Acer TimelineU M5-481TG-6814 14-Inch Ultrabook (Gun Metal Gray)

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Acer TimelineU M5-481TG-6814 14-Inch Ultrabook (Gun Metal Gray) Review

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You can trust my review, bad or good is your choice and i hope you can try to buy this product and then you know this product good or no. Next time you can make a review for another people.

I have owned the previous model Acer Aspire TimelineX AS4830TG-6450 and upgraded to this model in the past few days -- note that this review pertains to the same laptop I purchased from another retailer, although I did purchase a second one from Amazon for a friend.

I will post various technical specs that are not specified in Acer's specifications first:

Battery: Internal, same battery as in Acer Aspire M3 ultrabook, model AP12A3i (31CP7/67/90) 11.1V 4850mA, 54Wh
Hard disk drive (HDD): Western Digital Scorpio Blue, 2.5" SATA, WDC WD5000LPVT-22G33T0, 7mm height, not 9.5mm -- replacement SSD must be 7mm height!!!
Optical disk drive (ODD): HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GU61N (9.5mm height), easy to swap with a UJ-232A or UJ-242A for Blu-Ray burning.
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M LE, Optimus-based, 384 shaders/CUDA cores, clocked at 500MHz, memory clocked at 10000MHz. v296.32 stock driver
SSD (mSATA PCI-E): Shows up as "SATA SSD" w/ firmware S5FAM014. Same as used in Acer Aspire M3 ultrabook -- Acer P/N: KN.0200Q.002, also identified by SSE020GTTC0-S51 AM014
Webcam: "HD WebCam" VID_18CF PID_2C19
Touchpad: Synaptics -- ACPI SYN1B60, compatible IDs: SYN1B00, SYN0002, PNP0F13
Ethernet: Broadcom NetLink (TM) Gigabit Ethernet -- PCI\VEN_14E4 DEV_1692 SUBSYS_07121025
WiFi/Bluetooth: Qualcomm Atheros AR5BWB222, driver version 10.0.0.42, dated 2/23/2012, PCI\VEN_168C DEV_0034 SUBSYS_E052105B
Onboard audio: Realtek High Definition Audio ALC269 (82801G) chipset, driver date 4/10/2012, version 6.0.1.6612, VEN_10EC DEV_0269 SUBSYS_10250713
A/C adapter: LITEON PA-1650-69, output: 19V DC, 3.42A, 65W max, either blocks vents slightly or ports a bit due to right-angle connection.
Backlit keyboard can be enabled/disabled via Fn+F9 key.
Processor Tj. Max is 105 C.

The 20GB SSD has a 4GB hibernation partition (which will have to be changed if RAM is upgraded) and a 14.64 GB partition used for caching via installed ExpressCache software from Diskeeper. There is a 16GB hidden recovery partition on 500 GB HDD from which DVD recovery media and drivers DVD can be created via Acer eRecovery Management.

Acer's free 'Theft Shield' solution seems to only provide an audible alarm if laptop is carried away more than a few feet from a connected Wi-Fi hotspot -- I am assuming it used WiFi signal strength as a trigger, and if it detects a noticeable change (caused from movement), it sounds an audible alarm from the system speakers.

In order to use the hardware-based Intel Anti-Theft (AT) feature, activation codes may be purchased separately (~$25 1yr, ~$40 3yr). The item descriptions/part numbers for US market are:

BXIATSC1YRENG Intel Anti-Theft Service Activation Code Card 1YR English Retail
BXIATSC3YRENG Intel Anti-Theft Service Activation Code Card 3YR English Retail

In addition, Acer included a URL link on the Windows 7 Start Menu for a trial of McAfee branded Intel AT service, which I just enrolled in. The way it works is that the downloadable software client that gets installed upon activation via your web browser synchronizes with the server to check for the existence of a lock activated via web browser or (good luck with this one!) phone support. After a few painful phone conversations with phone representatives -- first at McAfee support, then at Intel Anti-Theft support, one stated that the activation period for the service was for the duration of ownership of the product. I still doubt that, given that the terms & conditions I revisited when I signed up mention that if no term is given it would be for 1 year, so I am assuming that is how long it will really last, but we'll see.

Anyway, so if the anti-theft software syncs with the server and finds an existing lock in place, it immediately powers off the computer and sets the lock flag. When powering up the computer again, you are greeted with a screen that it is locked. The web interface permits you to customize with a short message with (presumably) contact information to return the laptop to you, but you could put any text in that field. In addition, via the web interface, you can set a pre-defined lock time choosing from disabled or 3-30 days in 1 day increments -- so if the PC does not sync with the servers via an internet connection for that amount of time, it will lock itself the same way as explained before. By default, the pre-defined lock time is 21 days.

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Now for the actual review -- I purchased this because I needed/wanted a portable NVIDIA Kepler based workstation for developing CUDA code. Currently (as of 07/12/2012), NVIDIA has a Verde 304.79 driver that supports CUDA 5 Preview -- there will eventually be a non-beta driver, but in the meantime this driver works for my purposes. Access to the DDR3 memory slot requires removing all the back screws and using a platic pry tool in order to open up the top case, in addition to removing at least 3 Zero-Insertion Force (ZIF) connectors for keyboard, keyboard backlight (KB) and touchpad (TP), which are all in the bottom part of the case, so pry and lift from the LCD side. Be very careful, as it is VERY easy to break these type of ZIF locking connectors. Disconnect the battery cable also, just to be on the safe side. Replacing the HDD with SSD is possible, but also requires taking the daughterboard (DB) that contains the SD slot/headphone/mic port out -- held by two small screws, as one HDD screw is underneath it.

Replacing the ODD is easy, just one screw holds it in. However, I suggest being VERY careful while removing/replacing the ODD, the standoff holding the drive became loose on the laptop I purchased from the previous retailer -- it is held down poorly to a thin piece of metal attached to the bottom of the palmrest, boo Acer! I successfully used super-glue to re-attach it, but it is not an easy task, it took a few tries. If you are replacing the drive with another one, check the thickness -- if it is just a little bit more thick, remove the top cover entirely, put the drive in place with the screw bracket over the standoff, and screw everything back together. That way the standoff does not have force applied to its side, and is MUCH less prone to breaking off. In fact, I'd say loosed all the other bottom screws before attempting to take the ODD out in the first place. It's a tight fit... that's what she said! ;) For that matter all the clearances/lengths of FFCs/ZIF sockets are very close and not much give is left, it is good to keep in mind if you decide to open up the system for upgrades/repasting or some other reason.

I figured this hardware review would help any tech-inclined people that want to try to Hackintosh this or use Ubuntu/some flavor of Linux.

Unlike the previous TimelineX generation that throttled the CPU to avoid overheating, the M5-481TG seems to throttle/downclock the GPU to 270 MHz. This proved acceptable in my initial testing with Heroes of Might and Magic VI and Metro 2033, as gameplay was decently responsive, even at the highest settings. (Caveat, New Game/Load/Quit screen of Metro 2033 had black bands when using DirectX 11, changing to DirectX 10 fixed this -- probably a driver issue). In my opinion throttling and not the greatest ever panel are the true downfalls of this laptop, and account for my 1 star deduction. Other than that, I think this one is a keeper for a while!

Not-so-technical review -- The touchpad can be very fluid, especially with a lighter touch. I'm still getting used to physical buttons being part of the touchpad, so I cannot comment much. There does not seem to be any flex on the keyboard -- it is screwed into the palmrest/top cover from the inside with plenty of small screws. There is, however, some slight flex along the top part of the palmrest, but nothing that creaks/cracks. Viewing angles for the LCD screen could be better, but for a laptop that's about 1/3 of the price of a MacBook Pro model with Kepler graphics there had to be some compromise.

The SSD hard drive caching the HDD is nice if you're not used to SSD speeds -- I am, and it feels slow. ;) I mistakenly ordered a regular form factor (9.5mm height) SSD to use, only to realize that the HDD is a low-profile 7mm height. I was able to return it and purchase SAMSUNG 830 Series 2.5-Inch 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7PC256B/WW, given it is a 7mm height, and will fit. I have used Crucial M4s and Plextor M3s, but this Samsung sounds quite promising, and faster write speeds compared to the others, so it's a worthwhile upgrade.
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