New Year, New Notebook Acer Aspire 4530-721G16Mn for Fadhli

It was the first few days after New Year 2009 celebration when Fadhli, my friend from a bike shop nearby asked me to recommend him a notebook.

He came over to my house and I brought him to Digital Mall in Section 14, PJ. Before we looked around, I basically asked him for the usage of the notebook. All he wanted was an all rounder notebook without breaking his wallet. I then suggested him to compare between Compaq CQ40-133AX and Acer Aspire 4530.

He could not decide during the tour at ground floor and we went up to ALL IT Hypermart to see more choices. As he began to be more interested on the Compaq, the Malay sales guy mentioned to him that It is very difficult to search for CQ40-133AX as Compaq do not provide the driver disc and it would be difficult to install Windows XP in it.



This is very unreasonable! How can you manufacture notebooks without providing adequate drivers? Sorry Compaq...too bad. We go for a much flexible brand, ACER! Serves you RIGHT!!!

At last, Fadhli decided to go back to the friendly sales person at the ground floor. He assisted us all the way for the purchasing of Aspire 4530 and he even provided drivers through his portable drive! World Class service!

Here are the specs for Acer Aspire... (RM1899.00 flat)
Model: ACER ASPIRE 4530-721G16Mn LAPTOP
Processor: Mobile AMD Turion X2 RM72 CPU
Operating System: Linpus Linux
GPU: NVIDIA GEFORCE GO 9100M 256MB
Display: 14.1" Inch CrystalBrite WXGA
Memory: 1GB DDR2 RAM + another 1GB DDR2 RAM (I sold to him mine)
Hard Disk Drive: 160GB HDD
Optical Disk Drive: DVD Super Multi Double Layer
Modem/LAN: 56K, 10/100/1000 BASE T BT
Wireless: Acer Nplify 802.11b/g WLAN
I/O Ports:
- Audio-In/Out Jacks x3,
- USB Ports x3,
- RJ-45,
- RJ-11,
- DC-In Jack for AC Adapter,
- 5-in-1 Card Reader,
- Express Card /54 Slot- VGA Port
- Kensington Lock Slot
Dimension: 344 x 42 x 246 mm
Weight: 2.45 kg

We went home and I started installing the XP for him. Once I boot the notebook via XP CD, it showed BSOD(Blue Screen of Death) at the end of generic drivers installation screen just before asking me about agreeing the Microsoft's terms and conditions. This piece of new notebook must be joking! How can it failed? Or is there something missing? Sigh!

I then try to install Vista Home Basic for him and to my surprise,... this notebook installs Vista quite fast like a speeding bullet(after some tweaking)! Not a bad performance for a notebook with the price of RM1899.00. Maybe AMD has been improving Turion X2 RM72 processor a lot!

The next day, I then went online and found out that the SATA mode should be turned to IDE and not the default value of AHCI according to some forums. What a relief!

I offered to install the OS for him again after I found out the solution and he agreed. XP was beautifully installed together with service packs (2 & 3) and drivers. No problem at all! So you guys out there... Acer is Cheap and Good! & Working Well! Good buy!

Updated Specs 2009... Final, No more upgrades

I woke up in the morning of 1st January 2009 today and told myself to stop spending cash on my bike once my wife's bike has been fully developed using mixture of current(from my Fuji) and new components. This is actually one of my 2009 New Year's resolutions since recession is already kicking in.

I had to upgrade the Tahoe in order to donate the dismantled components to the GTS M5. Now I am delighted to announce that both bikes are equipped with 27-speed transmission system.

The last upgrade was the WTB Raijin 2.1 tires and below is the updated specification of my very humble (el cheapo) XC bike...

Da bike...


Da Specs:
Frame: Fuji Tahoe SL 2007 size 17
Fork: SR SUNTOUR SF7-XCR RL T80
Rear Shock: NIL
Wheelset: Sun Ringle SOS Wheelset
Tires: WTB Raijin 2.1
Pedals: Tioga Platform with studs
Crankset: Shimano Deore FC-M532
Chain: Shimano Deore LX
Rear Cogs: Shimano Deore
Bottom Bracket: Shimano Deore
Front Derailleur: Shimano Deore
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Deore
Shifters: Shimano Deore
Handlebars: Kalloy from T-bolt
Stem: FSA XC 170 90mm 6Degrees
Headset: Cane Creek
Brakeset: Avid BB7
Brakelevers: Avid Speed Dial 7
Saddle: Velo
Seat Post: RaceFace Prodigy
Weight: 13.075 kg (using ToPeak)

This post will remind me not to upgrade unnecessarily unless those components are worn out due to wear and tear or broken... Ouch! :)