*Urgent* advice needed on 2012WLMi

Hi all. I really hope someone reads this soon

I posted on here a while ago about a problem I was having with the 1501LCe. Basically, it could not be resolved. So it looks like I might be able to get a 2012WLMi instead (well that was what was promised by the manager so...).

But I have a choice between this, and a P4 based 2.8Ghz machine (2501LC). The 2.8Ghz looks faster on paper. But I've heard "rumours" that a 1.5 P-M/Centrino is almost equivalent of a P4 2.4 or upwards. And I don't like the idea of share video memory, an intergrated graphics chip, and only 1024 resolution on the 2501LC, as opposed to Radeon 9700 64MB @ 1280x800 on the 2012WLMi.

I kinda have to choose TOMORROW morning, so I'm desperately trying to get as much info here as possible.

What are the realities of the reduced clock speed of the CPU in the 2012WLMi? 1.5Ghz sounds slooooow. And i'm gunna be doing audio processing work at Uni. But the 2.8Ghz laptop sounds limited in its features, cruddy gfx, and it runs hotter than a hot plate...so I hear.

Someone....heeeeeelp!!!!!

Thanks!

- Paul O

www.soundclick.com/chimpspanner

http://chimpspanner.heavenlymediaservices.com

 

Hey Paul,

Check out the review that I did on my 2012WLMi, it's been posted on the main page of the site (http://www.notebookreview.com/)

If you have any questions that you would like answered, you can post them in the discussion thread for the review and I will do my best to answer.

In a nutshell, I would certainly recommend the 2012WLMi, and the performance is most definately in the same range as a P4-M 2.4ghz

- Odie

 

Hey Chimp,

Sorry things didn't get resolved on your notebook. But it does look somewhat promising that they're will to swap units.
About the 2012, well, the unit is nice and has excellent features which are higher than your original. Comparing the CPU to a P4 2.4Ghz is a bit high in my books. I like to be a bit more conservative on the values, so I'd say it's more like a P4 2.1Ghz system. I use a 1.4 multiplier, not the 1.5 or 1.6 others use. You will notice a performance difference from an AMD64 CPU to a Pentium M. These units are designed with moderate computing power so you can get as much battery life. But because the other unit has integrated video and a much older graphics chip, I'd definitely recommend the 2012WLMi. Overall, you'll get more bang for the buck with this unit.

Hopefully this unit doesn't exhibit the same problems.

Good Luck!

-Vb-

 

Hey again!

Well, we phoned Acer UK this morning and made a decision....

2012WLMi

Pentium M 1.5Ghz
512MB RAM
Radeon 9700 w/64MB DDR
60GB HDD
DVDRW

And lots of other nifty features such as, obviously, the widescreen display @ 1280x800, WiFi, 4-in-1 Card Reader, etc.

And I'm extra chuffed cos it's £1k+ of laptop. My original one was £800.

At the end of the day, the processing power of the 2.8Ghz was negated by the fact that it has to share system memory for graphics (and, seeing how I need a laptop for music and use alot of RAM based samplers, I need all the memory I can get), had an old crummy graphics chip, a small ugly keypad, and only 1024x768 resolution (which is a nightmare for using my audio sequencer with...it won't even fit on the screen at that res with all toolbars enabled) I decided that it was worth cutting back on sheer speed and opting for something that gave me better overall features. All I need it to do is let me record 2, 3 guitar parts, bass, some drums, and the odd synth here and there, and I know it's up to the job cos I'm doing that on a 1.67Ghz 2000+ XP. So hopefully it should be here tomorrow.

Cheers for the advice



www.soundclick.com/chimpspanner

http://chimpspanner.heavenlymediaservices.com

 

Hey Chimp,

You shouldn't be too worried about the speed of the CPU. The Mhz rating system is currently no longer really used. After coming out with the Pentium M CPU's it shot that scale to hell. If you weren't already aware, a Pentium M CPU was designed from the ground up specifically for mobility/battery life. Designing from scratch also allowed the CPU to do more per clock cycle compared to a P4 chip. Therefore it wasn't required to push the clock so high to achieve similar specs.

Here's a good review on the Pentium M vs P4M CPU.
http://www6.tomshardware.com/mobile/20030205/index.html

From what it says, it's either on par with a P4 2.2 or better.

-Vb-

 

Hey man! Okay, I havent had time to write much of anything on this laptop yet, but I can say, I'm VERY impressed with the P-M 1.5Ghz. You're right clock speeds don't mean jack any more This "feels" like most AthlonXP 2600s I've worked on, and I'm not even exaggerating there! I need more time to work with it and then if I get the chance to, I'll write in more detail how I've found it.

I still need to get it to behave 100% (little pops and clicks, not task or CPU load related), but the CPU seems to go into shock when you first ask it to do something lol then once it settles into a task, there's no probs I have a feeling that's to do with the fact that the Banias turns on or off, parts of itself as and when they're needed, as part of its power saving features. Seeing how I'm gunna be using this plugged in 99% of the time, I'm gunna try and figure out how to get the chip running on absolute full pistons, all of the time.

But so far, very impressed, and very happy Loving the widescreen as well!!!!

Oh......the keypad isn't as responsive as I'd like it to be. That's the only real complaint I have. I press a key and sometimes the letter doesn't come out. Could be cos I have a light touch!

www.soundclick.com/chimpspanner

http://chimpspanner.heavenlymediaservices.com

 

Hey Chimp,

Congrats on the new system! Looks like everything is working out for you (fingers crossed). Most people looking for Acer's seem to look at this one first, maybe it's got some kind of hypnotic thing happening [ ], but it's a nice system. I've also been looking at this unit, but is a bit expensive here in Canada, it's $2350CDN.
Regarding the little issues, CPU can be set so that it runs at full speed all the time. Goto Power Options in the Control Panel and change the scheme to Always On. What this will do is keep your CPU at max speed all the time, even on battery.
Regarding the KB, I haven't heard of this problem, but you may want to check the repeat rate in the Control Panel. Maybe it's set a bit low so it's not allowing it to showup fast enough. Longshot, but worth a look. Another issue could be the OS, you may want to try reloading the system from scratch rather then using the Restore CD's. All the apps/software installed may be causing a slight slowdown.

Oh, do you still get that problem with the audio? Anymore lags/dropouts?

Well, congrats on the working notebook again! Happy to see Acer willing to go that extra mile to make a customer happy. Upgrading a notebook with a more expensive one for free is a definite plus for Acer.

-Vb-

 

Hey again! This laptop is handling audio great!! I'm still getting a click when I run my audio software, it's always 1 on the right, then a couple of seconds later, then another on the left. But...its not at regular intervals, and sometimes it just doesnt happen at all. It also only happens in Nuendo, not in Reason 2.5, and never in Media Player, so its a Nuendo 2 issue, and I'm pretty sure I know what it is.

Even if I can't make that go away, it's not a show stopper, and nothing like the problem i was having before. I'd say this laptop is pretty much perfect! I was expecting the CPU to beg for mercy as soon as I started using it full on, but to put it in perspective, I use an amp modelling audio plugin called Amplitube. Typically, on say...a 2000+, one instance of this on one track, uses about 10% CPU. 15% if you use its built in reverb. I had 5 of these going *and* a keyboard part *and* drums, 40% CPU usage So yeah, I'm happy. And for as much as a nightmare this has been to get to this point, I have to give Acer UK enourmous credit for resolving this in the way that they did. I mean this laptop is worth £200 more than my original one. Can't say fairer than that!

www.soundclick.com/chimpspanner

http://chimpspanner.heavenlymediaservices.com

 

hey guys, especially ODIE:

ive read ODIE's review a few times now and this notebook sounds really good, ive been comparing it with the new Inspiron 700m and it looks better, more features etc....plus a more powerful GPU. however, im trying to find out how comfortable the 2012 is to carry around the campus, it weighs 6.6 pounds but it offers 4 hours of battery life which is good cuz i dont want to carry around a heavy adapter all day long, in turn the 700m is way lighter at 4.1 lbs but only has 2.5 hours of battery life....just wondering if any of you have had the opportunity to carry it around in a backpack or messenger bag along with a notebook or two? this is the only thing that is keeping me from deciding which notebook to buy, school starts early september and i wanna buy a notebook at least 3 weeks earlier to get used to it, any help is appreciated...

 

hey venombite,

fyi, if ýou're open to online purchasing, there are canadian vendors who list the 2012 at less than 2200 CDN. Frontierpc.com comes to mind, they're based in vancouver. I almost bought from them but then settled for a local dealer in victoria (for $2170...seemed like a good deal at the time, but i've noticed prices dropping since-- that was 2 months ago). however, i've yet to see a store with a model of this machine 'on the floor'.

chimp, when you do figure out how to 'get all the pistons running' as you say, could you make a note of it somewhere in this space? perhaps we should get a 'fine-tuning your 2012' thread going? i admit i'm a novice here, but eager to aquire further geek status [ ]

 

You called? [ ][ ]

Well, I bought the 2012WLMi for exactly the same reason, to take along to University most days.

I must admit I was a little bit worried about the weight myself, but I just couldn't force myself to sacrifice power for ultimate portability (subnotebooks).

I purchased a Belkin carrying case and was pleasantly surprised with how easy the laptop was to carry in it, I think a lot of this was to do with the padded shoulder strap. Ok, if you carry it around all day, you might start to feel the weight a bit more. Bottom line is that I carried it around a bit (trekking to and from a net cafe with wifi access) while on vacation in the middle east (in 42+ degrees centigrade heat) and did not find it to be too much of a problem at all. I was carrying the 2012WLMi itself (obviously) along with the adapter, microsoft notebook optical mouse, two cds in jewel cases and a manual.

- Odie

 

Just thought I would add that I do not by any means have huge muscles or anything [ ] ... although carrying the 2012WLMi everyday when University starts in October will certainly build them up [ ]

- Odie

 

I considered the Asus M6N... it may be worth considering if you can find a configuration that suits you better than the 2012WLMi.

- Odie

P.S - I'm guessing that the Sony S-series is out of your price range? It seems to have the best balance of power and portability of any laptop just now.

 

alright, thanks odie, thats awesome then[ ], i guess i will opt for the 2012 since its got more features than the 600m or the 700m, plus for my money, 4 hours of battery life is perfect....hope they have a good service & support plan in canada....just lookin up some ibm's, very expensive arent they!!! (in canada anyway)

btw, before i go and invest a good 2000+ (insane 15% tax in canada) into a notebook, any other recommendations of notebooks any of you looked at before buying this one?

thanks a lot for help, hopefully will post a positive review of this notebook in the near future!!

 

definitely out of my price range, im a sony hater actually, i dont get why they have to charge a higher price!!!! only in love with their widescreen HDTV's, but thats for after i graduate!!!! im currently trying to find the best price on it in canada, coincidentally my parents are heading to dubai in a few days, how much money did you spend on your 2012...guessing you went to dubai, seems very popular these days

 

Acer Aspire 2012WLmi at www.newegg.com for just $1290.

e-Machines laptops rock

 

kamiazim, indeed I did go to Dubai [ ]

Well the thing with Dubai is that it's totally different from the US/Canada or the UK for shopping, the shop keepers over there are willing to negotiate on price.

I didn't get a *super* price compared to the US price (I paid close to $1600 for the base unit..before ram upgrade) - however the price has probably come down since then. The best place for computer gear in Dubai is the Al-Ain Center (aka "Computer Plaza") - it is essentially a (relatively small) shopping mall with two levels chock full of computer shops.... basically you spend a couple of hours in there going from shop to shop and bargaining for the best price, then you play each of the two best prices off against each other for your business [ ]

Also note that the only reason I purchased from there was that over here in the UK we get screwed for between $1800 - $1900 for the same base 2012WLMi model.

If you want more info, just let me know, however please note that at the time I bought mine (end of June) it was not available with a english-only keyboard. As it is, it is mainly a US layout with some arabic letters on most of the keys alongside the english letters.

- Odie

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by toddy

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Venombite
Hey Toddy,

Thanks for the info. I don't really have any issues buying online, my main concern is returns. I usually stick with the HP because I can get a good price on them, but they lack the selection. But there's rumors that HP Canada will be changing their online model to matchup more to like what the US is doing. So you should be able to config your systems like the US. Cool! [8D]

Have you looked at the price from Newegg.com that Zlatanov posted? $1289USD. That's an AMAZING price, even though it's in USD. Tyhe best I've seen doing my searches for the WLMi model was approx $1500USD. That's about $1690 Canadian (based on 1.3% exchange rate), the only issue is shipping, customs charges and taxes when it gets to customs.

-Vb-
<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

if that's true about hp canada, that seems to be a fantastic option in the future []

however as for me, who has recently bought a new honey, i've been trying my best to not monitor prices, for the deal-searcher in me, a part of me shudders to see newegg's prices![]...

thanks for all your input, and while i'm at it, a general thanks to everyone for contributing to this little community of ours [:I]

 

A Vancouver computer shop, Generic Computer (http://www.genericcomputer.bc.ca/product_page/notebook.html) lists 2012WLMi for $2080. That's the cheapest I found in Canada. But I don't think they have those on display.

 

hey, ive just finished my extensive research on prices etc... cant find anywhere to actually touch and feel the 2012 but ive found that using ecost.com you can get a total "landed" (including all taxes and duties) in canadian dollars comes to about 2100 depending on the shippping choices you use...

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by kamiazim

 

Venombite -

I ordered the last one that was in stock at this place, but I'm sure they'll be getting more soon. Total price? $2025 after express shipping and taxes (live in Manitoba so only paid GST).

http://www.ecost.com/ecost/ecsplash/shop/detail.asp?dpno=405870

Newegg and most other companies don't ship to Canada, but these guys even have a whole other company which specifically deals with north-of-the-border shipments. Their conversion rate will be a few points higher that what, say, xe.com lists, but so will the bank if you just charge something in American dollars. Anyway, something to think about.

 

Hi. Really happy to find this thread. I live in Canada and the reason why I decide not to buy this Acer model is the price (must be modest =(

Anyway, congrads on getting the lap and when you guys get it, do you mind dropping a word regarding the service and quality of ecost.com? Really looking forward to hearing about it. Best wishes =D

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by artificialhigh

 

hi guys,

now, dont quote me on this, although i did call up the Canada Customs office in Windsor yesterday and the lady assured me that there are NO CUSTOMS DUTIES CHARGED ON AMERICAN ELECTORNICS COMING OVER THE BORDER TO CANADA. I SPECIFICALLY SAID LAPTOP COMPUTERS AND SHE SAID THAT THERE ARE NO CUSTOMS DUTIES!!!!!!!!!! she went on to state that Canada Customs takes the total U.S. value of your product, converts it into a canadian value using bank rates (i.e. higher than market rates, marginally) and then adds GST/PST if you live in ontario, and just GST if elsewhere. based on this info the best combination of price and shipping on this item is at CDW.com which ships to canada using NEXT BUSINESS DAY UPS!!! for only USD 98 on top of the 1280 (approx) charge for the laptop.....if you are more comfortable using a service like ecost then you may buy also use etronics.com which uses the same BORDERFREE company to calculate a total landed value for the 2012WLMi.....just discovered all of this yesterday after i lost out on the last laptop from ecost!!!!!

sorry for the large post, just felt that it had to be made known that NAFTA is actually going to benefit me for once!!!!!!

WOOOHOOOOO

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by kamiazim

 

Sorry Kami, that was me.. I almost sh*t myself when I saw the price. it was about $10-$20 bucks higher for the lappy itself but the same price lower for shipping so luckily for me, it all works out in the end.

Venom, CDW.com definitely has the next best thing.. especially because hte laptop is actually the same price as ecost, and is in stock, or so it says. As far as taxes and stuff is concerned, I believe it's GST for all provinces, and PST or HST for Ontario and anything eastward.. that's just off the top of my head. There's no duty, and if you choose expedited shipping, no brokerage fees.

http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=636766