Acer Timeline Ultra m5?

I thought that they used the same motherboard because both list HM77 as their motherboard chipset, or am I wrong in my understanding of this part?

I'd still like to hear the answer to my question but I've settled on the M5. The V3 might have a much, much, much more powerful CPU than the M5 but when I played with both models earlier the M5's weight, height, and build is just so much better than the V3's.

 

I think I indirectly answered your question -- only 1 mini PCI-E slot on the V3-471G, so even if you could fit an mSATA SSD in the slot replacing the WiFi card you probably wouldn't be able to boot from it.

The HM77 chipset is the same yes, but the motherboard layout is different between the two models. The M5 has the extra mini PCI-E slot, the V3 does not -- there's pictures near the end of the V3-471G service manual that show how the motherboard is laid out and the connectors it has.

On a somewhat related note, it would be wise not to trust the service manuals completely -- the M5-481TG manual says the part number for my LCD is one for a 15.6" screen, haha. They probably copied and pasted the table from the M5-581TG and forgot to change that.

 

Ah so that's how it is ... ok that's something new for me. Anyway I really I hope I can get mine soon. I haven't had a decent computer for more than three to four years so even though this is under-powered compared to the other laptops I saw it's still enough for me.

Once I get some money though I plan to place a 60gb mSATA SSD and either a 750gb 7200 RPM HDD or a 1TB 5400 RPM HDD. (Total of around 198 USD in Newegg) And if the screen is not as good as everyone keeps saying I might ask a local computer shop to switch the screen to an anti-glare LED screen with the same resolution (I'm thinking that getting a 1920*1082 resolution is useless for a laptop this size).

 

I would love to hear your experience of you replace the LCD, the glare doesnt always bother me but perhaps down the road changing out to an anti-glare would be nice to consider, the only issue I have seen previously is when trying to go to higher res (sometimes the video cable in the laptop literally wont carry a higher res signal but so long as you keep with a 1366x768 I cant imagine it would be an issue.

 

Updating in re: Crucial mSATA 256 GB installation.

Disabled Intel Rapid Start from GUI, removed the 20GB factory SSD, installed the Crucial drive, recreated the 10GB hibernation partition and tested the time back from deep sleep -- from ~14-16 seconds w/ factory SSD down to ~6-7 seconds with Crucial SSD... just an amazing difference.

Edited:

As far as the experiment with Linux, it took a while to get the settings right for the video card, brightness controls and touchpad to work under Ubuntu 12.04. I detailed the fixes I used in this thread: [SOLVED] Acer M5-481TG clickpad/trackpad not working on Ubuntu 11.10/12.04 - Ubuntu Forums

Lastly, installing grub as the MBR of the Crucial mSATA does not interfere with Intel Rapid Start being able to use the hibernation partition under Windows. However, the BIOS seems to bypass the bootsector on the Crucial drive (or doesn't even read it) when I still have the Samsung 830 as the main drive. Also, the Crucial mSATA does not appear as an option to boot from on the BIOS with the Samsung 830 connected.

At a later point, I might attempt to see what happens when I take out the Samsung 830 and attempt to boot solely from the mSATA SSD, but for now I installed grub on the Ubuntu partition and used EasyBCD to install a GRUB loader on Windows since I didn't feel like installing grub to the Samsung 830 MBR.

 

I am currently thinking about getting the M5-481TG. However, I want to be able to play Skyrim and Guild Wars 2 on Ultra. I read that if you overclock the NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M LE, you can get specs similar to that of the 650M without overheating. As a computer newbie, would it be easy and safe to overclock the video card?

 

Okay I finally got my Acer M5 (sorry Lezul I haven't installed Skyrim yet and I have no idea about overclocking so I can't help you with your question) and so far I'm loving it. Keep in my mind that I came from a netbooks so being able to play 1080p vids + play 3d games + speedy multitasking is very awesome for me. It's pretty light for what it can do so that's a major plus. Since there are already a lot of reviews that mention the pros of this laptop let me just go ahead with my (personal) cons

* The touchpad is very iffy. One moment it works, the next it doesn't. Sometimes the arrow won't move (and no I didn't press alt+f7, which disables the trackpad) and sometimes I can't click on anything. I just reinstalled the driver so I hope that works

* I'm getting scared of the palm rests. I watched somewhere that sweat can eventually leave stains on brushed aluminum surfaces. Since I have sweaty palms I hope that this isn't true. That said the aluminum finish looks very very professional

* Too many bloatware. It took me around 20-30 minutes to remove them.

* The battery meter is just too damn inaccurate. One minute it says 6 hours, the next 2 hours. I understand that that's more of window's fault but i just wanted to throw it out there.

So far I don't have too many cons. I love the fact that I can now play a bit with Maya and I've played Resident Evil 5 on very high settings (I'm not sure if I've maximized it and I haven't gone to a level where there are a lot of zombies so I can't comment) on Modern Warfare 3 on medium settings. I've have to limit my spending in the next few months but so far it's been worth it

 

Question for everyone, I tend to shut my backlight off for the keyboard but every time I wake from sleep it comes back on has anyone else noticed this?

 

It happens to me to. I don't have a solution for it though

 

Neither do I, except in hardware itself -- physically disconnect the keyboard backlight cable from the daughterboard, (and probably tape it down so that it doesn't get in the way of anything else) but if you actually use it sometimes, then it's not worth it. I left it connected because it does come in handy in low light situations.

 

Here is what I did to protect the palm rests. I had some carbon fiber vinyl wrap film, so I made some palm rests with it. I could have done an even better job with a heat gun and a knife, to cover all the area around the edges of the laptop and around the trackpad, but I don't it's necessary. Truth, I don't want to accidentally scratch a new laptop with the knife, and I did not had someone to help me with the edges and the heat gun.



I was not worried about the sweat. I was worried about a metal bracelet watch scratching the surface. Of course, you can always use a rubber or leather band, or just get one of those nice ceramic Rado watches.

Here is a comparison shot between the new M5-481TG with a partial vinyl "carbon fiber" palm rest and an original Timeline first generation 3810T with a full vinyl "carbon fiber" wrap.



It does look better, but I don't want to use a knife on my new laptop. It does not need to be completely wrapped, either, since the aluminum-magnesium body looks nice. The first gen Timeline was all plastic and it was painted grey, so sweat did had an effect on the paint.

 

^^ Interesting way of avoiding smudges.

Also, random thing I discovered today, a while back I subscribed to the Intel (McAfee branded) Anti-Theft through the link on the Start menu. I saw that it had stopped syncing with the server about 10 days ago. I thought it might be wireless-card related because I switched to an Intel 6230 card. For those curious, when Intel/McAfee Anti-Theft is installed, it lives in C:\Program Files\PCTheftDefense, and creates 2 logs in that directory: ClientSDK.log and log.txt.

log.txt mentioned "FAIL_ICLS_PROXYDLL_NOT_FOUND"
ClientSDK.log mentioned "IclsInitialize: Failed to load ICLS Proxy Library IclsInitialize failed"

It turns out that I had taken out some entries out from my PATH environment variable a few days ago when I was installing a software that complained about the PATH variable being too long (indeed it was). Apparently if C:\Program Files\Intel\iCLS Client -- where that DLL lives, and (possibly) C:\Program Files\PCTheftDefense are not in the PATH, the Anti-Theft client will fail to synchronize. This is especially bad because once you install it, the default setting is to lock your PC after 21 days of not being able to sync with the server, and the only way to unlock it after it's locked or uninstall the software/disable it is if the software is able to sync with the server. Just thought I'd post this in case someone else runs into this issue, which had me scratching my head for a good half hour.

I did attempt to call Intel's Anti-Theft support and their support was *surprise* useless... ended up figuring this issue on my own and with the help of Google that found the path for the DLL.

 

That does look good! However I might go for a simpler route and place a transparent matte "screen protector" on the palm rests. I like the aluminum look too much

 

Now that I had a little bit of help to handle both the top of the case and the heat gun, I did a better job with it:



These vinyls are the ones used in cars. They are sold also with aluminum / silver look. I think one of those is used by Moshi with the PalmGuard protector they sell for the Macbook Pro (which looks exactly like the aluminum used by Apple).

For a finish similar to mine, without using a knife directly on the laptop, just use the heat gun to warm the vinyl in the corner and then stretch it, so that it conforms to the curve. Then cut it so that a little of it sticks on the inside of the computer. There is another method (which I did not use) using a knife directly on the computer which you can see being done on an Acer laptop on YouTube:

<iframe width='560' height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_Dm0Mx-p9AQ" frameborder='0' allowfullscreen></iframe>

Is anyone going to do YouTube videos with FRAPS for games? I might do them but I don't have much experience with FRAPS. I just downloaded the free version and the 30 second video size is huge.

 

Hi guys.

I own an m5 581TG and cracked my screen last night in a cat related incident. I'm looking for some help/directions to replace the screen as it doesn't seem as simple as unscrewing a few screws on the front panel to remove the bezel.

Also, if anyone has suggestions as to where I can purchase the correct replacement screen that would be great. thanks.

Update: have removed the bezel, need some smaller screw drivers to remove the screen and hopefully find out the screen's model number.

Update 2: following numbers on back of screen:

LK156080192250077E160A F2156 WH6
F2156WH6-A20AG0-A LUCOM

I can find screens up to Acer LK.15608.018 on google, but not Acer LK.15608.019.

Will these be compatible?

 

The laptop hasn't been out for very long I am not sure if anyone even knows what screens are compatible yet anyone else have any input?

 

Sorry for the accident, hopefully the cat was unscathed even though your laptop seems to have suffered deeply. I normally don't put extended warranties on anything I own, but I make the exceptions for laptops... I know that doesn't help you much now, but something to consider.

I only mention the above because I had a great experience with SquareTrade recently handling a case of a trackpad that was starting to work erratically on gf's laptop, and they ended up refunding the money for the warranty cost, the purchase price of the laptop, and even sent back the original hard drive when they bought-out the warranty after they couldn't fix it within 5 days -- pretty solid.

At any rate, here is the M5-581T/TG service manual. It only lists one compatible screen part -- LG LP156WH6-TJA1, and it seems to be correct, as far as the thickness (~1.27mm) of the panel is concerned. (see pages 32 & 221) Google pulls up this: LP156WH6-TJA1 Datasheet download - Panelook.com

I just looked at the service manual for my M5-481TG and the panels listed on it are not the right ones at all -- not only did they list 15.6" panels, but the thickness is completely off (5.5mm vs 1.27mm). :rolls eyes:

If you can look around to find a similar Acer model that looks like it uses a ~1.27mm (slim) panel, I can look up the service manual and see if they list any alternate panels.

See if you can do some research on that same panelook website to look for a suitable replacement.

Edit: Doing a quick search on google for "outline depth: 1.27 site anelook.com" seems to come up with 3 LG panels, for 13.3, 14.0 and 15.6 dimensions that are that thin. It seems that it might be hard to source another replacement, or that original panel itself.

 

Hey all,

I have the M5-581TG, and I'm running on BIOS version 1.02. Does anybody have a changelog for the BIOS downloads on the Acer website?

BIOS Acer BIOS 1.07 7.4 MB 2012/07/30
BIOS Acer BIOS 1.05 7.4 MB 2012/06/11
BIOS Acer BIOS 1.04 7.4 MB 2012/05/28
BIOS Acer BIOS 1.03 7.4 MB 2012/05/21

Thanks!

 

I own the M5-581TG-9825, and I'm wondering if anyone knows if it's possible to install a 2.5" SSD/HDD into this model? I've proceeded to open up the acer, and found that there is a spot for a 2.5" hdd but I've failed to find an hdd connector & a spot on the mobo for connection. The layout on this 581TG-9825 model is different than shown on this service manuals http://arhiv.mycomp.su/SG/ACER/ASPIRE/SG_Aspire_M5-481_www.mycomp.su.pdf (Fig 3-1). The 2.5" HDD spot is found vertical where the current GPU fan is on the (Fig 3.1), and the gpu fan is found to the left of the 2.5" HDD spot. Also from memory I don't believe I've seen the ram slots when I opened up my machine.

 

Hi Vacaloca. The cat is fine thanks for asking, escaped with a look of mischief and a grin of smugness.

Thank you very much for the time you put into researching this, you've been very helpful.

I can only find these sites at the moment.
LP156WH5-TJA1 LG Display 15.6 inch a-Si TFT-LCD Panel
LP156WH6-TZA1 LG Display 15.6 inch a-Si TFT-LCD Panel

Have submitted a request for quotation so hoping for the best.

 

Here is the M5-581T/TG service manual. Save it, won't be up in that link too much longer. It wouldn't surprise me that Acer might have omitted a ribbon cable necessary to connect an additional drive. The service manual should give you enough pictures/specs to determine if it's there or not. Enjoy!

 

Thank you very much vacaloca! This manual is perfect for current, and future references

 

From the manual it seems the hdd connector is located under the mobo, which is why I couldn't find it the first time I opened up the Acer. Good news is that the connector on the mobo seems close enough, so hopefully I don't need to disassemble the whole thing. Though I truly doubt that Acer has hidden the cable under the board for my convenience, seems I'll probably need to purchase a 50.RZCN2.003 cable; I don't even know where to start looking, any suggestions?

Found one here, but they list also list "The minimum order value is 112.88 USD + VAT (139.97 USD)" . Could possibly check out another battery just for future purposes, never mind they're $227.14 usd.

 

Has someone found an anti-glare filter / screen protector compatible with the M5-481TG?

 

Hello everybody. I just received my new M5, and like it a lot so far. I have a few questions though.

I definitely want to add some RAM, it seems like it is pegging the stock 4 just running a few Chrome tabs. I noticed that someone mentioned running low voltage ram to save heat and power. This sounds great, but is it compatible with the M5? Crucial's websites says this:

"Will the dual voltage 1.35V/1.5V parts work with my original memory?

If your original installed memory is 1.5V and you are adding a dual-voltage 1.35V/1.5V module to an open DIMM slot, the dual-voltage module will operate at 1.5V, not 1.35V. In order to run at 1.35V, all installed memory modules must be dual-voltage 1.35V/1.5V and the system must support DDR3L (1.35V low voltage) to enable the module to run at 1.35V."

I don't mind paying extra if I can take advantage of the low voltage benefits, but don't want to pay for them if the M5 will only run it at 1.5V.

Also, has anyone noticed the power brick (which is surprisingly small) running really hot while it is charging the laptop? I can hold it, but not too comfortably.

I may also be interested in an anti-glare filter that smerdk asked about if anyone has any suggestions.

Thanks for all of the info so far, I read the entire thread before deciding to purchase this laptop, and think it was a good choice so far.

-Drew

 

I ran CPU-Z and it showed RAM voltage at 1.28V. Don't know if it means it's running at 1.28V, or that it's rated as 1.28V. Checked BIOS, and there is no indication of ram voltage. Everest Ultimate free gave me no information, either. Neither did hwmonitor. MemTest did not give me any voltage indicator, either.

 

Hi everyone! I just bought this laptop after reading the reviews and after reading this whole thread I was comfortable upgrading the memory and SSD myself, however...

When I power down the computer, the next time I try to power it on, it will not power on... the keyboard backlight flashes, I hear the optical drive half spin and then nothing... I have to reset the battery underneath the computer with the reset button. (at least I think thats what it is) Then it will power on.

Now I did replace both the memory and ssd (restored from recovery disks) but at one point I only installed the memory (8gb Corsair Vengence CAS10 1600) because my current ssd (OCZ Vertext 3 120gb) because it doesn't fit and it exhibited this condition then too. I then installed my shiny new Samsung series 8 blazing fast 7mm ssd (Thanks vacaloca) and while my M5 is exactly the way I want it, it still is doing this every time I power down. Not cool! I haven't tested sleep or hibernate but I did verify the hibernate partition is 18.64gb Healthy. I never touched the msata drive.

Please help! I don't want to send back...

 

Ok, just did it after a deep sleep too... This stinks

 

Seems like the memory might be at fault? Try doing a memtest or change back to the original and see if the problem persists. It also could be that the battery cable might not be fully inserted if you had disconnected it. If so try re-seating it, and looking at any other you could have disconnected and re-seat if they look to be off center/make sure no bent pins.

On mine, I noticed odd behavior if not every screw in the back was screwed in I would get the computer to boot only when it was on AC power, but not on battery even though it had plenty of charge... perhaps you're attempting a similar feat and yours is responding differently? I think some screws might act as physical grounds, given the behavior I noticed. Try some of the suggestions and see if any of them fixes the problem.

 

Well, what you describe never happened to me. However, I never restored, I did a clean install and then I installed - manually - the drivers and software I liked. I did had Windows 7 install media at hand. If you don't, check out this post Blowing away bloatware: a guide to reinstalling Windows on a new PC | Ars Technica where you can find LEGAL links to Windows 7 install media. Just use the Windows 7 license that came with the M5.

I also removed the mSATA, and set the computer to NO paging file.

 

Hi, all!

Is the optical drive in the M5-481 removable / replaceable by a caddy?

 

This has already been answered in a previous post. Go to page 10 for the answer

 

Yeah but it looks just like a mac book :/

 

Sorry if I missed it in the previous pages of this thread, but has someone been able to confirm if the CPU that comes with the M5-481TG-6814 (i5 3317) is soldered on? Just wanted to confirm full upgrade potential, as it is not really something that has been published broadly.

 

Yep, unfortunately the answer on caddies at p. 10 is presumptive and not based on direct experience, but on guesses based on previous models. Unfortunately, given the height of the M5, this is, while not irrelevant info, somewhat tenuous.

 

Yes, it is soldered. See my earlier pictures in this thread.

 

It is typical that the ULV CPUs are mounted BGA. I have not seen any ultrabooks that mount in a PGA socket. I think there is not enough room to spare.

 

Hi All,

new to the forum here, having just bought a 14 inch m5 for my daughter. Seems a decent machine, but one thing is driving me crazy... The computer will not wake up when the lid is opened. The power button must be pushed in order to wake up, which is a cumbersome. I have looked in the settings but can only find an option for what happens when the lid is closed. I can't see any options for when the lid is opened. Any ideas anyone?

BTW, I purchased from the Microsoft store, in order to not have any Bloatware. I don't know if this has anything to do with it though.

 

If its requiring power button that is from suspend not sleep, you can change your energy settings so suspend less and sleep longer but it will drain the battery more.

 

Thanks...it seems to be working now but I'm not quite sure what I did to fix it. I found the Lid driver and checked to see if it was up to date, which it was, and thereafter it wakes up when I open the lid.

 

Ok, finally back after a lot of testing and I am right back where I started...

So first I tested the memory with memtest and it passed fine. I then proceeded to try and reset all cables and made sure there was no bent pins and all was good. My problem still persisted

I then downloaded my fresh copy of Win7 (thanks smerdk) and just left the msata alone. At least I think it did? It worked beautifully for a week! I could power off, sleep, hibernate, no problem...

I then downloaded the Intel Rapid Start stuff from Acer's download page. I first watched the video on the earlier pages and went thru the steps to partition the msata, then install the Intel rapid start. The next day I'm back to resetting my batt almost every time... I really wish I tried after I set up the hibernation partition but before I installed the Intel stuff.

Anyways, I have everything right where I want it, but unfortunately my problem of the power button just flashing the lights and doing nothing is back. I uninstalled the Intel stuff, but my problem is still here.. I think I am going to have to physically take out the msata .

Anyone have any suggestions before I do this? I really don't want to...
What exactly does the paging file do? Should I delete that? Can I? Should I try deleting the msata partition? Can I? Sorry for the questions, I just don't know what to do and I really love this computer but having to reset the battery every time sucks.

Also, I noticed that when I am dealing with this issue, even when it does turn on, there is a delay from when the keys light up till I see the Acer logo, like a good 5 seconds. Is this normal?

Ok, I took a video of what is happening, hopefully someone can help me as I really love this computer but obvisouly can't reset it everytime!

TimelineU M5 boot problems - YouTube

 

Hurricane350 - Check your private messages.

For everyone else, there is someone selling a 481TG compatible matte screen protector on the bay, but it's too expensive (30 dollars).

 

Hi Logged, I would like to do the same thing, add a second SSD drive. Did you have a succes? The cable is really there under the board?

 

No luck finding the cable for sale, and I haven't tampered with my m5 by opening it for awhile to check if there is something under, sorry. I've been enjoying using this great machine, disregarding the storage capacity that I forgot all about it. I might get around to checking again sometime this week.

 

What would be a reasonable competitor to the M5?

 

Seems like you diagnosed your problem already -- It looks like it points to the MSATA SSD being bad, especially if you went a week without accessing it and you had no issues.

Disable Intel Rapid Start -- there is a GUI tool that lets you do it in one of the directories under the installation directory where you clicked the setup file. Uninstall it after. If you see that everything works fine again, I'd be pretty sure the SSD is bad since that is where the information gets stored after sleep for (x) number of minutes.

The paging file is usually in %SYSTEMROOT%\pagefile.sys, and is usually the size of ~100% of your installed RAM. It is used for caching/paging frequently used data/virtual memory. It can be disabled via Control Panel -> System -> Advanced System Settings -> Advanced tab -> Settings button -> Advanced Tab -> Virtual Memory change button -> No paging file, and reboot. Disabling the page file will probably not fix your issue, but you can certainly do it, it won't cause any harm.

Leaving the MSATA partition intact after you disable/uninstall Intel Rapid Start should cause no issues, as it will not be accessed anymore. If the MSATA SSD shorted/fried itself for some reason, you might still encounter the boot problem even after disabling/uninstalling Rapid Start functionality. In that case, removing the MSATA SSD should completely cure the bootup problem needing to reset your battery.

The hibernation file in %SYSTEMROOT%\hiberfil.sys is not related to Intel Rapid Start, that is just for regular hibernation function. You can turn that feature off with an elevated command prompt and typing: "powercfg -h off" without the quotes. This shouldn't need to be disabled nor should it fix the problem, though, but definitely can be done as well without any effects other than not being able to use hibernation.

If you are still within your return period, a wise idea would be to return it while you can, and claim the MSATA SSD is defective because of the issues you're experiencing if the troubleshooting points to it -- ie, the problem is resolved when you disable/uninstall Rapid Start and remove MSATA SSD.

Doing a return now would make a lot more sense than sending it in for warranty and being without a laptop for a while. You can also try to convince the Acer techs that the MSATA SSD is the issue and see if they send you just the MSATA SSD part so you can replace it yourself if your usual 30 days for return are up, depending on where you purchased it.

 

The Gigabyte U2442N, assuming it's available in your region.

Review Gigabyte U2442N Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

A bit better even, with the right config, due to higher res matte screen, higher GPU clock, and perhaps also build.

 

Build quality is not a strong point of Gigabyte notebooks- to say the least.
At least that was the case so far.

 

Same with Acer, in fact.

 

The Timeline series is very well built. I loved my Acer 3820TG and it was as solid as a rock.