Acer Aspire 1690 Series Review (pics, specs)

by Richard Brearley, United Kingdom

(note, the Acer Aspire 1694 WLMi is currently available only in Europe)

There are many things to consider when purchasing a notebook, price, performance, weight and battery life are usually the primary concerns. This review is for those considering the Acer aspire 1694WLMi with the following specifications:

• Intel Pentium M 760 2.0GHz, Intel 915PM chipset motherboard
• 512MB DDR1 2700
• ATI Mobility Radeon X600 128MB
• 15.4" WXGA screen with Crystal Brite
• 100GB 5400RPM Seagate momentus
• QSI DVD dual layer RW
• Wireless + Bluetooth
• Windows XP Home

This is not the exact machine that the benchmarktests are being run on however. I decided to order 1024MB of Crucial memory and an Audigy 2 ZS, but more on that with the benchmarks section of this review.

When I was deciding on a notebook I spent a lot of time researching which notebook to buy. I had always had a desktop built by myself and needed to be sure of getting something that was at least equally as useful. I needed the ease of a laptop when going to university next year, but I needed to be able to release the urge to game every so often. I looked at many laptops frommanufacturers such asRock (Pegasus Ti in particular), Alienware, Dell but decided the best bang per buck was going to come from Acer. I originally ordered an Acer Aspire2026 but ended up with the Acer Aspire 1694 WLMias an acceptable replacement.

The Acer 2026 was 1140 from laptopsdirect.co.uk, meanwhilethe Aspire 1694 was offeredfor 1130 and had better specs so I gave itthe nod. You would be hard pressed to get these specifications for that sort of money anywhere else, so value for money as far as the specs is very good. When I received the 1694 it was securely rapped and in pristine condition, in the bundle were power leads, recovery CDs, Microsoft works, Norton Antivirus, modem cable, quick start guides and warranty card. Included on the drive are NTI CD/DVD maker gold and cyberlink power producer gold. Everything needed to get started. The NTI software is surprisingly easy to use and quick to get ahold of. I have not used cyberlink power producer gold.

Acer Aspire 1694 WLMi (view larger image)

Build,Design and Ports

General construction is very good, the notebook feels sturdy, the panel just below the power switch moves a mm or two as does the DVD drive, but neither are in danger of coming loose, nor do they make a noise during use due to the movement. The case is plastic andpainted in the common silver and black scheme. While not groundbreaking, it certainly makes the laptop look professional and is a clean design, certainly suitable for business environments. Asis common forAcer design, for whatever reason the laptop looks smaller than it is. With a 15.4" screen it is not small, but nor is it very heavy at 2.95Kg (6.50 lbs) which makes it usable on a lap. The sound portsareon the front, there is always debate as to which area of the laptop is best for placing the headphone and microphone ports, I prefer the side, but it's personal preference. Thereis also a USB 2.0 port at the front along with the two sound ports.

Front side view of Acer Aspire 1694 (view larger image)

On the right side are the S-video port, two USB 2 ports, firewire, card reader and PC card slot (view larger image)

The left side is exclusively for the QSI DVD RW (view larger image)

The rear has the battery, power slot and VGA out (view larger image)

As a side note, I would recommend a laptop backpack for carrying this notebook around.A notebook backpackmakes carrying everything such as paper work, books, notes and your laptop easy and simple.

Screen

The screen is bright, sharp and gives good contrast thanks to Acer's Crystal Brite screen technology and ATI's LCD support tech, unfortunately my screen has a dead pixel and Acer's warranty clearly states what is and is/not considered acceptable: Not more than 4 dead pixels per million pixels. If the screen is considered 9 equal rectangles, in the central area there are no more than 1 dead pixels in the centre

Viewing angles either side are very good but vertical angles are quite poor, moving your head up and down produces differences in contrast and colour which is less noticeable at the centre. In games there is a blurring affect from the response time of the LCD, it's not as bad as it could be and is still very playable. Watching aDVDsprovies afine viewing experience.

Sounds

Laptop sound is usually never spectacular, the short time I had the Aspire 2026I found the sound to be reasonable, but the Aspire 1694 laptop does not have the advantage of a subwoofer and so the soundis very tinny.It does however have plenty of volume. However, at higher volumes the high frequencies tend to get to your ears, a pair of headphones is highly recommended, if just for privacy. I decided to opt for an Audigy 2 ZS sound cardupgrade (via the PCMCIA expansion slot, http://www.soundblaster.com/products/audigy2zs_notebook/). I wanted the Audigy 2 ZSbecause ofthe added game effects and higher quality sound output which is noticeable when connected to a 5.1 speaker set. The included microphonethat comes with the Audigy 2 ZS packageis not very sensitive but you could leave notes with it, I would get a separate one for games or speech recognition.

Wireless

The wireless uses Acer's signal up technology, it generally has a strong signal and as long as you don't own a mansion should work in the garden as long as the router is up to it. The Bluetooth also works as it should.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard is very similar to that of the desktop but with the num pad cut off and replaced by holding the Fn key on certain keys. The keyboard does have pg up and down, home and end along the right edge. The layout is easy to migrate to from a desktop and you will be touch typing in no time. The keys are responsive and light, though sometimes one will feel a little bit spongy. There is plenty of wrist room and the case will not creak or feel weak when typing. The touchpad is responsive and accurate while the keys are a little tacky and noisy, you will get used to using tap to click.

Performance and Benchmarks

For results of benchmarks when this laptop is overclocked to 2.3GHz view the following article: Acer Aspire 1694 2.0GHz Pentium M to 2.3GHz clockspeed

General windows performance lives up to the specs, the increased speed of the 5400RPM Seagate Momentus over Acer's usual 4200rpm drive really makes a difference, the extraRAM helps too. The 2GHz Pentium M has no troubles and once into windows becomes responsive almost immediately, the same is true for coming out of sleep or hibernation. While the X600 is up to running Doom 3 and similar titles, the 1GB ofRAM which I ordered for 115 from Crucial.com (www.crucial.com)really helps reduce disk caching, which in laptops is even slower than desktops, so is HIGHLY recommended.Unfortunately Acer stores don't tend to offer configuration options, but it's always worth phoning or asking about.

A note about the DVD, the updated firmware for itis a must, it halved the write time and made a much more readable disk for me so grab it straight away!

Performance: (I will use my old desktop computer benchmarksfor a performance comparison where possible)

Laptop (Aspire 1694): 2.0GHz Pentium M 760, ATI X600, 1GB RAM
System 1: 2.4GHz Athlon XP, ATI 9800pro @ xt speeds, 512MB RAM
System 2: 2.4GHz Athlon XP, 8500 stock, 512MB RAM

Super Pi:

Laptop

40 seconds (when calculating 1 million digits of accuracy)

3DMark 05:

Laptop	1300
System 1	2804
System 2	Unable to run

The mobility X600 lags here, this is possibly the most graphics intensive benchmark out there so the slower graphics holds it back, but compared to similar chipsets the Acer is very competitive.

3DMark 03:

Laptop	3624
System 1	5612
System 2	1309

This benchmark is more suited to the graphics chip, the suite runs smoother too. The DX9 features bring it ahead of the 8500.

3DMark 2K1:

Laptop	12783
System 1	18757
System 2	11198

Some might argue this benchmark is out of date, but it does reflect overall system performance quite well. The Pentium M really shines through here while the X600 gives performance that is obviously good enough for games of this time and is comfortably ahead of the 8500.

HDD tune:

(view larger image)

Hard drive performance is not quite desktop performancee levelbut still very good and uses very little power too.

Battery Eater Pro:

Pi Calculations	54,585
HDD ReadWrite	12148MB
Frames Rendered	1993059
Total Time	2:59:04

When on battery the CPU clocks down as do the graphics and the screen becomes more dim, this tends to help battery a lot, but if you still need performance Acer's e-tools give you the full range of options for the CPU while ATI's Powerplay gives you control over the graphics. The system is rather flexible. The fan also spins less when on power saving mode, so be aware that ifthe machine vents are blocked the notebook can get hot. It's best to use it on a tray.

As a side note on performance and benchmarks for this laptop, after opening up the machine myself I have found the graphics are not upgradeable:

Here you can see thegraphicsprocessing unitis a discrete chip with Hynix BGA ram modules soldered onto the motherboard, meaning you can't upgrade the GPU(view larger image)

Conclusion

Notebooks are all about compromises, choosing the best laptop for you is pretty much choosing what you can compromise on be it price, performance, weight or battery life. Would I recommend this laptop? Well if this is the sort of laptop your looking for then yes. This laptop is cheaper than the Acer Travelmate 810x series, for the same money you get a better CPU, HDD and DVD-RW but also you only get the X600 rather than the X700 graphics card. So if you game a bit, but need the extra HDD space/cpu performance and don't have heaps and heaps of money to spend then this is a good buy and you wont be disappointed.

The replacement service leaves something to be desired however. My original laptop was delivered two weeks before Christmas and was sent back the week before Christmas as dead on arrival and it was early March before I received a replacement which is abysmal. I have heard many reports that repairs are quicker, however the repair centre keeps no spares and has to order everything.

Overclocking the Acer Aspire 1694

If you're interested in doing some overclocking on this notebook, or just seeing how it's done, view this extra section on overclocking the Acer Aspire 1694 2.0GHz Pentium M to 2.3GHz clockspeed.

Pros

• Solid build
• Clear screen
• Good value for specifications
• Good thermal management

Cons

• Poor viewing angles
• Not the latest graphics
• Poor Acer replacement speed and pixel policy
• No upgradeability

Overall: 3.5/5 it would be 4 if not for the poor service.

Special thanks: Abo of setfsb for creating the flawless clock generator for my laptop.

Useful links and tools:

• www.ati.com (drivers)
• www.driverheaven.net (mobility modder)
• http://www13.plala.or.jp/setfsb/ (setfsb)
• http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=725 (ATI tool)
• http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php (CPU and chipset info)
• http://mega.ist.utl.pt/~cfao/QSI-SDW-082-LX43.zip (updated DVD firmware, highly recommended)

Overclocking Benchmark Results

For results of benchmarks when this laptop is overclocked to 2.3GHz view the following article: Acer Aspire 1694 2.0GHz Pentium M to 2.3GHz clockspeed

 

Hi,

I am Leo and I want to know also about that is it possible to upgrade the Video Ram but no the GPU in Acer 1690 Series. Cause I think memory should be upgraded as well..cause I want to know beore I buy this one.

thanks,
Leo

 

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

 

Meaker! thanks for this great review. I bought a 1691wlmi a month ago and I very happy with it. I was also curious about replacing the pci express graphic card with a better one (mine is x600 64 mb). At least add another 64 mb to my current one, but I doubt adding ram is an option.

Anyone know if it is posible to add the Bluetooth buil-in functionality?.

My dvd is pioneer dvr-k14ra. No rpc-1 firmware yet .
Ive just burned a full dvd+rw in 16 min. Not bad.

Thanks again for the nice review.

Sorry for my English, I speak Spanish.

 

Meaker,

For your information, and in addition to your Conclusion:

It appears there are indeed Aspire 1694WLMi version with ATI Radeon X700 graphics, see e.g. this link to Acer Norway:
http://www.acer.no/acereuro/page4.do?dau22.oid=7942&UserCtxParam=0&GroupCtxParam=0&dctx1=12&ctx1=NO&crc=501221098
They list two 1694WLMi versions with different product numbers.
From this Norwegian Acer page (and from several other Acer pages I checked), my interpretation of Acer product numbers for the Aspire 1690 series would be as follows:

LX.A4305.xx Radeon X600 with 64 MB
LX.A4405.xx Radeon X600 with 128 MB
LX.A5305.xx Radeon X700 with 64 MB
LX.A5405.xx Radeon X700 with 128 MB

So anybody intending to buy an aspire 1690 series notebook: check the product number if you want to be sure of what you will get.

N.B. If anybody knows / experiences that my product number interpretation is wrong: please let me know!

 

I have an Acer 1694WLMi (purchased May 2005). It has the X600 GPU.

When I run 3D Mark 03 I get a very strange problem in the nature scenes where grass is present. Every now and again some of the blades of grass will streak vertically into the sky. I also get the same problem in Black Hawk Down. I have tried various drivers and have found that the stock driver limits the problem beter than a catalyst or omega driver. I have also found that I cannot over clock my X600 without causing the GPU to crash. I have tried Radlinker and ATI Tool.

Anyone else had similar problems???

 

Lol, well it seems I missed my own review totally, so time to catch up. The GFX core and ram are NOT upgradeable unfortunatly. Those streaks seem to me to be artifacts, generally the type you speak of are from the memory, I would suggest returning the notebook for repair/repalcement. I should have made it clear the firmware is for QSI drives ONLY! Since I don't have the others I can't say about theirs, but check around the net, it should be obvious (I suggest google). Sorry for the late reply! [ ]

___________________________________________________________________________________
Acer aspire 1694 (UK) 2ghz P-M, 1gig DDR 166mhz (upgraded), x600 128mb, 15.4" widescreen, Dual layer DVD-RW, PCMCIA audigy 2 (upgraded), 100gb 5400rpm seagate momentus HDD.

 

I called Acer regarding the graphics problem and thay have taken it in for repair.

They say they are replacing the motherboard so I have requested that they replace it with the x700 GPU motherboard. I'll keep you posted.

 

Hi Meaker,

After reading your great review ,I bought a Apire1693 by mail order couple of days ago.
Ist day was great.Lovely wide screen display.great design

1)2nd day (Friday evening) 'the QSI DVD+-RW SDW -082, WOULD NOT RECOGNISE ANY CD OR DVD !!!!

Message check DVD is enabled in device manger and insert cd or dvd into the drive.
It is enabled and cd or dvd is there!!
But computer can't find the Dvd drive.

Any suggestion would be of great help 'cas only Tuesday31/5/05 i can contact the Dealer who supplied to me.
2)lso ''Fn'' key is very sticky ,
Fn key is going to be used a lot in notebooks lifetime!! keyboard keys are bit filmsy

Your ideas and other experts advise would be much apprecated.
Thanks

 

Do you know when these models will hit North America?

Dell Inspiron 700m
Pentium M, 1.8 Ghz
1024 mb ram
80 gb HD
Dell Axim x50v
iPod 3G 20 GB

 

I bought a 1690 in April and so far has been back to Acer 3 times and about to go back again!!!!!
Does anyone else have a machine which makes a quiet humming (hold to ear) when switched off and some battery drain?

Now the screen also goes blank after it has been switched on (with mains) after 40 mins.

When checking the graphics card I have also discovered that although advertised (and stated on the case) that has 128 MB - it actually only has 64MB.

Both retailer (laptops direct.com) and[ ] Acer refuse to replace and instead just keep trying to repair (weeks at a time)

I think I have been totally ripped off and would advise you to AVIOD

 

hi.
Meaker, how did you remove the memory cover? It's quite hard to remove.
Do you have 1690's service manual?


HEL.L.U.G.

 

Sounds like you got a little unlucky, id get it repaired, since its the DVD drive and keyboard (easily replacable) i'd see what they tell you.

As for the memory cover, move it over to one side as you pull up one of the corners with a nail or small flatheaded screwdriver, just be a wee bit careful though.

 

Acer Crystalbrite Owners!

I've been spending quite some time recently comparing laptops such as the Acer Aspire 1691 and the Sony Vaio K415B. One of the most important criteria for me is the screen quality. Unfortunately, I've not been able to find any local stores with Acer Crystalbrite screens (including Comet). Can anyone give me their opinions on the quality of Crystalbrite against Sony's X-Black etc?

So far, I would rate the different technologies best first like this:
1 Sony X-Black
2 Toshiba Trubrite (very close second)
3 HP Brightview (a long way off the 2 above)

Can anyone say where in the list above Acer Crystalbrite would fit-in and inparticular how it compares to X-Black? If the viewing angles are not as good, is it noticeable / irritating in-use?

Your thoughts on this are much appreciated.

 

i've bought an Acer Aspire 1691wlmi with ATI x600 (64mb). but i've notice a noise inside the computer when the Graphic card is in use (3D).
To test your's go to "control panel"->"Display" and choose "ScreenSaver", then select the "3D Flyer Box"... (to do this test, your Notebook has to be connected to the electric plug). Check for a loud noise (like an electric noise) near the power button.

I can minimize the sound in the ATI-ControlPanel (PowerPlay tab)
-decreasing the performance of the ATI Chip.

Can anyone confirm this? is this normal?

 

Mine does buzz when the cpu idles, but its nothing loud.

 

You have been ripped off. That is an outrage.

But, I think 64MB of video memory is fine. The latest version of ATI's Catalyst drivers (get the modded mobile ones at omegadrivers.net) enable the HyperMemory on ATi PCI Express cards with 64 or 128MB of memory. I think that will help some.

But that is still no reason to go back and complain. If in that situation, I would even consider some legal action, because you didn't get what was advertised.

Is there any way that they could have put on the wrong sticker? Just asking

 

Acer's are so much better value in Germay. Go to acer.de and download the price list pdf:Here is the standard German 1694WLMi:

centrino 2.0GHz
1024 GB Ram
100 GB ATA/100
Radeon X700 256MB!!!
2 Year warranty as standard (without advantage package)
€1.699 in vat which is 1,171.52 GBP

I'm heading over there to pick one up. Return flights are £20 from Shannon (Ireland) to Frankfurt

 

:centrino:
Own 2Mhz, 1694, Gb ram ddr, 100Gb Hd, ATIx700/128, dvd rw dl,
screen is a bit reflective (bright ehough, but these reflections...) and ram is slow (how to upgrade? or i need to buy new). Everything else ok!

 

hello

laptop
acer aspire 1694wlmi
intel pentium m 760 2.0ghz, 533mhz fsb, 2mb l2 chache
ati mobility radeon x700 pci express 128mb vram
1gb ddr2

im having a really hard time with my laptop... i got it in two days and until now im trying to fix this problem. first i was thinking that fan working noise was from a cpu or other fan but it's from the graphic card.
after turning the system on i can work for a few minutes but after some time the radeon fan will start working at full speed as if i was playing a game or something but i just open firefox and visit some normal websites, the fan turns on and NEVER stops.
i have this problem in microsoft windows and linux, so it can't be a software/driver problem. im starting to think this is a hardware problem, maybe the fan or card is broken...

the only solution i have found is to use the ati control panel and use the "balanced" settings this way the fan will work normally and only start working at full speed when it is needed to, but those settings are used when the laptop is running with battery, i always use my laptop connected to power, so runing in balanced mode will only make me loose graphic power, the card runs slower!

i tried to use atitools for tweaking/overcloacking and it says that my default clock speeds are core-357 and memory-344

i really don't know what to do... i think im going to send the computer back get the money and buy another laptop (maybe a AMD one with radeon x800)

what do you guys think?

 

There is only one fan in the 1694 as far as I knew (after taking it apart) its likely that the gfx and cpu together are producing too much heat to be passive, try downclocking the cpu if your just web browsing or writing a word document, you will save yourself some heat and noise and on the electricity bill.

 

here in canada an online retailer is supposedly selling the 1694 with 2GHz and x700 64mb, although the model type states that it is a 1.86 with x600 64mb. A stealth refresh in place?

I'm not too familiar with Acer. How would it compare to the Asus z70va series?

 

Hi folks!

Some Aspire 1690's have a internal pioneer dvr-k14ra dvd-burner. But about the writespeeds? Can it burn dvd-rw in 16 minutes as well? I mean: does it have the following writespeeds: 8x/4x/8x/4x/2,4x/24x/24x (+R/+RW/-R/-RW/+R DL/CD-R/CD-RW). Can someone check this out for me please? I ask this, because I want to upgrade my current burner. Thanks.

BTW, what is the latest firmware version available?

Solid Snake

 

I just got my new Acer Aspire 1694 WLMi yesterday with the following features and will post pics later as it's at home and I am at work now.

Intel M Processor @ 2.0 GHz and 2MB L2 Cache
1 GB DDR2 RAM
100 GB HDD
ATi Mobility Radeon X700 with a massive 256 MB VRAM!! yes 256!!
15.4" Widescreen lcd screen
+ all the acer features, bluetooth, wifi

They are pulling this model off our markets (middle east) cuz it's ruining the marketability of other models! All are going for this one and I had to beg to get mine!

 

UPDATE: The laptop has suffered what I consider a critical systems failure. There is a physical problem leading to the machine cutting off and displaying a white screen. Pushing up on the GFX heatsink temporarily solves the problem but it comes back, due to a large amount of bending in the motherboard when this is done it could be a problem anywhere.

 

Just for your information from a 'satisfied' point of view: I bought a 1692 in August 2005. It is so good I bought HER one. Now we never speak, just surf or catch up on undone work the boss will never pay for.

BTW - our criteria for purchasing was quietness & affordability, and we are happy with the result.

But - ours have 64MB video RAM. Can we expect to be able to upgrade this to 128 for Vista or for just plain old photo work? Is it recommended?

Also - is it really so good to put in 1Gig RAM?

Thanks
Phil

 

Hi all:

I bought an Acer 1691 WlCI 6 months ago for school and just last month it froze during a lecture. I turn it on and the LED lights go on but that is it, there is nothing on the LCD screen. Its been to the Acer repair centre about 3 times now and everytime it comes back the same even when the repair notice says its been fix. I finally gave up and ordered a Toshiba Satellite pro P100. However, if anyone out there knows what to do to fix the Acer I would appreciate it because I want to sell it or give it to a hobo on the street. I have already tried the power reset procedure. Thanks for your help, I appreciate it!

 

The video ram is non upgradable. You could check the video cable, its a rectangular connection under the panel above the keyboard, undo the 3 screws on the hinges then lift it off (it clips on) and then check that the cable is in propperly (it has a tag to help pull it out).

 

meaker.i need help for changing dvd-writer.my is broken.cant you send me pictures what screws i must remove to changing the drive.step by step.thanks please.this is my email [email protected]