Acer Ethos AS8951G/AS5951G Owners Lounge

@ victorgpopa
I always love to give one, some extensive reading information!


---just another bit on the audio...

..I wanted to let you know... ;
I also checked the B & O sound on the Asus, and I had to say, that the sound from their speakers is really great! ,
but the DOLBY Home Theater v4 5.1 (professionally tuned speakers) on the Acer are clearly' sounding Even Better!

This has for sure much to do with the Pro-Tuning of the speakers, but as well with the Amazing DOLBY tuning (profiler) software that comes with it!

--at first Acer didn't put the full software on it, So the Very first buyers (including me) were missing the True Clear Loud and Crisp sound the speakers 'could' give...

As a result, I searched for the Full DOLBY software, and installed it myself,.. (with others following my example)
--hey a few weeks/months later even Acer updated their audio drivers!! finally giving us the option to tune the audio.!! Also Factory models got it pre-installed.
(not the Full freedom of Pro-fine-tuning --which only audio novices --like me need..)

--hehe, I tent to believe Acer actually read this forum, and did the update because of us here haha!!

Anyways,

After the full DOLBY Software was installed, I compared it -again- to the B & O speakers/sound on the Asus, and the B & O (though still Really Great!) were actually BLOWN out of the water!
--I really didn't expected that at first, since, well.. it's B & O,....
But this time the honor of Awesome Notebook sound Def' goes to DOLBY for their software, and the Professionally tuned speakers..

So sound-wise I would say, the acer definitly wins!
---
But then again, not everybody's ears hear, and want the same...

Either way, no-matter which one you choose, you still got some 'Awesome' audio speakers/sound, that leave the other (often standard') internal-Notebook audio systems easily behind!

Glad I could help,

And Hope you find the perfect match for what you want!.

 

Some basic info for you:

Screen brightness: The higher the better usually, a higher brightness will allow you to use the machine outside (especially when combined with a matte rather than glossy coating).

Brightness grid: Showing how even the backlight is, if the numbers are very differnt then different areas of the monitor will be brighter than others leading to a non uniform image.

Screen contrast: The difference between white and black, a low contrast plus high brightness means that blacks will be very grey and washed out making darker movies or games hard to make out.

Colour spectrum: The larger the cube in the picture the more colours the display can actually produce, for photo editing this is vital (so the right colours are displayed and not close approximations) and in general will cause colour gradients not appear banded (with obvious discrete transitions between shades of the same colour).

Also if you really need some decent speakers and some more gaming performance have a look at MSI's notebooks, I would say they are a couple of notches above the Acer's.

 

Ahh, that's said with perfect clarity!
Perfectly understandeble... a great explanation for who wants/needs to know a bit more about how to judge the screen quality.
I couldn't have explained it better (or simpler) to victorgpopa (or anyone else) myself.


--about the MSI & their Sound by Dynaudio
There you name one very powerful machine!

I do a lot of Video Editing with lots of audio, (through headphones) but want to hear the audio also with out them..)
So I looked them up as well, when I was shopping for a new laptop,
and honestly, the sound on them SO Blew me Away!!! Dynaudio is one Hack of a quality!
I couldn't believe the audio being produced out of just 2.1 speakers... Truly amazing!

Yet hearing the DOLBY 5.1 speakers on the Acer I found them to be better.. (when it comes to clarity-of, and balanced sound ..not by much )
The DOLBY people who had it Fine-Tuned, let the people hear the True capability of the speakers on the ACER..
Now months later, after having bought the 8951G and used it a lot,
I still find a noticeable better sound coming from the Acer,...
(or at least my own fine-tuned Acer


I guess if you can fine-tune them to their true potential, they can 'almost' always sound even better...
--I bet that's also the case with the Dynaudio speakers

I think one of the reasons I find the speakers on the Acer just a bit better, is off-course DOLBY's and my own fine-tuning, but also because they are 5.1 vs MSI's 2.1
I Do truly believe however, IF MSI & Dynaudio would go with a FULL 5.1 Speaker system They will beat DOLBY's ..5.1

But like I said before, it ALWAYS depends on what your ears hear & like..

MSI's Dynaudio Winns hands down from Asus B & O...
But if you want same-like quality (just a bit more, and wider surround)
then the Acer -with DOLBY's 5.1 (for me) beats Dynaudio's 2.1...
(again,.. considering clarity-of, and balanced sound ..not by much )
--Again it still depends by each person...
(just look at the Professional bizz, this one likes this,.. that one likes that....)
---each ones ears are different...

So without the actual DOLBY'S fine-tuning, the Acer looses from both the Asus, and for sure the MSI's with Dynaudio..
But with DOLBY'S fine-tuning, (truly unlocking those speakers power and clarity ) the Acer wins from both,... but compared to the Dynaudio 2.1 audio ..not by much..

If graphics is also an important matter, then out of the 3 ...MSI is a clear winn!
Awesome audio-quality & AWESOME gaming performance!!

 

If video editing is important a lot of places will do the 15.6" 16F2 with a 95% colour gamut display.

 

Thank You, Meaker for the basic infos!

They are also a couple of bucks above the ASUS, I would say I know the MSI notebooks, but I'm not into gaming... That's why I wouldn't consider the G series from ASUS; I mostly need my notebook to play blue rays, FHD movies from my camera and do some video editing, to take it with me in holidays for my son to watch some cartoons and music with decent sound. I think that they are great notebooks ( MSI and G series, also XNG's or Sager ) but more expensive for what I'm looking for...

Oh, Ray... that's a tough decision... display ( of ASUS ) vs sound ( of ACER )! I wish they didn't had so awesome sound as you describe it very well, it would be much easier! Kidding... But taking into consideration also the price, Acer is much more expensive! At least from the sellers here, in Finland!

For the money ( 1000 e) ASUS is the best choice! With almost the same configuration ( 17.3" Full HD, Intel i7 2630QM, GT 540M, 6GB, 500GB, Blu-Ray Combo, Windows 7 Home Premium ) I found the Acer at 1799 ( that's with 78% more ) and the MSI at the same price ( but better configuration ) and we are talking about the cheapest deals here!
For the same 1000 e I found today an Acer 5950g, 15.6" ( 1366 x 768 ) so imagine how big the difference is in what you get for that kind of money!

And, as You said,

and I think I'll stick with the ASUS! Too bad nobody didn't managed to build a great machine, which would combine all the best parts of eachother manufacturer!

Thank again guys for the time and amiability!

 

Just got my 8951 9630 yesterday. Wow, I feel like I've been computing w/ an abacus for the last 10 years! I'm still tweaking and getting used to it, and waiting for the SSD and RAM upgrades to arrive.

Some notes:

1. For those looking for for a backpack for this beast, I was surprised/happy to discover my trusty old Targus XL fits it comfortably.

2. Today I discovered NewEgg is now selling them for $100 less than I paid just a week ago ...arrrgggh.

3. I'm surprised how relatively light it is, I've been hauling a Dell M6300 for a few years, and I think they're about the same weight.

4. I can't understand all the negative reviews about the screen, it looks great to me. My only complaint is the glossiness, but thats pretty much SOP on all laptops these days.

 

I tried to run Win2008 in Oracle VirtualBox and it couldn't find a driver for the artheros wireless card. I have the 8950 and not the 8951 so I think thye use the same driver.

So basically with no internet it was almost useless.

 

Seeking help on HDD replacement for my 8951g...

I figured out where the 2nd HDD connector is (after a lot of headscratching) (fyi: its the little connector just to the right of the 2nd HD bay, you'll see where the 1st drive is connected just below it). But if I wanted to replace the original 750Gig HD, I don't see how to pull it out (at least, not wo/ tearing the entire base of the laptop off, which I'd prefer not to do). The brackets seem to be screwed in underneath the bottom shell. Can anyone shed some light on how to pull the original HDD ?

 

Thnx for the info. I can probably get by wo/ the wifi, I generally have to tether to GigE anyway, so hopefully I can get a workable solution that way.

 

Hello guys,

do you think that gt555m will disappoint me after my gtx280m??? how much gt555m is slower than gtx280m?

by the way I have MXM 2 version, not MXM 3 one.


Lastly, which one Acer ethos have;

Versions:

144 cores 709MHz (GF106), 128Bit GDDR5 z.B. MSI GX780
144 cores 590MHz (GF106), 192Bit DDR3 z.B. Dell XPS 17, Alienware M14x
144 cores 590MHz (GF106), 128Bit DDR3 z.B. Schenker XMG A501 / A701 (Clevo W150HRM / W170HN)
96 cores 753MHz (GF108), 128Bit GDDR5 z.B. Lenovo Y570p / Y560p

 

Hey all Ethos owners

I've just bought my Ethos 8951G, yahoooo

I have two purpose on this machine
1. let my wife to play whatever facebook games and Photoshop without any lag (because the only place for desktop occupied by me )

2. To install Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 with Hyper-V. Since I am an IT consultant, sometimes I need to show demos and labs to my customer even when remote control is not an option.

I collect this machine and quickly format the valuable SSD (comes with Intel X25-M 120GB).

I gave 80 GB to Windows 7 and 40 GB empty drive reserved.
I quickly found something missed.

The touchpad will call a media player before (clear.fi ??) I need that back, how to do that?

The on screen display on caps lock, num lock etc is gone, which software should I install to re-enable it?

The "P" button application, where I can download it?

Thx for advices

 

My Second problem, which to me is a bigger problem is the speed inside Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1

After installed Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, I instantly noticed the slowness of everything, I mean even opening Computer, browsing through folders and opening any, I mean ANY applications took ages to complete.

I keep watching the task manager, the CPU rarely use up more than 50% of power and the Hard disk LED does not lit up constantly

I don't even want to try installing VMs on it since it just turns me down.

I suspect this is something about the CPU throttling, isn't it?

Please enlighten me

Thank you very much

 

I saw a discussion of replacement wireless cards for the 8951G many pages back, but I never saw an answer to the question of whether or not the original card contains the Bluetooth adapter as well. Does it? In other words, should my replacement card be the Intel 6200 or the 6230 in order to retain Bluetooth functionality?

Also, Amazon.com has two each of a number of the Intel wireless cards. The pictures appear identical and the only difference I can see is the price. Are there different versions out there? Some of these duplicates are sold by the same vendor. (EDIT: It appears that there is some difference, as the ASIN numbers are different. So which one do I get?)

Finally, I have a question about memory expansion. Does the 8951G support 1333 MHz memory? If so, is there any advantage to getting the higher speed 1333 MHz for additional memory if I keep the original 8 GB of 1066 MHz memory?

 

@Fatsausage

Install Launch Manager if you haven't done so already- that should help with the OSD.

@z01

It's a Sandy Bridge unit so it supports 1333MHz.
Also avoid Intel 6230 if you don't need Bluetooth- Wi-Fi shares an antenna with Bluetooth which results in reduced throughput.
I've seen lots of complaints from 1030 and 6230 users over this issue.

 

I only find 2 empty slots for memory, where are the other 2?

PLEASE HELP!!!!!

thanks!

 

Hi all,

I am not sure if RAY24 or other expert can answer my question.

I am a movie lover and really enjoy the 7.1 surround sound coming from the movie. However, because of my new born baby, I have given up my surround amplifier and step back a bit by using headphone. I still want to enjoy the surround dynamic sound effect. However, here comes my question.

There are several areas in my 8951G which I can set the sound settings
1. Realtek H Audio Manager -
a) Speaker Configuration - Headphone or 5.1 Speaker
2. Dolby home Theater -
a) Movie Mode with Surround Virtualizer setting - Turn on or off
2. Video Player (PowerDVD) -
a) 5.1 speaker or headphone
b) TruTheatre (virtualization) - on or off

I would like to know
1) how the sound signal to go e.g. Videoplayer -> Dobly Home -> Realtek or Realtek -> Dobly Home -> Videoplayer
2) how to set the above areas to have the optimized sound effect? e.g. should I set headphone mode in video player?....


Thanks.

 

Hey obsidian604
Well, the other 2 missing memory slots are placed underneath the keyboard..
Which means in order to get to those slots, you need to 'in-part' disassemble your notebook..

I myself thought also ... " hey where are the other 2??"
but after finding that out (through other owners),... there was another problem to solve...
There is no (not yet) Acer 8951G service-manual (a.k.a. disassemble manual) but got a few 'starting' tips from someone else on the forum..

Eventually I figured the rest (every step-by-step) out by myself.

I took some pictures of the process, so if you can be patient just a bit longer, I will make (and post) for you a little step by step manual how to get to those memory slots beneath the keyboard.

Hey Testhanstest! (first--- congrats with the newborn! )

About your question..

Well, the first important thing to know is,
-- what kind of headphone do you plan on using?
Cause every kind of headphone-set needs a different kind of approach towards audio-settings

I use a Surround Headphone.

About the different areas on the 8951G where you can set the sound settings.

1; Realtek HD Audio Manager
The only settings I have there, are
---- (Speakers/Speaker Configuration) 5.1
(Speakers/Default Format) 24 Bits, 96000 Hz (Studio Quality)
24 Bits 48000 Hz is also good enough for most people..
---- (Digital Output/Default Format) Set to Dolby Digital Live 5.1 Surround
---That's all I use in Realtek HD Audio Manager

2; Dolby Home Theater
---- Set to movie, (but a self optimized profile is Way better than the Pre-setting ..Movie..)
- Turn on Surround Virtualizer (as high as to your own liking)
& Headphones 100%
(I've also set Volume Leveler & Dialogue Enhancer to about 45%, but that is together with my own Full-optimizations)

3; Video Player (PowerDVD)
---- 5.1 or headphone? ---Remember, that in the Realtek HD Audio Manager you've already set it to 5.1, so if you change it to headphone in a video-player (not all, but most),the Realtek HD audio manager 5.1 setting gets over-ruled...
I stay away from such options in video-players, (except when the need to be set to 5.1)
---- TruTheater Virtualization - On ... (Do you have multiple modes to choose from? 'Livingroom, Theater, Stadium')

Turning TruTheater on could sound either good, or make your audio sound more over-compressed...
So to decide if its best on or off, you best try them out, and check what sounds best...

----The best advise I can give you.

Test-out all settings, and listen carefully to what fits/sounds best with your Headphone. ----cause, like I said earlier, every kind of headphone-set needs a different kind of approach towards audio-settings


About your question of how the sound signal moves through your programs,
---You mean in what order?

Well,
1st : Video-Player (as long as you don't use any build in equalizers)
2nd : Dolby (cause it does Fine-tune the audio)
3rd : Realtek HD Audio Manager (cause it is also part of your Main-audio drivers --managing the Quality output-options to your audio-hardware)



---Hope this answers your questions.

 

Wow, I can't wait to see that.... thanks so much!!!!!! I'm sure there are tons of ppl experiencing the same problem. you're a life saver.

 

Hey obsidian604,

---And to everyone else interested!

Starting a few hours ago, I've just finished the step-by-step manual of --How to get to the 2 RAM slots underneath the Keyboard on the Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G

I've uploaded it, because posting it here, the manual might be a bit to long (especially with all the pictures)

Here's the download-link to the PDF-file;
Step-by-Step_to_RAM_slots_underneath_Keyboard.pdf - download now for free. File sharing. Software file sharing. Free file hosting. File upload. FileFactory.com

If someone needs it and the link has expired, just send me a message and I'll upload it again, or send it straight to you by Email.

obsidian604. I hope it helps you out (and everyone else needing it)

 

Hello all, a new member here

I'll be relocating so I need to buy a laptop, a really powerful one because I do allot of 3d rendering stuff and a bit of gaming, after extensive search I narrowed down my options to only 2 (Acer Ethos 5951g) and (Dell XPS 15 L502x).

Now the specs are nearly similar (i7 2670 qm with 8 gigs of ram) but the Dell has the geforce 540 while the acer got the geforce 555, I've read about fan/noise/overheating/electric shocks issues with the dell but up till now I havent found any issues with the acer (through googling).

So my question is which one should I go with ? and to the owners of the Acer do you have any issues with it? noise, over heating etc, and would you recommend it ?

Thanks in advance.

 

@RAY24

Hi Ray24,

First of all, Thanks for your explanation and the step by stey memory slot guide.

For the headphone, which brand and model are you using? I am thinking to buy Sony XB500 as its bass quality is good. Any other recommendations?

Regarding to the setting of Realtek HD audio settings, when you use headphone and press the "audio test" key (little triangle), is there any sound when the subwoofer picture is highlighted. I did not get any sound from the subwoofer channel. On the other hand, I also unchecked the Front left and righ option under Full-range Speaker section as I thought my headphone should not be a full range speaker (not sure if it is correct).


For the Dolby setting, would you please inform how I can set the optimizer. Should I use Exclusive mode or shared mode or it does not matter...

And for the powerdvd setting, I don't quite get what you mean

"3; Video Player (PowerDVD)
---- 5.1 or headphone? ---Remember, that in the Realtek HD Audio Manager you've already set it to 5.1, so if you change it to headphone in a video-player (not all, but most),the Realtek HD audio manager 5.1 setting gets over-ruled...
I stay away from such options in video-players,(except when the need to be set to 5.1)
---- TruTheater Virtualization - On ...(Do you have multiple modes to choose from? 'Livingroom, Theater, Stadium')"

Are you saying that I should set to use "headphone". Please advise. By the way, I have the multiple mode to choose. I choose Theater Mode.

Thanks.

 

Thanks Ray24, my case is a little bit different, I already have 16gb in my laptop, I already have an HP corei7, 17" laptop with 6gb ram, just wanted to swap my HP 2gb with acer 4gb to upgrade my HP to 8gb and acer down to 14gb.

it seems like it's pretty complicated to dissemble the unit to get to the extra memories, so I'll just stick with it... I might sell my acer. still contemplating.

but thnaks for the diagram, I'm sure it'll help tons of ppl.

 

Hi, guys!
I intend to install a second HDD in my 8951g. How many brackets should I have to buy to install it? One or two? Anybody knows a site that sells the bracket and the connector and ships them to Brazil?
Thanks a lot!
Victor

 

Hey guys,

Alright, first bugs to report, a couple of weeks ago a windows pop up informed me that my battery needed replacing and since then I wasn't able to start the laptop from battery source only. The only way it did work was to unlock and relock the orange battery switch on the back of the laptop. On the pop up I untagged the inform me when battery need replacing. Now I retagged it and my laptop appears to be in full working order except that on very few occasions it still wont start from battery source. Not really sure what to think fo this.

 

Hello.

Sorry for my bad english.

This past thursday i bought the Acer 8951G with 16Gb off RAM.
When i try to upgrade the bios to 1.11 the process failed to write. And the laptop doesn´t boot.
I repair it with and Fat partioned usb drive with the .fd bios file and boot it with the FN+ESC keys.

After this shock i have other problem.

The touchpad only works well few minutes. Then goes crazy, usually changes the direction of movement of the mouse. If you move the finger up, the mouse goes to bottom of the screen.
Can anybody help me?

Thanks.
Kindest regards.

 

I haven't had the chance to trawl through all the replies about the 8943g service guide but here is the web address for the 8940 series service guide.

http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/Manuals/acer/2010/ServiceGuides/SG_Aspire_8940_20100714.pdf

Hope it's of use to some one..

Tab88

 

@RAY24

You are the man mate! Thx so much for your guide, even thoughI don't need it right now I might in the future so I made sure to snatch it Nice work!

Btw, did someone notice the "Supports new LCD panel" line in the 1.06 Bios description?
New LCD Panel? What?

 

Hello VictorHugo,

A Few of our 8951G owners here, ordered our 2 HDD brackets + extra 2nd HDD connector cable over here

---2 HDD brackets (You need to buy 2-- they are not' sold as a set!)
Acer original bracket - AC44033 - $19.95US : Notebook Solutions, Parts, Service & Support

---extra 2nd HDD connector cable (I bought 2 of them 1 + 1 spare, --in case I some-time need to replace it)
Acer original cable - AC44753 - $24.95US : Notebook Solutions, Parts, Service & Support

They ship Worldwide.

Hope it helps.

Hello Juanjillo,
Did you use your touchpad before you tried to upgrade the BIOS? --if yes, did it already have the problems? ---If not, something with you trying to update the BIOS might have messed things up.

--and when the touchpad goes crazy, does that happen when you use it out of the Notebook, or with it still on it/connected to it?

Hey Vipeout!,

I'm glad you (and others) are happy with the guide (either now or somewhere in the future) ----As you might have read a few pages back, I upgraded my RAM-memory going from 12 GB 1333MHz (2x2GB + 2x4GB), to 16GB 4x4 1866MHz Kingston PnP!
I did this for running CS5 Production Premium (Premiere Pro, After Effects ....) but also to be able to do some nice gaming when not being near a Power-socket (going with the Intel on-board HD 3000 graphics)

Some people tested it with the i5 2410M, which gave already some nice (but not very BIG) fps boost in gaming with the onboard graphics, (say 4 to 6 fps)
I was very much interested in how well of a boost it would gave me running it with the i7-2630QM, I knew it would be a nice boost over the i5-2410M, but was quite blown away by the actual results...

--Just a little example of what the memory upgrade gave as a boost.
----Assassins Creed before (with the 12GB 1333MHz), was only playable in 1366x768, with everything at halve or Low graphics-quality.

Now with the 16GB (even with just 8GB!) of 1866MHz Kingston PnP, I can play the game smooth as butter with the Intel on-board HD 3000 graphics, r unning at 1440x900 with all graphics-quality settings at FULL/Max!

(Putting the resolution up a notch, to 1600x900 keeping everything at FULL/Max it still is playable but with some little lagging a.k.a. lesser fps...)
And I see same results with many other games!

So,

Either way; If you're either planning ( in-time), to do such an upgrade, or weren't until I teased your apatite for such ..or if you'll ever (lets hope never) walk into a RAM-memory error/ experience,...
I hope that at that moment, the guide will be of good help to you!

---about the "Supports new LCD panel" line in the 1.06 Bios description?
(... didn't you meant BIOS 1.07 ?)

I noticed that as well..... ; I'm wondering what that is meaning?

---Are they now shipping the 8951G with a new LCD panel?

---if so, we'll probably get confirmation of that through buyers.
Lets wait and see...

 

Yeah sry I meant 1.07! Am on 1.11 now, it's suposed to prolong battery on the remote? Wonder how it is doing that considering the remote is detached from the notebook/not part of the motherboard.

I have only 8gb of Ram, 4x2gb at 1333mhz Hynix Ram. I might consider doing an upgrade but I am almost sure the fps difference will not be as big with the Geforce as you experienced with the onborad card. Or can you give any information on that? I only play games with the GF 555m so I dont care about the Intel graphics but am curious how much more performance you get with the dedicated NVIDIA GPU. If the difference is quite big, I know what I'm buying next
My Ram is only the stock one but so far my gaming performance is really ok, also overclocking the Geforce does miracles!
Oh and btw, where are u from Ray?

 

You're right about that, going from 4x2GB 1333MHz, isn't going to give you a Gaming boost as great as with the Intel, when running the nVidia card.
---Main reason, the Intel loves large & especially FAST! memory. Being fully depended on it.
---While the nVidia has its own Dedicated Memory it uses for most of the stuff.

However, there are some games where I do notice some good, difference. Like GTA IV that game relies heavily on a Fast CU, and some great GPU, but it also is in need of some Great & Fast memory, since it's constantly loading things.
---Before my upgrade (using also the stock 1333MHz) I noticed some (a bit visible but not annoying) lag when running at either 1920x180 or 1600x900. Everything at FULL except shadow day/night on mid. This lag was also a bit visible at lower resolutions.
First I thought, as I heard happening with others, was that with the i7-2630QM, GTA IV causes throttling, Tested that, ...and Nope, my CPU is 100% O.K. having troubles, W
Whatever the working scenario my i7-2630QM doesn't suffer from any throttling.
So...

When I upgraded to the 1866MHz Kingston PnP, I first tested it with all the software I run on the 8951G, which ended up Quite A BIG boost!
Then with the Intel-graphics...(you know what that did)
...But yep, with me also 'often' gaming with the nVidia card I wanted to know, if so, and then how much' of an effect it had gaming with the nVidia card.

Well, like I said, there are some games where I do notice some good, difference.
With GTA IV, the lag seems to be almost gone into even the highest Res.
But also other games like Battlefield 3 (depending on the action taking place) you do get around 2 till sometimes max 4fps´more ..
And there are a few other games, that give you a small fps boost (from 1 to a -rare- 4 fps at the most,).. (its still more )

Any other game, that -while gaming- relies heavily on loading many things Fast & often, and has trouble with some lag issues, ..with this faster Memory, it might end up being gone.

So ... Overall,... you only see 'some' games take a nice' (noticeable) profit from the fast memory.

It depends on what games you use, and the question that remains, is; ---Is it worth the $$ for you?
----I'd say; first go and check out (on gaming forums or other places) if your games can profit from faster Memory,..
If you're happy with what you have, than stying with the 1333MHz RAM is O.K.

----BUT FIRST,... You also said you overclocked your nVidia card.
How much do you overclock it, and in what way, using what?
---Cause I know for a fact, that when you overclock some things like the CPU & GPU, the Kingston PnP (in many cases also used with overclocked systems) might give a slightly better -noticeable- fps here and there. ---it all depend on How you do it.


---Just one last note. If I wasn't going to be on the road so often, or even didn't do the CS5 video-editing stuff on the notebook,... i'd probably hadn't upgraded to the Faster memory...

Its still some quite load of $$, so I say it must give you back something worth that cash, or else,.. just leave it

 

I use EVGA | Software | EVGA Precision. Its reliable, super-easy to use and its totally free.

I only switch the OC "Mode" on for gaming, no need to have the GPU run at higher clocks all the time. After some testing my sweet spot is 720mhz for GPU (stock 590mhz) and 1000mhz for the memory (vs. 900mhz). This gives me around 23% more performance for free Also, the GPU doesnt run hot at all when you position your notebook correctly (= give it space to draw fresh air).

I used this for reference: Alienware M14x: Overclocking the GT 555M | Best Gaming Laptop
My System now runs on par with an Alienware gaming system, at no additional cost I didn't manage to get quite as high as the alienware machine though with OCing, but every chip is different and you might be able to go higher with your clock rates.
For me, it's fine enough. I play FPS on my xbox and stick to the notebook for PC-only games. ATM I'm playing Heroes of M&M IV at max details and 1600*1200 resolution on my 46" Sony Bravia with around 32FPS or so.

 

EVGA Software / EVGA Precision.
others often take MSI After burner, but EVGA Precision, that's a nice one to use also.

Hmmm around 23% more performance sounds great! especially with it being also free
---You are smart by the way, not to keep the GPU run at higher clocks all the time. I always say, best to run things only higher when needed. Why waste it on... well, programs/games that don't need/use it?

I must confess though,.... I was planning on Overclocking the GPU, at the time when I would get the faster memory.
(The confession..... I still haven't overclocked it!!....
--been bizzzy, bizzyy....

---But with it now slowing down a bit towards the holidays, I AM! going to make some time for it!

---I believe, Like you said, with the faster memory I indeed might be able to go higher with my clock-rates. (We'll see how much)

I'll check out how well it runs, and let you know (in a few days) what the results are. (can't wait!)

 

Have you received any replies to this? I noticed this same behavior and still haven't found a solution. I did a lot of testing with solid state and spinning drives, loading Acer VS windows drivers, etc. and I came to the conclusion that there is something the HyperVisor does not like about this hardware. I can get W8R2 SP1 to perform similar to W7 until I set Hypervisorlaunchtype = auto in BCDedit. (Which you have to do if you want to start a VM under Hyper-V) As soon as I do that, it is over, CPU usage goes up, response times plummet and it is slower on an SSD than it is on rotating disk without the hypervisor.

I haven't seen this on any other laptop, only on this model and it is very frustrating because I bought this specifically for when I had to demo off my laptop and couldn't access a hosted VM.

Greatest laptop I have ever owned running W7-64, a boat anchor when trying to run W8R2-SP1 with Hyper-V.

Please post if you find a solution.

Thanks,

Thom Doss

 

Hello,
I think that i have done something wrong
I have a 5951g an I just downloaded from the acer's site a new bios and I installed it by just running the exe file.
After that my keyboard didn't respond, so I did a reboot.
But then nothing appears on the screen, so from what I have read I have to flash BIOS again. But can someone help me with the exact steps and the correct bios?

Thanks!

 

Can you tell me where you found the correct bios .fd because i only have an .exe file from acer's website.

 

Hello, antstyl,
when you download the bios file from Acer, e.g., BIOS_Acer_1.06_A_A.zip, just expand this file.
Inside, there is a folder Bios_Acer_1.06_Windows.
Inside this folder, there is a folder Windows with the file ZRH_106W.exe
This file is a rar-compressed file. Download winrar and expand ZRH_106W.exe.
Inside, you find a lot of files and the ZRH.fd, which is exact the Bios-File you are looking for. No need to rename it!! (Some explanations for other machines recommend to rename this file according to model number in platform.ini, a file you also find in expanded ZRH_106.exe. in this very platform.ini there is no model number, but also no need of it, as there is no need to rename anything).
This file ZRH.fd should be copied onto a FAT32formatted USB-stick. The rest of the procedure is known? If not, please let me know. I had destroyed my Bios a week before by trying to update my Bios out of a virtual Windows 7 and got it to work again!!
Kind regards and a merry Christmas from Manfred Glinke
P.S.: had sent you a long reponse which suddenly disappeared anywhere in the depths of www

 

Hi so is this defo stable? overclock like this? You will need additional cooler under the laptop

 

I find it as is explained Manfred Glinke. But i use the last bios file 1.11

Regards.

 

I Have another problem with my 8951G.

My touchpad worked fine, but suddenly not power on. I try to turn on, but it doesn´t power on.

Any knows some similar problems??

 

Charge it for while and keep presing and swiping touch

 

Yes i charge it with the laptop (there are no lights on touchpad). I press (and keep pressing) the power button an do nothing.
The touchpad works when i open the laptop box.

 

I cannot describe you how much I thank you!!
THANKS!! for your time to write all these detais.. you saved me money and time (acer's service)

 

Anyone tried OC'ing their GPU? I wonder what clocks others get with this

 

Hi
I did overclocked what you been saying 750 and 1000 and I ran Win SAT and no gain at all for gaming experience
What your windows shows? for graphics and gaming graphics? mine is 6.8 thought it will be 7.0 at least.

 

Hey Vipeout,

As promised here are my findings of overclocking the GPU.
For the last few days, I ran it a couple of hours while gaming, and also while using CS5 the Mercury Engine (a.k.a GPU acceleration)

First I tried your setting:

Core clock @ 720
Memory Clock @ 1000

Playing different games, I gained a nice fps boost!
GTA IV, now runs even better, ..the lag is again lesser! in HD 1080p res.

--There is still a bit lag here and there, ...the reason?
Well, the CPU runs at 96-99% all the time while playing the game, and to not to overheat it, (as it should) it clocks back a bit (not much) in cycles, to keep the temp on a stable level.

Other games like Crysis 1 & 2, and BattleField 3 also get a 'noticeable' fps boost.

The second setting I ran for a few hours (stable) is

Core clock @ 752
Memory Clock @ 1080

This is the sweetspot for me, (without a cooling pad)
It goes a bit better that 720/1000

---To test some more different gaming, I checked out Dirt 2 & 3.
Both games played nice before overclocking, but now they run noticeably with a much better fps
Dirt 3 now even can be played in full 1080p at Highgraphics, with smooth fps!

The next thing I wanted to know is,
well, doese my higher clocked RAM memory 1866MHz help out with the overclcoking of the GPU, compared to the standard 1333MHz.

I still had laying around the 1333MHz, ...so went to testing.
(Yeah I know,... have to open up the case again... --but anyways)



>>Looking back to my test between the 1333MHz vs 1866MHz (without overclocking)
I got there a nice small fps boost running 1866MHz 2 till max 4 fps (from just the memory upgrade)

using the 1333MHz RAM, with these settings
Core clock @ 752
Memory Clock @ 1080
(with overclocking GPU), I saw a 'noticeable' decreasing fps in every game.
Around 4 - till sometimes 7fps! (that is much in my eyes)

---This shows me, the higher 1866MHz speed RAM memory 'Does' perform better with the GPU overclocking, than the 1333MHz ---around 2 till 4fps higher!

So when overclocking the 1866MHz PnP is definitely better than 1333MHz!


Conclusion; Overclocking went well!

Next week I get a 19" cooling-pad with 3 free positioning Fans.
Bringing down the Temp, this will def, help out the CPU & even extra support the GPU cooling. ..which in turn will help playing the games smoother.

I'm guessing I'll be able to go even further with the overclocking

--Also with me the Windows Experience Index stayed the same
Gaming/Graphics both remained at 6.9

 

RAY
Good one Nice TEST !!

Can I ask you which gpu driver version u using?
am using 280.26 cos when i tried newer desktop experience fallen to 5.3
really want to buy core i7 2860 and corsair vengeance 1866 they have T10 timing and these kingston have T11 on web they says there is 15-20% gain
What do you think about replacing ge force with GDDR5 ?
or upgrade CPU to 2960? you can overclock it as well
but i don't recon go further with over-clocking .. it may burn ..
I was using this cooler pad underneath when i was playin FEAR 3 only that game made my laptop too hot
when i play NFS it's was less HOT

 

Hey GalaxySII

I also use driver 280.26, with a newer one (which I haven't used yet) does only your Desktop experience go lower, or the Gaming Graphics as well?
--- If so, then that would be normal, since with every newly arriving GPU card, ours gets lower in the drivers list, and therefore over time, should get a lower score..
If only your desktop experience gets lower,... hhm to me, that also seems weird??

I read in one of your other posts, that you've already have a 2820QM inside?.
..To me then, going to the 2860QM (which isn't a lot faster) seems to be not really worth the cost & time...

About the Corsair vengeance 1866 RAM.
I don't think you will see (notice) any difference between those and the Kingston PnP... still the T10 timings on the Corsair's could give a 'very' small boost over the Kingston T11 timings. --What do the Corsair cost?

Do you mean replacing the GT555m 144 core / 128bit in the Aspire 8951G, with a GDDR5 GT555m ?
If so, then you should definitely go with a
144 cores 709MHz (GF106), 128Bit GDDR5
---Not the one with just 96 cores, ..that one would be a waste..

Hmm the i7-2960XM, that one sure gives you a nice BIG boost over the 2820QM!
On the downside, it does run hotter, (especially when you overclock it) And going to a 2960XM, you definitely would want to put in a better cooling fan!

In my position; (with all the Video editing I do) I would love going to a faster CPU, ...running a 2630QM right now, the 2960XM sure does look AWESOME!!

However, I don't want to spend so much $$ on a new processor, (especially when the 2960XM costs about the same as what I paid for my Aspire 8951G!! ) ...and the 2860QM isn't cheap either!..

Ad to that, that I've seen what comes with Ivy Bridge around Mei/April next...oops THIS year...
It's gonna give me (with all the other nice speed increments) more then what I need with all the HD footage I edit!
(from a 2630QM a nice +600MHz base speed boost & a +700MHz Turbo-Boost) ..and that is minimum, (depending on with what Notebook vendor/model I plan on going with, --if BTO-- I could end up going with a nice:
Core i7-3920XM 4/8 2.9 GHz/3.8 GHz 8MB 55Watt
With Turbo boost running at a Stable Quad-core speed, it would give a boost of 1GHz!! over the 2630QM!

----Such a boost for me, is definitely gonna be worth the $$ & the wait!

Should you do.. or do not upgrade to the 2860QM / 2960XM ?... well, that all depends, I think on, HOW MUCH/BAD do you want it


---About further overclocking my GT555m, I am not planning on overclocking it further a lot. just a bit till say 765 or so.. That's still in the save zone for the Card (with the use of the Cooling-pad)
The cooling-pad I ordered (with 3 free-positioning fans) cools also way better than one with just 1 fan.
(Some people I know who used to use single fan Gaming/cooling pads, agree with me)

Either way,...
---I'm already very happy with the speed boost I now have with these overclock settings, so if further overclocking doesn't work stable (save) enough, I'll just stay with these settings.

After all, we all want a stable, ..save ..& WORKING machine!,
-- and not a Smoking, Burning machine...

 

RAY
Yes just desktop exp is on 5.3 or 5.5 when newer driver loaded ..
I tried 6 of them latest or between still the same ..

Yeah I have 2820 and kingston 1866 11T
but thinking going higher to 2860 and corsair 1866 10T
(ssd stays crucial m4 128GB 009)

It could be possible replacing GPU GT555 cos they are in 3 versions or more?
here:
96 cores 753MHz (GF108), 128Bit GDDR5, e.g. Lenovo Y570p / Y560p
144 cores 709MHz (GF106), 128Bit GDDR5, e.g. MSI GX780
144 cores 590MHz (GF106), 192Bit DDR3, e.g. Dell XPS 17, Alienware M14x
144 cores 590MHz (GF106), 128Bit DDR3, e.g. Schenker XMG A501 Clevo
144 cores 525MHz (GF116), 128Bit DDR3, e.g. Medion Akoya P6812

We have reflow station at work and we repairing BGAs with it (usually laptops)


get some faulty msi (in msi is fastest 555m that in lenovo is even slower than ours) above and remove gpu and RAMs and reflow all to ours machines . heh crazy i know
but dunno if bios would recognize it

I think i wouldn't buy an extreme CPU more power more consumption more cooling more hot more and more expensive that's right
and it would need stronger PSU - Dell


no am not gonna be interested in ivy bridge cos i will keep this laptop 2-3 years I had fujitsu siemens amilo 1554 since summer 2007 then i sold it and had vaio AW11XU/Q and I had it since december 2008 and i sold it this year in summer and bought this one in summer 2011 so like swap

I do not buy laptops every year ..

Soo we will see if pc-best-buy-1 will be generous in new year hehe
but i think no he declined my £300 offer for 2860 this is my budget
and then I will sell 2630 and 2820 together for £300
and I will buy 4x4GB corsair vengeance for £145 and will sell 8GB kingston for £80

OK by the way :
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL GUYS !!!
All the best

 

Please delete

 

what was that man ?