Acer Aspire V5-122P Owners' thread

I haven't found any threads from Aspire V5-122P owners, so here goes. My plan is to update this post with key info as it becomes available. I own the V5-122p-0649 model, but will try to call out key model differences where they apply.

Summary
The V5-122p is an 11" value portable from Acer. It differs from earlier 11" V5 models in that it's uses the new AMD "Temash" APU (integrated CPU & GPU), and offers a 11" multitouch screen at 1366x768 resolution. This is the first time I have seen an IPS display in a sub-$500 notebook.

Key Model Differences
APU is one of: A4-1250 (2 core, 1.0ghz, Radeon 8210 graphics) or the A6-1450 (4 core, 1.0ghz, Radeon 8250 graphics). Both models can boost as high as 1.3ghz per core as needed, or go < 1.0ghz to save power. The 1.0ghz rating is at full load, all cores used at 100%.

RAM - 4G or 6G from factory

Keyboard Backlight - The models ending in -0600 and -0649 are confirmed to have keyboard backlights. -0643 does not.

Port Layout
1 USB3 port (left side)
1 expansion port (left side)
1 security lock slot (left side)
1 SD slot (left side)
1 port port (right side)
1 USB 2 port (right side)
1 headphone jack (right side)


What's in the Box
I had a hard time finding this info online. My v5-122p came with the following in the box: laptop, VGA adapter, power adapter, and some useless paper (quick start?).

Moddability
The bottom chassis is easily removable in 1 piece. There's a good video showing disassembly here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8OJTZGdVq4

I installed a Samsung 840 SSD, and it only took about 10 minutes. Be sure the SSD is 7mm tall, not 9.5mm. If you have an Intel X25, 320, or 520, there is a removable spacer to reduce it down to 7. The Intel 335 won't fit without modifications. OCZ - no such luck. Samsung 830/840 series, Intel 530, Kingson SSDNow V300, and Crucial M500 are 7mm already. In my opinion, the 840 is a good value option since its frequently on sale, but there are faster disks out there.

So far, no unofficial BIOS mods have appeared. However, additional options for memory, GPU, and virtualization may be unlocked by modifying EFI variables - see post #279.

Key Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths:
- Screen quality
- Size & weight
- Easy to replace HDD & RAM
- Better-than-average touchpad. It works more consistently and smoothly than the more expensive Aspire S7 in my experience.
- Good stock Windows 8 image. Boots fast for a HDD, no bloatware
- Sturdy case. I have tried out several more expensive laptops that had more flex and felt more breakable (Dell XPS12/13, Acer Aspire S7, Toshiba 835) than this. There's no noticeable flex picking it up by the corner of the base.
- Stays cool under load. Running CounterStrike: Global Offensive left the bottom just warm after 10 minutes of gameplay.
- Graphics performance is surprisingly good for a value laptop. CS:GO was playable at the recommended defaults with a mix of med-low settings.


Weaknesses:
- Limited battery life - I see 3-4 hours during mostly office / web browsing usage. So far the 2nd battery is not available in the USA.
- No advanced settings exposed in Insyde H20
- Because virtualization technology cannot be enabled, it isn't compatible with Windows Hyper-V or VMware
- Fan can get moderately loud while gaming. It doesn't have a high pitched whine, just an airy noise once the APU is under extended heavy load.
(This is my personal opinion, please read responses for others' opinions)


Purchasing
I was planning to order online, but was happily surprised to found this at Costco in the USA. The price was the same as MSRP list @ Acer.com, but it gives me the benefits of a 90 day return policy, and extends the warranty to 2 years.

Tips
Make a backup USB image - Be sure to run Acer Recovery Management and choose "Create Factory Backup" as soon as you get the machine. A 16Gb USB drive is needed, and be sure to save it in a safe place for later. When I installed the SSD, I left it blank. The system booted just fine off this USB drive, and I chose to "reset" the system. This put the factory image on the new SSD, and Windows 8 activated immediately.

If you've made the USB backup - you can remove the 12G recovery partition later. Search for "Create a Recovery Drive" under Windows settings. You can use that option to remove the recovery partition. Once that's done, use Disk Management to expand c: to use the remaining free space. This is especially important if you want to save space on your SSD

Windows 8.1 - be sure to update to the latest BIOS, and download all Windows 8.1 drivers from Acer's website before installing 8.1. Do the 8.1 upgrade through "Store", then install the drivers ASAP to get Bluetooth working and get system performance where it should be.

Acer Accessories
Second Battery - There's a port and a few holes on the bottom for attaching a second battery. Acer now has the "3-Cell Second Battery (V5-122P)" part NP.BTP11.00G available on store.acer.com. Price is $99.99 as of 12/2/2013
See post #243 for pictures and impressions (Thanks davidricardo86)

"Acer Converter Port"- The port that looks similar to mini-Displayport on the side isn't mini-DP. It works with three different cables:
- VGA adapter that comes with the laptop
- Generic miniDP to HDMI converter cables (See post #170 - thanks jeff_roey!)
- "Mini CP to VGA/LAN/USB Converter", part number NP.OTH11.00C available at store.acer.com. It offers VGA, USB 2.0, and 10/100 Ethernet ports. Price is $35 as of 12/2/2013. I think its a waste of money - the Plugable listed below is cheaper and 3 times faster!


Other Recommended Accessories
USB3 Network Adapter - There are well-supported USB3 adapters available already. Plugable.com offers the USB3-1000 with Windows 8 drivers for <$30, and their orders are fulfilled by Amazon. Windows 8.1 already had the driver loaded, so setup was instant. It seems to get around 300-400Mb/sec for file copies, but that takes 25%+ of the CPU. This appears to be a USB3 limitation.

I keep a USB3 hub on my desk with the plugable USB3 gigabit adapter and an extra USB3 hard disk attached.

Under Investigation
Memory Upgrades - It looks like normal PC3-12800 DDR3L (low power 1.35v) DIMMs may work fine, but Acer doesn't ship any models beyond 6G total (2G onboard, 4G DIMM). If anyone attempts this upgrade - please post and share your results. I'm not planning to try since I can't run virtual machines and my other apps don't need > 4G RAM.

 

I'm doing most updates inline above. Today I added some impressions of noise & performance under games, more details on the Acer Converter Port, and replacement SSD sizing

 

Thanks for the review. This notebook can be bought at Target for $399 and I'm tempted to pick one up. For the fan noise, does it stay quiet at idle and/or during web browsing or does is it always audible?

 

This is my first laptop. I have been checking out some in BB and I wanted one that was 11.6" and relatively worth it for me as far as price. I have an iPad Mini and several android tablets all relatively small and wanted something with Windows 8. I thought about a smartphone and could have bought on with no contract but decided against it.

The review is spot on for what I got to at least trying the laptop out. As far as cons that were listed, I have to admit I'm in the dark with those and wouldn't even know where to start to even test those out.

The screen and sound quality really really impressed me for bang for buck, so much so I haven't stopped playing movies in my steaming library on netflix. I updated all the apps that needed to be, configured my email account, surfed the web, and was able to move around in Metro and the desktop, open multiple Windows and I am a Win 8 newbie.

The setup went very smoothly, I am always apprehensive about new devices but really never had any trouble setting up my Mini or Android tablets so I'm not new with respect to setup.

The fan running? Not bothersome whatsoever.

I got to tell you that I'm really liking this laptop so far. I get unnerved at 'what should I buy threads' so some extent because there is always the well you could have gotten this one for slightly less or some such. I know people are trying to helpful but I'm sure I would run into folks warning about an AMD run device. Well I tried the laptop in Best Buy a few times, I liked it, I have a return period of 60 days because I'm a Silver Rewars Zone member so I pulled the trigger and I have 18 months no interest to pay it off if I keep it.

I'm glad I found this forum. Didn't take long on the list to find a post about this specific laptop model which kind of surprised me. I'll stay in touch.

 

I wouldn't call the fan noise bothersome at all. Based on what I read, I was hoping that it would be quieter than average, but it's only average under load. Web browsing and other activities less taxing on the APU leaves the fan running at a low speed, barely audible. With that said though, for a site with a lot of flash ads (this one included), the fan does stay on just at the point where its noticeable up close.


Edit: I'm moving the Windows 8.1 info to the next post.

 

I will be posting all Windows 8.1 related info here - rather than in the top post. It's really a separate topic, but there are a few things specific to using it on this machine.

Preparing for Install - Please read very closely!
1) Be sure to create the recovery USB first (see first post).
2) Uninstall the "Qualcomm Atheros Wifi and Bluetooth Suite." If you leave it installed, Bluetooth will be broken once you upgrade to 8.1. I'm still working on how to resolve this. If you try to uninstall in 8.1, it gives you an error saying it can't be installed on this version of Windows.

Uninstalling Windows 8.1
I did test out the recovery USB first, and it does work to downgrade from 8.1 to 8.

It's easy to boot from USB - search for "Change Advanced Startup Options" under windows settings, then click the option "Restart Now" under "Advanced Startup". There will be an option to boot from USB. At that point, you can reset the PC back using the backup Windows 8 image.

 

I still haven't been able to resolve the Bluetooth issues. I tried to download and reinstall the Bluetooth drivers, and they fail to install.

However, I did get that USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet adapter from Plugable.com, and it seems to work ok. USB3 still requires the CPU to process all network traffic, so it seems to be limited to around 300-400Mb/sec as one of the CPU cores gets to 100% utilization. It wouldn't be suitable for server use, but it's still helpful for moving big files quickly or when wi-fi isn't available.

 

Well I keep going back to BB to try some other laptops. I'll need to spend more on what is currently available and this Acer so far has performed flawlessly. The screen quality on some others is not as good and most are not touch.

I am not a heavy user. To spend more would be overkill but I wanted to check some others out in case something good was being closed out or some such that I rather have. I rather have a bigger screen but size and weight would be comproised.

The only thing interesting is the Surface RT for $349 because of getting the Office Suite. It really makes me considering it but so far I really have no complaints at all with this Acer laptop. I'll probably will not go for the Surface since no keyboard at that price and it is RT.

I really cannot help with a technical review. I'm an average Joe user and all I can say is for the price other than getting a tablet instead for better battery life, I think I done good with this Acer laptop.

 

I am very interested in this laptop. I checked out the v5-122p -0643 at my local best buy and was blown away by the screen quality. What bugged me was that there is no led indicator for the caps lock (or at least that I could see) but that's not a huge deal.

I really want to purchase this laptop but do any of you guys know what models of the 122p have a back-lit keyboard? I have looked online but I haven't been able to figure that out.

 

I believe that all model keyboards are LED backlit. It's not as uniform as a MacBook pro, but it's not bad.

 

The V5-122P-0643 from Best Buy does NOT have a backlit keyboard. Acer's documentation says that it is available on selected models, or however they word it.

 

Good morning and hi everyone,

Does this model come with a removable battery?

Thanks in advance.

EDIT:

It does come with a removable battery.
http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/model-datasheet/NX.M91AA.016
Package Contents
Aspire V5-122P-61454G50nss Notebook
Lithium Ion Battery
AC Adapter

 

Has any owner confirmed that the Amazon Model 122P-0600 actually has a backlighted keyboard? . Thank you.

 

Its $380 at BB right now, im thinking about picking one up... its either this or the HP 11z. Which would you pick and why?

Acer Aspire 11.6" TouchScreen Laptop 4GB Memory 500GB Hard Drive V5-122P-0643 - Best Buy

EDIT: Amazon has it for the same price, with 2-day prime shipping and a backlit keyboard!
http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-V...ni_t?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

EDIT: Screw it i went for the V5-122P-0600! Couldn't resist that Amazon deal, literally more for less.

Specs
-IPS LED 10-point touchscreen
-backlit kb
-AMD Lightning Bolt
-A6-1450
-


I've been wanting an ultraportable just like this and this quad core seemed like a good bang for the buck.

 

The model 122p-0643 dose not have a backlit keyboard.

 

I bought V5 122P 0643 at a Best Buy in Florida a little under 2 week ago.

The same day it had a blue screen error and restarted.

Within 10 days, the blue screen error occurred and automatically restarted at least three times.

On travel, I exchanged it at Best Buy in Maryland. The next day (which was two day ago) - the same error happened again. It happened again today and I am taking it back. I really like the computer otherwise: have loved the features like touch screen and running two programs on the same screen at once. However, I'm really concerned about two new computers from two different states having the same error.

I have checked for viruses and nothing.

The error is always:

Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart. We're just collecting some error info, and then we'll restart fir you. error: SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXEPTION (atikmag.sys)

Am I doing something wrong? Or is there something wrong with these systems. I am asking because I haven't been able to find anything specific about this computer and the problem I have had.

 

Check for new AMD graphics video and Chipset drivers.

Once i get my 0600 I'll keep my eye out for this issue. However it could be an isolated issue with the best buy 0643 model as no one has mentioned anything about this bluescreen for the 0600 from Amazon. I think Walmart and staples also sell the 0643. Check there too.

Sent from my XT557 using Tapatalk 2


EDIT:

I just received my 0600! I'm so excited to play with this little guy when i get home. It is much better quality than i anticipated. The display is quite nice with its vibrant and rich colors and the keyboard's back-light is going to come in very handy when traveling and typing in a dimly lit room. The hinges are very stiff and hold up well to touch inputs. The touchpad is quite alright but i wished mine were a Synaptics instead of the Elan I got. Synaptics to me is the best. The case is has a solid feel to it, no wobble or flex and its a bit heavy feeling which to me feels great.

Mine bluescreened during the initial setup process. I didn't even make it into the desktop. That's just sad. After a restart, everything seems fine.

Overall I'm pretty happy with this little machine. I am a very mobile kind of person and wanted something i can take everywhere with me, for fun or business.

 

Well, I can answer this myself. My 122P-0600 arrived today and it does have a backlighted keyboard

 

I recently bought an Acer Aspire V5-122P-0408. It has an AMD Dual-Core Processor A4-1250 (1.0 GHz) and 4GB DDR3 Memory. While I love the physical aspects of the computer, it runs waaaay too slow for me. I have a 4 year old HP laptop that can run ring around this new Acer. Programs take minutes to load that take only seconds on the old laptop, and I can't get through any YouTube videos without frequent and lengthy buffering breaks. I can watch the same videos on my other computer and tablet without a hiccup. What gives? Is there any way to speed this pokey thing up? Will more DDR memory help? If I can't light a fire under this thing, I'm gonna have to dump it.

 

So my 0600 has been performing quite well. I performed a recovery and started fresh again. This time no BSOD during the initial Windows 8 setup process.


@reb_el
How about trying the latest AMD video and chipset drivers? I wonder if AOD would allow overclocking control. It does for Trinity. I may give that a try myself.

Disable unnecessary start-up programs and services. Remove useless programs.

Last resort, do a clean OS install with latest drivers on any modern 250GB+ SATAIII SSD and an 8GB RAM stick.


Aside; I wonder how Jaguar responds to tighter timings RAM?


EDIT: So I updated my chipset drivers to 13.4 and the video drivers to 13.6 beta 2 and boy was it worth it! Before my clock speed would not go past approx. 1 GHz. Now its actually going to 1.1 - 1.4 GHz. I am hoping Acer updates the BIOS on this often to refine power consumption and performance. It feels a little smoother and more responsive to inputs.

AMD AOD Beta version 4.2.6.0659 results in "AMD OverDrive cannot detect AMD CPU on this computer."

 

My V5-122P-0643 from Best Buy has worked flawlessly so far. I quickly loaded Classic Shell to bail from Windows 8 nonsense, loaded a few more things, and everything is OK so far.

I bought it mainly because my "much nicer" S7-191 completely died after two months of VERY minimal use, and after sending it away for repair, I didn't know if I'd ever see it back again, or if it would ever work for more than a month or so at a time if I ever did get it back. Allegedly, though, it has been repaired within a few days, and is trucking back to me now. We shall see if the Wolverine technicians hacked the poor little thing to death or not.

Anyway, back to the V5. I actually hadn't studied up on it at all -- I was just looking for an 11.6-inch notebook I could pick up in town -- ANY 11.6-inch notebook. And I wasn't finding much after searching online. So, I just went to Best Buy, saw this thing on the shelf, and picked it up straight away. I didn't realize it had an IPS screen, and I figured it wouldn't have Bluetooth -- I was truly AMAZED at its feature set. I would have been turning cartwheels down the street if it actually had a backlit keyboard.

It may be plastic, but the thing is STURDY -- something I value after the spendy S7 bricked on me within two months. It's frankly easier to handle than the S7, which is a struggle just to get the dang screen open. Obviously, the V5 weighs a bit more and is a bit thicker, but I may never dare walk out of the house with the S7 ever again. And frankly, I value the capacity of the hard drive over the speed of the S7's tiny SSD.

The only drawback of the V5 is the speed -- yeah, it's on the poky side. It's not too bad, but you notice that it's not the fastest thing you've ever used. Still, it gets the job done entirely well for e-mail, web surfing, Office documents and so on, just fine. Perhaps not the best choice for video rendering or serious gaming, but that's not what you want it for, anyway.

So, two thumbs up from me, so far. I hope that it'll be far more reliable than the little S7 has been.

thoots

 

I purchased the 122p-0649 at Costco and it has a backlit keyboard. I am very satisfied for this laptop as it is so nice for such a low price. It is extremely small and light. The screen is absolutely amazing because of the colors, the viewing angles that yield no color distortion, and it is a touch screen. I also find the keyboard to be very nice to type on.

I do have one question however. My model is supposed to have the AMD Radeon HD 8280 (which notebookcheck claims is supposed to be clocked at 450Mhz) but when I look at the dxdiag it has the 8250 at 400Mhz. Is this just an error in the proper labeling or is there something wrong here?

 

The brand new Catalyst 13.8 Beta drivers just came out. I will be testing these out today to see if it has any change on my 0600.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/gaming-software-graphics-cards/726746-amd-releases-catalyst-13-8-whql-beta-drivers-31st-july-2.html#post9312819

 

I just got mine the other day but I have been having issues with Office, one of the main reasons for getting it. How long does it take to open files for you? I tried several Excel files and it sat for at least five minutes before I just quit the program. I just downloaded and installed updates and hope that that will help, but if you have any advice please let me know.

UPDATE: So I ran update and even after it was finished and restarted I tried opening Excel again and it never finished loading, even after over and hour of me waiting for it to work! It looks like this computer is going back to Best Buy!

 

I'm interested in this computer. One of my requirements is to be able to connect to wired Internet in hotel rooms. No connector for that on the model I saw at Office Max. There was mention of it early in this thread. Does anybody know if this little gem can connect to wired Internet? If so, how?

 

I had a note about wired Ethernet in post #1. I just moved it to a section labeled "Recommended Accessories". The laptop doesn't come with wired Ethernet, but I have tested an adapter that sells for <$30 on Amazon that works great.

 

It sounds like the hard drive may have been bad. Did it work after an exchange? I've had long machine hangs and load times caused by bad drives in the past.

Office 2013 is working great for me, I use Word, Excel, OneNote, and PowerPoint regularly including presentations. It worked fine on the factory Windows 8 install, and continues to work fine after the 8.1 preview update.

 

What were you doing when the blue screen happened?

That's either a driver bug or potentially overheating problem. The exchange should have ruled out overheating.

 

I would say no. Technically you could disassemble the computer and remove it, but it's not designed to be swapped. Acer is supposed to sell an accessory "second battery" that snaps onto the bottom of the laptop. So far that accessory is still not for sale.

 

hello, im considering buying this laptop and ive been doing some research... i have not been able to find any info on someone doing a ram ugrade, the model im looking at is 4gb... and im curious has anyone upgraded to 6 or more, and has it made a difference in speed?

 

So you would suggest just exchanging for another one then? I haven't really noticed any other issues besides the Office ones. There has been some lag here and there but nothing really major and is some what expected with the specs on the machine. I have been using it for internet and typing on it is fair. I really enjoy the screen as well. The best part of it besides the price is how light and actually portable it is compared to all except computers almost twice it's price.

So if you thing a simple exchange would work I may try that, but as it is holding up my work I may have to compromise and get a computer with less features that I will be satisfied with for a steeper price. I have had some issues with my past Acer as well that I have not really experienced with other brands.

 

I considered it, but found that in general I rarely see an improvement above 4Gb. I recommend getting a SSD instead, it makes everything respond much quicker. It boots in seconds and launches apps instantly. The Samsung 840, 840 Pro, or Intel 330/335/520/525 would be excellent options with good speed and proven reliability. The Samsung 840 goes on sale frequently on Amazon, Newegg, and B&H Photo Video.

Sorry, I misread. I thought you had exchanged it already. Which version of Office are you running? Since other stuff is fine, it does sound like Excel somehow got corrupted on the system and it's hopefully not the drive. Try checking here for the latest patches to see if it fixes the issue: Cumulative updates are available from the Microsoft Office team to fix reported problems

There is a 2013 trial here Free trial - Try Microsoft Office 2013 and Office 365 products - Office.com if you want to see if it works out.

 

Thanks for the reply. I am running Microsoft Office 2013 Home and Student Edition. I'll try the patch and post an update to what happened.

 

I saw that spec sheet on Acer's website claiming the 8280 chipset as well, but unfortunately for you it's just a typo. All of the V5-122P-06xx systems use the Radeon 8250 GPU paired with the AMD A6-1450 CPU. The only specs that fluctuate are HDD size (320/500GB), backlit keyboard or not and RAM (4/6GB).

Acer's website has quite a few typos on it that got me excited only to be let down, lol. For instance, they claim the 0600 variant has an extra USB port and an HDMI port- but it doesn't. And even though the 0679 variant (which TigerDirect carries) has a smaller 320GB HDD, it's MSRP is $20 higher than the 0600 which has a 500GB HDD. I called Acer to double check if there were ANY other differences and they assured me there weren't. Neither Acer nor TigerDirect could offer me any reason why a model with a smaller HDD would cost more either. So for anyone interested in a V5-122P, go with the 0600 which can be had for $399 in the right places. While it's identical to the Best Buy version in price, it comes with the backlit keyboard, which is well worth the shipping cost (which is offset by no sales tax anyway).

I ordered a 0600 today and an Intel 335 series 180GB SSD for $130 after rebate, so all in I'm at $530 plus shipping. My two complaints about the V5-122P are the relatively dim screen (just over 200 nits) and measly 3-cell battery. My 4 year old Acer 11.6" with an identical MSRP had a 6-cell and an Intel Pentium ULV lasting about 8 hours on a charge!

I compared a V5-122P and a Lenovo Yoga 11 at a local store and the Yoga's 300 nit brightness made a world of difference (it's also an IPS screen sporting the same resolution and touch capacity). Better battery life too- but not $400 worth of difference, so I bought another Acer this go-around.

 

If you need wired Ethernet then there are two options:
1. USB 2.0/3.0 to Ethernet adapters like this or this
2. MiniDP to Ethernet like this (it says "Apple ThunderBolt," so I'm not 100% sure on this one even though it would fit in the miniDP), were still waiting on the official Acer accessories for this notebook

Mine bluescreened on first power up. I was going through the initial setup process where you enter your user name, password, settings, account info, wifi, etc. etc. and right at the last step at the wifi settings it bluescreened. It then restarted on its own, and i had to redo the initial setup process again. The second time it completed as normal.

Most recently mine bluescreened again, but this time I really believe its because of the Catalyst 13.8 Beta and 13.4 Chipset drivers I am using. This is understandable as they are beta drivers (13.4 Chipset drivers are not and have been out for a while). With these drivers I am seeing crazy artifacts on screen, glitching, color/shape distortions of individual windows or tabs within Google Chrome and sometimes freeze ups. Anyone else using the latest available drivers and experience a similar thing?

With these drivers Turbo holds for longs periods (and short periods) of time at 1.38 GHz, while stressing the cpu and gpu.

I've tested an 8GB DDR3L 1600 module and it worked fine. There won't be a very noticeable difference to the naked eye but adding more RAM never hurts. :thumbsup: Depends on what you will be using the computer for. However, I agree with the other poster in that an SSD will make a greater impact on performance than adding more RAM. Honestly, I would upgrade both to get the most out of my system.

It depends on where you use the computer. Indoors the screen is bright enough in my opinion. Even out doors it can be but the glossy finish is going to affect its usability more so than anything else outdoors. Then again, I prefer my display more dim than bright. Too bright hurts my eyes so i start off from the least-bright, and increase it until i reach a comfortable spot suitable for my eyes.

Amazon has the 0600 for $400 right now. Yes this Acer's 3-cell battery isn't so great, however the secondary battery port should help with that little problem (once it becomes available).


EDIT: Ok, the generic eBay miniDP-to-HDMI adapter ($4.95) works as expected. Video and audio work great.

 

Can you share the specific manufacturer/model you used, and what timings it's using according to CPU-Z? The stock memory is DDR3-1600L, but it's actually running at 532mhz, 7-7-8-19, which is a DDR3-1066 timing. I think for some reason this AMD APU model is limited to slower speeds

 

Sure thing, here you go! Oh and 1066 memory is the max this APU officially supports, at least that is what we are told and these screenshots show that.

 

Good to know about the HDMI adapter- I think I can afford that. Seriously though, the more I think about it, the better deal my old Acer/Gateway seems to be. Same form factor (only slightly thicker), same weight, same price, but came with 3 USB (2.0) ports, an ethernet port, VGA out and HDMI out as well as the card reader. I'm gonna miss 8 hours of battery life too. Acer needs to release a 6-cell battery or the "extended" battery ASAP.

Oh, and about the screen brightness- yeah a matter of taste I suppose. But dim screens never win any awards. A bright screen you can always turn down, a dim one you can't turn up. I'm glad my old Acer/Gateway will be handed down to my wife... That EC1430U is looking more and more like a gem the more I think about it, lol.

 

Which model is that you speak of? I'd like to check it out. Sounds classic like the EeePC or Aspire One

My other choice was the HP 11z-e000, also based on the A6-1450 which also included 10-point touch display which is probably not as good as the Acer. I could be wrong and would like to see its display in person next to v5-122p.-0600.

The Acer sold me on the miniDP+USB3.0 aka AMD Lighting Bolt support, supposed IPS display, extended battery port and the backlit keyboard. Otherwise that HP would be a fine choice too but its more expensive too.

Sadly there's no other Temash or Kabini ultraportables, convertibles, hybrids, etc.

P.S.- That generic miniDP to HDMI adapter works on my Apple MacBook A1342 P8600 too. I would like to find a miniDP hub for monitors.

 

Here's a review of the V5-122P-0600(Amazon model):

 

The Gateway EC1430U- a twin sibling to the Acer model (but lacked BT for some reason). I liked the aesthetics of it better than the Acer branded version though. Here's the TigerDirect product page:

Gateway EC1430u Notebook PC – Intel Pentium ULV SU4100 1.3GHz, 3GB DDR2, 320GB HDD, 11.6 Display, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, Black at TigerDirect.com

Launched with Windows 7, so that machine is nearly 4 years old and I STILL love it. My wife was very happy with the hand-me-down ;-) Dual core Pentium chip at 1.3GHz, so not a powerhouse, but it served me well for its intended purpose. The battery life alone made everyone envious of me though!

 

After some trial and error it seems to be just the files that I actually need that have this issue. It seems that excel is having a problem opening them either because there is a protection on them or for some reason it wants to open them in protected view. I can open and view them in google docs via my gmail and even on my android phone but I can't seem to get them to work on this Acer for some reason. Is this a program setting I can do to take care of this or is there another reason that may have to do with the Acer system itself?

 

That problem shouldn't be specific to the Acer. If you try downloading the files again and save to another location like documents or desktop, does it work?

Otherwise, try changing the options listed here, my guess is the "enable protected view for files that fail validation" setting is blocking it. What is Protected View? - Excel - Office.com

 

Just a heads up, the OP mentioned that there are some brands of SSDs that "convert" to 7mm quite easily. I purchased an Intel 335 series and it did not shave down from 9mm very easily. It worked though. Here's what I had to do:

1. Remove upper half of the metal casing, exposing the guts.
2. Grind down casing screws to shorter length to compensate for a lack of top casing
3. Insert the SSD into notebook with top exposed (similar to how the HDD looked stock)

It should be fine, but it was a bit annoying that despite the SSD not NEEDING 9mm of casing space, they added the bulk anyway without an easy way to slim it down.

Also, I didn't feel like going through the hassle of beta testing Win 8.1, so I've opted to wait for the official release. However, I downloaded Start Menu Reviver and it is EXCELLENT. It's free, it's stylish, it blends the start menu with the start screen and it's very customizable and functional. It instantly turned my disdain for Windows 8 into a genuine "wow" factor. This coming from a die-hard triple monitor desktop Win 7 user.

 

Thanks for the info on USB to Ethernet. I keep looking at this machine in Office Max, and it looks better each time. ;-)

 

Sorry about that, I'll update the list. I haven't installed any 335's yet, but the prior X25 models I have used had a 2mm plastic shim that could be removed.

 

I bought the units 1 month back and happy with it. Too bad Malaysia model didn't came with backlight keyboard. I'm thinking of upgrade HDD to SSD but I saw there is SATA and mSATA. What is the different and which one should I go?

 

Oh, no problem- not your fault. I bought the Intel 335 because it was on sale, not because you listed it as compatible ;-)

jackcham- You want SATA, not mSATA. mSATA is a much smaller physical drive that will not bolt in to the standard 2.5" HDD slot without modifications or adapters.

 

I just noticed that there's a new BIOS up on the Acer website, version 2.08 (2013-08-05). Mine's came with version 2.03.

Edit 1:
When i run the bios update i get this. Anyone have an idea how I can resolve this?


Edit 2:
When WIFI is not available, I often tether my laptop(s) via Bluetooth DUN (Dial Up Networking) to my cellphone's internet connection. This is the first laptop I've encountered that would NOT allow me to use this technology. I don't understand why that is considering it's got an internal "modern" 4.0 + HS Bluetooth USB adapter by Qualcomm Atheros.

I'm wondering if this limitation is due to:
1. the 1x1 Atheros WLAN card
2. the USB BT card itself
3. the software or drivers I'm using (factory driver)

Any ideas?

 

Noted and thanks