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ACER TravelMate 8104 "Sonoma" Review - Page 14

post #261 of 293
12/11/05 at 7:33pm
Hey, I was thinking about getting an Acer 8104, and I was just wondering if anybody had tried to play WoW on it... Thanks a lot in advance...

-Jon

Also one other thing I was looking at all of the talk about converting the HD to NTFS, and I was wondering what all of the advantages are....
Moreover why are you using programs like Norton Ghost... can't you just type "convert C:/fs:ntfs" into the CMD... Or maybee thats just wrong, I just read that... Thanks again
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post #262 of 293
12/11/05 at 7:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JonM1827
Hey, I was thinking about getting an Acer 8104, and I was just wondering if anybody had tried to play WoW on it... Thanks a lot in advance...

-Jon
i havent personally tried it, but im sure it would run very well on the 8104
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post #263 of 293
12/11/05 at 8:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrMsyvc
PETO: I think BatteryMon (www.passmark.com) can be uninstalled and reinstalled every 30 days so you can continue to use the trial version. MobileMeter will give you battery info and charge\discharge rates, but not remaining time. I've found the standard windows battery monitor to be nearly the same as BatteryMon with respect to remaining time.

NOTY: I get the stock ATI Cat drivers with Control Panel from the ATI.Com site and modify them for the 8104 using the DH Mod Tool. Download the ATI drivers, start the install and stop after the file extraction, run the DH Mod Tool against the C:\ATI\Support directory, and start the install again. You may have to install the Control Panel separately, but it all works.

I used to use Omega drivers exclusively on my Sager, but I have yet to get them to modify or install properly on the 8104. The stock ATI.com drivers have been working just fine for me.
What is the difference between just using the regular ATI Cat drivers, and modifying them with DH Mod Tool
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post #264 of 293
12/12/05 at 12:31am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by JonM1827
Hey, I was thinking about getting an Acer 8104, and I was just wondering if anybody had tried to play WoW on it... Thanks a lot in advance...

-Jon

Also one other thing I was looking at all of the talk about converting the HD to NTFS, and I was wondering what all of the advantages are....
Moreover why are you using programs like Norton Ghost... can't you just type "convert C:/fs:ntfs" into the CMD... Or maybee thats just wrong, I just read that... Thanks again
Played WoW for about 4 months on mine, no probs. Enjoy.
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post #265 of 293
12/12/05 at 1:10am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by JonM1827
What is the difference between just using the regular ATI Cat drivers, and modifying them with DH Mod Tool
"Regular", "stock", "desktop" ATI drivers do not have configuration statements that recognize "mobility" (laptop\notebook) video cards, so you have to mod them. To see, save a set of desktop drivers, then mod them or get a set of mobility drivers and look at the CX_27345.inf file. You'll see or not see the cards defined. I can't tell you what all that stuff is doing otherwise.
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post #266 of 293
12/12/05 at 7:00pm
Thanks a lot... O and great review by the way. You may have convinced me to get this laptop...

-Jon
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post #267 of 293
12/23/05 at 3:02pm
Hi people,
I come from Italy and this is my firts message on this forum
Acer changes my 2months old Travelmate 8101 with this new 8104 aluminum (new series of 8104-8106)
There are many different things between this and the old one:
Finally they have resolved the large problems that plagued the old model(my Tm 8101 never work well, frequently shut-down's problem with games and 3d application.)
First of all they changed motherboard model with new with s-ata support(hitachi 100GB 5400rmp with serial-ata interface inside), old models have big problem with overheating and x700...
Then x700 video card frequency are finally 357gpu/350 ram Like Ferrari 4500 instead the old 350gpu/300memory, very stable and never a problem also with overclock(I'm testing now...)
And at last but non least, beautiful alluminium top cover, same design of Ferrari model but aluminium instead of carbon...
I buy a carbon cover also, I dont know which of two hold...
A little picture


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post #268 of 293
12/25/05 at 2:38am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ^v3rsus
Hi people,
I come from Italy and this is my firts message on this forum
Acer changes my 2months old Travelmate 8101 with this new 8104 aluminum (new series of 8104-8106)
There are many different things between this and the old one:
Finally they have resolved the large problems that plagued the old model(my Tm 8101 never work well, frequently shut-down's problem with games and 3d application.)
First of all they changed motherboard model with new with s-ata support(hitachi 100GB 5400rmp with serial-ata interface inside), old models have big problem with overheating and x700...
Then x700 video card frequency are finally 357gpu/350 ram Like Ferrari 4500 instead the old 350gpu/300memory, very stable and never a problem also with overclock(I'm testing now...)
And at last but non least, beautiful alluminium top cover, same design of Ferrari model but aluminium instead of carbon...
I buy a carbon cover also, I dont know which of two hold...
A little picture


Nice! Congrats. My 8104 still runs fine and I'm having fun with it.

I was in Florence and Tuscany last September, doing the tourist thing. Beautiful place and friendly people. Ciao.
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post #269 of 293
1/2/06 at 10:10pm

Thanks for the Review and my benchmarks...

I also wanted to add my thanks for the review. I researched for about two weeks, and finally agreed on this one. It had everything I was looking for under2k. (I paid $1599 at newegg, no payments for 6 months). They also delivered it the following day. (I am in California though)

This laptop is used mainly for work and presentations with my clients.

I just ran my benchmarks and came up with the following:

18079 on SDMark2001
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=8849150

6328 on SDMark03
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=4521283

2407 on SDMark05
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm05=1646046

Only squawk I have is it appears the Microphone or Micjack doesn't work. I have not tried to diagnose it yet, since it is not a priority.

Great Laptop for work, and as a backup DTR. And it beat my old Barton o/c Athlon in bench with its tired 9600xt o/c vid card that I play my games on.

Not sure that I will add more ram or anything, seems pretty robust right out of the box.

I may use it down the road for DVD Home Movie editing, (I coach football, so my oldest son tapes the games and I make DVD's for our coaches each week.) So in order to do that, I will need to switch it over to NTFS.

Thanks again,
Sonar5
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post #270 of 293
1/2/06 at 11:50pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sonar5
I also wanted to add my thanks for the review. I researched for about two weeks, and finally agreed on this one. It had everything I was looking for under2k. (I paid $1599 at newegg, no payments for 6 months). They also delivered it the following day. (I am in California though)
Thx and congrats. I envy those price drops. Mine was about $2300 when they first came out and everyone was scrambling. I've never used my Line-in jack (the right one), just the line-out (left one). Check your Sounds settings and surf the mega-8100 thread in the forums and others.
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post #271 of 293
1/3/06 at 5:02am
What settings did you play WoW on just out of curriosity....

Also, I've been looking at other laptops as well, even things like Alienware. I was wondering, aside from the price, is there any other benifits of going with an Alienware with similar specs, or should I just stick with this and save the cash.

Thanks in advance
-Jon
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post #272 of 293
1/3/06 at 10:25am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by JonM1827
What settings did you play WoW on just out of curriosity....

Also, I've been looking at other laptops as well, even things like Alienware. I was wondering, aside from the price, is there any other benifits of going with an Alienware with similar specs, or should I just stick with this and save the cash.

Thanks in advance
-Jon
WoW I played at least at 1280x1024 on my external monitor. It's been awhile, but I'm pretty sure I played at 1680x1050 on my laptop monitor, because I remember all the extra space I got with the menus at the side. I had no general performance problems with WoW.

"Similar" specs, probably stick with Acer. Some of the 256MB cards are enticing though, such as the Sager 5720, which looks pretty good IMO. Other wise it's a jump to HEAVY weights for the FX57, X2, and 7800GTX. I luvvvv the relative lightness of mine though, and my 15.4" screen still FILLS a seat in Economy Class. Almost unusable crammed in there.
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post #273 of 293
1/4/06 at 4:33am
Has anybody had any encounters with the Tech Support at Acer, and if so how was the expierience....

Also, how good is the extended warrenty....

Thanks again
-Jon

One other thing.... Is there an easy way to convert the HD from FAT32 and also take away the partition without having to purchace anything or formating, and having to reinstall XP... and if not what is the easiest/cheapest way
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post #274 of 293
1/4/06 at 4:12pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by JonM1827
Has anybody had any encounters with the Tech Support at Acer, and if so how was the expierience....

Also, how good is the extended warrenty....

Thanks again
-Jon

One other thing.... Is there an easy way to convert the HD from FAT32 and also take away the partition without having to purchace anything or formating, and having to reinstall XP... and if not what is the easiest/cheapest way
I haven't had to use tech spt., but there is a single company I haven't heard horror stories about. I bought an extended warranty for peace of mind, and hope I never have to use it.

Though info is hard to find in the forums, mostly because there is so MUCH of it, surf the Acer forums on tech support and FAT32 convert. Conversion is easy, removing the partition is not. KEEP IN MIND that you do NOT get a pure Windows XP disc suitable for reinstall, only "recovery" disks which are actually Ghost backups. If you alter your partitions you may not be able to use the recovery disks any longer and you will have to locate an XP disk elsewhere for a reinstall. If you use another XP disk you will NOT be able to use the XP serial number on the bottom of your laptop or the one that was imbedded in your original installation. You will have to use the XP serial number that goes with the XP disk you are using. There are numerous posts and threads on creating a useable XP disk BEFORE you alter or format your laptop. It takes a little work. Look for posts by DarthAcer and others on the subject.
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post #275 of 293
1/6/06 at 5:46am

Whats the difference???

I was just wondering if someone could briefly explain to me what the advantages/disadvantages of this comp. and the Acer 4402....

Thanks...
-Jon

Nevermind... stupid question.... I dont like the other one anymore...
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post #276 of 293
1/7/06 at 2:26am

NEW 8200... check it out if u havent already

I found some more info, and added it to another thread....

Heres the link to it... Review pics and price (about $2500 from what i gather)

http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=122550
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post #277 of 293
1/7/06 at 9:09pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by JonM1827
I found some more info, and added it to another thread....

Heres the link to it... Review pics and price (about $2500 from what i gather)

http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=122550
It should be nice with that new X1600, whenever.
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post #278 of 293
1/15/06 at 7:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrMsyvc
I haven't had to use tech spt., but there is a single company I haven't heard horror stories about. I bought an extended warranty for peace of mind, and hope I never have to use it.

Though info is hard to find in the forums, mostly because there is so MUCH of it, surf the Acer forums on tech support and FAT32 convert. Conversion is easy, removing the partition is not. KEEP IN MIND that you do NOT get a pure Windows XP disc suitable for reinstall, only "recovery" disks which are actually Ghost backups. If you alter your partitions you may not be able to use the recovery disks any longer and you will have to locate an XP disk elsewhere for a reinstall. If you use another XP disk you will NOT be able to use the XP serial number on the bottom of your laptop or the one that was imbedded in your original installation. You will have to use the XP serial number that goes with the XP disk you are using. There are numerous posts and threads on creating a useable XP disk BEFORE you alter or format your laptop. It takes a little work. Look for posts by DarthAcer and others on the subject.

Is possible to install windows from acer original disks and without recovery partition

You need only Norton ghost...Follow me

1) Copy all files from 2cd provided by acer in a your pc directory, only .hdd and .ghs files are necessary, you can delete .dat files
2)rename 70IT8100.HDD in 70IT8.GHO
3)Extract files from this image and...good burn your windows cd(So you can have a regular windows cd)


Bye bye 3Gb recovery partition...(TNX to Best italian hwforum)
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post #279 of 293
1/18/06 at 4:15pm

TM 8104 overheating and shutdowns

Hello guys,

I have had my TM 8104 since the end of August and have been very ssatisfied, but...

I am starting to be worried. I had 2 shut downs after 2 hours of play in last 3 days while I was playing Matrix Online...I play it on max details, thought I think this PC can do more...

Anyway, I have had those shutdowns...and thats bad...so I installed Notebook Hardware Control to see whats the temperature like...I set all to max as usually and checked my CPU temp, it was 91 C...gosh...

I think this is not normal, even the CPU is fully loaded.

Therefore I would like to ask MrMsyvc and other guys, what do you think about that? Could it be the dust in the fan? I have some EXP that dust in the fun makes troubles,e.g. CPU temp fell to regular values after I cleaned my P4 desktop CPU cooler.

I dont know....its even a winter so it should be easier for PC to keep cooler and I have played many games(FEAR,WOW)...and havent had such a problem. Do you think that something might have gone wrong with the laptop?

Also, now I see that my CPU temperature is 60C and just surfing the web...and have more windows opened.

I hope I'll get some help here.

THX,
PETO
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post #280 of 293
1/18/06 at 4:51pm
Just a note:
I measured those 91 C after 10-15 mins of play
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