Acer Aspire 5940G - Core i7 - Owner's Lounge

For people who own this laptop.

I received mine yesterday and overall it's a very good laptop.

i might do a small review later.

The only problem i am having right now is that it has a few random major lags when i do stuff and sometimes hangs when i watch blu ray movies.

Share your experience with this laptop.

 

What is the resolution of the screen? I hear that 1366x768 is the only option offered?

 

yeah it's only 1366x768 which is a bit small for this laptop.

 

I bought one of these a few weeks ago and I am very pleased with it. Currently working my way through Mass Effect and it can play it with all the setting set to high so I am happy. Just needs a notebook cooler to lower the temperatures slightly but otherwise it is very good.

 

Please post HWMonitor ScreenShots.
You can run it in the background while gaming

 

It will give the gfx extra life tbh.

 

Here is a HWmonitor screenshot of my 5940G at idle and during playing STALKER clear sky. At complete max settings the game avg frame rate was 8-12fps so it isn't too bad for a mid range GPU.

 

What mxm type is the graphic card? I think it should be 1gb gddr3 550Mhz/800Mhz ddr3 but is there any possibility to be mxm-II type. Unfortunately i've seen pictures of it and the back plate is half size of the previous models; the hottest part is middle left side so the graphic card should be placed there but there seems to be no access directly to the graphic card and cpu from backside, (only by removing the keyboard you can reach but I don't(can't) want and I don't recommend anyone to do this). Where can we learn the mxm type?

 

Could anyone really define Hd4650's MXM type please?

 

It can be a mxm II, but also a mxmIII type. This thread is specificly giving a list of acers and their mxm ports and the grafic cards which you an put in them: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=396320

 

I am asking especially on this 5940g model whether mxm-II or not, if somebody learns somehow please pm me.

 

http://blogntech.com/new-acer-aspire-5940g-15-6-inch-laptop-listed-for-pre-order-in-uk.html
States that the graphics is integrated, but not sure which mobo this would be...
Anyone with any ideas?

 

Can't be sure but there is at least one review (in Polish though) that compares Aspire 5940G to 8940G and their GPU's respectively HD4650 and GT240M and claim that both notebooks use "MXM 3.0A". That would be the new MXM-A just like in 5739G and 5935G.
LINK

 

thanks downloads! although it sounds like the news that i didnt want to hear! lol... guess i wont be sourcing a 5940g gfx card then...

 

hello, I just bought this great laptop and everything is in Swedish.

Is there a way I can change the language to English.

I didn't get any booklet manual because it was built into the laptop and it's in Swedish.

Is there anywhere I can get the user manual in English?

I hope to hear from someone soon.

Thanks

 

USER REVIEW ACER 5940G


I baught this Acer 5940G since the "old" ( 3 years ) Acer 5920G died. About all hardware units always had problems - I used an obsene amount of time to install XP on it to make it perform.

User review Acer 5940G

I had to update this small review several times, first I was very skeptical regarding running Windows 7 64 bit - at first the interaction with Windows was sometimes rather slow - a small delay on all tasks, but after a while it has dissapeared, perhaps it was after i disinstalled Maccafee ?

Display etc:
Screen is glossy and very reflektive - you see your self in the picture all the time - my use is for a desktop replacement with external monitor, so no problem -
but if you intend to use this daily without external monitor, no need to waste your time in reading further - AVOID !

The case, including inside and the screen, is full of your fingerprints after a few minutes - plenty of samples for the fingerprint scanner ...

The keys are very very nice, totally different from the flimsey keys on the 5920G - and they have light ... they have light ! - very nice. You wonder how you could live without this before - very difficult to go back to non-light keys after this experience.

Having an external monitor atached, the VGA cable loses sometimes the grip for a sec - this is not a problem any more as in the 5920G - the system remembers the setting.

The external monitor is on from boot start - in my case I have the machine under the table, now I dont have to crawl under the table on boot if problems, or if you have a dual boot - very good !

I use a USB display adapter to connect 1-2 more extern monitors, it usualy works like a snap, no interference with Windows, very nice. Unfortunately Windows 7 thinks its it can do this better, and shades off the DisplayLink setting link - unplugging and plugging a new monitor makes all screens flicker, plus you need to enter the Graphics menu to setup how you want it to be - havnt found a way to kick out the windows 7 driver hook.

Further, havnt figured how to change the contrast and brilliance for the external monitor - on the MSI Netbook is was simple.

Heat and noise:
Pleasent surprice, the unit runs very quiet and relatively cool. The fan hasnt kicked up a single time like the 5920G did frequently -
sounded like a jet. I suppose only a fanless can do it more quite - very good ! However - sometimes under heavy load, there is this high frequency noise from the fan which is very anoying - I seldom run the machine hard, so the noise is there only sometimes. Push the power save button, and the problem is gone within a few secs. This is clearly a design flop my Acer, and you wonder why they did release this product when it has such problem, instead of fixing this fan problem.

However, this behaviour may have a possitive side for the casual user, as if the sound starts for no reason, it may be some unautorized stuff running - like a sort of virus alarm ;-)

The power and speed management in i7, and I suppose/perhaps a wise heating management/construction design of Acer ( ? ), seems to finaly solve an old problem on both stationaire and portable PC´s - why not just skip the i3 and i5 and go full scale production of the i7 ????? ( Yes - we know all about product management etc, but in this case .... ). i7(i3) with max speed of 0.9 Ghz, i7(i5) with max speed of 1.6GHz ?

Antivirus and firewall:
I decided to uninstall Maccafee and only use Windows own firewall and the Windows defender - antivirus programs has got to a point where I feel they are more a burden than a help. Perhaps the first time for years I have run Windows witout a firewall or antivirus, with the LAN plugged ! Immediately the Windows firewall detects a program whics wants access to the net - it works. This issue deserves a comment - who know better how to protect the OS and HDD ? I can live with a virus destrous my programs but not the OS and the disk. most virus goes for the OS and the disk - so my personal conclusion is to try use Windoes firewall and defender. My wife tells that the latest version of Maccafee make her old PC run slower.

After a couple of days only using windows defender and firewall all seems fine - download of files are scanned by Firefox - sometimes Maccafee also scans files - even its disinstalled.

Performance - Windows 7 64 bit.
Aafter booting and connecting the LAN cable, Windows 7 actually figured out that I intended to connect to the internet - not to some other embedded complex socket no retail user would do, but simply to the Internet using port 80 - a small pop up and I was on the internet - but it took Microsoft 20 years to get this far. Vista couldnt handle unplugging and plugging the LAN cable.

I realy looked forward to this i7 with 4 processors, turbomeory, 4GB of RAM, 64 bit Windos 7 and all the other wissels . as explained earlier - interaction with windows had this small anoying delay - but dissapeared ......

The "installed Programs" list is long - full of stuff I didnt ask for and lots of applications I dont know whats for - this is not an OS any more, its an OA ( Operating Application ) - when attempting to install a 64 bit Office it complained - a 32 bit was already installed - the demo Office is a 32 it version ??? Hmmmm - wonder what more on this long list are in 32 bit ? Uninstalled the bunch of Office files, this takes quite a while.

This Acer 5940G aparently can only run Windows 7 ( and 64 bit ! ) ???? Are there / will there be drivers for XP 32 bit may we ask ?

Data chrunsing is quite good - compiling an application took 2 minutes and 40 sec before I disinstalled Maccafee, and 1 minutes and 30 secs after on this machine, and 6 minutes and 40 secs on the backup MSI WIND 100 Atom 1,6 GHz processor, 3GB RAM and XP.

However - the Atom based machine with XP is running with faster menues etc than the i7 with Windows 7 64 bit - not much but faster !

Made a small test using Google Earth, comparing with the Acer 5920G, T7300, NVidia graphics card, 3 GB RAM etc - the 5940G was clearly a level better - smooth operation, very impressive.


Buttom line is the machine is excellent - only thing is the glossy screen. It is fast, quite silent, runs cool - i love the light in the keypad. The power save button is very usefull, finaly having the external monitor on from boot is great.

Even beeing skeptical about Windows 7 and running a 64 bit OS, I must say its difficult to go back to XP. BUT - if you are used to XP, you will need some time to get to know Windows 7 UI, for example still havnt figured how to pin a shortcut to the desktop to the task bar. Also Office 2010 is driving med mad with its new UI - Paint too - things which were single klick are now two steps as commands are now spread ower different taps/menues which you have to access.

So far, this is far the best notebook I have tried/had - highly recommendable, especially as a desk top replacement - but the high frequence sound from the fan when the machine is under load is very annoying. If used primarly for heavy gaming, question is if you can live with this as a continuasly noise.


Positive: ( with priority )
i7
Low noise system, running relatively cool ( except for the high freq noise under load )
Light in the keys !
External Monitor is ON from boot start !
Unplugging and plugging the external monitor without the need of reconfiguration of the monitor
The power safe button !
eSATA connector


Cons - the bad: ( with priority )
Very glossy screen with reflektions
High freq sound from the fan under heavy load - very annoying !
( Software )
( Battery life )

What I miss: ( with priority )
Drivers for 32 bit XP
An exchangeable SSD HDD ( a slot ? ) instead of the old fashioned DVD drive ( also in a slot ? )

My to do list:
1) Install VMWARE 7.0 and a virtual machine with XP 32 bit Lite, and test
2) Get a new HDD + eSATA doc station and boot freash externally, using the eSATA link with XP 32 bit, to test if this works


PART II

Installed VMWARE 7.0 and created a virtual machine with a 32 Bit XP Lite SP3. Even running under a virtual machine interaction with XP is flying - blitz fast. Compiling an application under Windows 7 took 85 secs, and in the virtual machine 150 secs. A good trade offf ? I was trying to do my best using the preinstalled Windows 7 64 bit, but CodeGear keept chrashing - is now solved with a HEX editor.

XP 32 bit would be flying on this machine ! A Windows 7 32 bit using a SSD HDD could make this machine perform satisfactory ?

PART III

Installed Windows 7 32 bit on the two partitions containing the recover - 15GB in toltal. Install went fine - no LAN, but the wireless LAN is supported - but the rest is ofcause missing. No idea to try and install XP, if no drivers.

 

Can anybody tell me if there exists XP drivers for this Acer 5940G ? 32 bit.

 

I changed the language from German to English using this link - quick and easy:

1. Dowload the MUI English language pack
2. Run the Vistavilazator.exe


Vistalizator - change display language in Windows Vista and Windows 7

I also searched for a i7 machine with XP. This one has a downgrade from Windows 7 to XP professional - there is hope ahead.

ftp://ftp.wortmann.de/TERRA_Computersysteme/Notebooks/TERRA_MOBILE/1772/XP/

 

See review

 

Sorry what's wrong with windows 7 64bit?

The symptoms you describe suggest it's not performing correctly. I have certainly not experienced the issues you have had with either mechanical or SSD drives.

Why on earth would you want to move back to XP?

 

Its much faster, less complicated, more compact, and has the UI Im used to. Further - it runs my 32 bit programs without problems. Windows 7 is a multi step OS, XP is a single step. All I need from an OS is the file system and to run applications.

Sure many users will love Windows 7, my daughter of 12 loves it ( mainly because the Paint program is better ) , me and my whife hates it. Why release a PC which is unflexible in chosing the OS you want ?

 

Its not THAT much faster, it's less secure, 7 runs most 32bit applications just fine (32 bit apps run just fine on a 64bit OS, its the drivers that are different).

I just think you are running into some issue that you need to correct if its taking seconds to write anything.

As for not supporting XP time moves on.

XP in an ancient piece of software and constantly supporting it would make machines more expensive and possibly slower.

 

XP does does runs much much faster, even in a virtual machine, no need to argue about that - its almost too fast, howering ( still in the virtual machine )over links, even quickly, instantly opens the program files window - you have to circle the mouse around the area to avoid opening, LOL - well its a fact. But I have decided to give it a try - there are no XP drivers anyway, and sending back the machine is not an option. Again - this is a x86 PC, which should be able to run the most common OS, which are XP and Windows 7 ( Vista).

Some 32 bit programs will have problems running on a 64 bit system - like a small application of my own - did today change some code lines to make i work under 64 bit. CodeGear 2007 also have to be modified with a HEX editor to make it work under 64 bit windows - and i guess loads of 32 bit applications will have problems.

Antivirus and firewall programs begins to be more a burden than a help - I tried to install a free firewall and antivirus program - but they gave more problems than solutions. My wife ( super super user ) tells that the latest version of Macaffe makes her old PC run slower - so decided to use Windows own firewall and the defender, and uninstalled Macaffe. Who is the best to protect Windows OS and critical files + the HDD - theoretically ? Most viruses seems to go after the hart of the system, not user files - so I give the Windows firewall and defender a try - would be a huge advantage to avoid those "external" antivirus and firewall programs. Way back on the W2K Prof I used only the Norton Internet Security ( strickly firewall ) combined with thaughtfull browsing and opening of emails - worked well at that time, but perhaps virus have become more sophisticated - well I give it a try. A plus is that Windows is updating any way ( I think of the rules for firewall and virus updates for the defender ) - the less different programs running updates the better. I will allow updates to Windows every 2 weeks now ;-)

ADDED:

Looking closer at Windows firewall and the defender is intereting and recomended - the firewall seems very good ! How much the defener protects - we will see during the next months. I suppose few actually have experience with the Windows firewall since the external antivirus programms disables this ................ after disinstalling Maccafee, it seems like the machine is running faster.

 

Now after some days all ok only using Windows defender and firewall.

But even I uninstalled Maccafee - it has left a small piece of it self - McAfee Security Scan PLus. It says its free - makes a quick scan of your computer ( less than 30 secs ) if you want to. It also scans dowloaded files from time to time - havnt seen much to it so far - but it seems to be an extra protection when using only the Windows defender and firewall.

 

Now after 5 weeks of running only usig the Windows Defender and Firewall no problems so far. For risky surfing I use a Wmware virtual XP machine.

The machine and Windows 7 runs very stable without a single hickup or funny behaviour.

The high freq sound when running on heavy load still turns on now and then - its has turned to actually be a warning sound for me, if the sound turns on for no reason, I check what is running - as sort of a virus alarm ;-)

 

hy guys,

I also own an Acer Aspire 5940G and I have formatted it without creating a backup and now I want back all the things that were installed at the beginning.
Does anyone has a Recovery DVD and it's kind enough to share it with me.

I'm especially looking for the software that helps me use the media center buttons on the right. I can't find it anywhere for this kind of laptop and I have installed from an older laptop and it works like crap.

thanks!

 

I bought my Acer 5940G on Saturday to take overseas on a lengthy family trip. Shock horror when I realised I couldn't set up a dual boot XP/Win7 configuration. I need this because all my wife's programs/documents/knowledge are tied to XP and she's got no time to relearn.

Anyway it can be done.

I "slipstreamed" the SATA controllers from the file "f6flpy96x86.zip" into the contents of my Win XP Boot disk to create a new boot disk and this allowed a normal setup of Windows XP.

Only problems thereafter related to drivers - tracking down XP 32 versions of some of the pre-installed Win 7 drivers took time. Still haven't found one for the Broadcom 57xx Gigabit ethernet card but ICS_Dx32.exe sets up the 5100 WiFi link so I won't need the ethernet. If I did I'd by a £5 usb to ethernet adapter.

So I'm all set.

If anyone wants more details of the files or processes I've summarised above, post here and I'll respond.

 

Broadcom driver you mentioned should be here

 

Thanks downloads.

Yes I had already tried that link which gave me win_xp_2k3_32-14.2.0.7.zip but it didn't work.

Then on Wednesday I stumbled upon win_xp_2k3_32-14.2.0.5a.zip which did. Strange, given that it would appear to be a slightly earlier version.

After then starting to work with my lovely dual booted system it became clear that the VGA setup on my WinXP wasn't right - scrolling gave a wavy effect. I searched high and low for an ATI chipset that would work but eventually caved in and paid £23 for a subscription to a driver search service which found the right one straight away and tidied up the rest of my driver set, so I regard it as money well spent.

Rather than advertise openly, if anyone wants to know which driver search service - post here and I'll mention it.

But, more sensibly, if anyone wants to follow my route - post here and I'll list all the drivers.

 

Can anyone help me here. I can't recognise my DVD drive anymore. It says there is an error in identifying the drive.. Does anyone know how to fix this? Tried scanning for the newest driver with no luck.

 

Probably either a dead drive, or a loose cable / connector. It's worth trying to reseat the drive before you go looking for replacements.

 

Issue is how do i take the drive out and check? I can't see any leavers or buttons.

 

There's one screw that hold it in place- it's accessible from the outside or from under the main service hatch. You need to unscrew it and remove it and simply pull the drive out by the tray.
Sent you a helping PM.

 

Pulled it out and put it back in and it still can't detect it.

It has an a message in device manager. "Windows cannot load the device driver for the hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. Code 39"

Could a fresh install fix this problem?

 

Good idea to try a fresh install- might be related to some filters or changes in the system made by i.e. burning software.

 

Did a fresh install and fixed the problem.

 

Passing through - just want to update on my ownership. Still running without antivirus and firewall - except Windows defender and firewall.

Since July 2010 no virus or problem found. Firefox scans all files downloaded.

Looking for a new backup notebook - will be the 5750G or another 5940G. Probaly the 5940G as to the lower operating temperature - and that I dont know how the NVidia GC functions in the 5750G - the ATI in 5940G remembers the settings for the external monitor - the former Acer I had with a NVidia GC didnt, had to start all over again with video set-up if the VGA connector lost its grip - and it did often.

This 5940G is the best computer I ever had. Runs cool and almost silent.

I think its worth going for the 720Q with 1.6 GHz, than i7 740Q / 2630Q with higher idle clock - gives better temp and noise perf.

 

If that 2630 you are talking about is a sandy bridge, it will smash any previous gen chip for idle power consumption, especially the quads.