Acer TimelineX 1830T Questions

Hi Guys,

I'm thinking of picking up a 1830T but just had a few questions. I'm in the UK so will probably have to import form the US as it is still usnavailable and when it does come is sure to be more expensive even after shipping and tax from the US. I imported an Asus eeepc 900HA from the US a couple of years ago and had absolutely no issues, just had to get a plug converter. Just wondered if there are any potential pitfalls I should be aware of?

The other question I had was CPU related. The choice between the 1.2GHz Intel Core i3-330UM and the 1.2GHz Intel Core i5-430UM cpu's are confusing me a little.

I looked both these up on the intel web site


http://ark.intel.com/Compare.aspx?ids=49021,49023,


They appear to be exactly the same cpu except for the fact the Core i5 has turbo boost. The rest of the specs are exactly the same.

I also checked passmark and the core i3 actually registered a better benchmark score.

I know the i3 version only comes with 3gb of ram and a smaller HDD but these can always be upgraded.

What i am trying to figure out is there any significant advantage to getting the Core i5 version? Does turbo boost and the possible extra .53 or so GHz really bring any significant performance improvements? Or are you really just paying that bit extra for ram and HDD? If that is the case I will get the Core i3 to save some money and maybe upgrade later.

Any help appreciated.

 

Have you considered importing from either Amazon.de or Amazon.fr. Another option is Notebook.de.

All based in the EU, so no problems with taxes or returns.....

 

German keyboards and OS. He will at least have to swap them.

Bronsky

 

Yeah keyboards and OS could be an issue. The price including shipping+tax from from the US is also still significantly less. Around £480 all in.

Anyone know about the CPU's?

 

There is a thread on 1830t, get there, you will have all the answers..
http://forum.notebookreview.com/acer/468120-acer-aspire-timelinex-1830t-thread-59.html

 

The score on passmark's website is way off. That test must've been run on a really bad laptop. Or the Turbo Boost was disabled. My test ran at 1.73GHz. That result was posted as 1.2GHz.
I ran Passmark on my 1830T -- here are the results: (CPU=1564.1) Core i5-430UM. (Quite a bit higher than the i3-330UM)

 

You can upgrade the Ram and HDD later but the CPU is soldered into a BGA mount. I would have to go with the turbo speed of the I5. I think it is a significant amount of power in a low power CPU (44% boost).

Bronsky

 

Keyboards cost $10 to swap, installing OS in any language is no issue.

PS. never trust Passmark scores on their website.

 

QFT

Bronsky

 

+1
Absolutely true.

 

I bought an 3820TG from Germany and it cost me $15 and 10 minutes to change the keyboard.It didn't cost me anything for the OS and I would have done a clean install anyways.So I would imagine is that easy for the 1830T.

 

Thanks for the info guys much appreciated. Good news on the keyboard, hadn't realized it was so cheap to do a switch. I think importing from the US is still the best option for price though, even after shipping and tax it will still be significantly less than buying form Europe.

Will have to check my finances closer to the time, may even see a UK release yet.

I hope I will be able to afford the i5 version, sounds like the turbo boost does provide a significant performance advantage over the i3.

I will be mainly using it for digital Dj'ing using two midi devices and some light photoshop work. If the i5 is out the price range i'm sure the i3 version could do the job fine.

 

If I'd import it from the US the costs of customs + shpping would make it more expensive than here in Europe.