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

Install DX9. It won't interfere with DX11 but is a likely culprit for these glitches.

 

Thanks, I'll try that. Acer's suggestion sucked quite frankly...reinstall win 7 starter using discs they can send free of charge.

 

Hey guys, I bought this netbook 2 weeks ago from Bestbuy. I am having this exact same program. Occasionally, like once a day, I will see thin black horizontal lines streaking across the screen. It sort of happens more when I move the trackpad. It doesn't look like a software problem at all but a hardware one. It looks like the video signal is breaking up. I have noticed this once a day but I cannot reproduce it by doing anything specific.

I reinstalled win 7 x64 and I noticed the problem with both x64 and starter. I also replaced the RAM to 4gb and added a seagate hdd 500gb but I noticed this problem before any upgrades. I do have direct 11 installed but I am skeptical that installing directx 9 will have any effect. I have also tried different version of the graphics driver (11.1, 11.1a x32 and x64 and the version that came with the netbook). Does anyone have specific information on why downgrading to directx 9 will solve this problem or is it a general recommendation?

To me this looks like an electrical problem not a software problem. Right now the netbook is boxed up and ready to go back to bestbuy. I was going to exchange it for another unit but now I see other reports I am not so sure.

I have also noticed another problem with this netbook that leads me to think it is a electrical problem. I have noticed several times that the battery indicator switches between battery and power (plugged in) while it is on battery. This looks like it is losing power or cutting out or an electrical short. Has anyone else noticed this. Has anyone else noticed the horizontal black line on the screen problem?

 

Thanks Roscoojam for the walkthrough. I'll try Reflect on my Asus notebook.

 

I also have this problem. I think it's just the 64bit AMD drivers since it started right after installing 64bit windows.

I kinda fixed it by installing CCC/other software from this modded mobility 11.1a's


Download AMD_Catalyst_11.1a_Win7_Jan26 [email protected]


and the display driver from the desktop 11.1's

ATI Radeon? Video Card Drivers

 

When do you see the graphic distortions guys, while watching a movie or anytime the netbook is on? I just did a clean install and the only 64 bit drivers I've installed are the display, network and ethernet.

 

I thought at first it was the 64 bit drivers too but I can confirm that it is not. I did see it with windows starter x32 on the first day I bought the netbook. Today I have reinstalled windows starter 32 bit and I just saw it again tonight. I called acer and troubleshooted the problem with them. Their solutions was to send the netbook to them for repair. They agreed with me that it is unlikely a software issue because of all the things I had treid. I have a case # and I am deciding what to do. I may up just bringing it back to bestbuy. I am travelling and I can't afford to have a netbook with a hardware problem that will die on me in a few weeks.

BTW this netbook does NOT have an international warrently unlike acer and lenovo notebooks I have had in the past which sucks because it is so small and good for traveling.

What exactly did you mean by you have kinda fixed it? Have you noticed the problem since you installed that stuff? I have seen it in every driver, software combination I have tried so far. If I understand correctly what you tried was to install the 11.1 display driver but 11.1a version of the other stuff?

 

Hey everyone:

I recognize a few of you from another forum (and a few of you will recognize me as well).

So far, I'm pretty impressed with the 522 for the cost. Mine has to go back to Future Shop because of a flakey SD card reader (won't recognize any SD card I put in - knows it's there but can't determine its size). I've tried reinstalling the drivers from the Acer Support portal to no avail as well.

My one burning question here is: for those of you who installed the 4GB stick and loaded Win7 64-Bit (your version goes here) on the machine, did you notice a significant speed boost?

The other thing I've noticed is the CPU temp likes to hover between 60C and 65C according to CoreTemp. Anybody else notice this as well?

 

Win 7 32 bit version here and I am using 11.1a drivers and the lines appear on mine when scrolling down web pages.

BUT it does not happen to all web pages just several ones.

I think this is a driver issue since it only happens at specific times

Ill try core temp.

 

I have seen it while using the netbook regardless of what applications are running. So if Firefox is open I have seen it, when I close firefox it is still there on the desktop too or when I open Explorer, it doesn't appear to be limited to the running application.

 

I noticed it too first on webpages but not exclusively there.
When you see those horizontal lines and you close the webpage do you still see them? I do on mine and I just did a system restore using the original software. I have also noticed in in other applications too like Sandra for example I could open up the benchmark window and it will show up there too.

So it looks like now that people have confirmed this problem is seen in in 32 and 64bit windows and and with different version of the graphics drivers. It sounds like a hardware problems to me.

 

Yes installing 4gb memory really makes a noticeable difference. With 1gb it is almost unusably slow- even to draw the window elements.

I have been monitoring the CPU temperature and mine goes as high as 87C with flash is open and actually that is quite common. Usually it is hovering in the 70s somewhere. Also the fan is always running and in a quiet room you do notice it, more so than my large 15" netbook at times which only runs the fan periodically.

 

Thanks. I know the "breaking point" for this CPU is somewhere around 110-120C so seeing readings of 65C don't scare me "that" much. I'm just curious what others are finding.

As far as the "horizontal" line issue, I haven't seen anything like that on my netbook. Now, I need to go and replace it because the SD card reader isn't working properly (couldn't use ready boost).

The million-dollar question for me is whether or not to order the 4GB stick of memory if I'm not gonna keep it because the next one is problematic. :S

 

Well I ordered it and I kind of regret it now because I am pretty sure mine is going back, either to Acer for repair or to Bestbuy. I am just waiting to see if anyone else has the horizontal line issue and if they were able to solve it. Maybe you should wait and decide what you want to do first. I can say with more memory it is much more like a regular notebook for common tasks. However if there is a major problem with the hardware then the extra ram won't help you.

 

I'm taking my chances. The 4GB stick just went back down to $36.99 at Memory Hosue so I jumped on it. I haven't seen the problem myself so maybe there were a bad batch made?

 

It showed up again yesterday but gone after a restart.

yes.

 

hmm. I had no problems in the 2 weeks I had windows starter but it showed up right away after a fresh install.

 

Yes this is how I got rid of my lines too by restarting but I have noticed it once everyday I have owned the computer (8 days now) and with all different versions of windows and drivers.

 

No after I close the webpage or go to another TAB it disappears. So I dont think it is a hardware problem since it only shows in specific webpages and even then it does not appear all the time.

 

The horizontal line issue sounds more like a driver issue than anything. But as I did say above, I've never seen it and have used the current computer about four or five hours a day for the last week since I got it.

It'll be a nice, little, "sub-notebook" once I get the extra 4GB in it. I'll post an update when I get the new machine from Future Shop (likely Wednesday or Thursday) and after I've upgraded the RAM and re-installed Win7.

 

A fresh install of Win7 SE or Win7 64-Bit (your version here)?

 

64bit ultimate.

 

Hm... Wondering if Home Premium would be "better" (not that it should make ANY difference).

 

I think I am going to have to replace the keyboard like some of the other members mentioned. I hate what they did to the Enter key and the left shift (two of the most useful keys). I NEVER kit the right keys now and the cursor bounces around the screen making typing so difficult.

 

Does this line only appear on the netbook lcd screen or will this banding also show on external displays?

 

Wow very good question, I have only noticed it on the LCD never on an external display. If anyone else has noticed this please let us know.

 

Having this issue on Windows 7 Ultimate x86 too. Showed up after I upgraded my RAM. I didn't use the computer at all on Win7 Starter so I can't verify when it started. Happens completely randomly. Actually was happening when I typed this message, but a reboot solved it.

 

**** THIS WORKED FOR ME ****

I installed DX9 right after it was suggested and have not seen a single artifact since, I have been using the computer for a number of hours. Thanks!

The thing I don't get...why does this work?

 

I have installed it too but I am not sure if I actually installed it. Can you have Directx 9 and Directx11 installed at the same time? When I run dxdiag it only reports directs 11 there. How can you know if 9 actually installed successfully and if so what modules were added. Directx is supposed to be 100% backwards compatible so I am not sure how this can work.

Please report back if you notice the problem again as there are now around a dozen people with this issue. I only notice the problem once a day for a few minutes so many a few hours is not enough time to know if it is really fixed?

Also if you or anyone else knows *HOW* this could fix the problem I as well would really appreciate knowing the mechanism. Also why directX 9? Why not 10 or 8?

 

Yes, you can install both. I had to on my old laptop for some application related reasons. I don't know about dxdiag however I don't recall ever checking it, but on the 522 it's just showing DX11 and nothing else.

when I was seeing the lines it was almost constant if I had anything with a considerable amount of white on the screen. Since I put on dx9c earlier today, no issues and I've been on the machine almost the entire evening.

As far as the why, I was discussing it with a friend earlier and the only thing we can come up with is that something in the ATI driver is geared toward XP over Win7...which is about when DX9 was around. Obviously this is a semi-educated guess at best.

 

After 2 pages someone actually took my suggestion and tried it and *GASP* it worked! I didn't say my initial statement without just cause. I actually had a similar issue with graphic glitches last week but knew right away it was likely a DX11 problem (seen before... knew how to fix) so installed DX9 fixed it for me for the past week.

The issue arises likely due to some software/drivers not fully utilizing DX11, even if it's touted as being "backwards compatible". Running DX11, that does not utilize all the DX9 code for the compatibility, is almost always going to have small glitches. Many programs are still being designed on DX9 since it is still very prevalent in the world and most systems support it while fewer support the newer DX11.

Also, running DX9 and DX11 at the same time does not hurt the system in any way or the functionality of either (great move on the programmers part). DX11 games will still work using DX11 and DX9 games will work using it's driver too. Imagine that....

EDIT: My reasoning for choosing DX9 is because it's the most prevalently used. It was first released in 2002 and wasn't replaced until about 2006, and even then was for Vista. The final update to DX9 came in 2008 infact so not that long ago. Considering many people are still using 3+ year old PCs it'd make sense that it's still the 'minimum' standard many programs develop for. Also, I was planning to install a few games that REQUIRED DX9 (no, they don't work with DX11) so figured I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

 

I bought one of these for my woman friend and it is making really bad noise intermittently on Skype. Seems to be coming in the microphone and being caused my component cross talk.

Is anyone else having issues like this with this unit?

Edit: Microphone boost is set to default +20db. Turning this off seemed to fix the issue

 

Can someone tell me what they did when they "installed DX9"? Do you mean the DirectX runtime?

Windows 7 comes with support for DirectX 9, 10 and 11 out of the box, and emulates support for older versions. You can run games using these without installing anything. Windows 7 itself uses DirectX 10.1 for drawing the user interface if it's available, or DirectX 9 if not, but IIRC this is only used with Aero, so is not even relevant to Starter.

The DirectX runtime updates components of DirectX which are mostly used in games (but this will affect any program which uses DirectX). Now that I looked at it I can see that the description on Microsoft's site is wrong, and where it might cause confusion. I sent an e-mail to Microsoft, which will hopefully correct this. The description says this updates DirectX 9.0c and earlier versions, but in reality it updates DX10 and 11, too.

I don't have any idea what really solved the problem, I just want to dispel the myth that there's any need or ability to "install DX9".

(I worked with DirectX and was a Microsoft MVP for DirectX. MVP is an award Microsoft gives to people who help others with its technologies. Just so you understand where I'm coming from.)

 

Seeing all the reports of problems, I'm a little hesitant about ordering the 522. Getting it from Canada with no international warranty could be a problem. Unfortunately I really want a replacement for my Fujitsu P1510D, and the Acer is the most promising candidate, so I'll go ahead and order it, and hope for the best.

Edit: Ordered the Acer at FutureShop and 4GB of RAM at MemoryHouse. Paid for air delivery, and had to fudge my billing address a bit but seems to have worked. Now for about two weeks of nail biting. I'll let you know how it turned out.

 

Well if u are from the US u can get them from Amazon for slightly more expensive

 

What do you mean install DX 9?

It is not really a HUGE problem just some rare occurance that seems to be patched now using above method that i still dont know what they did LOL

 

I'm in Israel. If I was in the US I wouldn't have hesitated to order from Amazon.com, which would have made everything much simpler, including coming with a US keyboard. In fact, my plan was to order from Amazon and get it a few months down the road when family visited the US, but because my Fujitsu's keyboard stopped working correctly and I found out someone was coming to visit from Canada in two weeks, I went this way.

 

Yes, I installed the DX9c Runtime Environment. Problem went away completely. I know some folks had said it's sporadic on their system, but it was very prevalent on mine, I always had a few lines running around the screen

 

It is true the Acer Canadian keyboard is a bit strange. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it is not standard. It seems like a mix a several different layouts. I tried to find the perfect settings for me but it is the most complicated thing I have ever seen! lol

Apart from that, I'm still very happy with my new 522. No problem so far, but it's less than a week. My 4GB RAM upgrade is on the way, although it will be too much as I don't intend to upgrade Starter anytime soon. Haven't tried any game yet.

 

If you have a 4Gb in the way and you dont plan on changing the starter Why do you intend to buy 4GB when starter can only use 2GB?

 

Thanks for the tip Cryton. I haven't seen and horizontal bands but then I've been using the VGA port to output to an external display while doing a clean install and installing a few other applications. Will definitely look into installing DX9 using your tips on this thread.

I'd say that performance is decent for such an inexpensive machine (noticed while installing Office and other apps) though it's too bad that the GPU RAM maxes out at 256MB.

 

I don't know his reasoning, but 4GB does give 256MB more usable memory than 2GB, because display memory is taken from the memory not used by the OS.

 

Turns out that FutureShop accepts only Canadian credit cards. The order seems to have gone through, but I later got an e-mail to call them, and after calling, and waiting while listening to ads about Christmas and Boxing Day sales, as well as referring to me as a Best Buy customer (a little googling showed FutureShop is a division of Best Buy), I was finally told that I can't use a foreign credit card.

The memory order at MemoryStore did get through, however, with my credit card accepted (even though I filled the wrong country), and passed all stages and is now pending shipping. I didn't see a way to cancel it. I guess the guy I'm sending it to can return it, but I figure it would come in handy when I finally do manage to buy this netbook (or another like it), so I told him to keep it.

Still, this means another couple of months of waiting, which is a bummer. And I was so waiting for it already, after both orders seemed to have gone through.

 

Anyone have pointers on what to use to pry off the keyboard. I got one of these from amazon yesterday along with a 2GB stick. Any of the plastic screwdrivers I have seem to be unable to pry open the keyboard! The frustration is driving me crazy

EDIT: Got it! best upgrade one can do on this machine. Annoyed at acer for putting the screws underneath the keyboard instead of just putting it underneath the chassis.

 

Yeah it sounds stupid, I took 4GB because it was on sale! The link was mentioned in this thread, thanks to the person who posted it by the way!

I don't plan on buying a Windows upgrade anytime soon, because they are so expensive and I want to stick to a legitimate version.

 

this worked for me (second time...first time i push a couple plastic tabs things into body...that was fun fixing)

start with the plastic tab over the delete key (i found using a thin knife worked for me) push the tab in towards body...****but not to hard or it will go into body****....then slightly lift up keyboard on that edge...then use a old credit card to get underneath and slowly slide it towards the left...and yes it's gonna take some give and take......once off ...there are 4 screws that need unscrewing and then the hole towards bottom right corner to push down to release the bottom plastic housing.....

i found it better to also release keyboard ribbon and remove keyboard to upgrade ram and or hd...but can be done without having to do this

gl

 

Yeah, thats what I finally ended up doing. the keyboard above the delete key looks like a rat chewed on it but it it locks into place and I didnt put the knife in too far. I just cant understand why acer did this considering they could have just done what hp did with the dm1. No screws but a bottom plate held together by the plastic tabs.

 

I know it's been asked before but must have gotten missed. Has anyone been able to get Heroes of Newerth working on this netbook? I try loading it and it instantly crashes.

 

shows min req....

Heroes of Newerth System Requirements

 

How's flash 1080p performance on this? I have the Neo K125 + 4250, and for some reason Flash 10.2 + Firefox 3.6 doesn't get accelerated (I always get 100% cpu use).