Acer Aspire 8940G -- Core i7 Quad -- Owner's Lounge

Does anyone know where I can buy the 8940G in the U.S. or Canada? Everywhere I looked so far, it's out of stock. I will even opt for a used or refurbished unit.

Thanks...

 

I did notice that amazon.ca seems to show one unit left in stock. Just go to the site and search for "Acer 8940G" and it should pop up. Everyone else I checked seems to be showing either no stock or "call to see if we have any".

Sincerely wish you the best of luck in tracking one down. It's a shame it's become such a hassle to find one.

 

Hi guys EXPERTs .... Help !
I have a simple question .
I got one of those 8940g. ...amazing.
I got an already installed Windows 7 Home premium inside it.

Problem : How do i get to copy that Windows 7 [that is inside my laptop] to a DVD ???

... so that I have an installation CD that I can use to ReInstall Windows 7 , if Needed ??

HHELP !


Thanks I am sure it is easy question for you!

 

On mine, a helpful box popped up near the systray in the bottom right corner telling me to click on it to make a set of restore disks, which I just completed. It took 3 DVDs for that plus one more for a Driver/App disk.

 

Anyone else experience a sort of stutter every few seconds with Bluray playback? I tried out the demo disc that ships with the 8940 and the picture and audio playback has a sort of glitch every few secs.

I think it may have been something I installed as I had the same exact behavior on a C2 based Dell I use as an HTPC. I only installed windows updates, MS Office 2007, Microsoft Security Essentials and Threatfire from PC Tools. I also uninstalled Mcafee, MS Office H&S, MS Works and other misc bloatware.

[edit]

Turns out the problem was Threatfire. I uninstalled it and the problem went away. Interesting thing is, simply turning it off wasn't good enough. I actually had to remove it altogether to correct the problem.

 

It would be nice if Acer did what most laptop manufactures did, sold the laptops directly.

 

Can anyone tell me if you can buy this laptop in the UK, and where? Want to purchase it in the UK because i want the UK keyboard layout.

Thanks

 

why is so hard to find one? they stop selling them or stop making them?
I love my laptop.

 

So did you install bluetooth on your 8940?

 

These 8940g are impossible to find. Does anyone know why Acer has stopped producing them? Is it just a manufacturing cycle issue?

 

yep it's now the 8942g (they changed the graphic card from nvidia gt220/250 to ati 5850)

 

I'm trying to sell mine, I've only had it for a few weeks but would like something smaller.

 

When is the 8942 supposed to be released?

 

That seems to be a complex question as it has already been released in various places. One member of this site related picking one up at a Staples in Canada. If you go to http://staples.ca and search for 'Acer Aspire 8942G', you'll see it. (You can use postal code 'M4B 1B3' if prompted, just to get through to the product page). But that's a Core i3 based unit, so it's hard to call it the successor to the 8940G. I think they also released a real (i7) version in Germany, but I didn't look into that too carefully as it's really not too useful here in he US.

Even the 8940G seems to be kind of a mess, configuration wise. I ended up purchasing an 8940G-6683 from a Canadian supplier. It came with Bluetooth and Blu-ray software as well as using a 250M (6683 always seemed to be reported as having a 240M online) and being configured to use VT-x virtualization support. From what I can tell, the 8940G-6585 was at least missing Bluetooth and possibly also Blu-ray software and VT-x support.

In the end, I'm very pleased I went the extra mile to get the 8940G but Acer could make this a little easier on us.

 

I agree that Acer has just way too many model configurations that I would think they just make things a lot more difficult for themselves in manufacturing, and for us the consumers, to understand which models provide what capabilities.

I'm assuming you are from the US, if so did you have any issues with the 8940G from Canada? There even seems to be 4/5 Canadian configurations of the 8940G.

 

Yep, I'm in Philadelphia.

I was kind of apprehensive about buying outside the US and still have to square away getting official warranty service here vs sending back to Canada. NAFTA seems to have been my friend in this case as there were no duties on the purchase. Except for the delay in getting through customs, it was pretty much like buying from Newegg. Just paid $1340 for the item and $37 for expedited shipping, which was a bit of a waste in retrospect. The rep I delt with at Shark Systems advised me to use Canada Post/USPS vs UPS or Fed-Ex as the latter companies charge for getting a package through customs while regular mail does not.

As far as I could tell, there was only ever the 6683 config in Canada. It just seems like many etailers mis-reported some of the item details. Shark Systems actually had the GPU listed as a 4500HD.

I do wonder if Acer might have simply switched hardware between 'runs' of a unit based on availability and pricing of components. That'd be pretty sneaky, but some of the language on their web-site, such as listing both a 240M and 250M for some 8940G's, makes me think that might be the case.

Perhaps people could post here with their full model # and confg so we can try to get a clear picture of the entire line.

 

Came across an annoying problem today: I can't seem to get audio via my HDMI port. The display works fine, but no matter what I try, I get no sound.

I can see that windows is sending sound to the HDMI speaker output. At least logically (it shows the graphical level for the output device). I also know the screen (a Westinghouse 37w3) works fine with an Xbox 360, an HTPC and a set top Blu-ray player.

Anyone else come across this problem and, hopefully, know the fix?

 

Are you getting HDMI audio from any source? I gave my 37w3 to my son about 15 months ago when I got my Vizio. The Westy would not play audio out of the TV speakers from Comcast set top box, or any other HDMI output from from HDMI switch. I had the HDMI devices using optical out to my Klipsch speakers, but I would have liked to use the TV speakers when using sleep timer.

The Westy's thread on AVS occasionally references "the HDMI audio bug", so I do not think this is an isolated instance.

 

Yeah, I had heard about some odd HDMI issues back when I first purchased the set, mostly with PS3's. I just checked my 360 to be sure and it send audio out to the 37w3 just fine. It actually sort of startled me as I had the volume way up from testing the 8940G.

But your point about the Westy is well taken. It makes sense to verify the problem with another output device before I enter Acer support hell. I'll have to bring it to a friends house and see how it behaves.

 

Figured I'd drop by as I now own a 8940. So far I haven't hand a single issue(I dropped an intel 80gb SSD in so I'm not dealing with the default HDD).

But I have noticed that the screen wears my eyes out VERY quickly, even without the glare bothering me.

 

Yeah, I think that'll be the first upgrade I make when I have the cash. The drive is definitely the bottle-neck in this system. I imagine it screams with an SSD.

Just curious...what is it about the screen that wears you out besides the reflections?

[edit]

NM. Display mirroring was causing the new problem. Back to just the audio issue.

 

I don't think its even the reflections, It just gets my eyes tired. I've noticed if I pull the top towards me more then it doesn't do it as bad. I've tried with the brightness higher and lower, same result.

And yeah, there isn't any hang ups with the SDD. I don't know how anyone could use the default HDD, I put it in my secondary bay and when I try to watch 720p videos off of it, it lags. Much less if it was trying to run the rest of the system. Note that I have played the exact same video off of my USB drive without issue.

 

While I think an SSD is a great idea, I'm not sure the stock drive is so bad as to cause video playback issues all by itself. I copied a 720 MKV of one of last season's Dexter to the local drive a few nights ago and it seemed to play smoothly. Could there be something else that was contributing to the lagging?

 

Which one do you have? 8940G or 8942G?
I am EXTREMELY interested in buying one yet I can't find it anywhere.

Contact me asap!

 

Just got my new 8940g-6969 from Canada and loving it so far.

 

Where did you order from?

 

Cendirect.com. Everything was smooth and easy.

 

Just curious...did that 8940G-6969 come with a 240M or a 250M?

 

How long did it take from order to arrival?

 

It has the 240M.

It took about 8 days shipping.

 

I have an 8940g I am interested in selling. Bought from JR.com for $1350 when it first came out, still have the box, made the restore DVDs and have been using it with no issues. Let me know if interested, it has 4gb, gts 250m, 1920x1080, etc, etc. I posted a review on JR.com and Amazon. Contact via email [email protected].

 

I still have problems with ssd car reader.I install new driver from acer web page and still have problems.
sometimes computer find card but it's loading and loading and loading and nothing
sometimes nothing happen when I put card in

 

I have this beast and so far I love it!! I have 1 question though.

Does any1 feel that when you're seriously gaming, the area where your left palm naturally rests (right beside the touch pad) is insanely hot? That, so far, is the only thing that ticks me off. When I play games, the temps get to the 80s sometimes, and this thing idles at 60oC. I can really feel the heat there and my temporary solution of having a fan running next to the laptop somehow solved it, but it's not really a long term solution.

BTW, where is the fan on this thing? And is there anyway of controlling the speed? Sometimes I think the fan on mine must not be running because I cannot hear ANYTHING coming from the underside of the machine.

 

anyone have problems with sd card reader?
i try update drivers,I try disable and enable and nothing


laptop see card but whne I click on folder with pictures my laptop non respond or freze,other time folder open but not able to view pictures ,pic loading long time and nothin.

no problem with that sd card on other laptop

 

Upgrading The Acer Aspire 8940G-6865

In this post I am going to discuss some upgrades that I have done to my Acer Aspire 8940G-6865 to improve performance and add accessories that should have come with this laptop. For Example: TV Tuner and Bluetooth. I have tried to go through Acer tech support but that was a friggin nightmare and in the end Acer wanted me to ship my laptop to an Acer dealer in the US and would have charged me a butt load of money to get what I wanted. So, I decided to find the parts for this laptop myself and install them myself for a fraction of the cost. I am sharing what I have done to help the rest of you looking to make similar upgrades and save you from the nightmare of Acer tech support.

Acer Bluetooth
The Acer Aspire 8940G-6865 does not come with a Bluetooth chip built into the Laptop. So, I managed to track down the part number of the Bluetooth module that goes to this laptop. I have listed all information on the Bluetooth module below. You can purchase this part on eBay.

Broadcom BCM92046NMD 2.1 + EDR
The Broadcom BCM2046 is a monolithic, single-chip, stand-alone baseband processor with an integrated 2.4-GHz transceiver for Bluetooth Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) applications. It is fully compliant with Bluetooth 2.1 features such as Simple Pairing (SP) and Enhanced Inquiry Response (EIR). The BCM2046 is also completely backward-compatible with any prior Bluetooth versions. The ROM-based solution eliminates the need for external flash memories and active components by integrating critical components into the device, thus minimizing the footprint and system cost of implementing a Bluetooth system. The BCM2046 EDR solution has been designed in 0.13μ bulk CMOS technology, the most widely available silicon process today. This use of the advanced process enables the BCM2046 to achieve the lowest possible current consumption in all modes of operation and maintain the lowest cost total solution.

• Acer part number T60H928.33
• Broadcom model BCM92046NMD 2.1 + EDR
• Bluetooth v2.1
• 2.4G Wireless
•Up to 3 Mbps
•Compatible with windows 2000/ XP/ VISTA/ OSX/ Ubuntu system/ windows 7
•Socket : 8PIN
•PIN Inner Width: 1.0MM



TV Tuner
The TV Tuner that Acer makes for this laptop is a cheap piece of junk and uses DVB-T High Definition standard that is used in Europe. DVB-T TV Tuner cards do not work in the USA because the US uses the ATSC High Definition Standard to broadcast HDTV. I decided to use an Avermedia TV Tuner card because it a good quality product with good reviews from online retailer sites like Amazon. For this section I have listed the A317 for US users and the A316 for European users. Both TV Tuners can be purchased on eBay.

AS8940G TV Tuner (Analog: NTSC) (HDTV: ATSC) (USA)
•Brand: Avermedia
•Model: A317
•System: Analog / ATSC TV, and FM Radio Hybrid
•Type: Mini PCI-E Card for Laptops, Notebooks, and Netbooks
•OS Supported: Windows XP, Vista, and 7
•Dimensions (mm / L x W): 50 x 30 / 50.8 x 29.85



AS8940G TV Tuner (Analog: PAL/SECAM/NTSC) (HDTV: DVB-T) (Europe)
•Brand: Avermedia
•Model: A316
•System: Analog / DVB-T TV, and FM Radio Hybrid
•Type: Mini PCI-E Card for Laptops, Notebooks, and Netbooks
•OS Supported: Windows XP, Vista, and 7
•Dimensions (mm / L x W): 50 x 30 / 50.8 x 29.85



HP Pavilion DV7000 TV Tuner Cable (Part Number: DC370000X00)
This is the cable used to hook up the TV Tuner for an exernal port on the right side of the notebook. This cable can be purchased on eBay.



HP Pavilion DV9000 Digital Analog TV Antenna (Part Number: 439131-001)
This is the antena to hook up to the side port on the notebook. This part can be purchased on eBay.



TV Tuner Cable Stick Adapter for Antenna (RF) (DVB-T)
This is the adapter cable for for the port on the side of the notebook to hook up digital cable to the TV Tuner. This adapter features an RF conector witch is great for you guys in Europe as this is a standard TV hookup for cable. but for those of us in the US we will have to use a RF to Coax adapter to use for Digital Cable. I have already listed and adapter below... your welcome. This part can be purchased on eBay.



RF F Plug to Coax Plug Adapter (To convert RF (European) to Coax (USA))
This is the best quality adapter I could find on the internet. you can purchase this item at tvcables.co.uk


G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Laptop Memory Model F3-8500CL7D-8GBSQ
From the reseach I have done the AS8940G can only handle 8 GB of memory and only suports bus speads up to 1066. This dual channel memory kit was the best one I could find thhat was cost effective for my needs. This memory kit can be purchased on Newegg.

• Brand: G. Skill
• Model: DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500)
• Type: 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM
• Capacity: 8GB (2 x 4GB)
• Speed: DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500)
• Cas Latency: 7
• Timing: 7-7-7-20
• Voltage: 1.5v
• ECC: no
• Buffered/Registered: Unbuffered
• Multi-channel Kit: Dual Channel Kit



Intel WiFi Link 5300 - Network adapter - PCI Express Mini Card - 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g, 802.11n
This WiFi card is faster than the 5100 that comes with the AS8940G. This item can be purchased on Amazon.
•The Intel® WiFi Link 5000 is a family of IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n wireless network adapters that operate in both the 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz spectra. These adapters, available in both PCIe* Mini Card and Half Mini Card form factor deliver up to 450 Mbps of bandwidth¹ via features such as MIMO technology, 40 MHz Channel support, and Packet Aggregation.



Crucial CT256M225 2.5" 256GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
I have two of thease installed in raid 0 pulling read and write speads in the 400 MB range. This item can be purchased at Newegg.com.
• Brand: Crucial
• Model: CT256M225
• Device Type: Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
• Architecture: MLC
• Form Factor: 2.5"
• Capacity: 256 GB
• Interface Type: SATA 2
• Features: 64MB DRAM Internal Cache
• Sequential Access - Read: up to 250MB/s
• Sequential Access - Write: up to 200MB/s



Acer Aspire 4520 Dual Hard Drive Caddy
This Drive caddy is compatible with the AS8940G. This item can be purchased on eBay.

 

So the BD/DVD drive in my 8940 has stopped detecting BD discs and blank DVD-Rs for burning. It only detects DVDs, both video and data, and CDs at this point. In the case of BD discs, I'm not even talking about video playback. The drive has simply stopped detecting there's a BD disc in the drive at all. I've only had the laptop since 5 months. I've talked to acer tech support. went thru all the troubleshooting steps they gave me and determined the drive is defective. The first support rep that helped me said they could ship me a replacement drive if it's user accessible. I said I would confirm I can remove it myself and call back. I checked and the drive is held in my a single screw that's accessible in the drive/memory bay. I called back and talked to another rep and said I wanted to follow up with them and arrange for a replacement drive since I've confirmed the drive is easily accessible. This rep refused and said they don't ship replacement drives. I told him the previous rep said they did. I asked to speak with a supervisor, and the supposed supervisor said he will not arrange a replacement drive. This has made me very angry being told two different things at this point. So they originally said I could get a replacement drive to replace the defective one, which makes sense since this is a 18" laptop and I only need a small piece of equipment replaced, but at this point, they have refused accommodate me to cross ship me a replacement drive, which would be cheaper for both myself and the company when it comes to repairing this issue.

If anyone knows of an alternative means of contacting someone at acer that could override tech support and get me the replacement drive WITHOUT sending the entire laptop in, I would appreciate the help.

 

Have you tried to clean the lens on the BD? becouse you might just have a dirty lens. If that is not the issue i would just recomend buying the drive from a parts dealer on the web. here is the acer part number for the BD so you can google the part number to come up with a dealer.
DVD/R/RW Blue-Ray 4X Tray SATA
Acer part number: KU.00407.014

 

i am the only one who have problem with sd reader?

 

so how You run wire from tuner to the side of laptop? how to mount plug to the side of laptop?any pics?

 

Has anyone been able to change the PowerSmart key so that it can be used to do other things? I downloaded LaunchManager thinking it will give me the ability to do this but I see no change when I press the button. Does it require a regedit change?

Does anyone know if there is a regedit change that can increase the volume for the internal speakers?

 

Interestingly enough, cleaning the lens fixed the blank dvd-r problem, but not the blu ray problem. I think I will see if I can find a new drive.

 

I formatted my System and reinstalled windows 7 !
Now there is something missing : the Volume-Wheel !
It works but it does not show up on the screen!

EXPERTs any suggestion ??
Is there a driver I should have installed ?
A software I need to install all over again ?

Tell me !

Regards

IMPO IMPO IMPORTANT
my Question :
BASICALLY what device controls the Volume-WHEEL ??


Regards

 

Try downloading the Launch Manager app from Acer's site.

 

I just got this laptop as it came back in stock on newegg.

I noticed rather quickly that the volume was rather low and that 2 channel music sounded like there was an echo. Almost as if there were a small lag between the speakers.
I did find 2 simple fixes for this if others have similar issues.

for the loudness, go to control panel -> Hardware & Sound -> Realtek HD Audio Manager

Go to the "Sound Effects" tab and check "Loudness Equalization" (This is a tip given by someone here on the forum, just can't remember who or what page)

Next, go to the "Room Correction" tab and check "Enable Room Correction.

What i did here is I raised every speaker by +2db and the subwoofer by +4db.
This seemed to help the volume a bit as well as bring out the bass a bit without still overloading the speakers.


Now, some may still find the volume to be a bit low or "uneven" when listening to music or viewing standard 2 channel videos.

For this, go to Control Panel -> Hardware & Sound -> Sound

On the "Playback" tab, click on "Speakers" and then on "Properties"

In Properties, go to the "Dolby" tab and uncheck "Surround Sound"

This will disable surround sound emulation. Meaning that 2 channel music and videos will stay and be outputted in stereo and the laptop is not trying to make it into 5.1 channels. (note that 5.1 movies like dvds or blu-ray will still be outputted as 5.1, as these are 5.1 recorded and as such will not be emulated as 5.1)


I hope this post was a little bit helpful to some.


PS, i do have one question, a few posts back someone posted a compatible bluetooth module, but did not state how to install it and/or if it is required to open up the whole laptop or just the harddrive bay. Does anyone know more about this?

 

isaacjw1980

I would be very interested how easy you found to install the Bluetooth module to, I have located where it is installed, but it appears you need to remove the top cover and keyboard to install.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=50483&stc=1&d=1274760842

http://forum.notebookreview.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=50484&stc=1&d=1274760842

Cheers

 

I have just received Acer 8940G, and it seems like a great laptop. But there is one problem which no one here mentioned, so if you can help me I would appreciate it very much.
The problem is LAG. Almost for every application I start there is a 3-4 seconds lag, which is very annoying. Did you have experience with this, and can you help me to solve it? Please, give any suggestions. Thanks!

 

I do not have the lag that you are talking about. The programs load immediately.

 

Try uninstalling bloatware, update drivers to latest versions, and flash bios to latest version.

 

Try uninstalling bloatware, update drivers to latest versions, and flash bios to latest version.