Timeline 5810TZ-4657 Info & Review

Two weeks ago, I purchased the 5810TZ Timeline from Walmart for $550. First off I will give a listing of the specs then go into performance and my opinion of the laptop.

Specs:
Processor: Intel Moble Core 2 Solo SU2700 1.3GHz, 800Mhz FSB, 64Kb L1, 2MB L2

RAM: 3.0GB DDR3 1066Mhz (6-6-6-15)

The ram is two sticks one being a 2GB manufactured by Hyundai Electronics, and the second is a 1GB Manufactured by Samsung​

Hard Drive: Western Digital 320GB 5400RPM (8MB cache)

Optical Drive: TSSTcorp CD/DVD Writer (SATA 150)

Motherboard Chipset: Intel GS45

Southbridge: 82801IM (ICH9-M)​

BIOS: Insyde V1.22

Network: Atheros AR8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet & Atheros AR5B91 Wireless

Audio: Realtek High Definition Audio

Monitor: LED Backlit 1366x768 @60Hz

Battery: Lithium-ion 62160 mWh

OS: Windows Vista Home Premium 32-Bit

Ports:

4xUSB 2.0
1xVGA
1xHDMI
1xEthernet
1xHeadphone/Line-out
1xMic/Line-in​

1.3Mp Webcam

SD Card Reader

I think that covers most of the specs, one thing I was surprised that the system did not have was bluetooth, although it does appear that it can be added if you dont mind opening up the laptop and spending about $25, but more on that later.

First Impression:
The laptop was what I expected it to be, it was slim, did not look too bad, and ran pretty well. It took me about 1 hour to remove all the useless software acer installed and install Office 2007 and a few other programs. I updated the bios since I had read that there were issues with 100% CPU freezing, I have not had any problems yet.

Pictures






Disassembly
So since I read on the other forums that it is possible to add bluetooth to Timeline laptops, which currently do not have the capability, I decided to check and see if mine had the ability to add bluetooth. So below are pictures and a description of what I did.

First I removed the battery from the laptop. Then I proceeded to remove the keyboard by pushing in the four clips along the top then popping the keyboard loose. After popping the keyboard loose I disconnected the ribbon cable from the motherboard.


The Next step was to remove the one screw, which was under the keyboard, and then proceed to remove all the screws on the bottom of the case. The screws inside of the Hard Drive / RAM access also had to be removed.


After removing all the screws I started prying the case apart with my fingers starting at the front left corner. Overall the separation of the case went well except for the front right corner area, I ended up breaking one clip and damaging another, although both were fixed with a little plastic glue and seem to be doing fine atm.

To remove the upper case from the bottom the WIFI card has to be removed and the screw under it also needs to be removed, I left the antenna cables connected during the whole process but you can remove them.




After removing the upper case I removed the optical drive, the disassembled the four sections of the mainboard. I found the bluetooth adapter cable location as well as several other interesting things.
Everything Removed


View of Bluetooth Holder & Connector


Western Digital Caviar Blue Hard Drive


Location of where SIM card holder would be


View of mainboard module with RAM and Heatsink / Fan


View of Mini PCIE (I believe that is what this is), If you look at the board you will see a label "SSD1" so looks like it was designed for an SSD option


After finishing dissembling the laptop, i proceeded to reassemble it, which went very smoothly. Only problem I had was the F8 key had come loose when I removed the keyboard. I managed to pop it back together, but it was not the easiest thing to do.

Other Thoughts
The Mini PCI-E adapter on board does not support booting of an SSD, however Acer support did not tell me if it supports an SSD or not but they did tell me it would not boot from it, they also told me that they do not have the BIOS or Motherboard spec / capabilities for my product, however I question this. The mini PCI-E adapter is labeled as SSD1 so...
(more soon)

 

Why put in 2 ram sticks from 2 different companies?

 

I agree, I have no idea why they did that, at least the all the Ram timings mach up, maybe it was a price thing.

 

nice review and dissection of the timeline..

interesting to see Samsung and Hynix together..

Look how small the fan is... that explains the noisy fan...

 

Personally I have not heard much noise from the fan, but then again I did have a Macbook for awhile (from school, and its fan was slightly smaller but sounded like a jet sometimes). I most environments I have never noticed any fan noise from my Timeline.

 

Will you go to canyourunit.com and check for Sims 3? Thanks.

 

According to canyourunit.com the 5810TZ-4657 (this computer) cannot run the sims 3, however the only thing that does not pass is the processor, I don't know if the other processor configurations would be able to run the game however. THe processor scored 2 bars when 3 was needed, hopefully this gives you the info you need.

 

Thank you very much. Yeah I was wondering about the processor. +1 for you

 

arsad. i have the 5810 as well and i was wondering since you took apart the whole thing, did you find it possible to replace the processor with a real one? im kinda sick and tired of 1.3, it sucks.

 

The processor appears to be attached to the board without a socket, therefore it would be more or less impossible for you to change it out, unfortunately.

 

wow nice review man....
especially to see inside ....interesting...............

 

why does it hve intel pentium label....

 

i should have asked before, but do you know what actual attachment is needed for the bluetooth connectivity?

 

Thanks for the pics. I would like to add bluetooth to my 5810 as well and would like to know the parts you used to add it.

 

I got my bluetooth module from the ebay seller Hellowifi, originally they did not have the specific cable for the 5810 but after working with them was able to get one. Now they have the module and cable on their store.
5810 Bluetooth Module I have used it to connect to various devices and it appears to work properly, even the bluetooth button on the keyboard works.

 

As for the Intel Pentium label, I think it is just Intel reusing the Pentium Name again, IDK exactly why, does not seem to be a relation between this processor and previous Pentiums other than the name.

 

Sweet sweet sweet! One out of two isn't bad I'm definately buying one of those. Thanks a bunch

 

Anybody happen to know if the Broadcom Bluetooth Driver v6.2.0.9700 for Windows 7 will work ok with the Hellowifi module? I noticed the drivers they had linked are listed for XP and Vista and are also not the currently distributed ones from Acer for those two OS.

Also, roughly what's the cost for customs to get the shipment to my door in US? I notice they are free shipping now, but not saying anything about customs.

I'd really like to get one of these ordered and in Thanks in advance!

 

On the 5810TZG with the dedicated ATI HD4330 where would it be located in the notebook and does it share the cooling or is it un-cooled and is why the memory only runs at 600mhz, can anybody see where the mxm card would go in the notebook above.

Thanks.

 

Sorry to bother older post.
Is it worth it for used one $175 plus new keyboard?

 

i have the same exact laptop. i have a problem though, i have vertical pixel lines on my screen. i've been told that the ribbon connector has come loose. is there any way i can open up the screen and re-attach these spots? the lines are from hair thin to a quarter inch.

jack

 

Hi I have installed a acer bluetooth module 2.1 + EDR into my acer aspire 5810T but it is shown as unknown device (code 43) Did your PC find module on start up or did you have to download driver and if so what driver and where do I find it
Thanks I also found articale a great help in taking my laptop apart,
Marivor

Hi I forgot to say that I an running Windows 7

 

marivor, I just had to use the drivers on acer's support site (listed as Broadcom Bluetooth in the drivers section), the device is listed as Broadcom 2045 Bluetooth 2.0+EDR USB Device (after driver install).

 

Hi I tried to download drivers from acer site but it needs to recgonise the bluetooth module but windows shows it as unknown USD device and will not open it. If you know of any thing I can do to fix this problem I would be gratfull
Thanks Marivor

 

I have an Acer Aspire 5810TZ and the touchpad has quit working can anyone give me an idea as how to get to it. I had the local repair shop replace the gloss keyboard with a matte type and since then the touchpad has not worked. I refuse to go back to the repair shop to correct the problem as they are not that good. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks, in advance
Bob

 

Assuming it's keyboard is similar to the current 5810/4810 series (and it probably is as the 3810 backlit keyboard fits into the 3820, and the 3820 keyboard fits on a 4820...)

The keyboard simply snaps out. There are four tabs at the top you can push back with a plastic tool, then pull the keyboard up and out of the laptop. Under it will be the ribbon cable for the touchpad, which you can then put back in place.

 

Thanks for the info Sxooter. I will give your info a try tomorrow and let you know what happens.

Bob

 

how did u take the Timeline 5810TZ apart i have the same laptop and i want to take it apart help me