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    Anybody out there own a Aspire 5684WLMi?

    Discussion in 'Acer' started by TeeJay 44, Mar 5, 2007.

  1. TeeJay 44

    TeeJay 44 Notebook Deity

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    Hello Peoples

    For once no technical questions or answers expected. Just checking to see if anybody out there has also had the delightful experience of owning an Acer Notebook for longer than 3 Months without one technical or other hitch.

    No screen issues, keyboard issues, overheating issues, BSOD, OS issues, build issues or any other issue I can think of. It just gets on with the job and does it well (as a computer should). And quickly.

    Afterall, one buys a computer to work on. Same as you buy a car. You dont want to have to fiddle with things all the time just to make it do the job. (Unless you are are a person who LOVES fiddling).

    The gamers out there take note: The 5684WLMi is NOT a gaming machine. It does however have a Go 7600 which will run most games quick enough. As an all round, balanced machine however, it is where Acer need to be right now.

    Another thing: my 5684 does not stay at home all day. I am a photographer of Bed and Breakfast establishments so it goes where I go. I look after it though and don't bash it around.
     
  2. yuio

    yuio NBR Assistive Tec. Tec.

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    well i have 2 acer notebooks one an old cel m and my ferrari my cel has worked for the past 1.5 year no problems, i just dropped my ferrari down the stairs at school and the hdd broke so i don't think you could blame acer for that, but they still cover it under warrenty!!! They did not even ask IF I dropped it :) hoping to get it back latter this week :D

    not sure about the model you are refuring to...
     
  3. jpe20

    jpe20 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Just received my Acer 5685 (same machine virtually) this week and so far I am pleased with it apart from the battery life.

    Build quality could be better (the price I paid it does not matter!) and ermm... thats it for now.

    Jules
     
  4. spudgun

    spudgun Newbie

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    I have just bought the 5685 from Comet for £700. Been quite a few buyers in the last few weeks due to price drops because of the Vista upgrade expiry.

    There is a thread in Hotukdeals.co.uk if you are interested.

    Its my first laptop and so far very impressed. Wanted one that could play games but not a dedicated gaming machine. The battery life is on the low side but will probably not be travelling with it that much anyway, really to use around the house.

    Currently considering upgrading the warranty. Have a 3 year old son who would really like to smash it.

    Hopefully the bad rep Acer appears to get is just from a small minority. fingers crossed.
     
  5. jpe20

    jpe20 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I bought the Acer too from Comet for 700quid!! Yeah I too bought it based on that hotukdeals thread! If you want a bit more out of the battery "undervolt" your 7200cpu with a utility call RMClock, I've just done this and it appears to give me an extra 20% or so in battery life (though I have not tested yet for stability everything appears to work at the moment).

    Good luck
    Jules
     
  6. spudgun

    spudgun Newbie

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    I reckon there must be dozens of new owners of the 5685 in the U.K at the moment. Would be interesting to see if more posted here to add hints and tips on running this laptop well. this appears to be the only forum doing a Google search that has much on the 5680 series.

    will maybe try that clocking program you suggested.

    As a comaprison to my desktop which is a Dell P4 3.2 GHZ, 2Gig Ram, 7600GT for a WMV conversion of a 400MB Sopranos Xvid takes 3hrs 40mins approx. The Acer will do it in under 2 hrs. These core 2 duo processors are amazing. :)
     
  7. TeeJay 44

    TeeJay 44 Notebook Deity

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    Hi spudgun

    I am keeping my fingers crossed as well. I have contacted the Acer tech. guys in South Africa for advise on stuff with this laptop and they have responded within 12 hours with sensible advise. That is the main reason that I bought this laptop. I was told that the South African Acer service was VERY good. I am sure Acer is still going to fix other areas and countries where service is not up to scratch.

    Afterall, a product is only as good as its service backup. And I believe that Gianfranco Lanci (President of Acer) knows this and is striving for improved customer service. Acer is still going to go from strength to strength. It is the new kid on the block with a Notebook reputation to build AND maintain.

    Oh yeah: Acer has just signed as the Yamaha Factory Racing Team's main sponsor for the next two seasons. Maybe a carbon fibre Yamaha laptop/notebook in the pipeline?
     
  8. bundys

    bundys Notebook Enthusiast

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    I thought the T7200s were hardware locked not to go below 0.95V. I was able to lower the voltage on the higher multipliers using NHC, but no luck on the 6X (where most of the battery saving would occur).

    I'm curious about your voltages for the different multipliers. Can you post them so I can compare? I've got mine at 6x-0.95, 7x-0.975, 8X-0.975, 9X-0.9875, 10x-0.9875, 11x-1.0 and 12x-1.0V. Still need to do some stability testing, although everything seems OK as is.
     
  9. jpe20

    jpe20 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Bundys my voltages are similar .... 0.95 (6x) up to 0.9875 (12x), mind u not stability tested properly yet with a dual core Prime95 yet but all appears pretty stable for the past 2-3days.

    You are right about the undervolt of the 6x state being locked at 0.95. I assume it is locked by Intel on the chip. Maybe a BIOS update or BIOS hack could circumvent this though I have seen nothing yet to my knowledge on this being done.

    Personally I am not really prepared to use a hacked BIOS unless there has been lots of people finding success with it, besides I assume there a very few hacked BIOS's for laptops out there.

    I have taken a brief look at the BIOS (enter using F2 at startup) and all seems locked and limited in there, I just looked and left!!!!

    Jules
     
  10. TeeJay 44

    TeeJay 44 Notebook Deity

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    Old thread I know. I started it so just a quick update. My Aspire 5684WLMi is now 9 Months young and still as quick as the day I bought it. Not one BSOD, quality issue or any problems whatsoever.

    Battery life however is up to 19% wear after lots of battery use (to be expected). So, I reckon (still) that Acer rocks. Best bang for the buck and I am still a happy chappy :laugh: :biggrin:
     
  11. e398youngster

    e398youngster Newbie

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    I have one, about 13 months old, with proper maintainence, its a good desktop replacement to use for both work n play.

    I'm not sure if its mine only, but my graphics card, Nvidia Geforce Go7600 128VRAM, has a bus width of only 64-bit, whereas the Acer website says the specs SHOULD be at 128-bit. This makes my 3dmark scores drop like bird ****.

    Can anyone tell me if other acer aspire 5684WLMi has the same graphic card bus width? Replies are most welcome.
     
  12. TeeJay 44

    TeeJay 44 Notebook Deity

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    I think mine is also 64-bit. Does not bug me though as I play mainly older games like MOHAA and Max Payne 2 etc. It is more than quick enough to handle those games without any overclocking.

    Also, I bought the lappie mainly for business/work purposes. With the bonus of being able to play an old favourite game when I am bored.... ;)

    Cheers,
    Theo
     
  13. e398youngster

    e398youngster Newbie

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    Same here, bought it for gaming and work.... tech support and repair. Hoping I can get my hands on a service manual for this laptop to see if i can unlock the pipelines or completely swap it for a new graphic chipset. Any ideas on where to get it (for free)?