My decision to go with the 3810T was based on the possibility of silent operation.

The combination of Intel's Laminar Wall Jet Cooling laminated throughout the laptop case with extra air ventilation, and the SU3500 Core2Solo Max TDP: 5.5W looked like the perfect match, since the website states the computer stays cool even after long hours of use.

This is true, however, when I plug this computer into power, the fan turns on instantly and stays on constantly and will never turn off.
When I unplug from power, the fan is off and the computer runs totally silent almost all of the time.

Even though, there is no difference in temperature on power or battery, the computer decides to activate the fan like a dumb nut because there is no configured threshold for the fan to kick in on power as it normally should.
There is no option in the BIOS to turn off the constant fan.

This is very annoying because If I want a silent notebook, I need to run it on battery!?

This computer is almost perfect!

Is there a way to regulate power so the computer thinks it is running on battery?

There should be a BIOS update but I won't hold my breath or bother with penetrating Acer and there incapable support that don't even bother reading my whole concise email.

This doesnt make sence. When the fan comes on, I would expect the temperatures to drop.


Try use vista or win7 power options to configure how it behaves. For example, usually I would expect battery to = max power savings, and wall power to = max performance. Fan speed may be linked to CPU speed and voltage so try and set wall power to max power savings too. Let me know how you get on.

yes the temperature should drop when plugging in to power.
i should of stated; the temperature does not rise when plugged in to power, so there is no reason for the fan to kick in, and stay on constant.

none of the power options work (with respect to power draw on Vista) when plugged into power outlet.
there is no way to minimize power so that it may behave like on battery.
i did not try W7. i have returned the item back to the store for a refund.

i should also clarify; the fan on the 3810t is quiet, but the problem is the characteristics of it, resonating high pitched frequencies. this gets straight to your head, with a piercing effect that is not possible to accommodate.

Hey, I just got one of these too, it doesn't seem that loud to me, and I've kept it plugged in pretty much constantly since I got it. I suppose I've been more worried about getting it backed up so I can wipe out the restore partition, though. I'll listen to it again when I get back home tonight, but it seems pretty quiet to me.

hey Cordis, yeah it is very quiet and extremely silent on battery, but it's mainly the constancy of the fan when plugged into power, that gets to me.

Yeah, I took a listen, and it is on pretty constantly. I've been using it while watching tv, so I haven't really heard it, but you're right, it's definitely there. No idea how to get that to shut off.

That is not true.

Try and look in the control pannel at "power Options". Click on "change plan settings" and you can choose the CPU speed. I expect there is 2 options, one for on battery and one for wall power. I would expect to see 100% for wall power. You can choose very low value like 5% for all situations and it will keep the CPU from clocking up under load or under wall power.

i am aware of that (works on my Asus W7S T7500) but it does not work for the Timeline series.. other user have reported the same thing.

BTW. i just realized it was you thread about the Silent Mode feature on the NC10, that lead me to get the NC20. - cheers for that!!

I just bought the SU9400/SSD version ($800 from Newegg) and I'm really happy with it. Vista blows (will get W7 when it comes out, already have the RC on 2 other PCs), but the laptop itself is great.
Pros:
1) exceptionally long battery life. Haven't run it down yet, but a minimum of 6h and up. The battery meter seems somewhat variable so I don't place a huge amount of stead in what it tells me, particularly when the battery is fully charged (goes from 11h to 9h in about 30min!). Does mean that I can leave the AC adapter at work and not worry about it running out in the evening.

2) very light and slim, whole lot easier to lug around that my Dell D610

3) unobtrusive fan noise - I can just about hear it spin up under load on battery power (it does seem to be on all the time on AC), but it's very smooth and unobtrusive. I can't hear it over all the noise in the lab and I can only hear it at home (quite suburb, no traffic or extraneous noise) if I really make a point of it.

4) cool. Even under double Prime95 it didn't seem to get noticeably warm even after a couple of hours on my lap. Multiple intakes help alot, as it usually sits on a cushion on my lap.

5) fast, even with Vista. Power on is noticeably quick (not as quick as W7 on my desktop, but not far behind) and program opening is awesomely fast. THere are times when it doesn't seem any faster than another other HDD equipped laptop (installing programs for example), but that's not a major issue. Certainly seems to have enough grunt for my modest needs (no HD streaming yet ).

6) some handy multitouch gestures, though they don't always register. Scroll up/down always works well, but page forward/back sometimes gets confused with zoom in/out. Left click tap is very effective, sometimes too sensitive (have to fiddle with the setup).

Cons:
1) Not too impressed with the mouse button(s) - they're fairly stiff and sit flush with the case, even in the recess at the front, which makes them hard to use with my thumbs and quite easy to release. Makes copying and pasting a 2 handed job, though I use a bluetooth mouse at work anyway.

2) flat shiny keys take some getting used to, though the travel and feedback are fine for me - don't have the loose feeling that the keys on my old D610 have. It is quite easy to slide off and hit an neighbouring key though, until you get used to it. Makes me a better touch typist I guess! Not a deal breaker though.

3) not entirely enamoured of the letterbox screen - I'd rather have a bit more height. General LCD quality seems fine to me, I'm not an expert by any means but there's nothing obvious to complain about. Side to side angles seem pretty good, though somewhat plagued by the glossy screen (not an issue from straight ahead), up and down angles show a degree of text detail lost and slight colour fade, but no evidence of colour inversion (or sepia tint, like Macbooks). Webcam and microphone are functional, if not particularly noteworthy.

4) anaemic speakers - even at full volume I had a bit of trouble hearing my dad over Skype against the lab background noise (bloody -20C freezer about 8ft away). Definitely not a party sound system laptop and not a patch on the ones in my Dell. Still, they have decent enough reproduction, even if they do sound a bit hollow.

Think that's about it. Waiting for W7 to come out to test my work programs with, then I'll wipe, reformat and install so I can regain that lost 25% of my SSD!

Still can't get over what a deal this laptop was - just the CPU and SSD are worth ~60% of the purchase price if bought separately. Couldn't even get close to it from other manufacturers. Time will tell if it's reliable and durable. Fingers crossed! If anyone has anything they want to know about, I'll do my best to answer