This guide is intended to provide you details on how well this laptop works with Linux and which drivers you need to configure. For details on how to actually install and configure the required drivers have a look at our guides section for distribution specific instructions.

Page Contents Authors Introduction Editing This Page Specifications Linux Compatibility Notes Related Resources Summary

Authors

Bill Giannikos (bill2 at giannikos.com.au)

Introduction

This is a guide to running Linux with the Acer Aspire 5670-5675WLHi laptop. This is a higher spec machine but at a relatively reasonable price. It does require some Linux experience to get working properly.

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Specifications

Processor	Intel Core Duo T2600 2.16Ghz
Screen	15.4" WXGA
RAM	2GB
HDD	100GB
Optical Drive	DVD+-RW
Graphics	ATI Mobility Radeon X1600
Network	10/100/1000 Ethernet, Intel 3945 802.11g Wireless, Bluetooth
Other	4 x USB2.0, 1 x FireWire

Linux Compatibility

Device	Compatibility	Comments
Processor	Yes
Screen	Yes
Optical Drive	Yes
Graphics	Yes
Sound	Yes	Use the snd-hda-intel driver
Ethernet	Yes
Wireless	Yes	Use the ipw3945 driver
Bluetooth	Not Tested
56K Modem	Not Tested
USB	Yes
Firewire	Not Tested
PCMCIA	Not Tested

Notes

At time of writing, the current radeon driver in Xorg does not suport the ATI Mobility Radeon x1600 graphics chip. To get the display working properly you will need to use the proprietary ATI driver.

Related Resources

Preparing your laptop for Linux
Configuring an ATI graphics chip
Configuring the ipw3945 driver for the Intel 3945ABG wireless controller
Increasing battery life

Summary

The Acer Aspire 5670-5675WLHi requires some Linux experience to function well due to the need of the proprietary ATI driver. For best results you need a Linux distribution with at least the 2.6.16 kernel, such as an updated Fedora Core 5 installation.


Have you installed Linux on this laptop? If so how about leaving a comment about your success in the comments section below.