Acer Aspire 5930(G) owner thread

I just went to look inside my 5930G, actually taking away cooling system and changing processor seem to be very easy. Processor and graphic card are easily accessible without taking away keyboard. The main hatch gives acces in everything. Of course, changing memory or hard disk = child's play.
I love this lap. It changes a lot compared to my old one.

Count on me for the feedback. Games like GTA IV which pump hard the processor should be well improved. Plus a gain on battery life in my case cause of the 35 to 25 W transition See ya !!!

 

You shouldn't expect too much improvement with GTA IV.
That game is a bad console port and requires a desktop Quad Core cpu to run properly.
It IS more cpu intensive ... so a jump to P9600 SHOULD definitely provide a boost ... but don't expect huge gains.

 

Thank you! since I don't own 5930G (I have its older brother, 5920G) so I can't answer that... but I think it's the same prob if I want to instal XP to my 5920G.

 

You're welcome.
If your friend has 5930G then he can apply the drivers I posted.
If you want to install XP on 5920G, you will only need different drivers (the ones for that laptop of course), but the BSOD, or an error reporting that XP cannot detect the hard drive will manifest on any laptop or desktop computer if SATA drivers are not pre-installed and you want to install the said OS on a sata hdd.

 

So I'm thinking of installing Xp in a few months when I get a week off from school, and this is what I picked from you guys.

All drivers are available from xp and linked to in this thread
Before installing I should change from SATA to IDE and once I am done installing with XP, I should get the driver mentioned by deks above, followed by the intel SATA driver.

Also, I'm not too sure what the point of the recovery partition is.
Doesn't it just restore Vista to the same bloated state that it arrived in???

I may do a clean install of Vista 32-bit, in which case there is no point of me having a recovery partition correct????

What could i use to say shrink the c drive to 50Gb from 110GB, and delete the recovery partition, and finally add all this space to my D partition without losing the data already on it???

Thanks

PS - The P9500/9600 looks appealing, I may be tempted later on.
Right now I am thinking of o/cing my Cpu form 2.26 to 2.4Ghz, anyone have any info on this

Thanks

 

The recovery partition restores Vista Home Premium SP1 (32 bit) with all of the Acer bloatware indeed.

Here's what I did:
I erased the recovery partition, re-allocated my free space so I have 3 partitions:
C: 50GB for XP PRO SP3 (32 bit),
D: 50GB for Vista Home Premium SP1 (64 bit),
E: 150GB for downloaded stuff, 3dsMax scenes, projects, games, torrents, movies, etc ...

I think I will further reduce the XP partition by about 10 or 20GB because for the moment, XP takes up just over 10GB with all of the programs installed, and I keep it for the most part because of it's better compatibility with older software.

Overclocking is not presently doable on our 5930G's to my knowledge.
I think it's because Acer has locked the BIOS for this very thing (unless later versions of the BIOS change this).

I used G-Parted for re-partitioning my hard drive.
It's free, but it also took it's sweet time (about 6 to 8 hours) to repartition my hard drive as I wanted it.
It's because it had to 'move' all that space most of the time (coupled with adding space to existing partitions and so on) ... so it took some time.

If possible, use Partition Magic 8 because I think it will get the job done much faster.
I was unable to use it for some reason even after I wiped pre-installed Vista and installed my XP (it's possible it's because of the SP3 ... not really sure on why this happened ... it was a clean install).
I constantly got an error.

Yes ... change the AHCI to IDE before installing XP, and once you are inside XP, install Chipset, then Sata (posted above), gpu, sound card (the ones from Acer website for our laptop in order to have subwoofer), wifi, LAN.

Also, a small recommendation: If you have a USB mouse like me, do yourself a favor and install the Touchpad drivers (from Acer website again), then in it's properties, have the thing disable the touchpad upon detecting an external pointing device.
It saves you trouble with the mouse cursor jumping all over the screen when you write (it can be inconvenient).

If you need any more help, be sure to let me know.

 

OK thanks

I may do a clean install for vista, and change around the partition and such.
I'll try G-Parted.
But if I only add space to the D drive, will it mess up the data already on it or no???

With a vista clean-install, I don't need to change anything in the BIOS right???
Just re-install and install drivers from acer site???

 

G-Parted will simply re-arrange your space, it won't mess up the data on it (unless you press 'delete' or 'format' and then 'execute action')

You can also undo your actions in g-parted before executing them.
So make sure you don't move around the partitions too much and all.
Familiarize yourself with g-parted before using it though in order to minimize the time needed for it to do it's job.

If you are doing a clean Vista install, you don't have to mess with the BIOS.
Just for XP.

 

Hi,
when I play at any game my acer 5930 has got really ennoying lags. I've seen with CPUz that the multiplier of the cpu (P8400) changed even when stressed by playing games.
I 've tried with XP, Vista, and the huge Acer Vista.
Even with minimums setting, the laptop lags...
I've tried different driver for chipset. I will changed bios soon when the acer website will allow me to download the 1.23 version but i'm not really optimist about the result.

Have you make working the emporing technologie for the battery with XP ?
which version?
thanks and happy new year

 

what kinds of games are you playing?
Also, are you playing with the laptop in your lap or is it on a flat surface?
Your lag could be associated with trying to play demanding games at maxed out settings, or even because of the heat buildup.

Have you checked your temperatures?
What are they exactly during gaming?
Use HWMonitor to test those out.

 

I also saw at times that my multiplier was lower than what it should be, but I'm not sure about when gaming.

I must check that out while gaming

 

I can do a similar checkup.
Which program exactly?
RMClock or something else?
The default multiplier should be at what number exactly (I haven't been messing too much with the multiplier aspect which is why I ask)?

 

Hi,
the multiplier should stay at 8.5x for a P8400. Mine is switching between 6x and 8.5x; it make games impossible to play.
For exemple at Call of Duty 4; I can play it "clean" 10minutes, then it starts to lag.
I think it's because of temperature to high; have a look:

IDLE


FULL



i run XP on my laptop. which version of the chipset driver and empowering technology (battery) do you use?

added:
I ve got a beta version of Setfsb for the 5930; you can see it http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=4158391#post4158391

it doesn't work because some date are missing...

 

in my opinion your problem has nothing to see with the multiplier...Mine always changes from 6.0x 8.0x to 10.0x according to performance needs and it's normal.
Your temps seem to be too high...As for my GPU, mine doesn't go above 80°C under stress even with a strong overclocking. So as Deks said before, maybe you play on flat surfaces don't know. On my bed, my temps reach 95°C +++. On a table 77°C top with 660/1650/925. So maybe it's a downclocking security problem.

 

oops mistake....maybe you should play on flat surface....that's better

 

I do play on flat surface (table).
i'll try playing outside today if there is a difference

 

Play on flat surfaces.
Not on a bed or a lap as there's a very strong possibility that you are obstructing the air vents beneath the laptop.

This is a dedicated gpu we are talking about, and despite the fact this new gemstone series of Acer's doesn't have issues with bad cooling, you still need to provide decent airflow beneath it.

I run XP PRO SP3 ...
I was playing Assasins Creed lately (most of the settings maxed out apart from the resolution which I lowered to 1024x764) and my temps were at about 70 degrees (possibly lower) for the cpu and about 60 to 65 degrees for the gpu.
Will post more accurate temps after I play again as I'm guessing here mostly (but I also have Zalman Nc2000B running which reduces my temps by about 10 degrees).

I haven't tried playing Assasins Creed under Vista x64 though.
Given the fact it supports x64 OS, perhaps it would be able to take full advantage of my cpu compared to when it's running in XP.
Will give it a go some time.

EDIT: I just noticed you stated that you are playing on a table 'lemigrateur'. You never answered my question though. How old is your laptop, and did it occur to you that the temps might be high because of dust buildup?
I also noticed that your idle temperatures for the gpu are about 10 degrees higher compared to mine.

My gpu idles at about 43 degrees C.
The cpu idles at about 41 degrees C.

What settings in games are you running and which games are you playing?
Also, have you tried cleaning out the laptop air vents and see if that might bring down the temps?

 

lemigrateur, why do you ask about battery ??? do you attempt to play demanding games on battery ? Cause it's not possible without lagging for sure.

To Rayyan's question about overclocking cpu, well, our Clock generator RTM875N-606-VD seems to be locked so no overclocking mode by fsb according to setfsb programmer (i mailed him). I read somewhere it could be possible to overclock by the multiplier but it sounds very complicated and not very efficient so i forgot it.

 

ok,
so my laptop is over warmed. I ve play GTA4 for half an hour without any lag. I was outdoor :/
so it means something wrong, i'll open it to see what.

thanks you to help me finding the problem.
If nothing works i'll buy the same Cooler: Zalman NC-2000B as you Deks

outdoor (glagla freezing)

 

i wanted empowering because i tought it was because of it than my multiplier change during playing.
You can downclock the cpu, it can be usefull, but with XP I can't find empowering technology that works

 

ok then ;-) i don't use empowering technology i have no interest in it fotr the moment so can't help you about that.

LOL half an hour outdoor----> it was an audacious act. ;-)
wawouh even outdoor 82°C ! There is definitely a problem, indeed a cooler could help but try to clean dust too.

 

Clean out the air vents first and foremost.
These temps are unusual.

 

I've opend the laptop and cleaned the fan and around. There were not so many dust.
Is it possible to force the fan to run at miximum speed with a software?

 

I don't think that forcing the fan to maximum will work to your advantage really.
Don't try to play the games on battery.
Also, have you tried using Nvidia latest official drivers from their website for your gpu or Dox's custom drivers?
Perhaps you are experiencing a lag because the gpu drivers are not taking advantage of your gpu's power as they should.

As I said earlier, which games are you playing that you are experiencing a lag?

 

Well, I measured using CPU-Z and it showed the multiplier changing between x6 (1596MHz) when idle and x8.5 (2261MHz) when it is doing something

Is this normal???

 

Yes it's pretty standard as far as I know.
The cpu reduces it's speed when in idle mode ... the gpu does this as well.
My P7350 is reducing it's speed do 1.5 Ghz when not really used, but it goes up to 2.0 Ghz (it's max) whenever I'm doing something that requires cpu power.

It's a power conservation technology which also reduces the amount of heat output-ed by the cpu and power it needs to run.

When gaming though, the speeds go up to their maximum.
I haven't been experiencing issues with this though.

 

I also haven't had any issues

I was just wondering if it was normal, thanks for clearing that up

 

Just to officially say that Quad mobile QX9300 ain't compatible with acer 5930G. Taiwan seller on ebay assured me 5930G can support until X9100 3,06 ghz despite it is a 45W TDP. Well, personaly speaking and to avoid over-heating problems i think it is more reasonable not to go above T9800 2,93 ghz or T9600 2,8 ghz since despite high clocks they're only 35W TDP and less over-priced than X9100. For example, i saw T9800 on sale at 297 euros when X9100 is above 500 euros for only 100 mhz better.

Next step graphic card ! Waiting for new MXM II vga series ;-)

 

Oh I already knew the QC aren't gonna go into 5930G.
Intel messed up nicely on that one.

In any event, I think that switching form 2.0Ghz to 2.6 or 2.8 will definitely provide a solid boost of 10 FPS (if not more) in games.
Given the fact that we have our laptops for only a few months, I would suggest we wait until prices drop even more (we cannot upgrade to quad cores anyway, so might as well wait a few months).


I think that going up to T9600 or T9800 would be better clock-wise compared to X9100.
The differences aren't that big between the cpu's clock-wise anyway and of course the Txxxx won't be as overpriced as the extreme edition (plus they don't consume as much power).

As for the gpu's ... well, for now we can only wait on future MXM II cards (it should be in several months).
Perhaps ATI will release their new 4xxxx series in MXM II flavor that will provide a pretty good boost over 9600m GT ... but I think this will only benefit us if the performance difference is larger than 20% and the manuf. process is at 55nm (or less while still retaining MXM II).

 

i know you knew it i just made a summary of what you taught me ;-)
I'll wait for the prices to drop but T9800 will be mine one day héhé.
if everything takes place as planned, we shouldn't have to buy a new laptop for at least the next 2 years....alleluia brothers !!!!!!

 

Perhaps Intel will release a Pxxxx cpu that operated on 2.8 or 2.9 Ghz later on.
Dunno if it's gonna be worth the wait if they do because it's likely they will overcharge them.

But seriously ... if you make the switch to P9600, you'd also gain a considerable boost and lower power consumption compared to the T5800.
Of course the boost will be even larger with T9800 ... so I think that waiting on that one would be better.


We already have pretty powerful laptops as it is (for mid-range).

Hm ... Kallogan ... I noticed you overclocked your GPU.
Not bad.
What kind of an FPS increase did you experience (along with the temps)?

 

i never use my lap on battery so after a deep cogitation i decided to aim at the T9800 We're gone for upgrading so might as well upgrade to the max (while staying reasonable of course).

As for my GPU overclocking, well, i think it depends on the games but yeah it provides a considerable boost. As for GTA benchmark for example, in 1024*640 i achieved about 28 fps without OC and now i'm close to 33 (32,88)
So it's much more playable. Mass effect and Dead space both run better too don't know how much in fps terms but it is visible...

Concerning the temps, at first, i thought it would have over-heated very fast but i was wrong. With my current settings even after three hours of GTA IV, temp max is 77°C solid rock and sometimes less (i'm with 179.28 driver but with 180.70 which is less performant i'm only at 70°c max so it depends on driver too). I'm very surprised by the 9600M GT since nvidia 8600M series are known for their over-heating issues (90°C+++). Seems they solved the problem with 9600M series maybe its due to the 65 nm transition.

Frankly, i didn't find its limits yet, even at 700/1700/950, it seems stable with temp max 79-80°C after a long gaming without any cooler so i don't know how high exactly i could go. I read laptops are not equals concerning overclocking, so you should try to OC by small steps while watching your temps if you want to...GPU can take at least 105°C so a temp of 80°C ain't so high.

Choice is yours !!!!!

In short terms, my card is faster than a 9700M GT which runs at 625/1550/800 and is over-priced. Let me laugh ;-)

 

here what i've found in laptopvideo i'm not the only one :

"As for 9600m gt's, even the technology is the same with 65nm! Which is why I opted for a 9600m gt... its overclocked to 715/1780/950 compared to 9700m gt's stock setting at 625/1550/800 (core/shader/mem) so it actually performs better (and amazingly, my temp reading avgs 78c in load...)"

here they come :
http://vr-zone.com/articles/nvidia-40nm-mobile-gpus-line-up-for-2009/6378.html?doc=6378

 

Hi again,
could you give me your temp for your 5930 please?
I need to compare.

 

well, lemigrateur (are you french by the way ?), personally speaking, without any cooler and any overclocking :
as for gpu :
idle temp : 46-48°C
load temp : 65-75°C depending on the drivers i use.

and from what i've experienced, my cpu d'ont go above 75°C

 

however i don't think your cpu temp is so high because i saw on the intel website your processor had a 105°C thermal specification while mine had only 85°C and DEk's one 90°C. So your processor should heat more than ours.

well, now i am wondering whether changing my processor to a T9800 (105°C thermal spec) might cause over-heating or limit my OC capacity since cpu and graphic card are more or less linked in the cooling system chain...

i'll put some ultra antarctic cooling paste lol

 

there it is. I wondered what driver could do about the temp... you answer me. I'll try different driver to see if I can get my system colder.
88° for the gpu ---> bad
btw, i 'm french

 

c'est dingue çà, je vais sur un forum anglosaxon pour parfaire mon anglais et je tombe sur un frenchie !!!!!! ;-)

if i may give you an advice about drivers i've expérienced, with 180.70 (the original not Dox's edition which heats much more) which is a good driver in performance terms, i had only a 65°C load temp instead of 75°C with my current driver 179.28. You should try this one froggy

 

Just a note:
There is a question if the BIOS in our 5930G will support the T9800 to begin with.
Hm ... theoretically, there 'shouldn't' be any difficulties as I think it would need a bios change only if we had the ability to move to quad cores (which sadly, and thanks to Intel, we don't).

 

ENGLISH MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Aisay na kar yaar

Wow

Missed a lot in about a day

I have a P8400 and right now I'm idling at 42-45, while the GPU is at 53
On my lap it is higher, with MSN, firefox, and iTunes running

Also, when gaming I hit around 95 when straight on the desk, but raising it up a bit cools it quite a bit. [on DoX's 180.84]

I may try to overclock, but I have no clue how to do it, so some help would be great.
Not right now, but maybe some time later.
also will this void the warranty???

Reading about the upgrades made me drool, I can imagine baby with a t9800, and a HD 4850 or the likes
A KILLER MACHINE!!!

Hopefully prices will also come down in around a year, when I plan on upgrading this baby, as it is just fine ATM

Also, Kallogan, a belated welcome to NBR,
your posts provide a lot of info, keep up the good work

 

Yes, at the moment there is no need for us to upgrade our 5930's.

I very much like the prospect of upgrading the cpu to T9800, gpu to something from ATI that is much faster than 9600m GT GDDR3, was produced on a smaller manuf. process and is of course MXMII compatible ...
Then RAM (well, this can be upgraded now for a low fee anyway to 4GB) ... but I'm hoping we will get the ability to upgrade to 8GB for x64 OS

We could also think about upgrading the hard drives ... to SSD's in about 6 months time (hopefully prices will drop by then).


Question:
Guys, why is my GPU idling at 43 deg C while most of your idle gpu temps are by about 10 degrees higher?
It really doen't make any sense.
My Zalman cooler only brings/maintains the temps to those that don't require the inner fans to work on a constant basis at full.
So realistically, the 10 deg drop in temps is more obvious in games than idle mode.
I just don't understand it.
The differences in gpu might be it though ... but a 220 Mhz difference in clock speed is minor ... and these Pxxxx cpu's are supposed to maintain the same power draw/heat emission regardless of their clock speed because they all consume the same (25W).

 

I don't know why your GPU idle temps are lower.

It doesn't make any sense :S
Maybe my vents are dusty, I live in a part of the world that is literally a desert, there is so much dust, that might explain it.

PS - Just tried dead space a while ago, it ran very well, at 1280x800 without anti-aliasing and blur, shaders at medium, v sync, eveything else on and high
Great framrate, between 30 - 26 perfectly playable

SCARY AS HELL THOUGH!!!!!!!!!!

PS

I LOVE THIS LAPTOP
Really for the first time ever I am really happy with something I bought, and have no regrets

 

Haaaaaa dead space such a great experience, ran like a charm on mine too.

my idle temp on a table is 46 not much considering i have no cooler, btw this gpu is crazy, i'm 680/1700/950 and the temp is incredibly low i'm always 77 max, what an alien mobile gpu !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rayyan, personaly speaking i slept with my lap, it's the beginning of a long love story ;-)

 

HAHA LMFAO

I haven't slept with mine , but this is my first laptop and I am really happy that I bought it.

Also, how did you o/c it
Help a n00b here
Thanks

 

If you are ready to flash your gpu bios at your own risk with the possibility to fry your lap then i'll explain it to you.

Still motivated ??????????????????????

just to know, when you play in normal conditions, i mean a demanding game on a flat surface like a table, what is your load temp ??? because you said "Also, when gaming I hit around 95 when straight on the desk..." if that's true don't even think to OC for your lap good....

 

Overclocking to my knowledge for now is only doable through Nibitor (flashing the gpu bios) as fars 9600m GT GDDR3 is concerned.

But tell you the truth, I don't think I will be overclocking my gpu for now (regardless of the fact my temps are pretty low).


I still haven't tried Dead Space myself as am working on Assassins Creed.
But I'll make sure to post some temps readouts when I play AC to give you the full load temps.



Btw ... I personally set AC to 1024x 768. It's a tad blurry ... not really by much, however it does add a more 'realistic' touch to the visuals in my opinion and smooths out certain things (while keeping the other graphical settings maxed out).

 

Hello,

Bought the laptop a few days ago and loving the performance. However there seems to be alot of backlighting, especially in the lower middle. Noticing a huge difference between the top and bottom. Is this a problem for anyone else?

 

I have noticed this when watching movies, but when i change the contrast a little its fine, and its only a little

@ kallogan
I usually hit the 80s when gaming but I have hit 94 degrees once when playing grid/crysis

I don't think I will o/c at the moment, maybe in the future once I get a cooler

@deks, i used 2 play at 1024x768, but now I can't separate myself from the sharpness of 1280x800 so I often end up lowering some details to medium

 

I'll try Grid and crysis soon to see how my OC gpu behaves in those stressing games.
94 is far too hot to me. Maybe with a cooler you could do a little OC but i'm not sure it'll worth it....

 

Took a few picture to let you guys see what I'm talking about. Default screen settings. Is this the same for all screens or did I get a borked one?