Acer Ethos AS8951G/AS5951G Owners Lounge

OK so got a 8951g today and here's initial thoughts:

Screen: Love it. Yes I'm sure there there are better screens with wider viewing angles but it seems fine to me and I can't get over how much space there is on this thing. This was my primary reason for buying this as often have to work from home (so wanted large/multiple screens) but don't have space for a home office so wanted to be able to put it away (so was pretty much stuck with a laptop), and not dissappointed.

Keyboard: The keys are nice and easy to type on, but I've got several problems with the keyboard: 1) I seem to have a faulty keyboard in that the keys in top left of the of the keyboard (F1, F2, 1, 2) are lower down than the rest (almost to the point of not being raised above laptop). Not too concerned and they all work - will take th back off and see if I can push them up, but not a great impression on an expensive laptop. 2) On the UK version they've split the left shift key in two: shift and a | key - meaning you have a really small shift key on the left and a massive shift key on the right - which looks odd for a start. Similarly they've split the Enter key to give an extra ~ key. While I like having the extra keys the fact they are not completely seperate and use the same holes as the shift and enter keys respectively looks pretty cheap and nasty. See below photos (which might also show the F1/F2 problem above if you looks closely). 3) I never understand why they don's seperate out the numeric keypad a little more on these large laptops. There's plenty of space. I suppose it would make the main keyboard even more off centre, but seems odd being right up next to the main keyboard. 4) Don't like the layout of the cursor keys (too small) or the location of the Del/Pg Up/Pg Down keys. Might get used to them and not an issue when I use the numeric keypad for these functions - but doesn't that defeat the point in them being separate?

Trackpad: This isn't as bad as I feared. Hated it at first as seemed sticky and unresponsive but I seem to have got used to it quickly. Still like the idea of being able to use the mouse away from the laptop - though can't honestly tell you why Bigger issue is the left and right click buttons. They are not responsive and would have preferred two buttons. They also go right up to the bottom edge - so if it's on your lap (admittedly not that often since it's a bit heavy for that) then you often click them accidently with your belly.

Performance seems brilliant (Processor 7.4, RAM 7.6, Graphics 6.8, Gaming Graphics 6.8, Hard Disk 7.6 on Windows Experience). Then again I did pay a lot for this so expect that. I also went for the the 120Gb/750Gb twin hardisk version as I wanted the SSD for a zippy boot time (which is does - unsleeps instantly and does a full reboot very quickly too) and the secondary disk for a lot of media I have have. I could only find that combo for sale with 16Gb of RAM (which is overkill for me), which probably also boasts the score.

Speakers: Loud and responsive - best I've every heard on a latop. I also can customise the Movie/Music and Games settings with a full equalizer and create up to 6 custom profiles so not sure if they've upgraded the software based on people's previous posts.

Fingerprint reader: Seems to work well (first time with one of these) but so far can only get it to work on websites in IE (and only the 32bit version at that) instead of my usual firefox, which is annoying. Am sure I'll get it to work with a little more perseverence.

Camera: Seems very good compared to the previous webcams I've used.

Bloatware: Was removed as soon as I logged on (waste of space nd irritating that you have to do this but only have to do once).

Still think I'm happy with it. But few niggles i wasn't expecting which is dissappointing but nothing I won't get used to...

 

@BazzaDP
Question about the SSD drive. First it didn't come with the SSD drive did it? Second if negative to the first did you pre-order the parts to use the second drive?

 

In Europe they offer a model with SSD included.

 

Nice. I know the 8950 was sold in Australia with 2 750 gb drives or 1 750 gb drive. While the USA only had the 1 750 GB drive system.

 

I installed an SSD for the OS and found that the brackets are not necessary. I left them on the original HDD.

 

Do you have a video or pics on how to install the second SSD drive? or maybe where I can locate a guide on how to get it done.

 

Hi,

I'm trying to buy the 15.6" Ethos, but am having difficulty finding it here in the US. Can anyone tell me where they bought theirs?

Thanks
Cassy

 

You'll need to get the HDD cable, I posted where to get it in in one post and the part number in another post. Otherwise it's pretty simple - unscrew the six screws on the back cover and lift it off using the small pry space (it's a small curved indentation so you can get under the cover's edge), it will "hinge" off the opposite side, then slide away from the "hinge" as soon as it's clear of the other sides. Locate the plug for the HDD cable (it kind of clips on, you can look at the other HDD cable to see how) and thread it through the channel to the second HDD space, then plug the drive in and put the cover back on by sliding the "hinge" side in, then pressing the sides down first, then the pry edge (you'll hear the plastic tabs pop back into place) and replace the screws.

 

Yes, that's odd for the keyboard - the US version uses the same hole for the Enter and \ key but otherwise each key has a separate hole. I guess they didn't want to create a new cover for each keyboard. I agree about the numeric keypad, there should be a little space there...but I find I don't notice at this point. The keys being a bit submerged is a concern, mine definitely doesn't have that - I think as painful as it would be I'd send it back or call Acer to get it fixed. I don't think the keyboard is readily accessible from the back.

The trackpad continues to be a pain because of the excess sensitivity, I'm in the habit of turning it off (Fn - F7) when I'm typing something relatively long but sometimes it doesn't come back when I switch it back on again and I have to press the button on the trackpad for five seconds to turn it off, then press again to turn it on again.

 

I really don't nderstand why they don't offer this everywhere! I'm sure it's cheaper to buy a 750Gb drive and do it yourself (apart from this bracket rubbish) but for convenience I'm sure most would prefer to buy it pre configured like I did.

 

In hongkong they offer a model with SSD included and cpu updated to 2670qm

 

I've wondered the same thing especially for support. I was told by support my mobo doesn't support 2 drives yet I'm using 2 drive now.

Looking at the Acer website there are all kinds of models of the 8951. Some have i5 processors, some use 500gb or 640 gb hard drives. It looks like Australia has the 120 GB SSD with the 750 GB hd model number AS8951G-2638G87Wikk (87 rfers to 750 gb + 120 gb - 870 gb)

 

Hi All!I like to know if the 8951g do Raid0? Because i lke to put two Ssds in notebook but only if he dos Raid0,ty!

 

Hi V - I just got a message back from Level 2 saying he had heard there was no specialized driver (I told him that) and that he would talk to engineering and get back to me in the next few days. Again, I don't expect anything but hopefully if enough people complain they'll do something.

I may have found a partial fix for the sensitivity issue though - I put an iphone screen protector I had laying around on it and it's much better, probably 1/20th the number of accidental touches from typing. Also the surface feels and slides much better.

Before I took off the protective plastic I trimmed a bit off one end (the earpiece hole end) of the screen protector so it would fit, and put the round hole (iphone button) end on the right so it doesn't interfere with the actual touch surface (the strip on the right side of the touchpad where the media buttons are isn't part of the active trackpad). The earpiece opening is just next to the edge, but it doesn't seem to get in the way. There's about 3mm open at the bottom, which is not a problem.

I hope that helps you too. Maybe there's a screen protector for a larger phone that could be trimmed such that there are no holes and it covers the whole trackpad, but meanwhile this has moved using the trackpad from unusable to actually pleasant.

 

Wonderful, Sammcc. I'll give it a try.

 

Can you Install /is their room for a second HDD in the 5951G ?

 

I'm also really on the cusp of buying the 5951, but I really want to know whether it has two hard drive bays, so i can add an ssd to be my OS disk. Also does the 5951 have a back-lit keyboard and Optimus switching tech? I'm getting mixed results on that from different sites.

These answers would help me so much.

 

I am in the same boat as you i have good news as far as i know (from researching google ) (The US Model) the 5951 Has The backlit keyboard and full 1920 x1080 res/ Everything the 8951 has but i am not sure about the 2nd HDD Bay.

 

I'm not sure about the resolution of the 5951 as I see at B&H photo the model Acer Aspire Ethos AS5951G-9694 has 1366x768 resolution. The model Acer Aspire AS5951G-2636G75 at Buy.com also has 1366 x 768. Now the model sold in Australia AS5951G-2638G75 does have 1920 x 1080 resolution.

Now on the Acer website is says the 9694 does have 1920 x 1080 resolution so I would verify what the resolution is before U buy if it's important. Also the price is 1399 and the 8951 can be purchased closed to that price.

 

Yeah its a little confusing i got the info from

Acer Aspire AS5951G-9694 LX.RHS07.010 Notebook PC - Intel Core i7-2630QM 2.0GHz, 6GB DDR3, 750GB HDD, Blu-ray Player/DVDRW, 15.6 Full HD, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit at TigerDirect.com

About it having 1920 x 1080. (AS5951G-9694 LX.RHS07.010)

@counterpoints Looks like Bad news i got pictures (From Tiger Direct)

AS5951G-9694



AS8951G-9600

 

Notebook Wireless adaptor Rewiew==> AnandTech - Bigfoot?s Killer-N 1102 Wireless Networking vs. the World

 

This cable will definitely not work for the 8951G. I ordered one after I bought mine and it arrived from Canada yesterday. Unfortunately, it is at least 2 inches too short to wrap back around to where the connector is on the MB.

You will need one about the same length as the primary drive cable on the 8951G. Does anyone know where one of those can be found?

And does anyone with an 8950 want a good deal on a secondary drive cable?

Thanks,

Thom Doss

 

Forgive the premature post. I read farther in the forum and found the correct parts. Next time I'll start reading from the end and work backwords.

 

This is the part and was tested to work from someone on this forum.



Acer original cable - AC44753 - $24.95US : Notebook Solutions, Parts, Service & Support

Acer original bracket - AC44033 - $19.95US : Notebook Solutions, Parts, Service & Support

 

Yes, those are the ones I bought and they're the correct ones for the secondary 8951G drive. I posted instructions for adding it as well. I also posted the actual part numbers but a quick check of Google Shopping didn't show anything other than the ones from notebooksolutions.ca.

 

Sorry I already purchased the cable for the 8950 from the same company in Canada so I don't need another.

 

Hi I purchesed Acer Ethos 5951g and now I have some questions.
1. Is here any way to get media hotkeys running with winamp (on my touchpad hotkeys next and previous track dont work)?
2. When I am playing tho notebooks keyboard and touchpad are very hot. Is here some way hove to make it less warm? (for example Zalman notebook cooler
::: Zalman, leading the world of Quiet Computing Solutions :::
could it help to decrease temperatures?

Sorry for my English

 

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NVIDIA DRIVERS 280.26 WHQL

no muss, no fuss, just loads and works

 

Palio, I haven't heard anything about changing the hotkeys to work with an alternate media player - only someone saying that it can't be done. Let us know if you figure something out.

The keyboard and touchpad on mine never get hot, I've spent hours with it on my lap on hot summer days and never have a problem with heat so I think yours may be defective.

 

Sweet, danke danKable. Installed fine. I guess nVidia has updated the driver support to include the 8951G. I don't see any difference from the 275.33 driver so far, other than not having to mess with the 3rd party .inf file.

 

The keyboard and touchpad are hot only when I am playing some games (for example Mafia 2) on high details (CPU and others are Loud). When I am only browsing web or writing documents everything is OK.

 

In that case, yeah a laptop cooler with a fan helps a lot. Most of the heat goes out the back left, so you want something that keeps that area cool.

 

I`ve checked those out, ...but (for a change..) decided to wait and see if someone else had them working fine, --before taking the (un/re-install) plunge myself--..
But reading your comment,... I just coudn`t resist!

I dicided to install them over the 275.33 -inf.file modded- drivers,...(just to see how that would go)
And well..., they installed perfectly without any problems!

Did any of you tried it doing a clean install? (no re-install problems?)

I`m going to runn some tests ..to see how this new driver holds up.
(tomorrow,.... cause its,... late .... )
...Some GPU-sensitive test like..CS5.. GPU-cuda HD video-playback... Gaming,

Since many other oem-notebook owners were succesfully in installing them as well, I am curious as to why Nvidia made this driver OEM-enabled as well?
Are theygiving us OEM-notebook owners a little- inbetween-snack?....
or are they Finally --hopefully-- going into a new (wider) direction, with releasing their new drivers, ..for everyone!..

 

So I ended up buying the 5951G and I am so incredibly happy with it. The performance, build quality as well as that backlit keyboard!!! Im always looking forward to using it! For Games I use an external monitor which lowers the laptop temperature and just gives me a better viewing experience. But for everything else the screens more than fine. Did have to uninstall loads of bloatware. Wanted to know which software you guys kept in? Thanks danKable for the post just installed the new driver with success. Next thing is the Dolby drivers. As for hardware. Im not sure I will be adding anything yet as im very happy with the performance.

 

For the Dolby Drivers, check out the post I made, with detailed installation info for the full dolby home theater v4 ...I believe its on page 8.
---follow the instructions, and you will end up having the Full Dolby home theater experience.
(even-though the 5951 has only stereo + sub you should end up getting much better/powerfull sound)

Hope it helps --let us know!

 

Disk Performance

got my 8951g as an open box from newegg a few weeks ago for $1070. Was waiting for the asus G74SX when the as8951 open box showed. Had to take advantage of it and do not regret it. Was going to load debian 6 on it until I realized that it came with wiin 7 ultimate. Loaded debian as virtual box image along with my 3 xp's and 1 2003 server instance.

was going to give away the seagate 750 5400 with win7 to 5 year old grand daughter on my old laptop but decided to keep the windows 7 ultimate BUT upgrade to a 7200 rpm version of the seagate 750 for better performance. Gave the 5400 version to granddaughter for her laptop and imaged the new 7200 rpm seagate with what was on the 5400 rpm seagate.

Guess What???

exact same performance numbers for the 5400 and the 7200 on the Windows Experience ( 5.9).

something is wrong? the intel i7 sata controller can do 6 mbs, both drives are 3 mbs, and there is no difference between the 5400 and the 7200???

is seagate selling the same drive under different model numbers or is there some issue with the controller in the as8951??



by the way, thanks for all the technical postings:
no need to take keyboard off, just add 8GB on the bottom opening to max out memory,
canada drive cable works great BUT DO NOT NEED ANY MOUNTING BRACKETS as DRIVE FITS tight and secure INTO CONTAINER AREA AND MOUNTING BRACKETS HAVE NOTHING TO ATTACH TO. second drive will not move about when bottom is fastened down.

mouse pad sensitivity - GET A LIFE - may not be perfect but is damn good.
screen brightness - I HAVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 30+ years, this 18.4 screen is awesome, if you do not like it get a job and move out of your mom's basement into the real world and you will understand.

 

I had the same result, swapped out the 750 gig Momentus 5400 for a 750 gig Momentus 7200 and no change in disk rating in Windows Experience. I assume the Windows Experience is the problem; even if the controller were slower it should show at least some difference.

I believe I have a life, unless it's been stolen lately and I hadn't noticed. You've been doing screen brightness for 30+ years? My mom doesn't have a basement, she lives 2 hours away, and I do have a job.

Maybe you type differently, I find my hand is continually setting off the mouse tap "click" when I type. Such a pain. I've used trackpads and laptops for 12 years and never had one that didn't give you a sensitivity adjustment for just this problem.

I agree about the screen, I think it's very nice.

 

I only use the mouse pad when I can not use the mouse ( bluetooth - pain in the butt to get going ) and it ( touch pad ) works better than any of the 20 or so laptop touch pads I have had to use in the past 16 years.

My typing skills came from an underwood manual typewriter in which you had to keep your wrists upright( and then ibm card punch machines ). I have had a lazy thumb or two in the past but all the other laptop touch pads were much more sensitive than this one to the accidental touch PLUS this one is removable so if you have an external mouse you never have to touch the touch pad.

no offense to you ( not picking on you, just compainers ), no offense to your mom.
I do appreciate the information in this blog.

this is a wonderful machine, best I have ever had, and the nit's just do not matter as there will always be some aspect of another machine that is better and certainly, next year, the next version of the as8951g will be better than this one. But this machine, the AS8951G is damn good, and unless you got the cash to purchase it and a competitor, you really can not complain RIGHT NOW.

 

My "life" involves a lot of typing. In my opinion, the trackpad is damn lousy because 1) can't disable tap-to-click 2) not sensitivity adjustment 3) delayed response to any action 4) poor precision and stability.

If I wasn't able to use external mouse and keyboard 80% of the time, I would have returned it.

Looking forward to trying Sam's phone cover fix.

Regarding the screen, I guess it's nice for multimedia, but I don't use it for that. It's not so good in viewing angle and brightness. I have a $500 laptop from 2006 that beats it in both. I got it because I needed a large screen. It does absolutely perfect job at having an 18.4" screen.

About the keyboard, I know flat keys are trendy, but they are not ergonomic for typing. Unfortunately, most consumer laptops have gone this way (not the case for business laptops). To make matters worse, there is a lot of play in the keys. You can push the edge of a key down and it will rotate out of level quite a bit. Most keyboards are probably like this, but when these two problems are combined, the result is a lot more missed keystrokes and much more time to "find home" when you first put your fingers on the keyboard. Again, this is not unique to this product. I'm sure that soon the trend will go back the other way.

Can anyone explain to me the draw to island keys? It seems disadvantageous from an engineering perspective. Maybe it helps to prevent dust, but that hasn't been a serious problem with keyboards for at least a decade.

Just because Apple does it doesn't make it better.

 

Has anyone upgraded to 16 gb of ram, if so what did you use i am thinking of Amazon.com: Corsair 8 GB DDR3 Laptop Memory Kit CMSO8GX3M2A1333C9: Electronics

 

That's actually the one I used, same price from newegg.com. Works great.

 

Hah cool stuff, well my research is over now that was the last thing, i can now buy the 5951G it's just to bad about it not having 2nd hdd .

 

I swapped mine with a WD Scorpio Black 750GB 7200rpm,
<the seagate momentus 750GB 7200rpm was my 1st choice, untill I found out there was also a WD black, 750GB 7200rpm...
since the WD scorpio-black outperformes the seagate by a nice marge..
..and I do a lot of Multi-tasking (Video-editing etc...) I went with that one --LOVE Its speed!!

But back to the windows experience index....
Well .. as you may guess... yes.. I got the exact same score 5.9

---Why?
---well, according to windows/Microsoft, the HDD- experience index, for non SSD hard drives is MAX 5.9 !!

So (sadly....) we are stuck with a Max, (overall) base-score unless we swap it with an SSD drive..... which eventually I (and most of us..) will...
when price lowers...

As far as the windows experience index goes?....
Well, I'm not hanging onto it that much...

---Give me some real benchmark scores!! Like Benchmark R10 / R11, PC-Mark etc.... That's what really shows me the strength of any PC/Notebook.

---According to benchmarking, (and by own experience) the WD scorpio Black is a lot! faster than the 5400rpm seagate that came with it..
So that number 5.9 doesn't say much to me...

 

Well, that's pretty bad. I never thought much of the Windows Experience Index, now I think even less of it.

 

WEI is a noob-thing just like those stars that Intel uses to indicate what CPU is faster.
Don't bother looking at it at all- there are so many factors to drive being fast or not like linear speed, number of plates and heads, data density per square inch, I/O operations and so on that you can't really come up with- "it's 5.9".

 

Couldn't have said it better myself!

 

Can't wait till i upgrade to the AS5951G at the end of year from my 5940G. Shame it doesn't have a ATI gpu

 

Just ran a Cinebench test.

Results are: 1) 32.76 fps
2) 4.86 points

Seems to be very good but I will look further into the exact details. Shame that battlefield 2 keeps crashing to the desktop though. Not sure if it is overheating, which it shouldnt be. The 64x bit link for the dolby doesnt work anymore.

 

Please is here any way how to set NVIDIA GPU as default GPU for external monitor connected through D-Sub (VGA) connector?

 

Is it really the best option though?

By the end of the year Intel's new CPUs and ATI's GPUs will be hitting the market.