New Acer Aspire TimelineX Laptops
by Balraj Sandhu on September 27, 2010 12:01 AM ESTNew Acer Aspire TimelineX Laptops
Acer is launching a series of new notebooks in their Aspire TimelineX range boasting mobile form factors, Intel Arrandale processors, and up to 8 hours of battery life. These new models come in a variety of sizes, starting with an ultra low voltage 11.6" model. 13.3", 14" and 15.6" models with full voltage processors are also available.
All models feature Acer's CineCrystal 16:9 LED-backlit displays with a 1366x768 resolution, a claimed 8 hours of battery life, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. Connectivity wise, all models have an HDMI port, VGA port, up to four USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, and WiFi 802.11b/g/n. They all feature 1.3MP webcams with integrated microphones, a multi-format card reader and trackpads with gesture support.
The most interesting model is the Acer Aspire 1830T, which features an 11.6" display and Intel's recently announced ultra low voltage Core i7-680UM running at 1.46GHz, but turbo boosting itself to a nippy 2.53GHz. Like all the mobile dual-core parts, it also includes Hyper-Threading and integrated graphics with a TDP of 18W.
The 1830T weighs in at 3.09lbs with an 11.22" x 8.03" x 1.10" footprint and features a "full size" keyboard. Included in the compact chassis is 4GB DDR3 SDRAM, a 500GB HDD and integrated Bluetooth, but there's no space for an optical drive. Unfortunately, all this doesn't come cheaply, with this specification carrying a suggested retail price of $900. Fortunately, cheaper configurations with ultra low voltage Intel Core i3 or i5 processors start at a more reasonable $600.
Acer has also updated the rest of the TimelineX range. The 3820T features a 13.3" display and Intel Core i3 or i5 processors in a chassis weighing in at 3.97lbs. It comes with 3GB or 4GB DDR3 SDRAM (upgradeable to 8GB) and up to 320GB HDD storage.
Acer's larger models feature a more complete computing experience with integrated DVD drives, Intel Core i3 or i5 processors, up to 4GB DDR3 SDRAM (upgradeable to 8GB) and up to 500GB HDD storage. The TimelineX 4820T packs these features into a 4.65lbs chassis with a 14" display, while the TimelineX 5820T has identical features but in a 5.5lbs chassis with a 15.6" display and an integrated numeric pad. Both start at $700.
Acer is also offering additional models based on the 14" 4820T called 4820TG, with the "G" presumably standing for Graphics, as they pair an AMD Mobility Radeon HD5650 GPU with an Intel Core i5-460M for those looking to do some gaming on the move. These models will allow users to switch back to the integrated GPU to save on battery life when required, and will start at $800. While the 11.6" ultra low voltage Core i7 model grabs the interest, the capable midrange models with DirectX 11 support will probably be most relevant to consumers and seem to offer a decent level of performance without any major sacrifices.
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epyon96 - Monday, September 27, 2010 - link
Or does anyone else hate the fact that mobile processor names and desktop processor names for Intel with regards to the i5/i7 series are completely divergent in naming.i7 used to distinguish quad core. Now what the hell does it really mean?
I wish some enthusiast site like this would systematically rename all processors to follow a consistent a guideline.
I remember the days when AMD did the performance names in their Athlon processors and people were moaning about it not being clockspeed. Back then, I remember Anandtech always listing the clockspeed and pertinent details next to the marketing name.
But this is taking it to a whole new level. How are consumers expected to know that i7 mobiles are not the same as i7 desktops representative quad core? Please, come up with a consistent nomenclature to help buyers out who read your site, I beg you.
nitrousoxide - Monday, September 27, 2010 - link
i7M 6 series is just an enhanced version of the dual-core i5 Mobiles. Intel do this just because quad core is too power hungry (my i7 720M is a power-consuming beast that makes me doubt whether buying such a processor is a good deal). This problem will soon be solved when sandybridge architecture 32-nm Quad-cores are introduced. But still you can only expect a quad-core i7 Mobile with bigger-number-naming and the i7 26XX series will still be a enhanced dual core i5.This is the same on desktop! Don't ignore the fact that the Lynnfield i5 and i7 are identical in design but just adjusted some functions. The i7 8 Series has higher turbo clock speed than i5 7 Series and provides HT support. And here's what the problem is: Intel failed to make enough difference on an i5 and i7 because they are in essence the same chip. I guess in Sandy Bridge they will have better naming because there is only one quad-core i7 (namely an enhanced i5) with LGA 1155 and the "True i7s" will be LGA 2011 and have six cores.
StrangerGuy - Monday, September 27, 2010 - link
Personally, I don't see the need for anything better than i3-370m for 14" and below. Turbo is pretty useless since any multithreaded game or app won't activate it. And I doubt the extra 1M cache of i7 2C/4T is even worth the price premium.Stuka87 - Monday, September 27, 2010 - link
Yay, another laptop with an unusable resolution.When is this "everything must be HD/16:9" crap going to end? This display is useless because it has NO vertical space at all.
synaesthetic - Monday, September 27, 2010 - link
WTF Acer?Do I really have to splurge a few gees on a Sony Z just to get some power in a 13" form factor?
Well at least the Z offers 1920x1080...
fic2 - Monday, September 27, 2010 - link
Is the keyboard any better? I have two Acer laptops - 11" and 17" and both have the crappy flat key keyboard. Hopefully these have better keys.ltcommanderdata - Monday, September 27, 2010 - link
It'd be great to see a review of the new 1830T on battery life. From what I was reading, the older Core 2 Duo 1810T actually had a chance of getting 7-8hr of battery life whereas these new Arrandale Core i models seem to get closer to 6hr of battery life. That was a major reason why I bought the 1810T Special Edition with a 1.4GHz SU9400 and I am getting 7-8hr on light usage, surfing the web, reading research papers, word processing, which is my typical use case. It was also only $499 CND which is a lot cheaper than the 1830T in Canada and the Canadian 1830T models don't include Bluetooth whereas the 1810T Special Edition does. There were also reports that some 1830T models are configured with ALPS touchpads which can be finicky and with 802.11n WiFi that don't include the faster 5.8GHz band. The 1810T Special Edition seems to more consistently include better Synaptics touchpads and 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi which is what I received along with DDR2-800 memory even though the specs only call for DDR2-667. Hopefully Anandtech does a review of the 1830T and compares it to the 1810T they review before so I'll see if I made the right choice.AnnonymousCoward - Monday, September 27, 2010 - link
Why do they say "full size keyboard" when it's not? The backspace and arrow keys are obviously shrunken.15.6" 1366x768, are you kidding?? Come on, 1600x900.
narayanagame - Monday, September 27, 2010 - link
why does everybody rant about display resolution 1366x768 is good for 11.6 to 14inch models.i dont understand what kind of work you ppl do that you need 1280x800 resolution display for that matter extra 32 vertical pixels..
if you ppl care so much about the resolution go find other laptops with resolution u need.this aint aimed at you ppl its aimed mostly to mutimedia savvy ppl and also work minded ppl who care less about screen resolution and more about getting the work itself done and having good battery life of laptop
AnnonymousCoward - Monday, September 27, 2010 - link
>1366x768 is good for 11.6 to 14inch models.My old 14" is 1400x1050: 40% more usable area.
>go find other laptops with resolution u need.
We will. But 16:9 is growing harder to escape.
>mutimedia savvy ppl and also work minded ppl
BS. Pixel count is critical for the entire *video* side of "multimedia", and critical for getting work done. Where it's not critical is for using twitter.