AMD C-50 CPU and 6250 GPU performance(Acer 522 review)

netflix uses silverlight not flash...so thats a different story. Even netflix should play std definition videos fine. HD is a bit too much for the system. Although that might change since the next version of silverlight is expected to have improved graphics acceleration. If stuff isnt playing for you then I suggest going through to identify whats causing the issue. Since you menioned firefox try taking a look at your add-ons first.

 

good tip, your right if u go into fullscreen fast bfore it loads, it says 'accelerated video rendering'...proilblem is i have slow mobile windstick internet stick, i will test this again when im on home wifi speeds

 

hi,

is it possible to use win xp on this netbook? it could improve battery life?

thanks

 

why would you want to use xp? win 7 flys on this netbook

 

old netbooks have better battery life with xp...maybe also this new amd could have better battery life with xp becouse it is very light

 

Weight has nothing to do with battery life..... also this is not a old netbook... this is a very modern day netbook with the ability to play anything hd and on to a tv through a hdmi.... atom based netbooks that are still coming out can not even handle flash very well if at all let alone hd content.... i am pretty sure there is no reason for xp unless you need it for a certain piece of software you can not use on 7..

plus I had a older netbook (lenovo s12 with Via nano 1.3+) and I actually got better battery life with windows 7 due to newer and updated drivers and better power saving options

 

Well amazon is always having deals with computers... plus for $320 I think its still quite reasonable considering Atom+ion based netbooks sale for at least 475+

 

if your in canada, bestbuy has this netbook for 250, so you go to Staples and Price MATCH it, then use a 50 off coupon, brings the total price to $222cdn final take out price!

bestbuy.ca link
Acer Aspire 10.1" Netbook featuring AMD Processor C-50 (AO522-BZ499) - Black : Netbooks - Best Buy Canada

staples.ca link:

$319

STAPLES | BUREAU EN GROS

10% of the difference is (319-250)= around $6.90 off the 250

so its 250-6.90 - * special 50off coupon + taxes = $222 cdn if your in ontario,canada

its kinda hard to get this 50 off coupon but if u can its definitely worth it

 

Hello, I'm new here. I been trying to find ways to optimize my C-50 computer. However mine isn't the Acer 522. It's the Acer Iconia Tab W500. I cant seem to find a message board anywhere pertaining to optimizing a W500. So I saw this topic about the 522 which uses the same chip, and figured maybe all the same stuff you guys are trying will work the same for me. I haven't read all the pages in this topic yet, but I got up to around page 25 I believe. I see some of you upgraded to 64 bit, but as I'm pretty sure I cant upgrade this thing to 4gb of ram is there really a point to using 64bit Win7? And yeah I know it only has a 32GB SSD, I plan to make up that with a 32GB SD card and maybe physically small but large USB drive for storage.

Anyway what really caught my attention was the discussion that the C-50 may be an E-350? and has anyone found out if it can be unlocked to that yet? I'm guessing probably not as Google isn't helping me much in this area. I guess maybe it's because these c-50's are still to new?

 

Does anybody know whether the PixelQi display is compatible to the Acer 522? Did anybody try it?

 

you really cant just use any laptop screen with any laptop...

 

This thread has been very helpful to me in getting my 522 up on Windoze 7 64 bit. I originally wanted to get it up on da Ubuntu but after I ran into a bunch of problems and sought solace on the internets, I saw that I was not alone.

Here are some things that might help some others save some time.

1. I used a single edge razor blade to gently pry up the upper edge (by the Fxx keys) of the keyboard. I was kind of concerned about nicking a ribbon cable but since it is down toward the bottom - no problem

2. The drivers are in the sub-folder OEM/Preload/Autorun/DRV

And this brings me to my question:

Which is the best wireless driver for Atheros? There are 3 in the DRV folder.

LITE-ON Wireless LAN 3rd WiFi 1x1 BGN Atheros HB95
FOXCONN TW Wireless LAN 3rd WiFi 1x1 BGN Atheros HB95
FOXCONN TW Wireless LAN 3rd WiFi BGN Atheros HB95

Thanks

 

For the driver I just use the one off of acers support site since i originally trashed the hard drive on my clean install...

 

If you mean the links posted here, then that means you have the Broadcom wifi hardware. I have the Atheros wifi and it doesn't seem to have been discussed in depth here.

 

anyone have like a step-by-step guide for upgrading the RAM?

Thanks.

 

there are 3 -4 connectors at the top of the keyboard... using a tweaker/plastic card push them in so then you can pop the keyboard off

next there are screws labeled with the number one.. unscrew them...im pretty sure there are 4 of them

then using a small BLUNT object there is a hole near the bottom middle... just put your object in there and PUSH with force

there you go!

-these are kinda rough since i am in a hurry to get somewhere but it should work

 

I can't get the 4 latches... I push them in but they pop back out.

 

You need two small thin strong objects. One to push the tabs back in and another to wedge between the keyboard & chassis to key the tabs from falling back in place. once you get 2 of the tabs out of the way then things get easier.

If you are going to use less than 4GB, then the 32bit version will do just fine. If you do however upgrade to 4GB ram then by all means use 64 bit. If you do a quick search online there are tons of pages detailing the pros & cons of 64 bit.

As far as the unlocking bit...remember that you are using a tablet/netbook/ultraportable system. Even if unlocking was possible, the cooling systems required by the E350 (18W TDP) would have to be much more robust than the one designed for the C50 (9W TDP). In a desktop, this can be easily replaced but in the notebook environment, its not that easy.

 

thats what the plastic card is for..as you get one use the card to keep it up

 

can someone tell me the operating temp range of the ati card? I'm seeing 53-80C with cpuid.

 

Wow that's crazy there's space for a thin piece of cardboard, max, between the keyboard and the chassis.

 

YouTube - acer aspire one 522 ram upgrade 2 GB
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76N1WYvJnKk&feature=related

this should help

 

Okay I got the keyboard out...was pretty easy after I learned how to do it lol...

Bad news is that one of the screws was so tight that when I was trying to get it out it the head got stripped. The screwdriver was the correct size... it got all the other 3 out no problem...

-_- am I screwed? (pun intended)

 

Games update:

Anomaly: Warzone
Sanctum:
Halo 2

are all playable

 

Yes! There should more info on the games that run well.

Personally, I have played Far Cry on max settings and it runs perfectly, although it shouldn't be a surprise as this is getting old. Recently I also tried the demo of Mass Effect 2 from Steam and it ran well IMO. Maybe it is just the demo, or maybe is this game not too demanding?

Anyway I am pleasantly surprised by the performance of the C-50. It is only 1Ghz and we shouldn't be able to run most recent games according to the specs, but it seems that the graphic processor really does the job.

 

I forgot to add that the games were in low settings but is still fully playable with almost no dropped FPS.

I havent tried borderlands yet but seeing that i played it on my other laptop with a Turion X2/HD3200 I think it will also be playable.

 

For me the video plays fine in fullscreen. But as my CPU usage was already over 50% in window mode, I am sure YouTube still has the problem. I use latest stable version of Chrome, and have Catalyst 11.3 and Flash player 10.2 on Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit. I also have 2GB of ram. As I can watch it smoothly regardless the high CPU usage, I will continue to use Chrome. I think YouTube will eventually fix the problem.

 

Just figured I'd add a few games I got running on mine. Even tho it's a different machine, it uses the same C-50

I got Bulletstorm to run on it, although it was pretty slow, but it ran.
and with a few tweaks of world of warcraft. it was very much easily playable. at least 15-20 FPS with it still looking pretty sharp. I'm sure if I lowered all the settings it would do 50 no problem.

 

^

Bulletstorm ran but is it playable????

 

yes. However its in that middle ground where you can play it and do things ok, but its just slow enough that its not enjoyable.

Have to say tho its still pretty trippy seeing a tablet PC able to pull off this kinda power lol. I should try portal 2 on it lol. Oh and if it can run diablo 3 when it comes out, that would be epic lol.

 

Yeah, it's just crazy that a netbook can handle bulletstorm, even if it is barely playable...wow, you have to give AMD some credit for that.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Considering that it can run SC2.... it will likely run it but will be bogged down when a lot of enemies appear on map just like SC2.

 

How would one go about reinstalling Starter from a new SSD?

 

Just get the window 7 iso form the links on this forum..then when it asks you what version to install just pick starter

 

And the CD key? should I use the one it came with?
Another question. I have Windows 7 Professional ready to put onto it as well, but will performance be better with Starter? (only 2 GB of RAM)

 

For Starter, use the key affixed to the AO522.

Regarding W7 Starter vs. W7 Professional, no real, perceptable difference in performance. The big question is, what features of W7 Professional will you miss by sticking with W7 Starter? For example, do you intend to log into a corporate network?

 

I just got the Acer 522 netbook and I really like it. I upgraded to 4gb ram (corsair) and installed the 64bit win7 version next to Starter..

To my big surprise the CPU ratio index in windows 7 performance DROPPED from 2.8 (in 32bit starter) to 2.2 in 64bit Ultimate... Can anyone explain this? Cant be good at least, maybe not even worth running 64bit!? Please need some feedback here.. something has to be wrong right...

/marc

 

Run Acer eRecovery on existing HDD to make DVD backups of recovery partition onto three DVDs using USB burner. Swap HDD for SDD. Boot recovery disc to restore factory install onto new SDD. Done.

 

Yeah, here.

 

use the key on the bottom..

I use pro on my 522 and it is just as fast as starter imo

 

So if I install win7 64 do I actually gain any performance so it levels out so to speak?! Which is best, 64bit or 32bit...

 

Anyone have a link to the download for Windows 7 Starter? I've tried the one on this forum but I can't seem to choose the one I want to install after using the ei.cfg patcher.

 

Remember, Starter is only 32-bit, there is no 64-bit version so if by chance you are trying to use a 64-bit iso, that is why Starter will never show in that case. And screw patching the ei.cfg, just delete it completely to select version.

Also, don't know if you saw or not, but I did post earlier on how to backup/restore the factory install.

 

I got it by using the version changer. Somehow the remover for the ei.cfg file didn't work.

 

No, you won't gain performance using W7 x64 if you don't use x64 applications. Most applications are written for x32 address space. W7 x64 must run x32 apps in an x32 "sandbox". The overhead of the sandbox is what makes W7 x64 slower than W7 x32.

If you're thinking, "W7 x64 makes full use of the 4GB memory I bought." Sure, so what? It'll be slower.

You'll still benefit from having 4GB memory. W7 x32 (other than Starter) will use its maximum 3.5GB. The AMD 6250 video will grab what it needs from the remaining 512MB memory. The AMD 6250 won't grab memory otherwise used for Windows, the way it does when there's less; 2GB memory or 1GB memory.

W7 x64 shows its strength with x64 applications, such as the Adobe Creative Suite. That environment excels when there's much more than 4GB memory: 8GB, 16GB, 24GB, 32G, 64GB or even 128GB memory is used there.

 

which key do I use to restore?

 

Didn't see this posted, but there are new ATI drivers 11.5 and also a BIOS update to 1.09.

Did not resolve my Everquest crashing issue tho =(

 

eq 1 or eq2... if its eq2 then that game is HEAVY into cpu clocks.... by chance do you know what 1.09 fixes?

 

Hello, I popped in the 64GB C400/M4 into this system.

Here's the CDM bench:

 

Hi guys,

I just purchased this netbook yesterday and will be buying H/W upgrades today. I'm looking at:

RAM: Corsair CM3X4GSD1066 4GB PC-8500 (1066MHz) 204-pin SO-DIMM DDR3 RAM, CL7

HDD: (Either
WD SCORPIO BLACK 2.5" 750GB 7200/16MB/SATA2 (WD7500BPKT)
or
SEAGATE MOMENTUS XT 2.5" 500GB HYBRID 7200/SATA2 (ST95005620AS)

Can anyone make a recommendation on the HDD? Do you think the Momentus XT Hybrid is worth it compared with the WD?

Thanks for your help!