Customer Reviews

Acer Aspire TimelineX AS3820T-5246 13.3-Inch HD Laptop (Black Brushed Aluminum)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

When receiving the package, I immeadiately charged it. Afterwards, downloaded all the programs that I needed to replace my four year old laptop. Talked to the internet company to get that started (my fault b/c I forgot a step to set up). After my set-up was done, I absolutely LOVE it!!!!

My soul purpose for the Timeline is writing. But I do need to carry the laptop to different locations and interview clients. And this "dream" laptop is a sure delight. The processing speed is quick for what I do. Downloads are fast. And the biggest plus....this laptop does not get HOT like my old one. So, I'm ditching the "lap"top cooler! I'm free to roam.

The Battery life is outstanding! I surfed the web for over two hours(unplugged from the ac adaptor) before I came to write this review, my indicator is showwing 90%...8 hours left! WOW!!! Granted, I did some tweaking to the display and power adjustments. But still, 8 hours left after two hours of surfing the net....I love this laptop!

Now the down side. If you're looking to webcam with this laptop, you'll be disappointed. You need to be outside for the proper lighting. Or you can have the lamp light your face if you're indoors. I have adjusted the webcam to a certain degree, but still the quality wasn't there. But like I mentioned before, the soul purpose is for writing.

PRO: Lightweight, Battery life!
CONS: Webcam quality.

If anything should arise in the near future, I'll add it to my review.

I highly suggest the Timeline X to everyone who is in my position.

Addendum:
Someone asked for the Windows Experience Index:

Processor: Calculations Per Second..... 6.3
Mem(RAM): Memory Ops Per Second..... 5.9
Graphics: Desktop Performance for Win..4.7
Gaming Graphics: Performance..... 4.9
Primary Hard Disk: Data transfer..... 5.9

I bought this for $699, shipping included directly from Amazon about three weeks ago. As you can see from some of the discussion thread, the specifications on this system listed by Amazon were changed several times along the way - I think Amazon could do a better job in making sure they get the particulars of a specific model right when they are listing a new system. (I noticed this wasn't just for Acer, seemed to be the case for many new systems).

That being said, I love this little Acer system overall. I've been in high tech for over 25 years and I've gone through a lot of computers. I've had this one aboug three weeks and it has exceeded my expectations in most areas.

Form Factor
Small, light, and compact; yet feels solid when you carry it. Doesn't overheat like many systems. Speakers for a laptop are pretty good, as is the webcam. I think most 'average users' will be okay with both. While the keyboard and wrist area are fairly good at not picking up fingerprints, the same can't be said for the top of the system - the black matte surface tends to show them.

I like the multi-card reader (it's hidden nicely in the front left corner of the system) and the HDMI support is a real plus as well for me since I plug this into my standing monitor quite often.

If you're used to opening up your laptop with one hand (due the help gravity gives you in dealing with your older, heavier laptop) you may miss that - the Acer really needs two hands to open the lid, else the bottom tends to come off the table while you're trying to open the 'clam shell' hinged top. A small thing I adjusted to quickly...

In general, doesn't seem to be a lot of flex in the system, no creaking or moaning when I carry it. it reminds me a little of a well-built car when you shut the door - solid sounding, not a tin can. (I've had a lot of tin can laptops over the years...) I have noticed a slight looseness in the left hand side plastic that covers the LED display, but it's not enough to bother me.

Peformance
The Intel HD graphics, i3 processor, and 4GB of memory help this puppy hum right along. The only complaint would be the slower 5400 speed drive. It's not necessarily noticeable, but it's too bad Acer doesn't include a faster 7200RPM drive. Also, for future reference, the system can hold 8GB of memory, but it comes preinstalled with 2 2GB DDR3 1066 SDRAM memory modules so keep that in mind if you are planning to upgrade memory at some point in the future - you'll need to swap out both cards to get to 8GB.

High resolution video streaming, various online playbacks, and online performance in general is excellent. (See my note below about wireless throughput). In general, I'm very pleased with the graphics on this system.

Pre-installed Software
A couple of the Acer preloaded softwares seemed a little flakey. I uninstalled most of the preloaded software. In general, there is some clean-up if you don't want to take advantage of all their 'offers', but no more than most other systems.

Keyboard
Didn't mind the 'island' key layout, though it did take a couple minutes to get used to. Keyboard overall is responsive and has a very good 'full keyboard' feel. I thought the response of the multi-gesture touchpad was pretty good overall and think that if you haven't had one before, you'll like the functionality.

CineCrystal Backlight LED Display
Some people don't like this type of 'high-gloss' display. This system doesn't seem to have much glare/reflection issues; viewing angles are good, and the brightness is almost too bright - I adjusted the default power settings to turn it down some.

Wireless
I did have one issue with the wireless (which turned out to have nothing directly to do with the Acer system, but I thought it was important to include here for anyone looking at Windows 7 and N-router compatibility). The Acer found my network easily, and Windows 7 configured everything correctly so it worked right away... but, I noticed the throughput seemed very slow. I ran a speed test online (dslreports) and realized my throughput was terrible - even though I was configured to use my N-router and was only about 5 feet from the router when I did the test. I little research showed a lot of people complaining about slow and disconnecting wireless on Windows 7 systems (mostly during the Windows 7 beta, but still a lot since production release).

My problem turned out to be related to my router (it needed to have it's firmware updated to the latest version). Once I did that, the Acer connected wirelessly like a rocket. I'm averaging 11-12Mbps download on comcast; prior to update my wireless router firmware I was getting about 950Kbps download speed wirelessly. So - if you have an N-router and are moving to a system with Windows 7, and you notice any performance issues, you may want to double check and make sure your router firmeware is the latest version possible.

Also, be aware that the preinstalled wireless drivers for the Atheros miniPCIe card are more current than the ones on Acer's website. So if you are troubleshooting wireless issues, be careful to check versions before assuming Acer's website has the most current.

Batter Life
While the 6-cell battery is good (Acer also makes a 9-cell you can buy as well), it's not giving me anywhere near 8 hours of battery life - not that I expected it to. There are good options and a lot of granularity for adjusting performance/battery life profiles. I've been running mostly in the predefined 'balanced profile' and find I get about 4 to 4.5 hours of battery life which I think is more than reasonable. I suspect if I wanted to I could prolong the battery by running in the 'maximum battery life profile', but I haven't worried about it since my old laptop (Dell XPS) was lucky to get 2.5 hours. I did play with the maximum battery life profile a little and didn't notice any slow down in performance - only that it dimmed the display quite a bit - which is always a big culprit when it comes to consuming power.

Acer Support
I had a chance to deal with them when I noticed my slow wireless connectivity. In general, they seem to try and handle support via email, and although they are responsive, the responses seemed very automated and generic (try installing latest drivers, check obvious things). If you are used to troubleshooting issues on your own, I think they can complement the process. I never got the point where my issue was escalated hight enough to get any real help from them as I'd already solved it on my own. That being said, their site does a pretty good job of organizing their drivers by model and OS.

Last Thoughts
I had considered buying an Apple Macbook Pro or Airbook this time around, but for the price difference, this Acer can't be beat. I'd also looked at various higher/lower end notebooks, ultralight notebooks and ever a few netbooks. If you don't mind not having an optical drive (and to be honest I thought I would miss it, but don't) a 13.3 inch system like this Acer, with the new Intel i3 processor (they also have a model that comes with the i5) can't be beat for the price. It's solid and seems to be a good little workhorse.

Computing Needs: Internet browsing, Email, Word/Excel, organizing photos, listening to music, Youtube, and HD/Blu-Ray Playback.

Pros:
* Thin & Light
* Fast & Snappy performance (standard i3 processor!)
* Plays Youtube/Hulu 1080p content perfectly (no stutter)
* Bluetooth 3.0 (The spec listing is wrong again...)
* Great Battery Life
* Solid/Quality Construction
* Aluminum brushed exterior and overall design looks very nice
* User-friendly Touchpad
* Solid Keyboard
* Laptop never gets hot, warm at most even under stress
* Quiet
* Bright and Clear LCD.

Cons:
* At the time of purchase, specs showed it includes external DVD drive (which it does not).
* Gray areas of notebook is more silver-gray than charcoal-gray as shown.
* Glossy LCD Panel no problem indoors, but hard to see in outdoor sunny conditions.
* Weak 5400rpm hard drive is bottleneck of this system.
* Bloatware/Unwanted Apps less than some rivals but still a pain to remove.



Worthy of Noting:

* Touchpad(made by Synaptics) and palm area is much better made than the ASUS UL Series. Unlike the ASUS UL series I tried, this 3820T doesn't collect much hand oil/fingerprints, and fingers glides through easily even after prolonged use. Also, the Touchpad & Gestures both works very accurately and the touchpad buttons are very easy to press.

* Keyboard: Keys are quiet when typing, no flexing, and feels more solid compared to ASUS UL series.

* Chassis: Solid laptop casing and assembled very well. There are no loose parts and no squeaking pressure points.

* Wireless: For those who care, the wireless chip inside the 3820T is an Atheros AR5B93. The wireless connection is stable with decent range.

* HDMI out to 1080p LCD monitor worked without much effort. Just plug and play, and choose settings you want in Intel HD Control Panel. I don't have a Blu-Ray drive so have not been able to test Blu-Ray playback. However, YouTube 1080p x264 played perfectly, no stutter and uses about 30% CPU.

* Sound is adequate for quiet to moderate noise environments. If you want a digital audio connection this laptop also includes a digital-out SPDIF option.

* Drivers that came with the laptop is NEWER than Acer Support Website. If you want to do a clean installation of Windows 7, you'll need to hunt down updated drivers on your own.

* Heat/Noise: The notebook stays cool and is lap friendly. You can feel the warm air pushed out of the side fan when playing 1080p clip, but the body of the laptop stays at room temp. It stays quiet throughout intense and light-use.



Final Thoughts:

*Great price/value/performance/quality. I would buy again and recommend to others.

This computer has demonstrated seriously impressive speed, performance, portability, and battery life in the 2 weeks I've had it. It's lighter and runs cooler than my 2-year old black 13-in MacBook Pro, and it took about 3.5 hours of moderate use (web-browsing + software installations) to reduce battery charge to 50%. It remains super-fast even when I'm on the web, playing music, and installing programs at the same time.

I've also inadvertently put this computer through a serious stress test, which it passed in impressive fashion: I was installing a program (from a legitimate vendor that shall remain nameless) that went out-of-control and opened about 40 web browser windows, and yet the computer didn't crash! It apparently had the CPU and memory capacity to handle all those processes until I finally was able to use the Task Manager to rein them in.

This laptop is not without some minor faults. The trackpad is not as sensitive to multi-gestures as I would like. As other reviewers have mentioned, its webcam quality isn't great. And of course there are several annoying pre-installed programs that I opted to remove. Personally I think its performance more than makes up for these shortfalls.

The lack of a built-in optical drive is a minor inconvenience, but nothing that an external drive and an optical drive emulator can't overcome. The only thing I really miss from Mac OSX is the native multiple-desktop support (though apparently there are free downloads available for that too)...Windows 7 has something comparable to every other feature I regularly use on a Mac.

Windows Experience Indices (whatever they're supposed to mean):

Processor: 6.3
Memory (RAM): 5.9
Graphics: 4.6
Gaming graphics: 5.1
Primary hard disk: 5.9

I just received my Timeline today and immediately swapped out the drive with a 128G AData SSD with Ubuntu 10.04 32bit (32 bit because I pulled it from my previous machine that was 32 bit, I may go to 64 bit at some point). Boot to login using encrypted LVM is about 6 seconds. Everything was detected and just a few tweaks were needed to the xorg.conf to get HDMI switching to work. HDMI audio works, wifi works great, I really haven't found anything yet that doesn't work. Battery life of 8 hours seems fairly optimistic, but I've been running it awful hard as a burn in and I'm getting about 4 hours (screen at 100%, CPU at 1.85Ghz, boxee playing pandora non stop over wifi) I suspect that 6 to 7 hours will be closer to norm. Suspend and resume works like a charm. Open the lid and resume is within 2 seconds (remember, SSD not an HDD). The keyboard is excellent and heat is a non issue. It does get warm, but I would say less than 100F. I'm trying to get the bluetooth to wake up now, but haven't had much luck. I've also spent all of 5 minutes on it. I have no idea how this machine runs in windows, but I would not hesitate to suggest it to anyone that is looking for a nice linux machine.

Pros: Screen is bright
machine is very quick
heat is a non issue
card reader is located intelligently enough in the front of the machine
It looks very pro. Feels light but substantial
Makes a happy little ubuntu box, compiz works

Cons:I don't care at all for the shared wifi/bluetooth button. It's just confusing.
I use encryption on everything, encrypted volumes, folders, etc. It would be nice if this i3 was one of the models with
hardware AES support, but it has enough CPU available that it's not like I really notice.

Notes:
You'll need to add the following to the xorg.conf in the Device section to get switching to HDMI to work
Option "AccelMethod" "uxa"
Option "EXAOptimizeMigration" "true"
Option "MigrationHeuristic" "greedy"

You'll also need to add the following line to /etc/default/grub to get the brightness hotkeys working
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash acpi_osi=Linux"
then run sudo update-grub. acpi_osi is not a typo, it's not acpi_os


Update, I just found that I actually had the atheros driver for the NIC already installed, you will need to download that. Never did get the bluetooth to work and battery life in normal operation (wifi, virtualbox VM running, playing MP3s and surfing) is right around 6.5 hours. Otherwise this thing has been a joy.

I use a LOT of laptops, thanks to my job as a network admin. Lots of Toshibas, and I own a few Acers myself.

I really like this laptop, it's everything (almost) that you would want in a laptop. Thin, light, long battery life, reasonable price for what it contains. i3 processor is powerful. 13" is the sweet spot, even for an old guy who needs reading glasses.

The other reviews say it all and I agree mostly. Here are some other points I feel are worth mentioning:

Plus: Driver disc (which you must burn yourself) makes wiping system and putting on other Windows 7 versions a snap. (I used Win7 x64 Enterprise, since this is a work computer). Loaded Enterprise, inserted driver disc (into my external DVD drive that I already had), and loaded only the drivers I needed. Even has all the proprietary function key stuff like turn on WiFi, Bluetooth, etc. Toshiba could learn a lesson here.

Includes Bluetooth (some version of the AS3820T have a faster processor but no bluetooth).

Cons: the Acer keyboard is terrible for touch-typing. It is used on almost all of their notebooks, including the Aspire line. It looks cool but your fingers can't distinguish one key from the next. The Apple keyboard, with space between the keys, is so much better. Or an older style notebook with sculpted keys would be nice. But for a fast touch-typists, the Acer keyboard is just awful.

Another con is the build quality. The bezel around the screen seems to want to separate already, for instance. I hope it lasts a few years.

Conclusion:

I'm sitting here staring at 3 notebooks on my work area, but this is my favorite. Thin, light, powerful, with a long battery. What more do you look for in a notebook?

My numbers (Win7 64bit):
processor: 6.3
memory: 5,9
graphics: 4.7
gaming graphics: 5.2
Disk: 5.9

I even played Left4Dead2 on it. It was just "ok". Low framerate so I couldn't use a good hunting rifle with scope, but it worked. Also worked great for Onlive (the streaming gaming service). Overall, it's a great match for the Onlive service.

If I could wish for one more thing to squeeze into this 1 inch notebook, it would be a high end Nvidia card for gaming. But for the price, and for work, this is a great package.

This product is amazing, great quality build. fast as hell. and runs like a dream. For the price of 699.99 with no tax and free shipping. Go ahead all you Apple people spend 1000 dollars on a core duo proc mac (which i was using before this, but with windows 7 installed, after a friend fried it i fixed it and kept it). Sold my old black macbook (bootcamp windows 7 because osx blows) for 450 dollars (cuz mac cult followers will spend anything on a 2006 black original). And this thing blows it completely out of the water. The battery is amazing 8 hours like advertised. the size the weight the look. simply amazing do not over look this, acer is officially back

When i first purchased this device i didn't expect much. However when i loaded windows 7 ultimate to the hdd in 10 min and was able to play portal at full graphics i was blown away. This laptop is a great bang for your buck, however there is one major issue for people like me. The problem occurs when the processor goes into the C3-C4 states.

When the cpu goes into lowered voltage mode it emits a high pitched frequency that is 16-22Khz. Now the average 20+ year old won't hear it however those that do have sensitive hearing be cautious of the core i3, i5, i7 processors. I have owned 7 laptops with all of these cpus and returned them all due to the ear raping, headache causing, nausea enduscing cpu whine.

great laptop however the whine is unbearable.

Acer TimelineX 3820T-5246 is pretty balanced laptop. It provides enough power with its Intel core i3-350M (2.27Ghz) processor to execute many tasks including HD video playback yet small and light enough to travel comfortably.

Over the years, I have used/owned many laptops of various sizes including a 10" Acer AspireOne Netbook and a 15" MacBook Pro. A 13" laptop is smallest size with a full size keyboard and a decent size screen and resolution. If you can live with a slightly smaller key sizes, an 11.6 or 12" sub-netbook could work as well. I now think a 10" Netbook is too small for regular use and probably tablets from Apple and others is likely to replace that form factor.

Acer TimelineX series has both 11.6" and 13.3" sizes available. I am happy with my choice of 13.3" one.

The laptop is pretty light but still feels sturdy enough. There is not much flex. The outside of the lid has black brushed metal cover. There is also brushed metal covering the palm rest area (gray colored). The lid is very prone to finger prints.

The screen is shiny bright LED with resolution 1366x768. This is big enough to display most websites without horizontal scrolling and the vertical resolution is big enough to display some native Windows apps that did not fit to a Netbook screen (typically 1024x600).

Screen is driven by Intel HD graphics adapter. This is powerful enough for HD video playback without stutter even on my 55" TV (via HDMI) Internationally there are 3820tg models with various discrete ATI mobility Radeon HD graphics chips and those models would be more preferable for games but for the moment these are not offered in the USA. I am not a gamer so I feel 3820t model sold here is probably more battery efficient on the plus side.

This laptop comes with a full size keyboard. The keys are newer square style and I have found this keyboard easier to type than on 15" MacBook Pro (which I use for work). There is no visible keyboard flex (unless you like to pound on the keys)

The touchpad is a decent size. It is not as big as the 13" MacBook Pro (best touchpads ever) but still much better than most PC touch pads. Buttons are covered by one bar and pressing the center of the bar will not register any click. I personally do not press close to the center of the bar in my daily use so I am OK with this design. It does not require a lot of effort to click which is good. My Acer AspireOne netbook required a lot of pressure. This is much much better though could be better. I wonder when someone will include a touchpad comparable to that of Apple MacBook Pros?

The 6-cell battery is advertised as an 8hr battery. I think it is more likely to last around 6 hours under average use with a fresh battery. It may be possible to get close to 8-hours by turning off unused wifi, bluetooth and dimming the screen brightness and/or probably selecting more aggressive power saving option (currently using "balanced" power saving scheme).

But, 6hrs is decent enough to be detached from an available power outlet. Unit is shipped with a 65W power adapter that supply 19VDC. It does work with 35W 19V Acer AspireOne Netbook power adapter (which is a bit smaller to pack) but charging time is probably longer and unsupported. Again, I wished Acer had licensed the MacBook's magnetic power supply design. If you do not know what I am talking about, find a MacBook user and examine how the power connects to MacBook. It totally eliminates the risk of someone tripping over the cable and pulling the laptop with it or yanking the power connector and possibly damaging the socket on laptop.

The build-in WiFi supports 802.11b/g/n (2.4Ghz band only) powered by Atheros AR5B97 chip. Build-in Bluetooth supports Bluetooth 3.0 (as reported by Windows 7 device manager) and is powered by Atheros AR3011 chip. The build-in Bluetooth was the factor that allowed me to pick this laptop over other similar laptops including an core-i5 powered Acer TimeLineX model.

WiFi and Bluetooth radios are enabled/disabled via Fn-F3 combination which launches an Acer utility. Upon power up WiFi radio defaults to ON and Bluetooth radio defaults to OFF. Unfortunately, when you change the state of Bluetooth it does not stick around a shutdown/power-up cycle. There may be a BIOS setting to set the default, but I did not investigate BIOS settings yet. I will update this review if I find a solution.

The build-in GigE wired network adapter is powered by Atheros AR8151 chip.

4GB DDR3 memory is standard but could be upgraded to 8GB if necessary.

Hard disk is an 320GB SATA drive (WDC WD3200BEVT-22A23T0). I would have preferred a large one but this is decent enough. It is also easily upgradable.

There is a build in 1.3Megapixel camera for video conferencing programs.

The laptop comes with a HDMI and VGA ports for external display connectivity. HDMI was another of my requirements and I passed over some other competing models for this feature.

Other ports include 3 USB ports, external headphones (doubles as SPDIF digital audio output), external microphone port, a multi-format card reader and a Kensington style laptop lock connector.

Laptop does not come with any disks. You have to attach an external USB DVD-Burner and create recovery and driver DVD disks using the supplied software. I suggest you do this as soon as possible.

There is a number of demo/trial software is installed. I've only left McAfee Internet Security (90 day trial) and uninstalled the remaining ones.

Overall, I am pretty satisfied with this purchase.

The product is thin and small enough that I could put it in a handbag to go around. Battery last around 6 hours which is good enough for me. The power cable is hard to be plugged in in the first place and there are many useless programs installed and it take me a while to remove them.