Acer Timeline 5810 model

[Friqenstein]

Hello all,

I've been searching for threads on the 5810 model, but cannot seem to find anything out there. I've seen threads regarding the 4810 and lower model #s.

I'm looking to buy the 5810 Timeline model. My current laptop has served me well, but I want more battery life and a bit more umph from my video card. I don't need to play games, but I do have some apps that currently struggle with my little Intel video card. (not accelerated)
Here is the link to the lappy I'm looking at: Acer 5810
It has some nice specs. The Vid card advertises a bit more power than most normal Intel video cards, so I'm hoping it can handle the resolution/textures for my apps. It also says that it is accelerated, not sure if that is going to help or just generate more heat.
The other selling points are the battery life and heat reduction.

However I'm a bit perplexed about the HDD. My current laptop uses a SSD and I absolutely love it. I've gone through several internet sites trying to get hardware specs on this new Acer's HDD, but it only every says "320GB HD"... well duh! Is it sata? SSD? IDE? Nobody seems to know what type of drive it is. Even on Acer's site they do not list the HD type. It just says HD.
Anyway, here comes my questions:
1) Has anybody had any experience with this model and Ubuntu/Linux?
2) Are there any hardware issues known right off the bat?
3) Anybody know what type of HDD is in this darn thing?

I'm sure that Ubuntu will handle most, if not all, of the hardware just fine, I just wanted to make sure before I make the plunge. But this lappy is so much cheaper than my current one it's pretty much a steal.

Any info is greatly appreciated.
L8ra

[Friqenstein]

Hello all,

A quick update. I just had a LiveChat session with a TigerDirect rep, and he said the HDD is a SATA drive... which really bums me out. I was really hoping to stick with a SSD, but I guess Acer isn't going that route for some reason with these Timeline models.

I'm still searching for the other questions/input.

L8rz

[Friqenstein]

Ok, so I've found a bit more info.
It seems that the Intel video card has issues right out of the box using Ubuntu. At least that's what I've read so far.
My current laptop uses an Intel vid card, but it isn't the newer ones that are currently being used in the Acer units.

I'm also trying to find out what the decibel rating is for the fans when they are going full out. I want to know if the unit is overtly loud trying to dissipate all the heat since Acer is advertising extreme cooling efficiency.

Anybody using a 4810 unit can probably confirm this. I'm sure the 4810 and 5810 are pretty darn similar in performance.

I also just noticed that the touchpad is offset to the left just a bit due to the larger keyboard on the 5810 as apposed to the 4810 and below. This looks as though it could be a big problem for people like me who use the keyboard extensively. Having my thumb or palm accidentally brush the touch pad while I'm typing commands or documents always posses a problem in my eyes.
The more I think about it, the more I'm starting to like the idea of the 4810 over the 5810.

Any info still welcome.
Tnx

[wesbalmer]

I want to put Ubuntu on my 5810TZ-4274, I was just worried about losing my battery life. I have searched for a long time to no avail, wondering if the touchpad gestures will be lost. For instance you have the ability to zoom in, and scrolling freely across the pad. I really love my timeline, I'm a student and is perfect to take to school. Battery life is amazing. I noticed that using 802.11g drains battery down to 5 hours on a full charge, however using n makes it last the full 8. Any info would be much appreciated as well.

[clarknova]

Virtually all available aftermarket SSDs use the SATA interface. Switching out the Timeline's SATA HDD for the SSD of your choice should not be a problem. What you need to find out is the size of the included HDD. Most laptops use a standard 2.5" HDD, but it's possible, especially in the low-energy models, it could be 1.8" (in which case you still have SSD options).

I'm looking at the 13.3" model which is available with an 80GB SSD (but not in Canada )

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...timeline%20ssd

[TexLogic]

Ok, so I've found a bit more info.
It seems that the Intel video card has issues right out of the box using Ubuntu. At least that's what I've read so far.
My current laptop uses an Intel vid card, but it isn't the newer ones that are currently being used in the Acer units.

I'm also trying to find out what the decibel rating is for the fans when they are going full out. I want to know if the unit is overtly loud trying to dissipate all the heat since Acer is advertising extreme cooling efficiency.

Anybody using a 4810 unit can probably confirm this. I'm sure the 4810 and 5810 are pretty darn similar in performance.

I also just noticed that the touchpad is offset to the left just a bit due to the larger keyboard on the 5810 as apposed to the 4810 and below. This looks as though it could be a big problem for people like me who use the keyboard extensively. Having my thumb or palm accidentally brush the touch pad while I'm typing commands or documents always posses a problem in my eyes.
The more I think about it, the more I'm starting to like the idea of the 4810 over the 5810.

Any info still welcome.
Tnx

I bought a 5810T and installed both 32 and 64 bit versions of Jaunty. I love it. Very few issues. For video, add the Driver and AccelMethod option as follows to the Configured Video Device in /etc/X11/xorg.conf:

Section "Device"
Identifier "Configured Video Device"
Driver "Intel"
Option "AccelMethod" "UXA"
EndSection

I've found this to deliver the best performance with Intel's crappy video card and drivers. OpenGL performance is very good.

I don't know about DB units, but the machine is very quiet. Fan just whispers, esp compared to the Macbook that this machine replaced. I've never heard the fan get any louder or softer, despite long periods with a heavy CPU load.

I've not found the offset mousepad to be a problem. It's centered below the main keyboard so doesn't feel oddly placed. There are also some solutions around for setting up the mousepad so that it does not respond to taps for a settable amount of time (e.g., .25 of a second) so that the cursor doesn't move when you inadvertently hit it while typing. Google "syndaemon".

The hotkey for setting the brightness does not work out of the box with the 2.6.28 kernel. Upgrade to the 2.6.30 kernel to fix. There is also a software fix using xrandr that works with the 2.6.28 kernel.

Sound out of the box is set low. Install the gnome ALSA mixer to set the master, PCM, and Front volumes to max. You can then control with the hotkey.

Be sure to install the 64 bit version of Ubuntu to take full advantage of the installed 4GB of RAM. You'll need to get the alpha version of the 64 bit Adobe Flash plugin to get flash working in Firefox, but I've found it to be very stable.

Hibernation and suspension seem to be flaky in the 64 bit version; often suspension returns you to the login window and suspension wakes up and simply reboots. They work well in the 32 bit version. This is the only issue with the 64 bit version that I find annoying, as I often have a lot of stuff open and running and want to suspend or hibernate rather than logout. As with most such issues, I expect a fix before long.

Hope that's useful. I recommend the machine very highly. It's very slim and light (for its size) with a beautiful 15.6" screen.

TexLogic

[Sashin]

I bought a 5810T and installed both 32 and 64 bit versions of Jaunty. I love it. Very few issues. For video, add the Driver and AccelMethod option as follows to the Configured Video Device in /etc/X11/xorg.conf:

Section "Device"
Identifier "Configured Video Device"
Driver "Intel"
Option "AccelMethod" "UXA"
EndSection

I've found this to deliver the best performance with Intel's crappy video card and drivers. OpenGL performance is very good.

Would this be recommended with the acer 4810T as well?

[TexLogic]

Would this be recommended with the acer 4810T as well?

It's at least a similar chipset if not identical; I believe I've seen UXA recommended for the 4810 as well. Best thing to do is just try it out and compare to the performance you get with the default.

TexLogic