Acer Aspire 5102WLMi Review (pics, specs)

The Acer Aspire 5102 WLMi is a 15.4-inch widescreen home/office multimedia notebook featuring the AMD Turion64 x2 processor. While this is a completely new offering from Acer, it utilizes many components from other Acer notebooks, primarily being from the Aspire 3100. It is so new, in fact, that instead of having its own drivers it shares many of the same drivers as the 3100. So new that many of the specs released by Acer America were wrong. I'll write more on that later.

Acer Aspire 5102 (view large image)

Where and Why Bought:

This notebook was on sale at Circuit City for a mere $849 in store price without rebate. It also came with a free printer, notebook bag, and router. With the Circuit City Advantage Plus Protection plan (which covers for accidental drops and spills), the total price was exactly $1000. I am a college student and need a notebook that I can take to class, run engineering programs on, and play some games. I was originally looking at the Acer Aspire 5672, but this notebook was a steal at the $849 price (or so I thought at the time) since it came with a dual core processor and a webcam for less than the Aspire 5672. Turns out I was missing some key components found on other Acer notebooks. I will get to that later.

Quick Specs of the 5102 as reviewed:

• AMD Turion64 x2 TL-50 (1.6 GHz, 512 KB L2 cache total, 256 KB on each core)
• 1 GB 533 MHz DDR2 RAM (2 x 512 MB)
• 120 GH Hitachi 4200 RPM HD
• 15.4-inch WXGA Acer CrystalBrite screen
• ATI Radeon xPress 1100 integrated graphics card
• Dual layer DVD +/- RW combo with lightscribe? (comes with lightscribe software, but drive doesn't specify if it has lightscribe or not)
• Windows Media Center Edition 2005
• Atheros Wireless 802.11 a/b/g with Signalup high efficiency antennae
• 8-cell battery with a max of 4.5 hrs battery life with settings on low

Design and Build:

Acer Aspire 5102 above view (view large image)

The Aspire 5102 features the common folio design found on all Aspire models. It is housed in silver painted plastic with black trim on the sides. The screen has almost no flex, which is an improvement over some previous models, and the hinges are tight enough that you need two hands to open it, one to hold the notebook down and the other to lift. It is fairly lightweight, at around 6 pounds depending on configuration. At the time that I bought the notebook, only two configurations were available: 1 GB or 2 GB of memory and Bluetooth or no Bluetooth.

Screen:

Screen view of Acer Aspire 5102WLMi (view large image)

The screen is one of the best I've seen on a notebook. It is bright and evenly illuminated. After just 4 days with the notebook, I noticed 2 dead pixels, which isn't enough for a replacement. They are off in the corner and are not bothersome, but even one dead pixel is cause for concern as to the overall long-term quality of the notebook. The screen has a 16 ms response time, although I haven't noticed a difference compared with 20 ms flat panel monitor performance. Talking about flat panels, the Acer doesn't formulate characters (i.e. letters) as well as desktop monitors. While some people complain about the glossiness of most laptops these days, I have found the screen on my Acer to be comfortable for long viewing durations.

Speakers:

The speakers are on the front of the notebook and supposedly have high def. support. Whether that is true or not, I can't determine, as the speaker sounds distant with almost no bass. They are adequate however for everyday tasks.

Processor and Performance:

While this computer does have a dual core processor, it is nowhere as fast as an Intel Core Duo T2300, or even the stripped Intel T2050. After startup, the processor needs time to warm up before it becomes responsive. The included Acer empowering technology utilities allows the user to control overall processor performance, from medium to max. To save battery and lower the amount of heat generated, I consistently use medium CPU speed.

Using PCMark05, it returned a score of just over 2400, which is on par with Intel Core Duo notebooks.

Benchmarks:

Super Pi calculation to 32 million digits was finished in 2 min 22 sec for 1/24 iterations. To 2 million digits, it finished in 2 min 11 sec for all 20 iterations. This is about 40 sec longer than most Intel Duo T2300 processors, and this was accomplished with the CPU set on Max.

SuperPi:

Notebook	Time
Acer Aspire 5102WLMi (Turion64 x2 TL-50 1.6 GHz)	2m 22s
Dell Inspiron 6400 (1.83GHz Core Duo)	1m 22s
Dell Inspiron e1505 (2.0GHz Core Duo)	1m 16s
Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (2.0GHz Core Duo)	1m 18s
Toshiba Satellite M100 (2.00GHz Core Duo)	1m 18s
Samsung X60 (1.66GHz Core Duo)	1m 29s
Dell XPS M140 (1.86 GHz Pentium M)	1m 41s
Sony VAIO FS680 (1.86 GHz Pentium M)	1m 53s
IBM ThinkPad T43 (1.86 GHz Pentium M)	1m 45s

PCMark05 returned 2413.

PCMark05

Notebook	PCMark05 Score
Acer Aspire 5102WLMi (Turion64 x2 TL-50 1.6 GHz)	2,413PCMarks
Fujitsu Q2010 (1.20 GHz Intel Core Solo Ultra Low Voltage)	1,943 PCMarks
Gateway E-100M (1.20GHz Intel Core Solo Ultra Low Voltage)	1,648PCMarks
Sony Vaio SZ-110B in Speed Mode (Using Nvidia GeForce Go 7400)	3,637 PCMarks
Dell Inspiron e1405 (1.66 GHz Intel T2300)	2,879PCMarks
Asus V6J (1.86GHz Core Duo T2400)	3,646 PCMarks
Toshiba Satellite M70 (Pentium M1.86GHz)	1,877 PCMarks

Heat and Noise:

Under AC power, the computer quickly gets warm, especially under the palm rests where the hard drive is located. Most of the time, the fan is off, and like with the Aspire 5672, you can hear the hard drive. This is especially so since this is a 4200 rpm hard drive, and it has to strain itself. I wish it was at least 5400 RPM, but you get what you pay for. To avoid uncomfortable heat, I always use medium CPU speed. When playing graphics intensive games, the fan is constantly on and the palm rests do get hot but not uncomfortable. Just don't do too much gaming if you don't want to hear the fan.

Keyboard and Touchpad:

The keyboard has a spongy feel to it, and towards the center, it flexes. However, it is ultimately comfortable enough. The piano black multimedia keys that were originally listed as a specification is non-existent, and a call to Acer support confirms that they do not intend to include it. Seems like the keys were a misunderstanding / miscommunication. This is one of the few gripes that I have: I wanted those keys! The touchpad is responsive and includes a four-way scroll button between the two buttons.

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A couple of keyboard views of the Aspire 5102WLMi

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Input and Output ports:

The 5102 has three USB 2.0 ports, LAN, and a VGA out port. It also includes a 5 in 1 card reader and a PC card slot. The typical headphone, microphone and line-in jacks are found on the front of the notebook.

Acer Aspire 5102 front view of ports(view large image)

Acer Aspire 5102 left view of ports (view large image)

Acer Aspire 5102 right view (view large image)

Acer Aspire 5102 back view (view large image)

Below is an example of a picture taken using the built-in web camera of the Aspire 5102. It's a picture of all the stuff that came with the purchase (notebook box, printer, bag -- quite a deal).

Here(view large image)

Wireless:

The Atheros 802.11 a/b/g wireless card provides strong performance. On initial boot, it detected over 10 of my neighbors wireless networks (most had security enabled).

Battery:

The official Acer specification lists the 8-cell battery as achieving 2 hours of battery life. However, I have discovered that by setting my CPU speed to medium and screen brightness to 20%, I can get over 4 hours of life. Medium speed is more than enough for everyday tasks like email, internet, music, and word processing. Photo and video editing would require high or max speed, and battery performance degrades rapidly. A nice feature is that the battery can be charged to 80% full in a little under 1 hour.

Operating System and Software:

Over the past few years, Acer has earned a reputation with their Acer Arcade software. This was noticeably lacking on the 5102. Instead, it came with PowerDVD and is quite a disappointment since it can't pre-boot. The 5102 comes with Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 with roll-up 2. It is not as good as XP Professional and I have been experiencing standby/hibernation issues that I have never experienced with Pro. Acer doesn't include a lot of junk programs, and I haven't had to reformat or do a clean install. However, the systems folder indicates a lot of uninstalled software that I guess Acer wants the user to discover on their own. One interesting thing that I discovered is that lightscribe software is included, but the DVD burner doesn't mention support for lightscribe. It is important to note that the 120 GB HD comes in 2 60 GB FAT32 partitions. I just converted to NTFS and left the partitions alone.

Customer Support:

Acer support is horrible, at least through email. They are much better on the phone. When I emailed them twice about two different issues, I received the same email detailing the same step twice: go to their website! The website has most common questions answered, and phone support is quick and decent. They certainly cleared up most of my issues in less than 5 minutes. I guess that was because my questions dealt with what they didn't give me and weren't really challenging. Acer includes a 1 year warranty on hardware and 90 days on software. I purchased Circuit City's Protection Plan for safety as it covers for accidental damage due to drops and spills.

Conclusion:

The Acer Aspire 5102 WLMiis a notebook that will satisfy general users. While the Aspire 5102 lacks some of the features found in other Aspire notebooks, most notably the Aspire 5672, it is still an extremely good buy. With a dual core processor, 1 GB RAM and 120 GB hard drive for under $900, it is a better deal than even many Dell notebooks. It is quiet, offers plenty of power for the average user, and provides decent entertainment. It is a perfect notebook for the college student and mainstream home user who doesn't require extensive calculations or demanding games.

Pros:

• Dual core processor at a decent price
• Brilliant 15.4-inch widescreen
• Strong wireless connection
• Integrated webcam
• Quiet and cool (under med cpu speed)
• DVD burner
• 4.5 hrs battery life after a few tweaks.
• Excellent track pad

Cons:

• Specifications were incorrect
• Need to update ATI drivers to get correct GPU reading
• Slow 4200 rpm hard drive
• Standby/hibernation issues

 

That's too bad about the keys not getting included -- sounds like Acer rushed this out the door and didn't match the marketing specs with what was actually on it. I remember with a notebook recently from them (maybe it was the 5672?) they had said there would be an ExpressCard slot but there wasn't. Oops.

For $850 for this notebook, you got a great deal. Especially with all that free stuff! How long does that Care plan from Circuit City cover you for?

Good luck at school this fall and with the new notebook!

 

Nice review. But TL-50 is more of sempron x2 as it has only 256KB cache per cpu. Turion X2 need to scale to atleast 2.4ghz to compete against core 2 duo.

 

The Care plan lasts for 2 years and covers everything, including accidental damage and battery. I plan on calling them up a few months from now and complain about the battery. That way the plan in essence becomes free, since most batterys cost near the hundreds.

 

Since HP owns the patent on the LightScribe technology, I highly doubt the acer has it. It would take an act of congress to get HP to license out the technology.

 

Looks like you got a great deal on your laptop. It is kind of weird that Acer would put all these specifications that don't really exist. Nontheless it still looks like a great deal and should serve you well.

 

NIce laptop. Acer seems to have problems with getting the specifications right on their laptops. When I bought a Acer AS3003WLCi a year ago, they advertised it with just a CD burner and to my surprise it shipped with the DL DVD burner. They havent done anything to change this miscommunication since then i see, but it can go eithr way in terms of specifications, sometimes one would be lucky and get more than what was ordered and sometimes less...

 

I went to CC today and they gave me a new rebate for 150. This lowers the price of my computer to 749. It's now a better deal than ever!

 

Interesting. Is the XPress 1100 considerably faster than the GeForce 6150?

 

yes, but not by much. Only the xpress 1150, which is clocked at 400 mhz is significantly faster.

 

nice review, thanks. One question, compared to acer 4404 or 5004, which are 1.8 turion with 1 M cache (where 5102 is 1.6 with 512 cache), but DDR ram (not DDR2), which one is faster and which one you suggest?

 

Lightscribe has been licensed out to many companies, including Lite-On which ends up making a good portion of drives in OEM's.

 

I would assume the 1.8 ghz with 1 mb cache would be faster, even though it only has ddr ram. however, i would recommend ddr2 if you are going to run vista. i think it's best to keep up with the latest tech.

 

Good review! This is a good laptop with a very good price. If it has an option to improve the graphics card it will be a better choice. Is the Turion X2 TL-50 better than Core Duo T2300?

 

No!! It is nowhere close to the performance of the T2300!! If you want performance, it is better off to go with an Intel.

 

Very nice review!! Could I ask a "silly" question about the software bundle? I bought one at CC yesterday. They told me there is no longer reistallation CDs coming along with the sale and I have to make restore CDs all by myself. Is that true? We used to have the operating system and driver reinstallation CDs. I am not very used to the situation now, so I have not opened the box to take a look at the computer in case I want to refund it without loss of some money. Thanks!

 

Do you know if the acer aspire 5102 wlmi has card reader? I haven't seen it in the review pics and there are some webpages that say it has the card reader.
Thanks in advance

 

Yes, its on the left side located right next to the ethernet jack)...
http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/14770.jpg

 

Thank you very much. I saw that slot but I didn't know it was the card reader. What type of cards can it read?

 

I'm thinking about buying this laptop because I can buy it for 799 euro, I'll work with microsoft office and play some games but not the last ones. Do you recommend me this laptop? Thanks

P.D. Sorry about my English but I am Spanish.

 

Another question: is the graphics card enough to play warcraft III: the frozen throne? And how much memory does it have? I've seen it has got 256 mb shared memory, but how much dedicated memory does it have?
Thanks, thanks, thanks.

 

Nice review !

After I saw this, I went to CC and bought one for me !
I got a free router, printer and wireless mouse. I think was a good deal.

The only point is the ATI drivers. Could you please help me on how update the drivers ?

I downloaded the latest version from ATI website and when I try to run the installer says:

INF error
Video driver not found.

and them:

Setup was unable to complete the installation.
Try to setup your display adapter with a standard VGA
driver before running setup.


I tried to remove the current drivers and install from the windows secure mode but didn't work.

If you have any website or trick to install please let me know !!

Thank you !
Guber

 

I would suggest taking a look at this thread in the Acer sub forum. Lots of discussion on the good/bad of the AS5100...
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=69412

I dont think the video has any dedicated memory. The X1150 is still pretty low end card(when it comes to 3D games) but it should be able to handle those games with the res settings turned down a bit.

Try the drivers located on Acer's support page...
http://www.acerpanam.com/synapse/fo...m/us&siteid=7293&words=all&keywords=&areaid=7

 

SPECS .....It depends were it's being sold.

Mines came with 2gb ram

Was bought at CompUSA in queens,ny

 

What is correct GPU for the ATI graphics? I get 100 mHz and i download new drivers.

 

Great review. Got one 5102 WLMi at Circuit City this past week, found the drivers NOT wanting --

however, the keyboard does behave somewhat strange.

It's really tough to work on, to begin with, compared with my Acer Travelmate 660 I had owned before.

Most annoying, though: Quite a lot of entries do not show up on the screen, lest I really work the keys like playing Beethoven rather fortissimo than pianissimo.

Did anyone else in this forum thread experince (that's typical: the "e" got missing...) a similar issue with that Dritek keyboard the Aspire came with? Or is it just me?

 

althouhg the request was for winxp, the pc came with a 32 bit vista home premium upgrade installed on a dual core 64 bit system!!
the pc is causing problems since day 1: Could I ask acer to kindly sell the pc with an OS which works with it?

The acer recovery program did not work!
The attempt to install the windows live messenger resulted in install but the messenger hung after log in! old windows messenger installed but seems to have problems fighting the errors in the OS software ever since
Nero is not able to work as vista seems to lock the optical drive irreversibly at boot
The latest version of skype refused to install as windows said it is not a valid 32 bit application

Microsoft Office xp installed but there were difficulties with activiation. The third try succeeded
However, after installing critical patches via Microsoftupdate, the pc refused to boot and had to revert to the last known good configuration!!!

orbicam software stopped working soon after purchase. But the camera driver works in skype!
This seems to be a known problem of acer orbicam and there are many internet posts about the problem - and about acer's unresponsiveness to it

the application error log is filling up extremely rapidly with all sorts of hangs, errors, crashes, etc...
vista calendar stops working, rundll.dll crashes, display manager crashes, the sidebar causes errors, etc., etc...

the pc is OK as hardware but
- repeat -
Could I ask acer to kindly sell the pc with an OS which works with it?