The Acer Aspire S7-393 Review: Broadwell Comes To Acer's Ultrabook
by Brett Howse on October 5, 2015 8:00 AM ESTThe last time we got a chance to do a full review the Acer Aspire S7, it was back in 2013. At the time it was a big step up from Acer, and the Ivy Bridge based S7 came with one of the slimmest and lightest bodies of that era. That was 2013. Anand also used the Acer Aspire S7-392 as his test machine for the Haswell-U launch in 2014, getting a chance to see the second generation Haswell version of the Aspire S7.
In 2015, the competition in the Ultrabook space has not sat idly by. One thing is for certain in the technology sector: no matter what kind of lead you have, if you stand still, you will be passed. This maxim keeps all hardware vendors on their toes, and for Acer and the Aspire S7 family is no exception.
Diving into matters then, today we're going to be taking a look at the latest generation of the Acer Aspire S7. For the 2015 model, Acer has shipped us the top end version with the Intel Core i7-5500U processor, and along with the processor update, the Acer also offers a 2560x1440 display upgrade from the base 1920x1080 model.
The review model I’ll be looking at today features 8 GB of RAM, the aforementioned Core i7-5500U processor, the 1920x1080 resolution display, and a 256 GB SSD which is 2 x 128 GB in RAID 0. Acer calls this version the S7-393-7451, and despite the updated internals, Acer has kept the styling and form factor practically identical to the original S7 reviewed back in 2013. The model being tested lists for $1299 on the Acer site.
Since this model was first introduced prior to the release of WIndows 10, Acer still sells this S7 with Windows 8.1. But since that is eligible for the free upgrade to Windows 10, they were happy to have me upgrade it to Windows 10 for this review. This will then be the first laptop reviewed with Windows 10, but most of our testing unchanged from 8.1 to 10 with the exception of our battery life tests which were moved to use Microsoft’s new Edge browser rather than Internet Explorer.
Acer Aspire S7-393 | |||||
As Tested, Core i7-5500U, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, 1920x1080 Display | |||||
Processor | Intel Core i5-5200U (2C/4T, 2.2-2.7GHz, 3MB L3, 14nm, 15w) Intel Core i7-5500U (2C/4T, 2.4-3.0GHz, 4MB L3, 14nm, 15w) |
||||
Memory | Dual-Channel 8 GB DDR3L-1600 | ||||
Graphics | Intel HD 5500 (24 EU, 300-900 MHz on i5, 300-950 Mhz on i7) | ||||
Display | 13.3" 1920x1080 IPS Optional 2560x1440 IPS |
||||
Storage | 256 GB SSD (2 x 128 GB RAID 0) | ||||
Networking | Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 (802.11ac, 2x2:2, 866Mpbs Max, 2.4 and 5GHz) Bluetooth 4.0 |
||||
Audio | Stereo Speakers (downfiring) 1 watt x 2 Realtek with Dolby Digital Plus |
||||
Battery | 46 Wh Battery 45 Watt A/C Adapter |
||||
Right Side | USB 3.0 DisplayPort Headset Jack HDMI |
||||
Left Side | USB 3.0 DC In Power Button SD Card Slot |
||||
Dimensions | 322 x 222 x 13 mm (12.7 x 8.8 x 0.51 inches) | ||||
Weight | 1.31 kg (2.9 lbs) | ||||
Extras | 720p Webcam Backlit Keyboard Dual-Torque Hinge |
||||
Pricing | $1389 As Tested on Amazon $1299 on Acer.com |
There are no surprises with the Acer S7. Wireless is provided by Intel’s Wireless-AC 7265 card, the battery is a 47 Wh model, and it falls pretty much in-line with other Ultrabooks as far as specifications. One change that Acer has over most is RAID 0 on the drives. I don’t find this to be a benefit at all in most workloads, and would rather Acer spent the extra cost to provide one faster drive. Acer is also lacking in connectivity options with just two USB ports available. Most Ultrabooks find room from three, but Acer has gone with a mini DisplayPort and an HDMI video output. That seems overkill since the HDMI could be passed through DisplayPort freeing up room for a third USB port. Acer does still find room for a SD card slot which is always appreciated.
63 Comments
View All Comments
Samus - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
I just had a Mushkin PCIe SSD fail entirely because one of the four 128GB SSD's failed.RAID 0 is inherently unreliable because you are increasing the failure points.
Ethos Evoss - Wednesday, October 7, 2015 - link
u such stupid whinner ..who don't thinkEthos Evoss - Tuesday, December 15, 2015 - link
you stupid idiot you can turn raid off if you don't want it and you can carry on using your '' plain" diskWhat a bunch of retards here really
Teknobug - Tuesday, October 6, 2015 - link
lol RAID 0 on the same drive? What theMorawka - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
i disagree, your getting double the write and double the read speed. Copying large files (movies, ISO's, etc..) will see great benefit.it's a stop gap solution because it does'nt have PCIE SSD
Lolimaster - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
Copy to what?Copy over an aldready slow wifi/ethernet? Copy to another SSD using USB 3.0? SSD's RAID 0 makes no sense unless you have a workstation/high end PC for heavy video editing.
If you have an SSD Raid 0 you'll only see the speed copying to another SSD Raid 0 o m.2 pci-e SSD.
It's an ultrabook, any kind of speed you get is already bottlenecked by the ultrabook itself (slow external connectivity.
Morawka - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
copy to the same drive. ie: duplicating filesConverting MKV's, Ripping Blu Ray, 1080P Video Scratch Disk, Adobe Bridge Scratch Disk, 4K Video Scratch Disk and Copying.
There are tons of uses
Kristian Vättö - Tuesday, October 6, 2015 - link
It's an ultrabook, not a mobile workstation. If you plan on doing a lot of video work an ultrabook is a wrong choice in the first place due to the limited processing power.Ethos Evoss - Wednesday, October 7, 2015 - link
u naive stupid kiddo troll.. if u don't know nothing bout computers stop embarrassing yourselfif u have no idea how to simply unRAID two storage drives then go back to school mento
Athlex - Thursday, November 12, 2015 - link
You're partly right. The S7 uses a proprietary double-sided mSATA SSD (Kingston P/N SMS"R"...) which has an identical footprint to a regular mSATA SSD. It's basically two 64/128GB SSDs in a software RAID on the same physical PCB. Fortunately, the mSATA slot can work with traditional mSATA cards if you want to get more capacity or ditch the weird RAID setup.