Acer Aspire TimelineX AS4830T-6841

The Acer Aspire TimelineX AS4830T-6841's pleasing aesthetics and powerful Core i5 processor are reason enough to consider it for your next mainstream laptop; its nine-plus hour battery life sweetens the deal. Available at Costco for $649.99, this durable 14-inch laptop has a lot going for it but it comes up short in terms of features.

Design
The TimelineX AS4830T-6841 uses the same design as the 15-inch TimelineX 5830TG-6402 ($799.99 direct, 3.5 stars); its sturdy aluminum lid is done up in a nice cobalt-blue finish and contains a polished Acer logo in its center. Like the Dell Inspiron 14z ($750 direct, 4 stars), the TimelineX weighs 4.5 pounds. It measures just 1.2 inches at its thickest point and is an easy-to-shoulder travel companion. Comparatively, the Asus U46E-BAL5 ($699.99 list, 4.5 stars) weighs 4.9 pounds and Samsung QX411-W01 ($799.99 list, 4 stars) comes in at 5.1 pounds. The AS4830T-6841 uses a sealed 6-cell battery, so it wouldn't be considered user replaceable, which may be a deal breaker for some users.

There's no room for a dedicated number pad on the brushed silver keyboard deck, but the chiclet-style keyboard offers decent sized keys that are easy to type on. The multi-gesture touchpad embedded in the cobalt-blue wrist rest has a smooth surface and is responsive, as are the two barely audible mouse buttons. Above the keyboard are a power switch on the left and a programmable hot key on the right. There are also two speakers up there that, with the help of two additional speakers in the base, deliver impressive audio output. You won't get much in the way of bass response but the quad speaker array is a certainly a step up from the usual laptop fare.

The AS4830T-6841's 14-inch display has a resolution of 1366-by-768 pixels, which is the norm for laptops of this size. You'll have to move up in class (and price) to a model such as the Sony VAIO VPC-SA2FGX/BI ($1,199.99 list, 3.5 stars) if you want to enjoy full HD on a 1920-by-1080 screen. That said, the AS4830T-6841's panel is bright and does a good job of displaying 720p HD. It has a glossy coating that is reflective but provides wide side viewing angles.

Features
Of the AS4830T-6841's three USB ports only one is of the 3.0 variety, whereas the Dell 14z gives you two of the speedy connections. Still, one USB 3.0 port is better than no USB 3.0 ports, which is what you get with the Sony VAIO VPC-EG27FM/W ($779.99 list, 3.5 stars). Additionally, the AS4830T-6841 features HDMI and VGA video outputs, while the Dell 14z offers two digital video ports with HDMI and DisplayPort connections. Other features include headphone and microphone jacks, a LAN port, an embedded webcam, a multi-format card reader, and a DVD multi-drive. It has Wi-Fi Ethernet and can transmit audio and video over WiDi 2.0 (wireless HDMI) to a TV equipped with Netgear's Push2TV receiver (a $99 option), but it doesn't support Bluetooth wireless or WiMAX broadband communications. The Dell 14z, on the other hand, offers both WiDi 2.0 and WiMAX.

The 640GB hard drive spins at 5,400 rpm and comes with Windows 7 Home Premium and Acer's Clear.fi streaming software, which lets you share multimedia files with other Clear.fi enabled devices. You also get Microsoft Office Starter 2010, Microsoft Security Essentials, Skype, and Zune music and video software. Because this laptop offered through Costco, the AS4830T-6841 comes with a two-year warranty as opposed to the standard one-year manufacturer's warranty. It also comes with Costco's Concierge troubleshooting and support service, in case you run into any speed bumps setting up your new PC. And Costco's 90-day return policy helps with any possible feelings of Buyer's remorse.

Performance
Powered by a 2.4GHz Intel Core i5-2430M CPU and 6GB of system memory, the AS4830T-6841 is a top shelf performer. Its 2,381 PCMark 7 score is the highest of the current 14-inch group, if only by a small margin, thanks to a slightly faster CPU. The Dell Inspiron 14z scored 2,308 on this test, and the Samsung QX411W01 scored 1,848. Results from our multimedia tests were similar; the AS4830T-6841's Handbrake time of 1 minute 57 seconds was a hair faster than then the Dell 14z (1:58) and Samsung QX411-W01 (1:59), but a tad slower than the Asus U46E-BAL5 (1:53). Its Cinebench R11.5 score of 2.7 led the field, as did its Photoshop CS5 time of 4:08.

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 chip performed as expected, grinding out 20.3 frames per second (fps) on the DirectX 9 Lost Planet 2 gaming test and 23.7 fps on the DirectX 10 Crysis test, both of which were run at a low resolution (1,024-by-768) with most effects set to medium. As it is, these frames rates are barely playable (if at all); running at full resolution (1,366-by-768) with effects set to high will bring this laptop to its knees.

The 6-cell battery may be permanently sealed off, but that didn't stop it from blowing the completion out of the water. It's MobileMark 2007 score of 9 hours 19 minutes was nearly 40 minutes longer than the Dell 14z and beat the Asus U46E-BAL5 by two full hours. It lasted more than four hours longer than the HP Envy 14 ($1,079.99 direct, 4 stars) (5:15).

Outstanding performance and a relatively light, durable chassis make the Acer Aspire TimelineX AS4830T-6841 a great choice for a mainstream laptop that won't weigh you down on the road. And, with more than nine hours of battery life, you can put in a full work day without recharging. However, another USB 3.0 port would be nice, as would a few more wireless features. Still, this laptop should be on your short list, along with our current Editors' Choice, the Dell Inspiron 14z, which has a more robust feature set and a removable battery.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the HP TouchSmart 620-1080 3D with several other desktops side by side.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/On-lk7ZvRmU/0,2817,2396201,00.asp

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