I ordered from ZipZoomFly on Friday. I received my order confirmation on the same day. My Ferrari shipped on Tuesday the 21 and I have my hands on it now. Great service from ZipZoomFly. My order shipped double boxed and came in perfect condition.
The Contents of the Ferrari 4000 Package was the laptop, power adapter, Bluetooth optical mouse with rechargeable batteries and usb charger, recovery disks and a diaper cloth to wipe down your Ferrari with.
Build Quality:
Excellent build quality. The F4000 feels solid. There is no flex anywhere, and the keyboard is quick and responsive. I'm enjoying it very much. The Notebook itself sits on rubber legs to increase airflow under the case. The lid housing the LCD is secured by a latch when closed and the hinges give a nice sturdy feel when opening and closing. The Carbon fiber is definitely an eye catcher.
Display:
The 15.4” widescreen display has a native resolution of 1680x1050 is bright and has excellent viewing angles. The screen is non glossy which I prefer. I seem to be lucky as I have found not a single dead pixel. The resolution seems a little small for me and I might change my settings to increase the font size to make for easy reading. I’m not seeing any sparkle that some people have seen on other screens. Though I’m not really sure what I should be looking for.
Keyboard:
I’ve heard some people complaining about the keyboard layout for the Ferrari because of its curved design. I’m having no problems adjusting to it and I am a touch typist. I guess it’s just a matter of taste. The Keys are great to the touch and the keys are exactly where they should be.
Battery Life:
Battery Test 1 – After fully charging the Ferrari I did my first battery rundown test. The power settings were ‘portable/laptop’ and everything else was stock configuration on the Ferrari. The test consisted of DVD playback, with wireless on as I browsed the web. Screen brightness was full and volume was max. The Ferrari lasted 2 hours with those settings.
Battery Test 2 – Power settings were ‘portable/laptop’ Everything stock configuration, no undervolting. Screen half dimmed. Test consisted of just causal web browsing and typing. The Ferrari lasted for 3 and ½ hours.
Benchmarks: (They speak for themselves)
These Benchmarks were taken with stock settings. Default drivers were used and no over clocking was done.
Heat and Noise:
Playing HL2 definitely pushes the Ferrari. The fan seems to have three settings that I can notice. One when the computer is idle (fan is always running). The second setting kicked in when I started up HL2. As I got into the meat of my gaming experience the fan increased to full throttle after 30 minutes into the game. It was definitely moving air at that point.
The palm rests of the Ferrari began to warm with the hottest parts of the Ferrari being the areas just under the 'Alt' and ‘Windows’ key. The Next hottest part is the left side of the laptop where the fan vents are.
The fans noise at idle speed it barely noticeable. You can hear it in a quiet room if there is nothing else making noise. At the second level you start to notice it and at full speed it sounds a little quieter than a desktop computer’s case fan. Over all the noise for me isn’t a problem.
As for the heat, it’s just a mild complaint for me. And I am picky about heat. Excessive heat is a deal breaker for me. I returned the Mayhem G3 I bought from ABS because of too much heat and the Ferrari is an ice cube compared to that.
UPDATE:
Using Mobile Meter I was able to get the temps of the CPU and Hard Drive while the Ferrari is idle. It runs pretty cool.
Undervolting:
In order to have a cooler system at peek performance and extend the battery life I played around with the RMClock utility to adjust the CPU voltages at Max and Min settings. I followed the undervolting guide written by OSPrime found here: http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=80394
After stress testing with Prime95 the stable voltage settings that I found were: 9.50V at 800Mhz and 1.325V at 2Ghz. I have noticed a difference when playing HL2 with these settings. The fans on the Ferrari take a much longer time to turn up to full speed. I still have to test the affect on battery life though.
RMCLOCK Update:
I've been experiencing some lock ups with RMClock lately while running off battery. I'm investigating it now to see what the issue is. For now I’ve adjusted my profile to allow for no management while in battery mode.
UPDATE:
Just an update after using the Ferrari for about 2 weeks now. I haven’t had any problems yet with the build of the laptop and everything has been working in perfect order. Hope is stays that way. (*knock on wood)
It’s been able to handle everything that I’ve thrown at it so far from browsing the web and to 4 hour sessions of Guild Wars and Half Life 2. Though I recommend getting a laptop cooler. Battery life gives a consistent 3 hours with regular web browsing and e-mail checking. I’ve also burned cd’s and DVDs with the optical slot loading drive with no problems or bad burns. Overall the Ferrari has met my expectations of being solid and reliable. I’ll see if this opinion holds up as time goes on.
UPDATE:
Well i just came back from vacation which i took my Ferrari 4005 on. Took a flight down to Florida for some R&R. While passing through the security checkpoints of the airport i had to take the laptop to out of the case and pass it through the X-rap machine. No worries, the X-rays won't damage the laptop or the information on the HD.
Use it while waiting for my flight and another guy with a Dell notebook came up to me complementing me on the looks of the Ferrari and asking me where i had gotten it from. He never heard of Acer before and i showed him the specs and what the Ferrari could do up close. By the time my flight started boarding the guy was ready to order a Ferrari for himself.
On vacation with a bunch of friends, everyone had a camera and were taking pictures galore. The memory card reader worked like a charm as i compled all the pictures from all their cameras be is Memory stick, or SD cards. Then i burned a DVD for everyone when it was time to go home.
I was complimented a few more times while on my trip on the looks of the Ferrari. Few people heard of Acer before but all left with a good impression of what the Ferrari was about.
To date the Ferrari 4005 has done everything i expected it too. It provided solid performance in a mobile package. I definitely didn't want to have to lug around a 17" notebook through check points in the airport and have to cram it under an airplane seat. I'm definitely happy with my purchase and hope my experiences help others make buying decisions in the future.
The Contents of the Ferrari 4000 Package was the laptop, power adapter, Bluetooth optical mouse with rechargeable batteries and usb charger, recovery disks and a diaper cloth to wipe down your Ferrari with.
Build Quality:
Excellent build quality. The F4000 feels solid. There is no flex anywhere, and the keyboard is quick and responsive. I'm enjoying it very much. The Notebook itself sits on rubber legs to increase airflow under the case. The lid housing the LCD is secured by a latch when closed and the hinges give a nice sturdy feel when opening and closing. The Carbon fiber is definitely an eye catcher.
Display:
The 15.4” widescreen display has a native resolution of 1680x1050 is bright and has excellent viewing angles. The screen is non glossy which I prefer. I seem to be lucky as I have found not a single dead pixel. The resolution seems a little small for me and I might change my settings to increase the font size to make for easy reading. I’m not seeing any sparkle that some people have seen on other screens. Though I’m not really sure what I should be looking for.
Keyboard:
I’ve heard some people complaining about the keyboard layout for the Ferrari because of its curved design. I’m having no problems adjusting to it and I am a touch typist. I guess it’s just a matter of taste. The Keys are great to the touch and the keys are exactly where they should be.
Battery Life:
Battery Test 1 – After fully charging the Ferrari I did my first battery rundown test. The power settings were ‘portable/laptop’ and everything else was stock configuration on the Ferrari. The test consisted of DVD playback, with wireless on as I browsed the web. Screen brightness was full and volume was max. The Ferrari lasted 2 hours with those settings.
Battery Test 2 – Power settings were ‘portable/laptop’ Everything stock configuration, no undervolting. Screen half dimmed. Test consisted of just causal web browsing and typing. The Ferrari lasted for 3 and ½ hours.
Benchmarks: (They speak for themselves)
These Benchmarks were taken with stock settings. Default drivers were used and no over clocking was done.
Heat and Noise:
Playing HL2 definitely pushes the Ferrari. The fan seems to have three settings that I can notice. One when the computer is idle (fan is always running). The second setting kicked in when I started up HL2. As I got into the meat of my gaming experience the fan increased to full throttle after 30 minutes into the game. It was definitely moving air at that point.
The palm rests of the Ferrari began to warm with the hottest parts of the Ferrari being the areas just under the 'Alt' and ‘Windows’ key. The Next hottest part is the left side of the laptop where the fan vents are.
The fans noise at idle speed it barely noticeable. You can hear it in a quiet room if there is nothing else making noise. At the second level you start to notice it and at full speed it sounds a little quieter than a desktop computer’s case fan. Over all the noise for me isn’t a problem.
As for the heat, it’s just a mild complaint for me. And I am picky about heat. Excessive heat is a deal breaker for me. I returned the Mayhem G3 I bought from ABS because of too much heat and the Ferrari is an ice cube compared to that.
UPDATE:
Using Mobile Meter I was able to get the temps of the CPU and Hard Drive while the Ferrari is idle. It runs pretty cool.
Undervolting:
In order to have a cooler system at peek performance and extend the battery life I played around with the RMClock utility to adjust the CPU voltages at Max and Min settings. I followed the undervolting guide written by OSPrime found here: http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=80394
After stress testing with Prime95 the stable voltage settings that I found were: 9.50V at 800Mhz and 1.325V at 2Ghz. I have noticed a difference when playing HL2 with these settings. The fans on the Ferrari take a much longer time to turn up to full speed. I still have to test the affect on battery life though.
RMCLOCK Update:
I've been experiencing some lock ups with RMClock lately while running off battery. I'm investigating it now to see what the issue is. For now I’ve adjusted my profile to allow for no management while in battery mode.
UPDATE:
Just an update after using the Ferrari for about 2 weeks now. I haven’t had any problems yet with the build of the laptop and everything has been working in perfect order. Hope is stays that way. (*knock on wood)
It’s been able to handle everything that I’ve thrown at it so far from browsing the web and to 4 hour sessions of Guild Wars and Half Life 2. Though I recommend getting a laptop cooler. Battery life gives a consistent 3 hours with regular web browsing and e-mail checking. I’ve also burned cd’s and DVDs with the optical slot loading drive with no problems or bad burns. Overall the Ferrari has met my expectations of being solid and reliable. I’ll see if this opinion holds up as time goes on.
UPDATE:
Well i just came back from vacation which i took my Ferrari 4005 on. Took a flight down to Florida for some R&R. While passing through the security checkpoints of the airport i had to take the laptop to out of the case and pass it through the X-rap machine. No worries, the X-rays won't damage the laptop or the information on the HD.
Use it while waiting for my flight and another guy with a Dell notebook came up to me complementing me on the looks of the Ferrari and asking me where i had gotten it from. He never heard of Acer before and i showed him the specs and what the Ferrari could do up close. By the time my flight started boarding the guy was ready to order a Ferrari for himself.
On vacation with a bunch of friends, everyone had a camera and were taking pictures galore. The memory card reader worked like a charm as i compled all the pictures from all their cameras be is Memory stick, or SD cards. Then i burned a DVD for everyone when it was time to go home.
I was complimented a few more times while on my trip on the looks of the Ferrari. Few people heard of Acer before but all left with a good impression of what the Ferrari was about.
To date the Ferrari 4005 has done everything i expected it too. It provided solid performance in a mobile package. I definitely didn't want to have to lug around a 17" notebook through check points in the airport and have to cram it under an airplane seat. I'm definitely happy with my purchase and hope my experiences help others make buying decisions in the future.
