 

The CPU Mark results are consistent and CPU-z has verified that it is indeed a Core2Solo SU3500. This is a plain install with no tweaks and all default interface preferences with the exception of me adding my own HD wallpaper and changing the Window colors. The discrepancy may simply be the difference between 64-bit vs. 32-bit architecture, and/or the difference between Vista and Windows 7, and/or the difference between bloatware and non-bloatware (if you guys were doing the test on a stock install). Either that or I'm just cooler than you guys and the computer gods favor me. Also, I'm not surprised to see that kind of CPU usage on Winamp. I stopped using it due to the absurd amount of resources it can use under circumstances. Check out foobar2000 for a great alternative.

 

Sorry if this question has been answered/asked already, but I don't have time to read through the whole thread before I have to buy it online and then go into an area of no internet...

How about streaming from megavideo/other sites that aren't as great as Hulu? And of course I'm not talking high-def/high-quality videos. Just stuff like watching illegal episodes of House on Surf the Channel. Not gonna deny that stuff like that is a quintessential part of my college life.

And anyone tried IPTV on it?

 

Guys I posted this before but I guess it kinda got buried underneath all the other posts.

When you grab ur 1410 and tilt it does the fan noise change for you? I'm just wondering because its kinda annoying for me. It seems like the fan is loose and scraping the top of its enclosure or something. Just wondering all you 1810t and 1410 owners experiencing the same issue or if I received a lemon.

Thanks in advance

 

To all concerned about the PassMark results
Windows 7 and Vista generate different results just like Windows Experience Index. Results in Vista can not be compared to results in Win7 and vice versa!

@dannylu88
I know this behaviour from my Aspire One. It's an improperly seated fan assembly. I solved it myself but for me it's actually the fun part with a new device. You should exchange it under warranty if it is very noticable.

 

Megavideo works fine. Anything similar will work fine as well.

Here are some more tests:

1) Hulu "high definition" 480p full screen works flawlessly. I tested The Office, another show which I cannot remember, and a high action as well as a space scene in FireFly. Is there a 720p Hulu to test?

2) I tested three H.264 720p clips including an action scene from Equilibrium on stock MPC-HC x64 with all default settings. These all worked very, very well.

3) I tested a very high quality sample 1080p Dark Knight encode with the same default settings. This ran quite choppy. I fooled with CoreAVC for a bit but had some issues, so I tried the built in Windows 7 H.264 decoder on MPC-HC with DXVA. It worked after this. In fact, CPU usage stays quite low due to DXVA.

4) I tested HDMI out to my 720p plasma TV. It works, but I had slight overscan issues which I am not certain how to alleviate. On my HTPC the ATI control panel had an option which fixed the overscan. Here I am not sure how to do that. With that said, I ran 720p Equilibrium to my HDTV perfectly. When I tried the same Dark Knight clip which otherwise runs fine, I noticed choppiness on my HDTV. I didn't test any further as I am really not concerned about 1080p playback. 720p works excellent.

5) ESPN360 works great.

6) Someone earlier requested a WEI test. Screenshot is at the bottom.

As for 4), could someone recommend a software-side method for fixing overscan issues?

 

So now we have conflicting Windows 7 results: futile having the lady gaga clip play smooth in full screen, while lepton said it did not play smooth?

Are you guys both running 4GB?

To confirm what Der_Mali said, Windows Vista and Windows 7 generate different results.

Are you sure? Hitachi 5K320 family is quite speedy and should average at 51MB/sec without bloatware. Nothing spectacular but it shouldn't feel slow. If you're still running mcAfee I suggest to get rid of it.

 

No, I'm running stock 2GB.

 

The guys from Firstclassminis.de replaced 1810t's HDD with a 7200RPM drive and made some tests:
http://www.firstclassminis.de/2009/...-mit-einer-schnelleren-festplatte-aufruesten/

 

Funny. I would advise not to put the Seagate 7200.4 in because it's not faster than the 5400 rpm WD5000BEVT, while it uses more power, makes more noise and costs more.

Here's an excellent review with many real world tests.

 

@Phil
I think they just had it lying around and wanted to give it a try. A fast SSD is the only reasonable upgrade anyway imo, because it also greatly decreases heat build-up, is dead silent and not prone to failure.

A funny story about HDD failure:
The Aspire One had problems with HDD failure because the speakers were mounted too near the HDD and if someone tried to listen to music with much bass at full volume, the HDD crashed lol

 

Well I will probably go for SSD too.

But I can also understand the benefits of having 500GB storage for 70 euros. And the WD5000BEVT is faster than the stock drive.

 

I also have this problem but it's not so bad that i want to ship the laptop back.
My other problem is that it will not connect to my Linksys N router unless the router sends out a mixed signal.

 

I'm getting less and less happier with my laptop as I use it more
I think the performance under Vista degrades so quickly that I just can't stand it. This is my first (and only) experience with Vista. When installed everything was fine and quick, after removing the bloatware and McAfee. But now, the system seem a lot slower, takes much time to boot.

I did all the Vista tweaks I found in the Software section, but boot times have increased still. I checked the resource monitor and the HDD is churning over 400MB of data before is stops after boot. I'm pretty sure it's some background services, or logs but I have no ideas. So far restore points, defrag, indexing have been disabled...

 

Vista is the crapiest piece of crap a PC has ever seen.
(just my opinion)
I'd install XP and configure a dual boot with Win7 when the retail version is out in late October.

 

Or maybe you should say "I'm getting less and less happier with Vista"

 

I replied
Mine does the same, when I tilt the laptop the fan makes some noise, like it was loose on it's spindle. I'm not terribly concerned though.

 

You could say that, BUT I bought the laptop and the software together as a packege. When it was brand new, it was sleek and shiny. But it started to rust prety quickly.

I'm not rambling, and yes I agree that Vista is the main culprit here. I'm just used to install operating systems and use them for years without doing much. I installed XP to my home pc and used it for 5 years, no problems. I got my mac with Tiger, using it since 2006. No problems.

 

Unfortunately I have no legit copy of XP to do so I have to wait for Win7

 

"fast SSD" = high price. OCZ Summit? They seem to have a decent price/performance ratio. Having a good controller is crucial to a good SSD.

As for the HDD failure: That information does not INspire me to get an ASpire or any Acer product. Boneheaded engineering! Is the internal design on the 1410 better (I hope)?

 

My Asus 1000HE did the same thing. The WLAN card only operates in 2.4ghz "n" band, not the 5ghz. If your "n" router broadcasts "n" in both frequencies, then you'll pick up the "n". But some routers that can do the 802.11N only broadcast it in 5ghz.

(I should have combined these two posts, don't know how to do it after it's done, though -- moderator?)

 

Fast SSD with good price/performance = basically the indilinx bunch: Crucial M225, OCZ Vertex, Agility and a SuperTalent.

Liek suggested by Anandtech: http://go.notebookreview.com/?id=525X832&url=http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3631

 

The Intel drives have also became competitive in price

 

Yes. Right now it's Intel Gen 2 80GB 190 euros or M225 60GB for 125 euros.

 

The 1410 is not in stores like Bestbuy, so I was wondering which other netbook is similar to it in terms of its shape and ergonomics, ie: placement of touchpad, etc. I would like to go to bestbuy and take a look before placing my order.

 

Acer 751 is the closest match to Acer 1410.

 

The 751 is similar in looks but not nearly as powerful. The extra $100 for the 1410 is definitely worth it. Check to see if there is a Micro Center near you (assuming you are in the U.S.). They have the 1410 in stock (22 stores nationwide and you can order online).

IMO Best Buy is a rip-off. They sell chopped down versions of the real thing that are manufactured just for them and their prices suck. Buy online or go to a real electronics/computer store like Fry's or Micro Center. J & R is good too, but they're only in NYC (but you can order online from them).

 

1810tz Cinebench results:
single rendering:1402
multi rendering: 2648

Edit:
Giant 1810tz review thread including disassembly, have fun trying to read
http://168.it168.com/newimage/20090814/benyouhui.html

 

yay, only 6 days here and the TZ will be in stock, i can´t wait to finally buy one, first i almost bought a T, but as the TZ was so near to launch, i waited for it

 

Ehhh where?

 

Hey guys!

I'm about to buy the 1410TZ a week before getting back to school: everything looks fine to me, but I don't know what are the performances when it comes to vista. Mostly, I want to make sure that I can run all different applications (ITunes, Office, Firefox, VLC, no multimedia editing...) and keep vista smooth and fast.

What do you think? Thank you!

 

http://perifer.ekatalog.biz/zbozi/a...-su4100-3g-250-w-b-vhp/detail.aspx?p=z:157380

Interesting, it's the 3G model for 491€
(don't call it bargain)

 

If it sounds to good to be true....

I hope it's true though. Interesting they talk about Core 2 Solo while SU4100 is listed.

 

1810TZ:
http://www.acerdirect.co.uk/Acer_Timeline_1810TZ_Laptop_LX.PJ502.051/version.asp

449 GBP = $730.30 US
I hope it comes down in price before US release.

Minus VAT:
391.28 GBP = 636.29 USD

 

Laptops in Europe are always more expensive than in US. Converting the currency like that doesn't work.

 

Yes, I understand, but still, that's a frighteningly high price -- for anyone to pay.

I think I will wait until "Black Friday".

http://www.blackfriday.fm/

http://theblackfriday.com/

(and there are many more links)

 

449 GBP is 533 euros. That's only 50 euros more than the SU3500 model.

Since laptop prices roughly translate 1:1 that would be $533 in the US.

 

Thanks. That's good to know. Still, I may wait until Black Friday to see if I can pick one up locally "on the cheap".

 

Hey now, don't forget about Windows ME. But yeah, please try not to judge a system too much if it is running Vista. It really is that bad. When I installed Windows 7 on my 1410 the difference was night and day.

As for the fan making noise--that is interesting. To be honest, I haven't even heard an audible fan as of yet. Hope my system doesn't melt. Considering the discrepancies with this fan noise, headphone noise, and lepton's bad system, I'm wondering if quality control was up to par.

 

Hi everyone,

I finally decided to give up vista after one week suffering.
any suggestion which os more suitable for 1410 ? w7rc or xp ?
i saw someone here saying very good hd flash performance on w7, then how about xp ? hd flash like hulu watchable ?

thanks

 

In my experience (about 15 laptops/netbooks) it takes several months before they work the bugs out of new models and get the BIOS working (updated) properly.

As for Windows 7: Anyone want a free, full-retail Windows 7 Ultimate?
It's a $320 value.

http://www.microsoft.com/business/thenewefficiency/Cleveland/default.aspx

I don't know if they're doing these events outside the USA, but there are 25 events (so far) scheduled around the States. You're supposed to be an "IT Professional" or a Developer.... but they don't check. I've already got a confirmation email with a little barcode printed on it. (So they can quickly print me out a nametag, I suppose.)

 

First professional review of the 1810T: http://www.notebookjournal.de/tests/test-acer-aspire-1810t-352g25n-973

Translation: http://translate.google.com/transla...-1810t-352g25n-973&sl=de&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Battery Eater Classic: 340 minutes (5h 40m) with 40% CPU load. (5600mAh battery)

Price/performance: Very good.
Criticism: durability hinges and keyboard.

If performance and video playback are priority Windows 7 RTM is the better choice.

If you're after max battery life it may be XP, but haven't tested it.

 

just spoke to oyyy and acer direct regardless of what it says on their websites, they say it will be released in england at the end of October. Thats a long wait unfortunately :/ this is the Z dual core version i am talking about by the way

 

Thanks for posting. As their version has Windows 7 on it, it makes sense.