Acer Aspire S3-951-6646 Notebook Review

The first book Ultra. Designed to address directly the MacBook Air for hundreds of dollars less, Acer Aspire S3 has a lot to live up to. Find out here if this Book early Ultra has what it takes to make the ultra-slim category, the crown away from Apple.

After months of waiting, the first Ultrabooks are finally here in the United States and with them come great expectations in terms of size, quality construction and energy. With so much riding on first impressions, Intel made the most of everything to help manufacturers during the design process, including an investment of $ 300 million over the next few years.

Acer Aspire 3830TG (i7/SSD) Subnotebook

Throttling reloaded. If the Core i5 already complained because of overheating problems, the Core i7 to do? Acer is not afraid to take risks and to establish a (potential) of the dream of mobility SSD, strong graphics and a fast processor and 8 GB of memory.

Some settings are timeless and will use again and again. Jumping for joy when clients fast SSD hard drive, a sound processor, a generous amount of RAM and good graphics come together in a handy little box. Especially when the price is low, as is the case in the Acer Aspire TimelineX 3830TG (version: 2628G12nbb).

Review Acer Iconia Tab A100

Tiny. Acer tablet has a new family member soon. The Iconia Tab A100 gives you a 7-inch touch screen and can be taken anywhere with its compact design. The tablet Honeycomb (Android 3.2), the price tag of € 299 WiFi version and € 399 3G + WiFi version.

Acer expands its range with the A100 Iconia - a tablet with a 7 inch screen. So, Acer is now also a small shelf of its range. So far, only offers the Acer A500 (10-inch Android 3.0) and W500 (Windows 7). As the letter of the product (A100) suggests, Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) is used in this device. Same as 10 inches (A500), the A100 is based on the Nvidia Tegra 2, which can handle a maximum clock frequency of 1000 MHz

Acer TravelMate TimelineX 8473TG Notebook Review

With the new edition of Travel Mate TimelineX series, of course, also an Acer 14-inch notebook with latest components that are compact, but designed to be equal to its big brother. Read on as we find out if you get a well rounded package for 1000 euro, which measure up to established B2B laptop.

Sturdy, mobile, equipped with the latest hardware features and security. It is the cornerstone for Acer TravelMate TimelineX 8473TG, which differentiates it from portable consumer-oriented Aspire series TimelineX. The target market of this notebook are business users and others who have enough gloss casing components and poor workmanship.

Acer TravelMate TimelineX 8573TG Notebook Review

News. Acer launches new TravelMate TimelineX generation in the highly competitive market. The 15.6-inch 8573TG found to have a stable system with good performance computing power and the first rate. But the laptop with anti-glare screen to mute a small radiator when put under enough pressure.

Acer Aspire 3750-2314G50MNkk

TestIT2011!, the fifth Handy, long battery life, good input devices and inexpensive on top. These traits could boost the 580 euro 13 incher to success. Find out why the Aspire 3750 doesn't exploit this potential in this review.

Update: Now a reader could also form his own opinion about the tested Aspire 3750 laptop as a part of the Intel TestIT!2011 campaign. In general the laptop under review was equally built, but its Intel Core i5-2410M CPU is slightly more powerful. Apart from a small performance gain the TestIT!2011 should achieve results close to the previously tested i3-model in our measurements (display, temperature, system noise, battery life,...)

The TimelineX-Modell Aspire 3820TG (Arrandale CPU), was Acer's most successful 13.3 incher in 2010 up to the beginning of 2011. The omission of an optical drive made it possible to install two fans which allowed good ergonomics (low waste heat, system noise) despite a Core i5 and Radeon HD 5650/6550M. Thus, it wasn't a surprise that the demand for the strong 13 inchers was, and is, high.

Acer has now transferred the demand for the 13 inchers to the less expensive Aspire range. The handily sized Aspire 3750 comes onto the stage of portability with the looks of a 5750G (Sandy Bridge CPU generation). The Core i3-2310M with an incorporated Intel HD 3000 graphics and a 500 GB hard disk are the performers. There's no doubt whether or not the Core i3 can deal with mobile use. However, uncertainty about the WXGA glare type TFT's practicability creeps in. Is this justified? Find out in this review.

Specifications Acer Aspire 3750-2314G50MNkk :

• Processor : Intel Core i3 2310M 2.1 GHz
• Mainboard : Intel HM65
• Memory : 4096 MB, 2x2048
• Graphics adapter : Intel HD Graphics 3000, Core: 650 MHz
• Display : 13.3 inch , 1366x768 pixel, AUO B133XW03 V2, glossy: yes
• Harddisk : WDC WD5000BPVT-22HXZT1, 500GB 5400rpm
• Soundcard : Realtek ALC269 @ Intel Cougar Point PCH - High Definition Audio Controller
• Connections : 2 USB 2.0, 1 USB 3.0, 1 VGA, 1 HDMI, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: line out, microphone, Card Reader: SD, MMC, xD, MS, MSPro,
• Networking : Atheros AR8151 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (10/100/1000MBit), Atheros AR5B97 Wireless Network Adapter (bgn), 3.0+HS Bluetooth
• Optical drive : Pioneer DVD-RW DVRTD10RS
• Size : height x width x depth (in mm): 34 x 327 x 229
• Weight : 2.068 kg Power Supply: 0.199 kg
• Battery : 63 Wh Lithium-Ion, 10 .8V 5800mAh
• Operating System : Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
• Additional features : Webcam: 1280x1024 1.3MP, 24 Months Warranty

Performance
Acer's 13.3 incher is equipped with an Intel Core i3-2310M (2x2.1 GHz). The Core i3 2-core CPU isn't capable of Turbo Boost. It is however capable of Hyper Threading (processing 4 threads). The CPU power consumption is 35 watts according to TDP. Both computer cores need 25 watts from this. 10 watts are for the incorporated Intel HD 3000 graphics solution and the internal DDR3 memory controller.

In contrast to expensive Core i5 models, such as i5-2540M, the i3-2310M doesn't have AES New Instructions support. AES supports applications in decrypting and encrypting (business feature). If the i3 is too weak for you, the 3750-2414G50MNkk could be an alternative: Core i5-2410M (2x2.30 GHz, no AES!) + NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M for a price of 699 euros.

As usual, a 4096 MB DDR3 RAM is installed, whereas the available slots are occupied. A 500 GB HDD from Western Digital (WD5000BPVT-22HXZT1) with 5400 rpm is used as the hard disk.

In Cinebench R10 Single 32bit, the Sandy Bridge Core i3-2310M (2x2.1 GHz) achieves as many points as the considerably higher clocking i3-380M (2x2.5 GHz) from the Arrandale generation in single core processing (2751 points). The big brother, i5-2410M (2.3 GHz, Turbo Boost), achieves a clearly faster score of 4510 points (64bit).

However, multi-threading is more relevant for routine work (Cinebench R10 Multi 64bit). The i3-2310M achieves 7538 points in this exercise, alike an i3-380M (7811). The i5-2410M, respectively i5-2520M, achieve 9451, respectively 10128 points, due to Turbo Boost 2.0. We see that the Sandy Bridge Core i3 is almost on par with its higher clocking Arrandale predecessors in its smallest 2.1 GHz alternative.

PCMark Vantage determines a score of 5317 points. That is on par with older systems like the Core i3-380M (e.g. Samsung RV511: 5432) or i3-370M (Samsung SF510).

3DMark2006, for assessing the gaming suitability, reaches 3798 points. The 2010 Intel HD generation (also incorporated in CPU) only achieves 1500 points on average (depending on CPU +/- 200 points). This indicates an increased gaming suitability. We have comprehensively examined how this turns out in the article "Intel HD Graphics 3000 graphics solution". We would also refer to the HD Graphics 3000's spec sheet.

Gaming is possible with the Intel HD 3000 to an extent. The dedicated entry level GPU, Radeon HD 6470M, is only 3% faster (3DMark2006). Less demanding games, such as Fifa 11, even run smoothly in high details. Hardware intensive gaming, like StarCraft2 or Battlefield: Bad Company 2, have to be set back to minimum details or lower resolutions though.

The 500 GB HDD (WDC WD5000BPVT-22HXZT1) from the manufacturer, Western Digital, works fairly fast, although it is a standardly rotating 5400 rpm HDD. It reads with only 60 MB/s in sequential read (HDTune). However, the second test with CrystalDiskMark records 75 MB/s (different test routine than HDTune). PCMark Vantage's HDD score shows a better result with 3562 points (sub score) than HDTune and CrystalDiskMark would let you presume.
notebookcheck.net

Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G

Surround system. The new 18 inch flagship comes with the quad core processor, Intel Core i7-2630QM, and the Nvidia GeForce GT 555M graphics solution. Not only are the 16 GB RAM and the installed speedy SSD striking, but the touchpad as well. It can be removed and used as a remote control. The steep price for the notebook: 1699 euros.

Acer announced new models of the Acer Aspire Ethos range in June. The model Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G is available in the most various alternatives in the meantime. The predecessor of the previously reviewed Acer Aspire Ethos 8950G belongs to the heavyweight category with just under four kilos. Acer's 18.4 incher is available starting at 1300 euros, depending on the configuration. The Taiwanese manufacturer relies on Intel's quad core, i7-2630QM , together with Nvidia's Geforce GT 555M for this. The combination of the quad core processor, based on the Sandy Bridge architecture with a base clock of 2 GHz, and the fast midrange graphics card are to supply multimedia and game fans with the needed power.

Our test device, called 8951G-2631687Wnkk (LX.RJ202.059), has a price of about 1699 euros. The buyer gets a fast solid state drive, model Intel X25-M, with a memory capacity of 120GBs, though. And there is also quite a bit of main memory available because Acer has equipped its Aspire Ethos 8951G with 16 GB of DDR3 RAM. Acer has also installed a 750 GB hard disk (7200 revolutions per minute) from Western Digital for the other memory requirements. A BluRay drive has also not been forgotten. The manufacturer provides an optical drive from Matshita for this. The 18.4 inch sized Full HD display supplies a maximum resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. The 5.1 sound system, which promises a great sound experience, is one of the special features. In addition, the touchpad can be removed and used as a remote control. Moreover, features like USB 3.0 or a fingerprint reader have also been installed.

System Performance
We simulate the test device's application performance with the benchmark tools PCMark Vantage and PCMark 7 from the software developers Futuremark. The Acer Aspire 8951G places itself in the front ranks with 11637 points in PCMark Vantage. The laptop, Alienware M14x with the same CPU and GPU, clearly achieves more points (14302 points) in PCMark Vantage. However, the Dell model, XPS 17-L702X, reaches considerably fewer points (7649). The system currently is on the 4th place in PCMark 7 (status: 06. 28. 2011). The Alienware Notebook M14x again achieves more points, even if only fewer (3595 points). Overall, a top performance in terms of application performance, which is mainly due to the installed SSD.

Specifications Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G-2631687Wnkk

• Processor : Intel Core i7 2630QM 2 GHz
• Mainboard : Intel HM65
• Memory : 16384 MB, DDR3 SDRAM-PC3-8500-1066 MHz
• Graphics adapter : NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M, 8.17.12.6830 - nVIDIA ForceWare 268.30
• Display : 18.4 inch , 1920x1080 pixel, CMO1807, glossy: yes
• Harddisk : INTEL SSDSA2M120G2GC, 120GB SSD
• Soundcard : none
• Connections : 3 USB 2.0, 1 USB 3.0, 1 Firewire, 1 VGA, 1 HDMI, 1 Kensington Lock, 1 eSata, Audio Connections: 1 line in, 1 line out, 1 S/PDIF, Card Reader: MMC, SD Memory Card, xD-Picture Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, SDXC, 1 Fingerprint Reader,
• Networking : Realtek RTL8168/8111 Gigabit-LAN (10/100/1000MBit), Atheros AR5B97 Wireless Network Adapter (bgn), Bluetooth 3.0 + HS Bluetooth
• Optical drive : Matshita BD-MLT UJ240AF
• Size : height x width x depth (in mm): 39 x 440 x 295
• Weight : 3.9 kg
• Battery : Lithium-Ion, 8 cells
• Price : 1600 Euro
• Operating System : Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
• Additional features : Webcam: 1.3 Megapixel, 24 Months Warranty 
• notebookcheck.net

Acer Aspire One 722

Raindrop. After the smaller One 522, a larger alternative in the Acer Aspire One 722, also equipped with an AMD Radeon HD 6250 graphics, shows up at our office. Is it a sensible range expansion or will the waves that it causes subside quite fast?

The Taiwanese company now also has an updated version of its largest 11.6 inch netbook representative available as the Acer Aspire One 722. Alike the previously reviewed Acer Aspire One 522, the test device comes along with a 1 GHz weak AMD C-50 Dual-Core APU (accelerated processing unit) together with incorporated AMD Radeon HD 6250 graphics unit. Other key data, such as a 2 GB DDR3 main memory, a 250 GB hard disk capacity and the usual interfaces, have been maintained.

The netbook shows modernizations in the area of case and display. The latter now has a resolution of 1280x720 pixels (HD Ready) and a glare type surface at a typical size. The prior model still had the finer resolution of 1366x768 pixels in a 16:9 format.

The device is in the usual price range for such a configuration at a recommended retail price of 349 euros, including added value tax. However, it's tagged with a slightly lower price than its predecessor.

Performance
Apart from the fresh design, the real innovation is the updated innards by AMD. The core components are made up of an AMD C-50 accelerated processing unit with a clock rate of 1 GHz and two cores (dual core). This component is an entry level solution from AMD that is currently finding a new home in more and more netbooks and wants to challenge the Intel Atom platform. In contrast to the Intel Atom N550, the APU however lacks the virtual multiplying of cores (Hyper Threading) and consequently multi-tasking power. The Intel CPU also has the lead in the nominal clock rate with a positive difference of 500 MHz (1.5 GHz).

Another major bonus point of the new APU is the incorporated AMD Radeon HD 6250 graphics with a fast core clock of 280 MHz and DirectX 11 support. The fact that Acer currently doesn't have an Aspire One 722 model with the stronger AMD E-350 APU and stronger AMD Radeon HD 6310 graphics in its supply is a pity. For example, Asus offers the Eee PC 1215B netbook with this solution for 499 euros (RRP).

The first tests in our benchmark course deal with the processor's performance. The C-50 APU achieves satisfactory 1264 points in Cinebench R10 Multi-Thread Rendering (32bit) and thus moves in the familiar netbook range. The Intel Atom N550, as the opponent, occasionally scores better averagely and achieves 1415 points in this test (difference +10.7 percent). A further performance gain can be accomplished thanks to the 64 bit operating system. However, the Intel processor is ruled out because these configurations are only equipped with Windows 7 Starter (32 bit). In plain English, there is a difference of 8.8 percent (1264 to 1386 points) between the 32 and 64 bit application in our test device.

The Aspire One 722 only achieves weak 0.38 points in Cinebench R11.5's CPU benchmark (64 bit) and is thus at the lower end of our database. A comparison with the stronger AMD E-350 APU with a clock rate of 1.6 GHz is worth it although there aren't many available. This component achieves 0.6 points in the Acer Aspire 5253 and has a lead of about 33.7 percent on the C-50 APU. Overall, a rather weak processor performance that is also noticed in routine use as slow opening windows and longer boot times.

The AMD Radeon HD 6250 can set itself apart from the Intel counterpart in the synthetic benchmarks' 3D performance. However, real gaming fun doesn't evolve. Subnotebooks with a dedicated graphics card are recommended for ambitions that go in this direction. Futuremark's 3DMark06 confirms this with a score of 1411 points at a resolution of 1280x1024 pixels. The result is in the lower third, as expected. However, the difference to the Intel GMA 3150 in the Atom N550 CPU is striking. This combination accomplishes only 144 points in the Asus Eee PC 1015PEM and has to admit defeat with a difference of 89.8 percent.

Specifications Acer Aspire One 722-C52kk :

• Processor : AMD C-Series C-50 1 GHz
• Mainboard : AMD A50M
• Memory : 2048 MB, manufacturer: Hynix (Hyundai Electronics), HMT325S6BFR8C-H9, DDR3-10600S, 1066 MHz, maximum 4 GBs, 1 slot
• Graphics adapter : AMD Radeon HD 6250, Core: 280 MHz, DirectX 11, Shader 5.0, 8.802.2.1000
• Display : 11.6 inch 16:9, 1280x720 pixel, AUO B116XW03 V2, WXGA, LED, diagonal: 29.5 centimeters, glossy: yes
• Harddisk : Toshiba MK2559GSXP, 250GB 5400rpm
• Soundcard : HD Audio
• Connections : 3 USB 2.0, 1 VGA, 1 HDMI, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: headphone out, microphone in, Card Reader: 5-in-1 (MMC, SD, MS, MS PRO, xD), RJ-45
• Networking : Atheros AR8152 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller (10/100MBit), Broadcom 802.11n (abgn), 3.0 +HS Bluetooth
• Optical drive
• Size : height x width x depth (in mm): 25.4 x 285 x 202
• Weight : 1.358 kg Power Supply: 0.172 kg
• Battery : 49 Wh Lithium-Ion, 6 cells, 4400 mAh, 11.1 Volt, model: AL10B31
• Price : 349 Euro
• Operating System : Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit
• Additional features : Webcam: 0.3 Megapixel, netbook, 40 watt adapter with connector (DE), 6 cell battery, warranty card, instructions, Adobe Reader 9, Microsoft Office 2010 Starter, Windows Live Essentials, McAfee Internet Security Suite (trial version), newXpresso, Norton Online Backup, Skype, Acer software, 12 Months Warranty, warranty includes pick-up & return service and International Travelers Warranty (ITW), color: black.
• notebookcheck.net

Acer Aspire 1830T Timeline X

If you want a netbook because of the convenient size and amazing battery life but need better multitasking and video performance than what a cheap netbook offers then the Acer Aspire 1830T might be the perfect notebook for you. Keep reading to see what this $900 ultraportable offers.

Our Acer Aspire 1830T-68U118 feastures the following specifications:

Intel Core i7 680UM processor (1.46GHz, 4MB L3 cache)
11.6-inch 1366x768 HD display with LED backlighting
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
4GB DDR3 memory
500GB 5400rpm HDD
Intel HD integrated graphics
Gigabit Ethernet and 802.11n wireless
Bluetooth 3.0 (Foxconn BCM92046)
6-cell Li-ion battery
Dimensions: 11.22 (w) x 8.03 (d) x1.01-1.10 (h) inches
Weight: 3.09 pounds
MSRP: $899.99

Build and Design
The Acer Aspire Timeline X series is the latest generation of thin and light notebooks from Acer designed to offer solid performance and long battery life in a surprisingly lightweight package. At first glance it's easy to mistake the Aspire 1830T for one of the dozens of Acer netbooks that have shown up over the last few years. Looks, however, can be deceiving.

Build quality is quite good despite the diminutive size of this laptop. The combination of relatively thick matte plastics and black brushed aluminum palmrests leave the notebook feeling solid and showing almost no signs of flex. The screen stays firmly shut with a good amount of tension from the screen hinges when closed. Protection from the screen cover is only adequate; the cover flexes quite easily and distortions appeared on the display when we applied pressure to the back of the cover. Opening up the screen you can tell the hinges should hold up for a long time with strong tension that prevents the screen from flopping around once opened. The body of the notebook seems to be well designed with minimal chassis flex and no obvious creaks from the plastics.

One area of the design that impressed me was the bottom of the notebook. The expansion bay provides access to the hard drive, the WLAN and optional WWAN card slots as well as two RAM sockets. The single cover panel is held in place by five screws (my only complaint), so you'll have a spend a minute or two loosing all of those screws before you can swap out the hard drive or add more RAM. That said, I'm always happy to see when manufacturers make it easy for owners to upgrade their notebooks.
by : notebookreview.com

Acer Aspire 8940G

The Acer Aspire 8940G is a desktop replacement system packing an Intel Core i7 processor, NVIDIA 250M dedicated graphics, Blu-ray, and a massive 18.4" 1080P display. Acer built this system to not only handle everyday gaming, but also to be the multimedia hub in your dorm room or home office. With extra perks such as a backlit keyboard and touch-sensitive media buttons, is there anything not to love in the Aspire 8940G? Read our full review to find out.

Our Acer Aspire 8940G Specifications:

* Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
* Intel Core i7-720QM (1.6GHzGHz, 1333MHz FSB, 6MB Cache)
* 18.4" WUXGA FHD LCD display at 1920x1080
* NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250M with 1GB GDDR3 memory
* Intel 5100AGN Wireless, Broadcom Gigabit LAN
* 4GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM (2GB x 2)
* 500GB Western Digital 5400RPM Hard Drive
* Blu-ray/DVD SuperMulti
* Webcam, Acer CineSurround speakers, backlit keyboard
* 120W (19V x 6.32A) 100-240V AC Adapter
* 8-cell 71Wh 14.8v 4800mAh Lithium Ion battery
* Dimensions (WxDxH): 17.34 x 11.62 x 1.22-1.73"
* Weight: 9lbs 5.5oz
* 1-year warranty
* Price as configured: $1,329

Build and Design
Acer shares the same overall look and feel throughout many of their notebook lines. The Acer Aspire 8940G shows quite a bit of resemblance to the Acer Aspire One ... keeping the same hinge shape and position as well as the protruding rear-edge of the main body that you can see when the lid is closed. The side profile of the 8940G doesn't look much thicker than a smaller 15" or 17" notebook. The sloped front and rear edge do a great job of masking thickness even further while also making it more comfortable to carry. Inside you have a completely flat surface containing the keyboard, touchpad, speakers, and multimedia keys. The keyboard is even recessed just enough so the flat keys lay flush with the outer bezel. Acer did an excellent job of making this laptop look user friendly and organized by keeping so many controls within a finger's reach.

Notebook manufacturers face a difficult task when it comes to making large notebooks that feel sturdy but aren't overweight. Wider panels require more bracing to reduce flex and heavier notebooks require stronger panels so they don't flex under their own weight. The Aspire 8940G feels very well built with a solid frame and only minimal flex on the screen cover when the notebook is shut. The palrmest feels durable and shows no signs of flex even under strong pressure. The same applies to the keyboard and upper bezel, which show only minimal signs of flex under heavy pressure. The one complaint I have with the build quality of the notebook is the use of glossy plastics which scratch and smudge easily. If you are a neat freak then those smudge-prone glossy surfaces might get on your nerves over time.

The upgradability factor of this notebook looks great thanks to a single access panel on the bottom of the chassis. Simply remove the panel and you have access to the dual hard drive bays (one of which is unused in this configuration), two system memory slots, two mini-PCIe slots, and a partial view of the processor socket. I saw no "warranty void if removed" stickers anywhere, including the screws holding the heatsink onto the processor. If you want to add a second hard drive you will need to purchase a spare retention bracket, which mounts to the back of the drive, to prevent it from sliding out of place. The open mini-PCIe slot appears to be intended for an onboard TV-tuner, and as such doesn't have WWAN-antennas pre-installed.

Screen and Speakers
The 18.4" screen on the Aspire 8940G is an "all-glass" style with a protective layer covering the actual display panel. This gives the notebook a very clean and polished look, but also increases glare and reflections. With the notebook turned off the screen surface resembles a mirror and reflects the entire room around you. These reflections are reduced when the screen is on and displaying bright colors. In terms of overall quality the screen looks very nice with good color reproduction and above average contrast. The screen really draws you in while watching movies or viewing pictures ... as if you were viewing that place in person. Black levels look great and the only noticeable areas of light bleed are near the edges of the screen and only visible with the brightness set to 100%. Vertical viewing angles look good until you pivot the screen forward or back roughly 15 to 20 degrees. Horizontal viewing angles look nice right up until reflections off the screen start to overpower the image being displayed. At peak brightness the screen is still easily visible in bright office conditions as well as sitting near a window with the sun casting over the notebook.

Acer includes a 5.1 Cinematic Surround system on the Aspire 8940G that seems to sound a step above most notebooks. The audio system features five speakers, including a Tuba CineBass Booster to increase low-frequency sound. In practice the speakers produced a great surround experience, but I felt the peak volume levels were lacking. Even with the system volume set to 100%, the speakers were nowhere near being over-driven. This causes some trouble if you expect to use the system to watch a movie in your bedroom with it sitting on a dresser rather than on your lap. This can be avoided though if you use external speakers or a home theater system connected to the notebook.

Keyboard and Touchpad
Even though many notebooks are switching to Chiclet-style keyboards these days, Acer still uses a traditional design with thin flat-top keys instead. The design resembles lily patties sitting on a pond with a very thin top and the support structure tucked neatly out of view. The keyboard also offers a backlit which gives you great key visibility in dark settings. The underlying light elements are adequately shielded, preventing "light bleed" unless you view the keyboard at an angle shallower than 45 degrees. The backlight is non-adjustable in brightness, but you can turn it off completely.

The keyboard is very comfortable for typing thanks to properly sized keys and good spacing. The large 18.4" footprint allows Acer to incorporate a full-size keyboard as well as a full number pad. There is almost no "wiggle" or lateral key travel when you move your hand around the keyboard despite the thin looking keys. The keys are easy to trigger with roughly average pressure required and when pressed give off a very small click sound. The broad palmrest works very well for cradling your hands and wrists. Typing for hours at the notebook isn't a problem unless it is on your lap ... in which case your legs might not enjoy the weight.

The touchpad is a very large Synaptics model that rates very high on my list of best touchpads. It is quick to respond to fast movements, showing no discernable lag at any time. The surface texture is a soft matte finish that makes it easy to slide your finger across whether completely dry or slightly damp from sweat. The only significant complaint I have is the size. This touchpad is so much larger than most of the touchpads that I use that I end up clicking the bottom edge of the touchpad instead of the actual buttons. If you like big touchpads you will love the touchpad on the Aspire 8940G. The touchpad buttons are the same width as the touchpad surface and have a very short throw. Each button gives off a higher pitched clicking sound when you press down. Acer also includes a button to disable the touchpad to prevent accidental movement when using an external mouse. This button is located to the right side of the touchpad and lights up when activated.

Acer Aspire 8940G

The Acer Aspire 8940G is a desktop replacement system packing an Intel Core i7 processor, NVIDIA 250M dedicated graphics, Blu-ray, and a massive 18.4" 1080P display. Acer built this system to not only handle everyday gaming, but also to be the multimedia hub in your dorm room or home office. With extra perks such as a backlit keyboard and touch-sensitive media buttons, is there anything not to love in the Aspire 8940G? Read our full review to find out.

Our Acer Aspire 8940G Specifications:

* Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
* Intel Core i7-720QM (1.6GHzGHz, 1333MHz FSB, 6MB Cache)
* 18.4" WUXGA FHD LCD display at 1920x1080
* NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250M with 1GB GDDR3 memory
* Intel 5100AGN Wireless, Broadcom Gigabit LAN
* 4GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM (2GB x 2)
* 500GB Western Digital 5400RPM Hard Drive
* Blu-ray/DVD SuperMulti
* Webcam, Acer CineSurround speakers, backlit keyboard
* 120W (19V x 6.32A) 100-240V AC Adapter
* 8-cell 71Wh 14.8v 4800mAh Lithium Ion battery
* Dimensions (WxDxH): 17.34 x 11.62 x 1.22-1.73"
* Weight: 9lbs 5.5oz
* 1-year warranty
* Price as configured: $1,329

Build and Design
Acer shares the same overall look and feel throughout many of their notebook lines. The Acer Aspire 8940G shows quite a bit of resemblance to the Acer Aspire One ... keeping the same hinge shape and position as well as the protruding rear-edge of the main body that you can see when the lid is closed. The side profile of the 8940G doesn't look much thicker than a smaller 15" or 17" notebook. The sloped front and rear edge do a great job of masking thickness even further while also making it more comfortable to carry. Inside you have a completely flat surface containing the keyboard, touchpad, speakers, and multimedia keys. The keyboard is even recessed just enough so the flat keys lay flush with the outer bezel. Acer did an excellent job of making this laptop look user friendly and organized by keeping so many controls within a finger's reach.

Notebook manufacturers face a difficult task when it comes to making large notebooks that feel sturdy but aren't overweight. Wider panels require more bracing to reduce flex and heavier notebooks require stronger panels so they don't flex under their own weight. The Aspire 8940G feels very well built with a solid frame and only minimal flex on the screen cover when the notebook is shut. The palrmest feels durable and shows no signs of flex even under strong pressure. The same applies to the keyboard and upper bezel, which show only minimal signs of flex under heavy pressure. The one complaint I have with the build quality of the notebook is the use of glossy plastics which scratch and smudge easily. If you are a neat freak then those smudge-prone glossy surfaces might get on your nerves over time.

The upgradability factor of this notebook looks great thanks to a single access panel on the bottom of the chassis. Simply remove the panel and you have access to the dual hard drive bays (one of which is unused in this configuration), two system memory slots, two mini-PCIe slots, and a partial view of the processor socket. I saw no "warranty void if removed" stickers anywhere, including the screws holding the heatsink onto the processor. If you want to add a second hard drive you will need to purchase a spare retention bracket, which mounts to the back of the drive, to prevent it from sliding out of place. The open mini-PCIe slot appears to be intended for an onboard TV-tuner, and as such doesn't have WWAN-antennas pre-installed.

Screen and Speakers
The 18.4" screen on the Aspire 8940G is an "all-glass" style with a protective layer covering the actual display panel. This gives the notebook a very clean and polished look, but also increases glare and reflections. With the notebook turned off the screen surface resembles a mirror and reflects the entire room around you. These reflections are reduced when the screen is on and displaying bright colors. In terms of overall quality the screen looks very nice with good color reproduction and above average contrast. The screen really draws you in while watching movies or viewing pictures ... as if you were viewing that place in person. Black levels look great and the only noticeable areas of light bleed are near the edges of the screen and only visible with the brightness set to 100%. Vertical viewing angles look good until you pivot the screen forward or back roughly 15 to 20 degrees. Horizontal viewing angles look nice right up until reflections off the screen start to overpower the image being displayed. At peak brightness the screen is still easily visible in bright office conditions as well as sitting near a window with the sun casting over the notebook.

Acer includes a 5.1 Cinematic Surround system on the Aspire 8940G that seems to sound a step above most notebooks. The audio system features five speakers, including a Tuba CineBass Booster to increase low-frequency sound. In practice the speakers produced a great surround experience, but I felt the peak volume levels were lacking. Even with the system volume set to 100%, the speakers were nowhere near being over-driven. This causes some trouble if you expect to use the system to watch a movie in your bedroom with it sitting on a dresser rather than on your lap. This can be avoided though if you use external speakers or a home theater system connected to the notebook.

Keyboard and Touchpad
Even though many notebooks are switching to Chiclet-style keyboards these days, Acer still uses a traditional design with thin flat-top keys instead. The design resembles lily patties sitting on a pond with a very thin top and the support structure tucked neatly out of view. The keyboard also offers a backlit which gives you great key visibility in dark settings. The underlying light elements are adequately shielded, preventing "light bleed" unless you view the keyboard at an angle shallower than 45 degrees. The backlight is non-adjustable in brightness, but you can turn it off completely.

The keyboard is very comfortable for typing thanks to properly sized keys and good spacing. The large 18.4" footprint allows Acer to incorporate a full-size keyboard as well as a full number pad. There is almost no "wiggle" or lateral key travel when you move your hand around the keyboard despite the thin looking keys. The keys are easy to trigger with roughly average pressure required and when pressed give off a very small click sound. The broad palmrest works very well for cradling your hands and wrists. Typing for hours at the notebook isn't a problem unless it is on your lap ... in which case your legs might not enjoy the weight.

The touchpad is a very large Synaptics model that rates very high on my list of best touchpads. It is quick to respond to fast movements, showing no discernable lag at any time. The surface texture is a soft matte finish that makes it easy to slide your finger across whether completely dry or slightly damp from sweat. The only significant complaint I have is the size. This touchpad is so much larger than most of the touchpads that I use that I end up clicking the bottom edge of the touchpad instead of the actual buttons. If you like big touchpads you will love the touchpad on the Aspire 8940G. The touchpad buttons are the same width as the touchpad surface and have a very short throw. Each button gives off a higher pitched clicking sound when you press down. Acer also includes a button to disable the touchpad to prevent accidental movement when using an external mouse. This button is located to the right side of the touchpad and lights up when activated.