Acer Aspire 3003 review? (3003WLCI)

Is anyone having a problem with reading cdrs in this dvd/cdrw drive. DVD's and regular software cd's read fine.

 

Hey everybody. I am new to the forums here and am considering purchasing an Aspire 3003. My only conern is that this will be replacing my desktop(P4 2.8ghz, 512 mb ram, etc.) because I like to move around more. Anyway, what I wanted to ask is this: Can this machine handle multiple programs, semi large ones, at once? I like to watch Anime, have my torrent application up(takes up 60mb easy) while having messenger and firefox open as well. Thanks.

 

Does the person still want to know where to buy the LMI from in the UK. I'm pretty sure 'Comet' stock it for around £500.

 

They pay shipping both ways
Had screen problem after 3 weeks
Sent it in and got new screen in less
than a week
Great Service

 

Which BT client are you running?

 

I don't know about everyone else, but i had major issues with sp2, netgear router, and the broadcom adapter. I eventually resolved all problems, but was suprised no one else had these issues. Anyhow everything is working now.

 

only issues i had were with netgear router. once i updated the router firmware, all probs were gone.

 

Okay; I was trying to register my notebook like it says in the user's guide. I don't know if I was successful. I went to warranty, register your system, put in my serial number, clicked find, and all i got was something about activating acer advantage or something. Is this correct? Here is the address I went to. http://support.acerpanam.com/synaps...PanAm.com&originwebsite=AcerPanAm.com&pupv=pu (Oh; is it okay to post url's?, if not; sorry.)

 

To check whether your system was correctly registered, go to the "My System Information" page. It should give you your name and a short system specifications...
https://secure.tx.acer.com/FindSystem/FindSystem.aspx?title=Information

 

Thank you; I got it.

 

many cutomers worte to me ,said that the bad battey perfotmance , highly recommend the 8 cell 4000mah battey, the runtiem is about 3 hours , price about USD85.00 .

 

Hey miner, i have been having a problem with my combo dvd/cdrw slim drive. it reads dvd's no problems but it won't read cdr or cdrw. It spins when u put one in even with media on the disc and then it times out and just stops. is there a firmware/driver upgrade i should do or should i just return it through warranty. I did purchase through tiger direct but i doubt they would be able to help.

 

If it does not read any CD's then it might suggest that there might be a problem with the drive. I suspect that since DVD & CD's use different lasers, the laser reading the CD's might have crapped out. I am no expert in drive technology but thats what comes to my mind. But before sending the unit in, try to uninstall the drive from device manager and restart the laptop and see Windows will identify the drive as being new and install the necessary drivers. Try to see if this cures your problem.

i dont know of any firmware uogrades by Acer but depending on the drive model you might be able to find some updates, but they might end up creating more problems than curing your existing one.

Since your laptop is under warranty I would suggest that you call up Acer and see what they say. Tiger direct might take it back if you can convince them that the laptop is defective. This depends on how old the laptop is and your luck. But Tiger is known to have crappy after sales service. I guess you could give it a try.

 

hey miner thanks for the help. tried that but well unfortunately didn't work. I did however call acer and they said they would replace it no problem after they had me do some tests to see if what i was saying was correct. i just have to send my laptop in. they said 7 to 10 days and they are picking it up jan 2 with fed ex. so thats a plus with customer service and shows there is light at the end of the tunnel. Seems like a good company. only downfall is i will be without a laptop for a little while and i have to find a box to send it it cause they won't guarantee me getting my original back. ha. so thanks for the help.

 

I think I looked at these batteries and they are the same size battery that comes with the unit new. It was 2000mah. The 4000 were more. If you are going to replace, be sure to check this out.

 

I want to thank everyone that has posted in this thread. I read a couple of pages before buying the Acer 3003WLCI from Circuit City. I have since read every post, 214 to be exact. Lots of good info. Really appreciate the link to the touch pad to fix the Firefox problem with the scroll key. However, I just realized the side to side scroll isn't fixed. I'll have to go into the control panel to see if there is a setting there that will fix this.

Also really can't thank everyone enough for the reviews of the 8 cell battery. I've just got to decide the place I'm going to get it. It would really have been nice to have the longer life battery, but I'll live with a replacement.

Miner, you have been doing a great job on this thread. Thanks for all your good work.

I was looking at a compaq before I found this deal at CC. For a similarly equiped unit, the price was going to be over $830. After rebate, the Acer is $549. And the Compaq didn't have wide screen but had a separate video card. Personally, I'd rather have the wide screen.

I picked mine up in Dec 26 and am very happy with my choice to get the Acer over the Compaq.

 

Hi I just registered to this site, to help you all out with information on these Acers. I bought an Acer Aspire 3003WLMi which is exactly the same as the WLCi. And this on the factory battery lasts barely an hour if I am lucky, but my fathers friend wanted to buy his son a laptop for christmas, and i knew the battery issue so I let him know if he wanted a laptop like this he would have to invest into a higher capacity battery.

So i looked up on the internet and found this site:
http://store.yahoo.com/laptoppartsnow/as303030seli1.html
they sold high capacity batteries for this laptop 4400 mAh which is way better then the stock 2000 mAh vattery. So i ordered this battery and it cost about 120 bucks, it arrived and I charged it right up and put it to the test.

I timed the battery life with a stopwatch, to get an acurate time of how long it would last. The results for this battery were alot better then the stock battery. The time it lasted was an impressive 2 hours and 43 minutes aprox. So this laptop works half deacent on batteries if you get a high capacity battery. Now that test was with the laptop constantly on, screen always on and hard drive always on. Also i had the brightness all the way up.

Now my guess is that if you tweak this baby with power options by having the screen turn off after 1 minute and hard drive after 3 minutes, with your brighness put to minimum, you will pass 3 hours and posibly make it to 3 hours and 20 minutes. So if you have the Acer Aspire 3003WMLi or 3003 WLCi i reccomend this battery. Used in combination with the stick battery, and power options, you will get 4 hours or more out of the laptop.

Hope this information was found useful, and good luck !
Anthony. :acer:

 

well sicne i m from India, there is some info , try this www.acer.co.in/products/notebooks/aspire3003.html .

and about the battery problem, Acer ppl are giving here 8-cell 4400 mAH Li-ion battery pack , so that should give me 2 hrs of life, ( i hope).
So i m planning to buy this laptop ASAP.

 

I also got a LCBTP03003 for my 3003LCi, from ebay seller 'power_198'. It was $68.70 including shipping from Milpitas CA.

It arrived as expected, 4400Mah, recommended.

 

I`m really lucky to find this thread. I live in the UK and here 3003WLMI is sold which is the one that is the same as WLCI. It is nearly £470 and according to its properties it is really cheap.But the problem is I`m confused between DELL inspiron 1300 and this laptop. DELL is nearly £500 and its properties are:

Intel® Celeron® M Processor 360 (1.40 GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 400 MHz FSB)
512MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2x256)
15.4inch WXGA (1280x800) LCD Panel
8X DVD+/-RW with Software
4 Cell 35Whr Primary Battery
60GB Hard Drive (5400 rpm)
Dell™ Wireless 1370 802.11b/g Mini PCI Card


So which of them do u prefer me to buy? They say that It`d better to avoid Celeron but on the other hand Sempron has heat problem. In fact i dont mind the battery because i know that i`ll plug the laptop to AC power all the time.And of course i want a silent laptop. Help me please....

 

avoid getting a celeron. Semprons are better. Celerons have generate more heat.

Also you might want to use the £ symbol instead of saying "pounds"

 

So is it true to consider, this WLMI is a cheap and robust option for a laptop. Oh God how difficult to find a laptop when u have a limited budget I want to buy one soon and I dont wanna to get dissapointed because it will be my first laptop.

By the way I`ve changed `pounds`. Thanx for your warning, It is much more simpler .

 

I am pretty happy with mine. No trouble or issues and has run pretty stable since day 1.

I would recommend it but for a few things which you mentioned. It is not the most silent of the laptops. The fun turns on/off every other(~3 - 4 mins) depending on your usage. The fan is audible but I wouldnt term it noisy but it does make the typical fan 'whooosh' sound.

Heat - The underside does tend to heat up a bit and after a few hours of usage the heat tends to trickle onto the keyboard and the touchpad. The heat is a bit on the high side but is not totally unberable.

Durability - Hmm...well compared to my Compaq the Acer does feel inferior.

I would say this for the price it is a good laptop. If you dont mind the fan and soft plastic, I would suggest the laptop.

 

I've been humming and hawing over this little acer for a couple weeks now.

This thread has been very helpful. I just need a few specific questions answered before I can take the plunge. I'd really appreciate the insight.

I'm going to be watching a lot of dvd's on this thing. From what I understand the screen is quite nice, but does the lack of video card hinder the DVD playback preformance? Choppiness or something of the sort? Or is the integrated video more than adaquate? How much better would it be with a video card? I'm trying to get a feel for it, if you know what I mean.

And also. I have no problem with the fans being somewhat audible during regular use, but when I put on my headphones (open air) and watch a movie I don't want to hear it. They , the fans, aren't so loud that this would be a problem, would it?

Thanks!

 

1. Yes the graphics card is capable of playing DVD's. There should be no issue here. Regular DVD's are not too taxing on graphics cards. The only place where the SiS lags behind is in 3D graphics.

2. The fan is not that noisy. It is muted even when ther is some external noise(like a TV or if there are other people talking) and ofcourse when wearing headpones it is virtually silent.

 

Thanks. I'll be ordering this soon.

 

This is not your father's entry level laptop. I too was afraid of poor performance but DVDs play flawlessly, as a matter of fact Divx movies play without a hitch also. Just go for it, it's a nice laptop.

 

This is really random but this has to be the most replies ever on a single thread (226).

 

You're getting a lot of recommendations to buy the Dell, and that's understandable. I was having the same problem deciding which to get but I made up my mind to go for the Aspire.

I've seen the Inspiron 1300. It looks like 1990s PVC technology. All the ports are on its side. The back is just a featureless piece of black PVC. It's kind of reminiscent of a 1980s Sinclair ZX Spectrum and pales in comparison to later Inspiron models.

You won't get this with the Acer as all models look sleek and professional -- people can't actually tell which model you have.

Now the spec you gave for the Dell is impressive, but the price you quoted must be wrong or it's before tax. I just configured a similar system:

Intel® Celeron® M Processor 370 (1.50 GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 400 MHz FSB)
768MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM Memory (1x512MB+1x256MB)
60GB (5.400rpm) Hard Drive
15.4inch WXGA (1280x800) LCD Panel
8X DVD+/-RW with Software
4 Cell 35Whr Primary Battery
Dell Wireless 1370 802.11b/g Mini PCI Card

Price = £738 including VAT and shipping.

The Acer is going for £450-500 in various confiurations. It also boasts at least a 1.8Ghz, even if the other variable conspire to make it less zippy than your Dell.

Now, for an actual comparable price, you'd get the Dell Inspiron 1300 as configured:

Intel® Celeron® M Processor 370 (1.50 GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 400 MHz FSB)
256MB 533MHz DDR SDRAM Memory (512 on special offer if you're lucky)
60 GB (5.400rpm) Hard Drive
15.4inch MATT WXGA (1280x800) LCD Panel
Cheap 8X DVD+/-RW with Software
4 Cell 35Whr Primary Battery
Dell Wireless 1370 802.11b/g Mini PCI Card
No warranty (90 collect and Return service)

Price = £450 ( £500 if you include one year warranty)

Now that still isn't bad.

Trouble is if you order online from Dell you have to wait 72 hours before they confirm your order, then five working days before you receive an ORDER NUMBER.
Then they really mess you around when you check to see your build status ( they have to build the machine, usually using cast off components from unwanted machines).
Once you get an actual delivery date (if you're lucky, this will be a fortnight after your initial order) you have to cross your fingers and hope the thing gets delivered on time.
The customer service is attrocious. You'll be talking to people who are in Calcutta or Ireland. They'll keep giving you promises they break and when you finally receive the goods, you better hope it's what you asked for because otherwise you're looking at months of frustration. My prior experiences with Dell were the deciding factor here. The Inspiron seems okay, but I'd rather order something prebuilt and with a reasonable warranty.

My recommendation is to order the Acer, and do so from Dabs, CConline, Watford Electronics or any other online outlet. They'll tell you whether or not the machine is in stock and you'll receive it after one or two working days.

 

Excellent points Darth. The delivery time was the deciding factor for me. I could go pick up the Acer or wait for at least a month for the Compaq I was considering to be delivered. I'm not that patient.

 

Hello everyone. I also have the 3003wlmi and I use clockgen to ovrclock it...I don´have the settings of FSB in bios...also after flasfing with the newst bios. Well with clockgen I came up to 2,1Ghz then the sistem becomes unstable. The CPU temp is the same or ewen lower then running with 1,8ghz...I don`t know how this is possible.. I`m Quite new with overclocking of computers...Can running on 2,1 Ghz be harmfull for computer?

Greetings from Slovenia..

 

I just got my replacement LCBTP03003 battery(The 4400 mAH) i paid $63.95 on ebay from the seller LAPTOP PC PARTS seller is from hong kong took about 2 weeks to get it,but for the price it was worth the wait,i was able to get very close to 3 hours with the screen at full brightness running two programs,if you are gonna get the battery make sure you get the 4400 mAH,some sellers on ebay list the same battery cheaper but when you read the fine print you'll find out it's the 200mAH or the 4000mAH,so be carefull with your choice

 

Hey miner or to anyone that can answer this. First miner thanks for all the input and help you have offered me in this thread.

So i was reading more reviews on this laptop just for the heck of it since ive owned it since late november. My cdrw drive crashed on me and i called acer and returned it. They payed shipping both days and i had it back within seven days of the drive going down.
And thats including shipping both ways. So kudos to acer's excellent customer service. A++

My question is can you upgrade the processorto a newer faster one or can you even overclock it from bios or can you upgrade anything to laptop besides memory and drives.
I read a review here and was curious so i posted on his comment but he hasn't responded. here is the link to his comment/review.
http://reviews.cnet.com/Acer_Aspire_3003WLCi_Mobile_Sempron_1_8_GHz_15_4_TFT/4864-3121_7-31515132.html?tag=31515132&messageSiteID=7&tag=uoreturn&cval=1687890&messageID=1687890&ctype=msgId[/SIZE]

 

First off. Glad to help you all. i enjoy it.!
Yeah, upgrading the processor shouldnt be a hassle. The Aspire 3000 is very similar and uses the same chipset, BIOS & essentially the same hardware as the Aspire 5000 which uses the Turion ML, and also according to this thread in the AMD support forums, the Turion MT series is also compatible...
http://forums.amd.com/index.php?showtopic=66752

OEM BIOS are pretty basic and do not have the ability to tinker around with advanced settings.
Overclocking is not really recommended and you'll have to use a utility from Windows like Clockgen to raise the HTT speed thereby raising the clock speed. Doing this it increases the clock speed of everything from the RAM to the PCI bus which is not such a good idea as running everything above spec is going to hurt in the long run even if the temperatures are within control.

 

Hi. As I can see overcklocking is not recommended. What about undervolting this processor-is that possible?..or is it locked.. That would produce less heat and the fan wouldn`t turn on so many times..I`ve tried with RmClock..but no success..Miner?

 

Undervolting is very much possible. I use RM to undervolt mine. It does not help much with the fan but the temps seem to be cooler on the whole and especially when the cpu is running at full steam.

If yours came with the latest Roma revision(with SSE3) Sempron, then you will be limited to 1.075V as the lowest possible voltage. So you might see a difference when the cpu is at 100% but wont affect the temps much at 800MHz.

 

Thank you for your quick answer. Yes, mine came with SSE3..it`s a pitty that it can`t be volted under 1,075...that would turn the fan off for more time. I wanted to undervolt it at 1,8ghz with RM-no success i don´t know what I`m doing wrong...Which is the lowest voltage for 1,8..?
Thank you again..

 

1.25V is the lowest most stable voltage I have been able to reach so far. It might not be the same in your case as it largely depends on the individual cpu. So YMMV.

These are the 3 steppings I have been running...
9x - 1.8GHz - 1.25V
8x - 1.6GHz - 1.15V
4x - 800MHz - 0.95V

 

Thanks Ibseco for sharing your experience.Sadly,I got screwed twice at eBay 2 years ago and I did promise my-self that never again would I buy from...a power seller with even only one bad comment.Now,there's only one guy that fits the bill but...he only accepts Paypal for payment so...just too bad for me.

 

Thanks Karamanos for sharing your experience! I will one day have to send mine since I'm still living with that 1.5 in. stripe that hide the screen just between the 2 right hinges.I did try to contact them by e-mail(during the Holidays)since so many did post that their phone service was so bad but for me...their e-mail service wasn't any better.Never went anywhere except to be told to call the same ........ # everybody has to,to get anything.
Since that time,I did see in the message here that at least one other guy did get the same problem as me.Sure would have appreciate if he would have share his experience...maybe he hasn't done anything yet about it...like me...and did live with a...little screen.

 

Can someone help me out? I can't figure out where to change the video memory settings.

 

Press F2 when you see the Acer splash the minute you turn on the laptop. This should take you to the BIOS menu. In one of the sub menus you'll be able to set the amount of graphics memory.

 

booyah. Thx miner

 

I was wondering since the battery life is an issue on the Aspire 3003WLMi if it would be worth it to just get the Aspire 5002WLMi? The AS3003WLMi goes for $799 Canadian here but for $100 more I could get the AS5002WLMi which has the same specs just with a Turion64 ML-30 processor and battery life between 3-4 hours. Thanks.

 

LESL, honestly just contact them through the phone if anything. I mean how old is your laptop? It should be still covered throught the warranty period. All I did was call the support line, I probably was on hold for maybe 10 minutes, got through talked to an extremely nice guy, told him what had happened. He had me run some tests (as if i didn't know already) but I complied and ran them.
Then he basically said that it would have to be sent in for replacement and he told me the turn around time. My problem happened right around new years too so even with the holiday they were fast. :asus:
Actually the funny thing was, I called like 9ish in the morning and i guess they are so fast, they had a fedex guy there in the afternoon to pick it up. Since I hadn't boxed it up or anything, I went the next day to the store when it was all ready to go.
Basically they sent an email with all the instructions how to send it back and I swear within 7 days I had shipped it there, fixed it and sent it back> AWESOME STUFF. :acer:
They do however want you to send it back with original foam inserts from box, but i got creative and sent back with other ones i had. Also don't send it back with original box because they basically say that you won't get it back. Basically lots of "BUBBLE WRAP" not peanuts, Air bags that you put in packages, and i put lots of newspaper crumpled up in balls to cover space in box. They pay for shipping, so they sent 2nd day fed ex prepaid bill and off i went to kinkos when it was ready. CAKE!!!! Hope that helps. :asus:

 

Hi

I have aspire 3003 NLMi and yesterday i obtain a bluetooth module BCM 92035NMD which i paid 50 euro and intend to do an upgrade.Acer told me that is option to upgrade but they ask 200 euro for service.So is there anyone who know where to find shematic diagram motherboard and connenctor or know some thread on this subject.I spend one month on internet looking for some thread on this issue.I disasemble whole laptop looking for a connector or something but zero. I find one connector under a keyboard.Thanks people

 

Well...it's ridiculous to pretend they have an e-mail service since you always wind-up having to call(and wait)to get anything done.Also...in my case,I'm on the road and have no fixed address so I wonder how they will manage to pick it up and then send it back...that's why I haven't send it yet(I bought it in October)and was broken in mid December.In another thread(Acer LCD problem)one guy send it back and 3 weeks later...he still haven't seen it back.As far as to not send the original box...because they won't send it back to you...what kind of business is this?

 

So I was a little skeptical to purchase an extended battery, but I felt I needed it to since the standard battery is basically crap when it comes to unplugged from wall. Before with standard battery with full brightness and all apps running, maybe an hour if that. If you lowered some specs, applications and brightness just about an hour to hour and 15 or 20 mins.
I went looking around and found on ebay an extended battery (the 4400mAH) I bought it from the ebay power seller/store/user(excellent feedback) battery expert and payed $49.95 with 18.99 flat rate shipping. (total equaling $68.94) Unfortunately they ship from like Hong Kong so it does take some time. Mine took 13 days. They state on their shipping that it is 7 to 15 days. I have had for a few days now and I am extremely pleased with performance. 2+ hours on battery so far. Ill write follow up and time exactly till full drainage. Unfortunately it does add a little more weight to it. Not to much to worry about but now the battery is up to par.

 

2CV6club-- I was wondering where you bought that blue tooth module from and if you found anymore information from anyone on how to install it. I am interested and curious myself. Thanks

 

hey miner why are you selling your acer?and second,how much are you selling it for and where?