Acer Ferrari 3200 - Questions

Hi guys, new kid on the block here. Am looking at the Ferrari 3200.

I have a few questions, if anyone already has a F3200, or if anyone knows.

Does it tend to run hot? How much noise does the fan make, and does the fan tend to kick in a lot?

Is the hard-disk 4200RPM?
What is the L2 on-die cache-size?

Would love to hear anyone's thoughts, as most (and some clichéd reviews, no less) are smitten mainly by the looks as opposed to the finer, more practical details.

Thanks kindly,

Kieran

 

Hi got mine at the weekend and am very pleased with it. To answer your questions:
I haven't really put it through its paces games wise so can't say for definate. The area where your left palm sits gets a little warm but nothing to worry about in my view. May have heard the fan once in around 10- hours of usage, its not on regularly and is fairly quiet.

Disk is 4200 rpm - possibly the most annoying thing about the lap top alongside the RAM configuration - really wanted the option to upgrade it to 1 gig cheaply.

I think from other posts I've seen the cache size is 512. - But I'm not sure about that.

Overall its a good piece of kit. I'd narrowed it down to the Evesham 64 and the Ferrari. The Ferrari won even though its spec wasn't as good because the evesham was built like a brick - and looked like one. The Ferrari is thin enough to use while slouching on the sofa.

I did manage to slow it down when I had a game in the background and was doing multiple downloads ans installtions. I think 1 gig of ram that I'll get for it eventually will help that. Also it crashed when coming out of hibernation yesterday. But my overall impressions are positive.

 

Thanks for that Clew, that was pretty useful.

Great pity about the 4200RPM disk and the 512KB L2 Cache... Which means I'll have to look elsewhere for a laptop.

thnx

 

I checked on the cache amount for the CPU and it's 1 MB of onboard L2 cache.

The HDD is 4200rpm.

Regarding the slowdown, not only will the ram help, but a faster HDD will also improve disk access/transfers during all your installs/downloads.

-Vb-

 

Many thanks.

So, is the hard-drive replaceable?

If so, there is a 60GB Hitachi 2.5" drive that spins at a more appropriate 7200RPM, which I could replace it with.

...Although, the battery life of the 3200 is pretty poor as it is, with using just the current 4200RPM drive (a 7200RPM replacement will use up more juice).

 

Hi guys,

I am also looking to upgrade the HDD (travelstar hitachi, can some one help, is it compatible?) which would still make it cheaper than alternatives on the market with equivalent specs.

However, I have posted previously, that the futuremark 3d2003 benchmark, achieved on my machine was over 3000 (no optimization), this beats the rockdirect xtr3.2 (2900) which in-turn beats the alienware by 15 percent.

Very happy with it and no crashes or bugs.

Kans.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Venombite

 

>>It's 512K, but new, even lower power versions with speeds up to 3400+ and a 1MB L2 cache are coming next year. That's the reason to go 3200.

But the 3200 isn't next years model, and wont have those specs, nor is it future upgradable. I don't understand your comment?

>>Also, a 7200 rpm drive DOESN'T USE ANY MORE POWER THAN A 4200 rpm drive. That myth has been disproven numerous times by numerous sources. It does however run hotter.

Um, wouldn't the fact that it runs hotter suggest that it actually does use more current?

Thanks

 

Tron,

Please checkout this link from the Acer.com US website, it clearly lists the Mobile AMD Athlon 64 CPU as having 1MB L2 Cache on the Ferrari 3200 models.

http://www.acer.com/APP/AKC/INTERNET/AACPubli.nsf/AllDocs/D28B2A87421364B788256E8B005D0867?OpenDocument

Plus, located on the AMD.com website, again, clearly indicates that this CPU has 1MB L2 Cache in this Comparison Chart.

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_10220_10221^10269,00.html

The model you're talking about that has 512K Cache, is the Mobile AMD Athlon™ XP-M, which is on the Ferrari 3000, not the 3200.

Also, a 7200rpm HDD WILL use more power than a standard 4200rpm HDD. This has also been proven in ACTUAL tests performed by Tomshardware.com, although it wasn't a very big differnce, you did loose a few minutes of operating time.

http://www.tomshardware.com/mobile/20031031/notebook_hard_drives-03.html#impact_on_system_performance_and_battery_life

-Vb-

 

There are two Athlon 64 2800+ chips for notebooks, a Low-Voltage one with 512KB L2 cache and a Mobile one with 1MB L2 cache. The Ferarri 3200 uses the (superior, despite the smaller cache) LV model. See here:

http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/white_papers_and_tech_docs/30430.pdf

There will be several more Athlon 64 notebook chips coming out later this year that are 35W and even 25W chips (the 2800+ LV is 35W). 25W is Pentium-M (Centrino) territory.

You can see pictures of the various notebook Athlon 64's here:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?catalog=343&DEPA=1&submit=property&mfrcode=0&propertycode=&propertycodevalue=6055

 

All the info I provided is correct. The Asus site is wrong. It is 512K, like it or not. The CPU is upgradable, so next year you can replace the 2800+ with a 3400+. The power draw difference between 4200 and 7200 rpm drives is within the margins of error, so they are basically identical.

I suggest spending some time on Notebook Forums, the truth can be found there.

 

It runs at 1.8 GHz and has 512K L2 cache. People with the unit have verified this countless times. There are many sites wrongly reporting a 1MB L2 cache. The units supports up to 1MB L2 cache, but this first generation has 512K. Chips with 1MB will follow. I'm sure all these sites are just getting there info from the same incorrect source. I'll locate the roadmap for these low voltage chips so you can see for yourself. You're looking at the wrong charts.

http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=26857&page=4&pp=15

All the proof can be found here. Users verifying the 512K L2 cache and the correct AMD datasheets. I can't find the leaked roadmap now, but 3400+ chips with 1MB L2 cache that run at P-M power levels will be available later. 64 bit chips that offer the power savings of P-M chips will kick butt. That's the reason I'm getting a 3200 soon. This low power 64 bit chip from AMD is the best future for notebooks available now. You also get great performance while you wait. [ ] Intel is lucky they have the name recognition, they arem't ready or the future.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Tron

 

From people who have them:

http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=26857&page=4&pp=15

AMD made a big deal about this notebook when they launched the Low-Voltage Athlon 64's:

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~84932,00.html

 

http://amd64notebooks.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=327

leaked roadmap

 

I was misleading about one thing. It looks like you'll have to choose between the high performance chips with 1MB L2 cache at 35W or lower performing chips with 25W designs. Maybe we'll see 64 bit/25W high performance chpis in 2006. [ ]

 

Ok guys, I might be wrong...but I'm gonna hold on for a bit until I have an opportunity to go to Compusmart near where I live and checkout the unit myself. I'll use the programs listed on Notebookforums.com and I'll report back and I will admit if...IF I'm wrong[ ].

-Vb-

 

I don't care who's right or wrong, I just want a 25W/64 bit 3400+ or 3800+ with 1MB L2 cache some time in 2006. [ ]

Add that, two 1GB sticks of PC3200 and a 100GB 7200rpm hard drive and the 3200 should last me quite a few years since my notebook gaming consists mostly of EMU. [} ]

 

I don't care who's right or wrong, I just want a 25W/64 bit 3400+ or 3800+ with 1MB L2 cache some time in 2006. [ ]

Add that, two 1GB sticks of PC3200 and a 100GB 7200rpm hard drive and the 3200 should last me quite a few years since my notebook gaming consists mostly of EMU. [} ]

 

In any case, the ferarri 3200 has a 1mb L2 cache.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by rhue

 

^check out www.acer.com/us and see for yourself... [ ]

 

Quoted from an email by Acer support a few days ago:

" The L2 cache on the XP 32 bit CPU is 512kbs and on the XP 64 bit it has 1mb."

 

And if you actually read the messages from the link I posted earlier in this thread:

http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=26857&page=4&pp=15

"Well, i ran the "Central Brain Identifier" (a AMD CPUID Program) and it shows "512k L2 cache" on the 2800+ that comes in the ferrari..if that answers your question."

"I can also confirm that. When I run CPU-Z, it shows the L2 cache at 512kb."

So, as is frequently the case with big company marketing and tech support, Acer doesn't know what's in the machine they're selling. The Low-Voltage Athlon 64's (2700+ and 2800+) are 512KB L2 cache only. The Mobile and DTR Athlon 64's mostly have 1MB L2 cache, but Acer isn't using those in the Ferarri 3200. AMD had a big press release touting Acer as being one of two companies to be the first to use the LV Athlon 64 (the other is a Chinese company building for domestic consumption).

 

Ferrari 3200 - much cheaper

I wish I hadn't but I searched on dealtime.co.uk for the new ferrari and most providers are still shipping it for the £1400 mark, but there's a couple that have dropped down to about £1270 - a much better price. I wish I'd waited a couple of weeks. It would be enough of a saving to get that hard drive or Ram upgrade....

 

Which laptop would you pick between the Ferrari 3200 and the Sony VAIO A117s [ click here], say if they were the same price?

Sony VAIO VGN-A117S - [click here] (from the A-series)

* 1.7GHz Pent-M 735,
* 2MB L2 Cache,
* 400MHz FSB,
* 512MB 333MHz PC2700 DDR (up to 1GB)
* 80GB ATA-100 hard disk
* DVD±RW Drive
* 17" WUXGA (1920 x 1200) widescreen
* Radeon 9700 64MB Ram
* 2.5Hrs battery life

and....

Acer Ferrari 3200 - [click here]:-

* Low-power Mobile AMD Athlon™ 64 processor 2800+, with VIA ProSavage™ K8T800 chipset
* 512MB (2*256) DDR333 SDRAM (up to 2GB)
* 80GB ATA-100 hard disk (4200RPM)
* CD-RW/DVD+/-RW
* 15.0" SXGA+ TFT LCD with 1400 x 1050 pixel resolution, 16.7 million colours, 200 nit high brightness
* ATI® Mobility Radeon® 9700 with dedicated 128MB of video memory
* 2.5Hrs battery life

 

No brainer for me if they were the same price. I would go with the Acer since it has a better processor and a better graphics card. Plus you get the cool looking Ferrari case. The 17' screen would be nice but not a must. I guess it depends on what you want to do with the system. If you want to do a lot of gaming then processor and grfx card would be more important. I am not a guru or anything, just my opinion.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Tron

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Kieran

 

If I were in the market for a performance notebook, I'd get the 3200 without hesitating. It's a solid machine and has great looks to boot! The Acer brand is excellent, they're just a bit under the radar in the US.

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

Great thread, lots of useful info.