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

What Video did you watch? The Half Life?

Just tried it again.

Played a 1080p mkv file from my external and no prblems.

Although RIght now upon updating my codecs i now use more CPU than before but in return i now get the ability to change subtitles when I use Hardware acceleration...

Hmmm should I reformated and go back to using only a few CPU or retain this....

 

Thats weird, i just opened firefox and noticed the randomly appearing horizontal lines on the screen. Problem goes away after i close firefox

 

I still am confused about what do our HD6250 chips are regarded as, integrated?

Also When installing 11.2, should i uninstall the previous Catalyst programs that i got from the acer support website?

EDIT:
apparently, we have the c-50 APU which is a kind of its own in terms of processor and graphics chip.

heres the link to the newest drivers direct from the AMD website for 64 bit windows 7

http://sites.amd.com/us/game/downloads/Pages/radeon_win7-64.aspx

For windows 7 34 bit:

http://sites.amd.com/us/game/downloads/Pages/radeon_win7-32.aspx

 

Catalyst is the same for discrete and integrated, so the AMD Game download page is needlessly confusing. The front page driver selection is a little clearer, I think (although you do have to know you're dealing with a C-50).

 

There's a nice review of the 522 at The Tech Report.

The review has a close up of the Canadian keyboard, so I finally got to see it and it looks like it's not that different from the US one, except for the backslash, shift and enter. Actually it's the same layout that keyboards here in Israel have and which I don't like for the same reasons and never understood (why to backslash keys? why??). I usually use a US keyboard. Still, I've used a native keyboard here and it wasn't that bad. I guess I'll get the 522 in the US anyway (unless it crops up at a Canadian store which does accept foreign credit cards), so it doesn't matter.

 

Nice review, but its not really apples-to-apples comparison. They should standardised the amount of RAM because hard disk swapping could ruin benchmark number. Some other laptop tested use 4GB of RAM

 

Possible RAM corruption, since GPU uses shared.
If its possible, try to set lowest amount of video memory in bios, then test again.
Also can try to run linpack for several hours to cross-check.

 

True, but the reviewer did say he didn't manage to remove the keyboard to upgrade the memory. I think it's somewhat valid to review this netbook the way it's supplied, since it's obviously not designed to be easily upgradeable. That said, I did mention this thread in the comments to the article so in the hope that the reviewer will be able to upgrade RAM following the tips here and test again.

 

I was quite happy to read this part of the review about the keyboard. It made me feel less stupid after nearly destroying my computer case in the process of removing it. I used the same video as the reviewer as a reference (with the girl) and honestly I'll never trust so blindly youtube tutorial videos again. To anyone planning on upgrading: be aware that this specific video doesn't reflect the reality of removing the keyboard for the FIRST time, also the top right corner is not necessarily the easiest place to force...

Apart from that, Acer should really provide information on upgrading memory for this computer. Afterall, 1GB is clearly short to do multitasking with this Aspire One, considering that a quarter of the Ram is used by the CG permanently. Basic apps like Skype can take up to 100mb as a background task, Firefox needs at least 300mb if you don't close it every ten minutes, etc.

 

I found that a combination of Bar Tab and MemoryFox makes Firefox stay at a reasonable memory level. However Memory Fox also causes regular occasional stutters in my experience, which became annoying enough that I disabled it.

 

Any video. I think it's just youtube using that stagevideo feature. Embedded videos are still choppy and I don't see any performance increase on other steaming video sites.

 

The keyboard is designed to be removable. It can take the force required to bend it slightly so it slides over the plastic lip on the body of the netbook. Just use enough force to get the job done. If you don't feel confident have a tech do it for a fee.

 

I am a bit confused but would like to know what site did you watch that you can play HD Vids???

I tried the Black Mesa one again and it still dropped frames... I dont watch youtube or any vid sites in HD but would like to get it working just in case

 

Yeah, the 11.2 drivers fixed the choppiness in watching HD videos from youtube. It used to be a bit choppy, now its gorgeous

 

Can i ask what Browser were you using???

I still get choppy HD videos...

Can you post what vid you watch so that i can compare...

 

By the end of August-September 2010- Llano APUs will be out and it will have the advantage over the sandy bridge. Dual core netbook version will also be powerful - then it is time to upgrade again and pass along the old hardware to family he-he. I am still surprised by the performance of the c-50 and this tells me to prefer future AMD netbook versions than a crippled/nerfed intel atom (intel is too greedy). Actually, I am just going to hold on to my DM1z E350 until the llanos come out and not bother with SB's (they will mess you up later with ivy bridge coming right after and Haswell nearby next, then you pay the extra premium price to boot!). 20-25% performance boost from my current i7-720 for another $1200-1400 is not worth it. Can't waste money with this techie upgrade cycle and have to be smart and frugal about it - di ba kabayan shadowfate?

 

Syempre

although I dont think that Llano will be able to beat SB in CPU performance. (Bulldozer may do that) it will most likely beat it in the GPU segment like how Brazos is beating Atoms.

Llano is still a 10.5 Architecture. The next iteration of Fusion using BUlldozer Arch will be the one to watch out for.

I still need help on what settings you guys used to make HD youtube vids not drop Frames

 

update: took into bb yesterday...geeksqua looked at it,and are sending back to acer to fix or replacement....will update when i get it back (which hopefully wont be too long)

 

I tested it on IE, Firefox and Chrome. Any video on youtube up to 1080p plays smooth. Do you have flash 10.2?

 

How do i know if I have 10.2????

 

Right click in a Flash video and at the bottom of the menu it should say.

 

Thanks

Looks like I have 10.0

WIll update to 10.2

 

Got myself one of these little netbooks and its running great. I upgraded to 2GB RAM for now with more coming later. As well I did notice a small improvement prior to the 2GB upgrade using a 4GB SD card for ReadyBoost.

Just pointing out that Future Shop in Canada is now selling these at $349.99, up from $299.99 last week.
Also Best Buy Canada has them on sale now for $279.99, so time to go Low price match guarantee mine back down from $299.99 to the sale price at Best Buy and get some money back since I'm still within my 14 day limit of purchase.

SideWinderDX

 

UPDATE:

Yup it works now

Flash needs to be manually updated to 10.2

Catalyst 11.2.

No FPS Drop

 

Youtube videos also work for me now. Youtube upgraded there system to work with the new flash player. I upgraded my flash player the day they released the new version (about 2 weeks ago) youtube was still choppy and dropping frames. Today i tested it and its 100% with no droped frames.
.

I did not upgrade Caralyst and is still the standard version shipped with the netbook. So this had nothing to do with it.

Great site and ive been reading this post for quite some time now. Thought ill'd sign up and share.

Cheers

 

Hmmmm so Catalyst 11.2 is not needed.

how about flash 10.2?

Thanks for your input

 

Overclock?

 

Cant find anything yet...

 

Can someone please review the performance of Ubuntu on this netbook? Approximately how much quicker would it be than Windows 7 SE?

 

Hey All,

About to buy a netbook and it is between the 522 or the 255e. Same exact acer model except one come with the c-50 and one comes with the new atom n570. Also the n570 model does not have hdmi out and no hd screen (1024 x 600 resolution).

Not a big gamer so am sorry to hikack the thread but been looking for days and this is the best spot I could find with people who have the model.

Going to be using web a lot, video streaming, game videos from this thread look great so maybe some lite gaming, and some photoshop work (nothing serious... just creating and cutting up jpegs and gifs).

The c-50 model uses a little more power so loses a couple hours of battery time but 4-6 hours is still nice. So I need some help in figuring out if the c-50 model would be the overall better machine for me or the n570 model. Any help or info would be appreciated. Thanks.

edit... I would be updating to 4 gigs, win x64

 

I'm sorry i havent tried LINUX yet

If this is your primary reason then the 522 is really for you(actually even comparing against ATOM this is already better)

For Web browsing & Photoshop

The HD screen is what you need. Having a HD screen this would mean that in viewing pages the web page does not look cramped. meaning you can view the webpage as is(less scrolling since you can see a lot more than the sub-HD screen)

This is also true with Photoshop. more screen resolution would mean less scrolling and more things you can view.

For video

If you read the last pages

Youtube videos are now capable of being GPU accelerted meaning you can watch in HD without and dropped frames. ATOM platform cannot do that(ION can though)

 

I have read elsewhere on the web that there are still compatibility issues with Ubuntu on this model, although I have not tested it myself yet.

So how much faster I don't know, but I know Ubuntu uses much less system memory than Windows 7, like half as much, so for someone who doesn't want to upgrade from 1GB, it could be a solution.

 

Hey all,

I just picked up this netbook and I think I may have gotten a defective model. The is a lot of humming coming from the right side of the unit. Can anyone who pulled out the keyboard tell me whats located there?

The humming does get louder if I go to a website with a lot of flash adverts. Still have no clue what it is.

Also I just wanted to comment on the build quality. I also previously owned a ao521, and comparing that to the 522. The touch-pad on the 522 really sucks in comparison.

 

Right side?

The left side should be the one humming since that is where the exhaust fan is located

 

Thanks Shadow... From what I have been reading all over the place it does seem that the amd model is the better choice for me.. the only issue was the fact that this new 570 atom just came out and I can't find any opinions of the acer model with that chip in it. Also, the 2 hours less battery but the main use without a plug around will be walking around and demoing a website to local stores... 4-6 hours is plenty. If I am watching stuff or playing, I will be near plugs during that time as well and I wont be doing it for more than 6 hours unless on a plane.

So I guess 522 is it. Thanks for the reply.

 

Yeah its defiantly not the fan. Its making noise but its minimal and barely audible. I think I got a bad hard drive in this netbook. I got a Toshiba drive in mine. This would be the second time I got a Toshiba drive and was really disappointed.

 

How's the keyboard on it

 

Just return this to FS or BB and get a new one. Mine doesn't have any loud noises so far.

 

The keyboard (French Canadian) is bad. Not sure how it is for the US keyboard.

 

Here's a picture of a US keyboard (there's a big left shift button):
New Acer Aspire One D255 D260 Netbook Keyboard on eBay.ca (item 200577430386 end time 18-Mar-11 23:24:33 EDT)

 

i tryed using "cdlinux" booting from usb stick....couldn't even get vid to work (was using older version so maybe newer version will work...will have to try more versions when i get mine back)

about [CDlinux]

i would take it back...mine was making wierd buzz/click sound every 30 min or so from left side...i took back to bb for repair (past 14 return)...just called them and they had to send back to acer (no netbook for a week errrrrrrrrrrr)

 

I only updated the flash player to 10.2.

 

So I guess the only main requirement is Flash 10.2 then

@mortch

Good Luck buying it

 

Will be here on Tuesday. Can't wait. The laptop I use now makes me crazy. With 4 gigs, if this thing can run some fireworks and dreamweaver at a decent speed I can retire that laptop for the most part. Seeing the decent framerate of the games you all have been trying gives me hope. And if it can't run them then a replacement isn't the reason i am buying it anyway. I just need something portable to help me show and sell a web service.. this will be great for that... and maybe some starcraft 2 here and there ; )

 

Just dont plan on playing SC2 SP on Brutal or maybe HArd. Additional units are going to decrease your FPS. I twill still be playable though.

 

Hmmm I just tried HON it everytime I log in it hangs crashes

Granted this was in Garena and not the normal one.

 

I have just tried to boot from a USB stick with Ubuntu 10.10 desktop edition (not netbook edition).
The screen reslolution is not supported by default, it displays 800x600 (I don't know if it is common while booting like this or if it is because this new CG is unknown). I haven't tried to install specific drivers though. Maybe later.

The wireless connection works fine from the start.

 

Hi everyone,

There's been some feedback that this CPU can hit 80 Celsius on web surfing alone? I haven't really played with mine a whole lot but is there a way to monitor the temperature in Windows 7?

Shadowfate, I too came from the Philippines, I'd like to know if the temperature can go up that high at room temperature? Ignore my question if you have your a/c on all the time. Maraming salamat (thank you very much).

 

Hits 88*C in a 20*C room from my brutal prime95 and furmark tests at the same time. The chip is designed to withstand those temperatures though.

 

Thanks Enzo Matrix. Wow, that hot huh? So there's nothing we should worry about?

I'm going to use it mostly as a HTPC which I will be turning off most of the time when not in use though and possibly bringing it out only on occasion when I need to check the internet when not at home or in the office.