Brand new Acer V5-571 (i3 model) - disappointments, advice needed

Hi all,

I have finally replaced my Acer Aspire 7520 which couldn't be repaired (on ebay for parts right now, hint hint lol)

Anyway I decided to go with an Acer Aspire V5-571, which is the i3 1.4Ghz model with 6GB RAM and a 750GB hard disk. On the whole I am happy with it because I don't need anything to play games on nor do I have the intention to, just want to browse the net, play music, etc etc.

However, considering it's brand new, I am concerned at the fact that two stuck pixels have appeared within the first 30 minutes of usage. When I first turned on the laptop I am 99% certain the display was perfect. Then after about 20 minutes I noticed the red pixel. About 10 minutes later, to my absolute amazement, another red pixel appeared about an inch below the first. I have contacted the shop to enquire what their policy is, but what is Acer's? I've seen online after Googling that it is 12, but these pixels are right in the middle of the screen - it's a real pain in the backside, especially when you've just bought a brand new machine and then they start appearing - who is to say more will not appear over the next few hours?

Also, I ran HWMonitor and it says my battery wear level is 4% - already?! Is this something else I should mention to the shop??

Many thanks for any advice

Alex

 

Most companies don't include dead pixels on their main warranty, but they usually have like a 28 day policy that if they appear they will replace the screen.

Dead Pixels on Notebook Screens

This shows the number of pixels that companies usually require as defect to replace the screen.

In that post it does however say " if there's more than one dead pixel in the center Acer will replace the notebook, but if the pixels are elsewhere then you can suffer from up to 4 dead pixels per million on the screen."

Best bet would be to argue your case, the fact that the dead pixels are right in the center of the screen. Hopefully they will replace it due to its positioning.

Good Luck!

 

As for your Battery, out of my last 6 laptops, 5 of them on first turn on have had the battery wear straight out of the box, so I presume it's a pretty common thing. It should stay at 4% hopefully for a long time, if you start seeing a rapid decrease I would return it ASAP as some manufacturers don't cover their batteries for the same time as the rest of the unit.

 

Thanks so much for both of your responses.

I have shown a couple of people the pixel (the second one which appeared below the first was actually a bit of dust or something or other, but because it didn't remove first time I touched it, I kind of assumed it was stuck) and they say that I am being over the top and that it's really not that bad and that I should live with it. I will see how it goes on. Have you (or anyone on here) had any luck with the various software options out there, like UDPixel or the various screensavers that flash the screens? How long are you supposed to leave them running? I have seen a lot of people online say this has got rid of the stuck pixel. By far the most success I have read about online is tapping the screen, but I am very apprehensive in case it makes it worse! If I can just get rid of this pixel I will be more satisfied.

With regards to the battery, I am now a bit worried, because after well under less than half a days usage of the new laptop, the wear had dropped to 6%! It is still on 6% now, but I am worried about it dropping further.

 

It's not necessarily 4% or 6%- you won't know until you re-calibrate the battery by discharging it fully (until laptop switches off) and then charging it fully too (preferably with a laptop switched on).

Mind you- it's not a procedure that is healthy for the battery so it shouldn't be used often. Also you have to charge the battery the moment it fully discharges- don't leave it fully discharged.

 

Thanks, downloads. Would you suggest I run the laptop on battery (and run it down fully) as often as possible then, and then also charge it whilst it is on, rather than off?

With regards to the pixel, I am now pretty sure it that it is actually a dead pixel - I first started wondering about this because although it looks red, it doesn't show up on black backgrounds, such as the Command Prompt, so it must be black. I also took a picture on my phone, zoomed in:

View attachment 100126

I don't know what to do, I had obviously already started loading programs and copying files to my new laptop, and if I have to send it back, I could be waiting about 6 weeks! Still awaiting the store to get back to my e-mail query. Part of me thinks I can just gloss over it, it's not a big deal, the other part of me is annoyed at the fact that there is one. Seems just my luck!

 

Me again.

Further to my above post, when I was pretty certain it was now a dead pixel - I am now changing my mind again! It is surely a stuck pixel as I have just run the tests on Dead Pixels Test and it blatantly appears as a red pixel on the white backgrounds!

This is confusing me though - how come it is not showing up as red on the black backgrounds (like the command prompt,etc) - surely it would? In fact, when running the white & black test on that webpage, the screen looks perfect! Here is a picture showing that it is indeed red:

View attachment 100173

Very confused. As you can see in my previous post, it looks black! Anyone offer any advice? I will leave UDPixel running for a few hours. Is it safe to do so, as in will my LCD be at risk of screen burn by the other static elements?

Many thanks

 

Another quick update on my battery problem from above, after just over a week of using the laptop: it is now at 10% wear. This is ridiculous! Is this just a bad battery, bad charger, or is it something I have done?! When I got the laptop, I left it on a full charge before turning it on for the first time. But I am pretty sure this shouldn't be an issue?