Acer Aspire TimelineX 1830T Thread

Just checked into that and sure enough the OLD Air had a backlit keyboard the new one does not - interesting. I am 99% sure I am going to stick with my 1830T that gets delivered today. I just can't justify the price difference in my own mind.

 

I hear you. I have a tough time justifying the costs too.

I have a Acer 1830T with 4GB and 640GB HDD. It costs me about 600 euros.

For an additional 400 euros I can get a MBA with 2GB and 64GB SSD. Doesn't make much sense from a costs perspective.

 

Replaceable battery's very important to me,
both in longer trips could bring spares, and also
can replace easily to new one if original's battery
wears down, don't need to trash entire machine.

This is the same issue that I don't like iphone as well.

 

Good point. On the other hand, Apple uses a high quality lithium polymer battery. Chances are it will last a lot longer than the cheap Acer batteries.

 

have to chime in from the apple battery front: google "macbook pro battery bulge" and "macbook pro exploding battery" before making comments about apple battery quality. here's assuming you haven't experienced this issue.

 

Every manufacturer has had problems with batteries.

This doesn't take anything away from the fact that the quality of the batteries Apple uses (lithium polymer) is far greater than the Acer's lithium-ion batteries.

 

OK.....my new 1830T-3721 arrived from Amazon last night. As expected box is marked as a i5-430UM but the -470UM is actually onboard....

Mine also has the Synaptics Touchpad.

I did NOT appreciate how small this thing is until I opened the box....wow. Now wondering if I should have gotten the 13.3" 3820. Have to see.

I have a full set of unboxing photos that I might post up later.

 

Great for you

That sounds crazy confusing of Intel again.

So even I ask the store they won't know themselves
as the box will say 430, but what's inside the board is
like lucky draw, no one knows only until open the box and
boot the machine and check the bios/windows...

but by then if really 430 (as legit printed on box),
and not 470 (as I expect), then it's too late to return or exchange,
and not a legitimate reason to return since box does state 430,
and it's not defective or technically wrong-stock?

 

congrats.....

have you compared the synaptics touchpad with the alps....?? I scared to buy 1830t because of the alps touch pad..... ;-(

How can i make sure i get a 1830T with a Synaptics touchpad in USA ? otherwise i will have to buy a 1810T.... ;-(

is there a way to make sure i get a 1830T with s Synaptics...??

thanks

 

I can't stand a touch pad and alyways use a wireless mouse. With mmy new 1830T i have a Microsoft 5000 bluetooth mouse and love it. The Alps touch pad can be turned off in the OS so when I type I am not troubled by the currsor jumping around because one of my fingers or hand touched the touch pad. I'd be happy if they eliminated it.

 

Just test a computer out at the store that has Alps. If you are some diehard synaptics user then you will notice it but if you are a guy who doesn't do more than double tap than you aren't going to notice anything.

 

Have you tried the two finger scrolling?

In my opinion it's as bad as it gets.

 

Back from a big chain store today, they only carry i3 model, not i5.
I asked the guy to check for me the display model
"which trackpad it is -- Synaptics or Alps?"

The guy's like, "What the f***?" with a polite smile at first LOL, but
then asked another storeperson for help, and they together
checked the hardware-settings in OS for me,
and it showed Alps driver, so no doubt is Alps(?)

Guess most customers esp. going to the big chain stores
don't care to examine such details of component specs
like I do that's why the storepersons' reaction.

I plan to get i5 anyway that somehow only the small stores carry
here in Hong Kong, not i3.
But I think now the latest i5 models in stores
could also be Alps still not Synaptics if need to wait longer
for next stock cycle. I'll check in this couple of days,
if the storeperson willing to check their stock in such detail for me....

If so, hate to hold up purchase just because of the pad, but with
the multi-gesture features nowadays, still important to wait for
the "less-bad-of-the-2" instead of hasty for Alps.

Question: I've studied nothing yet of the multi-gesture
features of the newest pads, and also never tried it
to see how it works in the store displays
(I haven't learned how to do the fingers movement), only
saw the drawing once in the Acer sales sheet.
How feasible is the multi-gesture feature yet for now?
Or is it still more gimmick than everyday useful on a trackpad,
comparing to iphone-like screen touches & moves?

Thanks

 

hi, i'm an 1830tz (u5400 model) owner.
i want make a fresh instal of seven x64,can you please tell me wich driver i have to download from intel website?
tnx in advice!

 

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=19336&lang=eng

(I searched Intel.com for 'HD Graphics')

 

tnx!
i don't need the chipset driver too?

 

i went back to the original video drivers that came with the laptop (which i downloaded from acer)

i noticed that the newer drivers from intel weren't as stable, especially when using extended display through hdmi

just an fyi, in case people were finding problems with the drivers from intel

 

I use it on HDMI all the time, never had a problem.

Gugu, did you do a clean install?

No need, only Intel RST:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=18859&ProdId=2101&lang=eng

I use the latest beta: intel drivers pour Raid/Sata/Ata/Ahci

 

Unfortunately NO....my experience is just with the Synaptics. I can tell you that EVEN the Synaptics pad compared to say the latest touchpad in the MacBook Pro is not even close. The Apple technology works a lot better. I don't know of any way to make sure you are getting the Synaptics pad short of taking a look at device mananger before you buy that specific unit.

 

Like I said in a previous post, my last laptop was 8 years old so there was no multi finger gestures so when I got this I didn't plan on using it anyways. If you are a person like me who never used multi finger gestures in the first place then this trackpad is fine. If you finger gesture ADDICT then yes I agree you will hate this but I think the scrolling bar on the side of the trackpad works fine and you can click the left and right buttons to give you scrolling as well so I don't mind it at all.

 

No offense but anyone with any experience with modern laptops will notice both single finger and two finger scrolling are seriously sub par on the Alps touchpad.

I owned the Synaptics touchpad on the Acer 1810t and it was heaps betters.

It's still no where near Apple touch pads which are the best in the industry by far,

 

Agree.. if you don't use the advanced touch options, don't worry
about whether you get an Alps or Synaptics pad.
Neither one is good, nothing like a Macintosh.

My wife has an 1830t i5 with an Alps.
I have an 1830t i5 with Synaptics.
We both turn off all the frills.. multi-finger, etc.
Really cannot notice any difference under these conditions.

I also have tried removing the Alps and Synaptics drivers.
Both pads perform equally poor using the native Win7 mouse drivers.

Oh.. I finally tried the Alps driver that Phil found at Dell.
Much much better!!!

Phil's posting here

Direct link to download and install the Dell Alps driver here.

 

I recently purchased a 1830t i3 and received a 380 (1.33) chip instead of the 330 (1.2).

I'm happy with the performance so far, but that touchpad is pretty awful.

 

Core i3-370UM.

 

What do you mean?

 

if by clean install you are saying i uninstalled the drivers and then installed the newer version, then yes

 

question for all...

does your hdmi port get hot/warm when you touch it, even when you're not using it?

i know it's in the area of the cpu and that area in general gets hots, but i've recently noticed how hot the hdmi cable metal was when i unplugged it recently, and from that day on i've noticed that the hdmi port is usually hot/warm...

i started noticing this after one day i was using hdmi and the video and screen (main/extended) messed up, i unplugged the hdmi and plugged it back in and all was normal, except for the hdmi cable (metal part) and hdmi port being hot...

thanks guys

 

Never mind.

 

Noticed alot of people have been getting the other chips lately, could it be a vendor mislabelling the laptops or 'changing' model numbers for a different market? It happens in Australia all the time.. ><
I noticed the Travelmate TimelineX Travelmate TimelineX (USA) comes with the i3-330 and i3-380 specs.

 

Yea...
Acer models are consistently evolving.
Seems acceptable if the label on the box specified a CPU
that is slower than the CPU in the notebook.

BTW.. my wife's 1830t i5 with the grinding fan noise
was returned today from FixMyAcer.com.
Took only 3 days for the repair.
And four days more for the return shipment.
Seems to be working perfectly.

Acer's repair comments for parts used were
Part Number: 60.TVS01.001
Description: CPU HEATSINK W/FAN

 

This might not have to be an Acer specific question.

For the 1830T 500GB HD, do everyone mostly just stay
with the original factory partition settings? (and what's the
factory settings? Just 48?GB all in one drive?)

Or usually repartition to own preferences multiples C: D: E: .....
upon purchase at the store on the first Windows start-up?

If already discussed before, a link good enough help to direct

Thanks

 

A clean install is first removing the C: partition and then installing Windows 7 from the ground up.

It gives slightly better performance than the Acer install.

I make the C: partition 100GB, which is enough space for OS and applications. By making the C: drive small it ensures it is placed on the fastest parts of the HDD. The outer edges get double the throughput and half the access times of the inner edges.

 

Thanks reply.

I usually just do one partition for all to be simple,
with HD < 200GB total.

But for ~500GB total,
C:\ Windows & Programs:100GB
and
D:\ Data and Files:400GB
could be a good option.

 

1830T owners...... 2 questions....

1. My 1810T has about 6 hrs battery life...

what about 1830T....??

2. In day to day operation can u feel a difference between 1810T vs. 1830T...?!?

Thanks

 

Measured with Batterybar 3.4.2:
5:45 with low brightness and surfing the web (5400rpm HDD).
With SSD I got 6:30.

You mean the 1810T with SU7300? You won't notice a difference with the Core i3 330um.

 

phil thanks....

so the battery life of 1810t vs. 1830t is pretty much the same...?!?

why do i see so many 1830t owners saying that the 1810t has better battery life...?

thanks

 

No, check the reviews on Laptopmag and PCMag.

Cause many people get 8 hours with their 1810T, on low brightness, surfing the web.

Did you set Windows in Power saver mode?
Is your battery healthy?
Did you set Intel GMA settings to power saving?
What hard drive do you have?

 

i'm mostly on balanced... power saver gets too dim to read anything.

battery is healthy... laptop is only 3 months old

how do i set the intel GMA to power saving ??

thanks

 

You can change the brightness is Power Saver too.

You can change the settings of the Intel GMA in the taskbar by right clicking. Probably only works if you've done a clean install with the driver from Intel.com.

 

so if i had the same brightness in power saver and same brightness in balanced....

would power saver give more battery life ?

i just changed display settings power settings to "best power savings"

but will this affect the vlc media player while playing videos ?

there are 4 options best , better, good & disable.... which one should i select ?

thanks again ;-)

 

test it and you will find out.

PS. put more 1810T question in the 1810t thread please.

 

hey thanks a lot

 

Does anyone have links/info on performance between the 3/4 configurations? Trying to decide whether to get the i5 in a week, or wait for the i7 (who knows when); would like to wait for more places than Amazon as shipping is a pain to Australia from them for this product.

Mostly interested in the same test being run on each configuration and the difference in temperatures under full load. The small size of the unit is making me wonder about how much extra heat the i7 would pump out compared to the i5, and if prolonged use could have a damaging effect on other components.

 

ordered mini pci-e connector will do the soldering on my 1830 for second mini pci-e slot to put EVDO card in it. As I get the connector I will make a video of the process

 

I will be waiting for your video. What an ambitious project.

 

asking again...

does anyone's hdmi port get hot/warm when you touch it, even when you're not using it?

i know it's in the area of the cpu and that area in general gets hots, but i've recently noticed how hot the hdmi cable metal was when i unplugged it recently, and from that day on i've noticed that the hdmi port is usually hot/warm...

i started noticing this after one day i was using hdmi and the video and screen (main/extended) messed up, i unplugged the hdmi and plugged it back in and all was normal, except for the hdmi cable (metal part) and hdmi port being hot...

i was also watching a video yesterday through hdmi and cpu temp hit 80 celsius...though generally in the 70s when watching

thanks guys

 

I have read this post on soldering the connector on 3820TG, it has i5-520M cpu, specs on Intel says the same in PCI-e part, so I think I will not have problem to make the EVDO card working. Soldering is a piece of cake for me

I haven't used the HDMI port yet, but the metal is warm, I think it's because it is near the hot air exhaust area....

 

Bluetooth off when 1830T starts. I have purchased a bluetooth mouse and find the blueetooth on my 1830T comes up off as standard proceedure and I cannot find where to make it come up on. I did find this quick work around, while Win 7 is booting with the logo on the screen if I hit Fn and F3 at the same time the bluetooth comes up on. This is quick and easy. If anyone can pass on how to turn on the bluetooth forever then I would appreciate it.

 

while I am looking into this mini pci-e mod stuff, I discovered a really funny thing: pci-e interface has the USB signal pins sata pins plus some control/switching pins

here is a good post on 3G modding of Dell Mini 9 with no second pci-e slot: jkkmobile: How-to: 3G to Dell Mini 9. Not so easy way..

 

Got my 1830T-5472 i5-470UM 1.33GHz from Hong Kong store.
Synaptics pad, Broadcom wifi

3 Questions I have:

1) There's not any come-with DVDs (there's
no built-in DVD drive afterall),
I plan to do a clean install Windows 7 soon,
download-burn Win7 startup discs from
Microsoft site to do clean-install. I plan to do it mainly
to re-partition the drive away from its factory-installed
2 partitions, C:\ and D:\ each about the same at ~250GB.

But so what if I do a clean-install, I'll lose all Acer bloatwares?
My chief intention to clean-install is not
removing the bloatwares (I don't hate them... yet...until I check out
what are they one by one any useful or garbage),
or should I care to spend time
to check them one by one and
retain some of the meaningful-useful ones (are
there any useful ones worth retaining?) beforehand?
If so how to retain as the easiest way?

What else do I need to be aware of losing once I clean-install,
that I might want to back-up beforehand?

2) The storeperson added that upgrading RAM to
any above 4GB's no longer meaningful because it will
not be able to run at full RAM speed anymore above 4GB,
and also that Win7 won't practically
use above 4GBs RAM-space much
at all in daily operations (even if theoretically could).
Win7 64-bit address-space should support way above 4GB.
How much BS or validity that is?

3) If any good updated free dead-pixel checkup software,
can help direct-link me. I still have the dead-pixel
script used years back in the XP-days somewhere in archive
that I need to search for, guess should work the same
with Win7(?)

Store already checked dead-pixel
for me and said it's all perfect, but I walked away when they
checked. So I want to check again myself to be sure.
Can bring back to store for exchange
within 1st week or 2 if any dead-pixel
or other factory defects.


Thanks