I was on a budget when shopping for my new laptop, and I did a lot of research. In the end, I went with this Acer. There were three primary aspects that sold me on this laptop, i5 CPU, slim profile brushed aluminum design, and 6000mAh rated battery.Other features on this laptop are pretty common in the $630 price range. The screen is clear and vibrant. The actual hard drive space is 581GB with the operating system taking 30GB, so you are left with 551GB. This should be plenty more than enough for most users. These days, I almost never look at the hard drive capacity when purchasing a new computer. I think all of them have a hard drive that is big enough for me. What I care more is its clocked speed. This is not a gaming machine, so don't expect the laptop to play heavily 3D rendered games. It will play HD videos and casual games fine.
=====Battery Test=====
1). Default brightness and volume halfway, laptop gets around 4.5 hours for watching YouTube videos with no other application running in the background.
2). Default brightness and volume halfway, laptop also gets around 4.5 hours for browsing the web, chatting on an instant messenger, and playing music using Windows Media Player.
3). Brightness to its lowest but not turning off the screen and idling the laptop without any application running, it will last 10+ hours.
Overall the laptop does not achieve its claimed 8-hour limit under practical use. For most users, you will probably end up between 4 and 5 hours, but this is still better than 2-3 hours that you could get from other competitors in this price range.
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Here I'm going to list the pro's and con's of this laptop that I think are relevant in the $630 price range.
=====Pro's=====
*** 2.66GHz Intel Core i5-480M dual-core processor (hard to find an i5 CPU in this price range)
*** 640GB SATA hard drive (more than most competitors in the same price range)
*** 1.3-megapixel HD webcam (some competitors are still using non-HD webcams)
*** 6000mAh rated battery (4400mAh rated battery from almost all other competitors in the same price range)
*** One of the thinnest 15.6" laptops currently available on the market (however, it is not thinner than the MacBook Pro as pointed out by other reviewers but only a fraction thicker)
*** Multi-Gesture (a convenient feature normally doesn't exist in this price range. To use the circular-motion, you must start your finger from the top right hand corner. This can also be accomplished by sliding with two fingers vertically.)
=====Con's=====
*** 1066MHz RAM (this is nowhere to be considered slow as most competitors and last generation of MacBook Pro are using RAMs clocked at this speed also, but some have upgraded to 1333MHz RAMs such as the Dell Inspiron)
*** No Bluetooth (personally I almost never use this, but this is no longer a premium feature)
*** Keyboard (not a major issue but typing on this keyboard feels a bit awkward. If you are a fast and heavy typist, you might not like this.)
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Apple has been setting benchmark on many things. The hardware specs on their 2011 MacBook Pros will likely to set the benchmark for upcoming PCs as well. Here, I am going to compare the hardware specs between this Acer and the 2011 base 13.3" MacBook Pro priced at $1,199.
* CPU: Acer's processor is slightly faster.
>>> Acer: 2.66GHz Intel Core i5-480M dual-core processor (2.93GHz with Turbo Boost)
>>> MacBook Pro: 2.3GHz Intel Core i5-2410M dual-core processor (2.9GHz with Turbo Boost)
* GPU: MacBook Pro has the second generation of Intel GPU whereas Acer is using the first generation of Intel GPU.
>>> Acer: Intel HD Graphics with 128MB of dedicated system memory
>>> MacBook Pro: Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 384MB of shared system memory
* RAM: Both have the same capacity, but MacBook Pro's is clocked faster.
>>> Acer: 4GB of 1066MHz DDR3 RAM
>>> MacBook Pro: 4GB of 1333MHz DDR3 RAM
* Hard drive: Both are clocked at the same speed, but Acer doubled the amount of capacity.
>>> Acer: 640GB 5400-rpm SATA hard drive
>>> MacBook Pro: 320GB 5400-rpm SATA hard drive
* Battery: Acer actually has a stronger battery, but MacBook Pro has a more energy efficient OS and a smaller screen, so real life battery test can still favor the MacBook Pro.
>>> Acer: 6000mAh rated battery
>>> MacBook Pro: 5800mAh rated battery
Overall I think the Acer stacks up against the 2011 base 13.3" MacBook Pro very well in terms of hardware specs. For almost half the price, this Acer is a bargain. If you are not loyal to any brand, on a budget, and want a fast and long lasting 15" laptop, this is one of the best options out there. If you are waiting for the price drop of Intel second generation of Core processors, don't bother. There really aren't that many changes between the first and second generations of Intel Core processors. It could also take several months before we would see the price drop. I would recommend picking this up before it's gone.
I am not going to go into a lot of detail, but if you go into the purchase understanding that this laptop does not have bluetooth (not an issue for me at all), then you will love it!
I got this for my daughter for an early graduation present and to take on to college next fall. She wanted a laptop that had longer battery life than MOST computers. It does! You will not find a model with these specs, for this price with longer battery life. You will have to get a smaller screen size to do that. She wanted it large enough to watch a movie or tv show via the internet from time to time (plus it has the HDMI out to hook to TV). She wanted a hard drive large enough to hold all her pics and songs. We put everything on there already (tons of pics and about 1500 songs) and it still has 528 GB left! If you need a computer with more storage, you should GET AN EXTERNAL DRIVE! Geez! You can get 2 TB drive for less than $100 at Newegg.
And I would like to add that NO hard drive is going to yeild the space that is advertised because of two main factors 1) It is measured differently by the operating system vs. the manufacturers (about 7% less)which is true of of all hard drives! Of course this disparity becomes more apparent the larger the hard drive (7% of 640 is almost 45 GB!).
2) Hey folks! There is a thing called the OPERATING SYSTEM that uses some space. And sometimes there is a separately partitioned drive (d:) that is embedded within the c: drive used for system restore. Yes, it may come to a surprise to some, but the operating system does take up some space! So no, this laptop will not have 640 GB of free hard drive space when you boot it up for the first time, but seriously, many are trashing it for this reason when they are simply ignorant of why.
Also attractive about this computer is the processora Core i5. This computer is twice as fast as my Gateway NV52 that I am typing on right now. It has twice the hard drive space of my Gateway. It has at least thrice (that means three times!) the battery life of the Gateway. Sure, you may not get 8 hours, but that was the official measurement using the MobileMark 2007 Productivity test, which is what most use by the way. Like ALL the battery life ratings out there, take it with a grain of salt because they are ALL stretching the truth.
It is also lighter than my 2 year old Gateway, however it seems more solidly built. And the Acer was just a little bit more than Gateway I bought less than two years ago. This is the nature of electronic/computers though. I got a good price on the Acer for my daughter though[..] and free shipping from B&H. I suspect more retailers will sell it for around that price for the pre-graduation sales soon.
Again, I doubt you will do any better for the price than this laptop, but more power to you if you do!
Buy Acer Aspire TimelineX AS5820T-6401 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black Brushed Aluminum) Now
It's been about 6 weeks since I started this AS5820T-6401. I have conflicted opinions; on one hand for the cost of this unit, this laptop presents remarkable features that are nicely done.I'll just mention a couple of my personal favorites:
The processor is robust and quick. Although, I am not a "gamer" and my demands are pretty minimal,so I am not a good judge of its limitations.
The optical drive is an awfully nice feature and performs well.
The keyboard has a good feel.
The inputs and outputs all fuction well, jacks etc make solid connections.
Especially nice, is the Synaptics pad; especially when adjusting "momentum" "sticky borders"etc. This is the 1st time I actually prefer the feel more than many quality "mice" that I've used.
Although, the speakers are not loud at all,the quality of sound is very good; flat throughout the audio spectrum [that's a goods thing];especially apparent when using good headphones or more particularly, when outputting into my ampified sound system.
NOW for the conflict: and the reason I'm doing this review; there is a problem that I have, and some others have also encountered, something appears to be wrong with the BIOS or some driver as best as I can tell. A number of times the boot up never completes with it just "frozen" with the fan running etc. well before loading any windows components.
Having said this, I admit to not being a technician BUT, I've reloaded the OS using the factory backup and still have this periodic problem, especially curious that it happens the 1st time I start it in the day but I can "restart" many times later that day, without problem [its warmed up?] This is not right. Digging into any Acer support site is futile so far, and it appears this is not an isolated problem and its not clear that Acer is going to do anything about it. So be careful before investing too much in personallizing your laptop. If its a BIOS problem, that's not so good.
So, CAUTION, before loading up your music, videos, and many other time consuming programs, notice any problems over a few days , no matter how painful the wait> I can testify I am not happy to have gone through the hoops I've now jumped through and still there is something wrong with startup. I don't want to now stuggle trying to find out how to replace what may be a lemon laptop that I've now had 2 weeks over Amazon's return policy......I'm a programmer, so I can be pretty hard on a laptop. This is my third Acer and I have not been disappointed with any of them. When comparing prices, I ended up choosing this particular model for the screen resolution, memory, processor, keyboard, and case style.
Pros:
*Value for money. Acer consistently has the best bang for the buck.
*Battery life. On the first full discharge I got around 6 hours by using Acer's power save mode and just light internet surfing.
Cons:
*Squeaky keyboard. I bought this model specifically because of the feedback others had given the keyboard. This could be all in how I'm using this laptop (usually sitting on the couch), but a few keys squeak--just an annoyance.
*Eject button for CD/DVD drive. It's located above the keyboard and not on the drive itself. Without taking everything apart to look, that seems to be a point of failure to me--not sure how easy it would be to switch the drive out either.
Other thoughts:
*I have it dual booting Fedora 14 and Windows 7. It took me a little while to get the mouse working the way I wanted it to in Fedora because I've become so used to two-finger scrolling. Using the 64-bit version cleared that right up. The wireless card is a Broadcom (should have checked that...) which requires a kernel mod, not a big deal, just something to be aware of.
*When moving from site to site in Windows, the colors seem to be a tad off. This could be just me, but nothing noticeable for me to mark it as a con as it could just be a driver issue.
*The case has a bevel with a trench/notch cut in it that from time to time gets my arm hair caught in it. Just an FYI because that can be painful.
*Speaker quality is lacking. I know, before you say anything--it's a laptop. I have spent the last few years with an HP laptop and absolutely love their speakers. After tinkering with the settings, things are better, but still leaves me wanting more.
All in all, I would say this is a good laptop. It's not a high-end gaming machine, but for general every day use, it's great. It has performed well every time I've opened the case and worked flawlessly. I would definitely reccommend this laptop and the Acer brand.
Want Acer Aspire TimelineX AS5820T-6401 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black Brushed Aluminum) Discount?
I've been shopping around and comparing models from different manufacturers, but keep coming back to this model. I was attracted to the non-assuming professional appearance and slim design. I don't care much for the shiny plastic models that seem to proliferate at the local Best Buy.I was not disappointed with the appearance when my shipment arrived. It has a very elegant and professional look to it in my opinion. It's slim design is also very attractive.
In addition, it is a very capable machine. The I5-480M inside more than holds its own. I can run MS Word, VisualStudio.Net, MS SQL Server, and SQL Server Management Studio without any problems.
I do a lot of typing and find it very easy to type on this machine. I've read some reviews where people have complained about the placement of the track pad, which I don't quite understand. The track pad, in my opinion, is situated where it should be. Centering it would require you to lift your hand off the keyboard more than necessary.
I don't think it's fair to rate a machine for things it doesn't have, especially when it never claimed to have it in the first place, ie blue tooth, gaming graphics, ...etc. Not very helpful in my opinion.
I can understand why some reviewers are disappointed with the speakers though, it can seem on the quiet side at first. But for myself, I found it quite adequate for my purposes (general business machine). Besides, I found disabling the Dolby features in the Control Panel helped pump up the volume somewhat.
As far as bloatware is concerned, I found that it really didn't have any more than any other laptop. Besides, it was fairly easy to remove any way. In rating, I'm more concerned with things that can't be changed, like video, keyboard feel, ...etc. In my opinion, this laptop deserves high marks for design and performance.
As far as battery life is concerned, I'm actually impressed. I know that a lot of manufacturers exaggerate in the first place, so I wasn't really expecting 8 hours of battery life. I've actually been averaging 5 to 6 hours with typical use, ie web surfing, compiling code, and typing. And that's with high performance enabled. I barely got 1 hour on my older Toshiba, so I'm actually very satisfied.
I found the screen vibrant and clear. Some reviewers commented that the screen was too glossy, but I didn't find it any more glossy than Apple's PowerBook, which has a great screen by the way. Too bad Apple target its product to yuppies more concerned with status symbols, than budget conscious buyers. The comparable Apple machine was 3 times more than this Acer model.
I also tested this machine via a burn in software and it passed without any errors.
*** Review update. ***
I am soooooo disappointed. I returned my first machine, because I was experiencing startup problems. It appeared to hang either before or after loading the bios. All I knew, is that it would not even get to loading windows. Neither restoring to factory default or updating the bios resolved the problem. I was hoping that I just got a lemon and the next one would be better.
I wanted to love this machine so much because of it's aesthetic slim design, unfortunately my next one started to go bad on me too. This time with a different problem. After leaving it on all night playing music videos to run down the battery, the fan would not stop spinning, making an annoying audible sound. I thought it was due to the machine simply getting too hot, but after leaving it off the next night and starting it up cold in the morning, the fan kicked on immediately with an annoying, low droning sound (with sporadic clicking noises), kinda like my desktop pc. The sound would even travel up my headset when listening to music.
I can tolerate the noise that my desktop PC makes, because I am able to shield myself from it by placing my PC under my desk on the floor. Obviously, you can't do the same with a laptop. I was very torn between keeping it or returning it, but in the end, the noise was just too annoying to ignore and it really ruined my initial experience I had with this laptop.
For me, the elegance and quality that Acer was trying to achieve with this laptop was only to be superficial. Apparently, the components inside the machine was not given the same attention to quality as it's exterior. Its unfortunate that Acer has not quite escaped its reputation for low quality and poor reliability, at least for me.
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