Review Acer Aspire 3830TG Subnotebook
Small Flaw,toshiba pa3535u-1brs battery Big Effect. Acer has come out the with the new generation of Aspire TimelineX notebooks and the series wouldn't be complete without a 13.3" subnotebook. Speedy hardware, a classy design and a long battery life all sound pretty good.hp pavilion dv2000 battery But how does the CPU throttling issue affect this compact laptop's actual performance?
In addition to the Acer Aspire 3750 Consumer Subnotebook,hp pavilion dv6000 battery Acer also brings to the table another subnotebook, the 3830TG. While its 13.3" screen (1366 x 768 pixels, Glare-Type) might make it the smallest member of the Timeline series, it doesn't necessarily make it a weakling. Within the case, the Intel Core i5-2410M dual-core processor and Nvidia GeForce GT 540M dedicated graphics card provide the basis to make 3830TG the "little laptop that could". hp compaq 6710b battery With a bit more cash, you can choose the configuration with an Intel Core i7-2620M and a 120 GB solid state drive (SSD).compaq presario cq60 battery
The other hardware found within the Acer Aspire TimelineX 3830TG-2414G75nbb we reviewed: 4 GB DDR3-RAM,IBM thinkpad r60e battery an 750 GB hard drive and up-to-date wireless communication components. The laptop currently goes for 799 Euro (RRP). Lenovo thinkpad r60 battery
A special topic we paid particular attention to in this review is the issue of CPU throttling, since the previously-reviewed 4830TG and 5830TG of the same series exhibited some problems due to stifled CPU clock rates.Fujitsu lifebook t4210 battery
The classic TimelineX design, now in miniatureThe 3830TG has a very modern,Fujitsu lifebook t4220 battery yet not-too-flashy look. The blue, silver and black color scheme Acer calls "ice blue" is currently the only one available. The plastic surface of most of the case has a good look to it, but the pointy corners really could have been rounded off a bit more. The matte surfaces of the laptop feel quite nice while keeping dust and finger print marks from collecting all over the place. Unfortunately we can't say the same for the high-gloss aluminum display lid.hp pavilion dv9000 battery
The matte black base plate consists of a large hatch (leading to the hardware) covered with lots of exhaust vents.Acer Aspire 4315 battery The hatch is attached with only one screw, so access to the hardware is only a few turns of a screwdriver away. Under it you'll find 2 RAM slots good for a max. of 8 GB DDR3-RAM, the 2.5" hard drive, part of the cooling system and some empty space for a UMTS module or SIM card slot. Acer Aspire 4520 battery
The 3830TG has a good variety of ports to offer.Acer Aspire 4520G battery Besides the usual suspects like USB 2.0, VGA, Ethernet, headphone jack and the mic input, there's also an HDMI output (supports 1.4a) and a speedy new USB 3.0 port, which can charge peripheral devices even when the laptop is off.Acer Aspire 4710 battery The positioning of these ports is similar to the larger 4830TG, but some of the ports have switched sides. There is no DVD drive built in. A few too many of the ports are located toward the front, leaving little room to move around an external mouse. Besides the card reader, there are no ports located on the front edge nor any at all along the back edge.Acer Aspire 4710G battery
Oh glossy screen, who is the fairest one of all?The 3830TG comes in the compact 13.3" form factor,Acer Aspire 4720 battery that is, the screen measures 33 cm diagonally, with an aspect ration of 16:9 and a glossy screen (glare-type). The native resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels is typical for screens of this size. The display is produced by manufacturer AUO (model no. B133XW03) and does not support interpolated resolutions (non-native resolutions). There are two video outputs: VGA and HDMI which can transfer a signal to an external monitor/TV in up to a 1920 x 1080-pixel resolution. Acer Aspire 4720G battery
The LED-backlit screen has a maximum brightness of 193 cd/m², ranking in very typical. The one praiseworthy aspect of the display would be how evenly lit the screen is—the brightness distribution value comes to 91%. The average screen brightness of 185.3 cd/m² isn't too bad. Displays of significantly higher quality are, however, currently only found in premium-grade notebooks starting at around 1200 Euro.Acer Aspire 4720Z battery
You can have a look at Acer's new cooling system by taking off the hatch on the base plate. Acer Aspire 4920 battery Working with the fan, the copper heat pipes should provide for some good cooling. In idle mode, the case surfaces reach a relatively cool maximum of 29ºC, giving off a lukewarm feel. Under heavy use, the temperatures rise to fairly uncomfortable levels. We measured a maximum of 40.2ºC on top and 43.0º along the bottom of the base unit, which feels rather hot and can become uncomfortable to hold on your lap after a while.Acer Aspire 4920G battery
For your listening pleasure, there are two stereo speakers located just above the keyboard. Acer Aspire 4310 battery The audio quality is poor and emphasizes the highs too much. The bass is present but too subtle. Especially when listening to music is the mediocre sound quality particularly noticeable, although much worse speakers have been known to be found in comparable notebooks. On top of that, the max. volume is not too high, but for it the audio doesn't sound distorted when the volume's cranked all the way up. The better way to go is just to use the headphone jack or HDMI output to hook up external speakers.Acer Aspire 4315 battery
Classic TestThe 3830TG impresses with it's relatively long battery life.Acer Aspire 4520 battery The 6-cell battery has a 66-Wh capacity, making it above average for subnotebooks. The downside is that it's not removable (all new Timeline laptops).
Using the tool Battery Eater we measured the battery life in several scenarios. Acer Aspire 4520G batteryWe started off with the Classic Test, that is: the system under heavy use, wifi on, and screen brightness all the way up. The dedicated Nvidia GeForce GT 540M—active during this test—contributes a good deal to draining the battery. After a relatively short 2 hours 33 minutes the battery is dead, making the 3830TG's shortest battery life pretty average for a subnotebook. Acer Aspire 4710 battery
At the other extreme we have the Reader’s Test. With minimum screen brightness and wifi off, we simulated the reading of a text document. Thanks to the energy-saver in the processor and the integrated GPU (GT540M deactivated), the battery life comes to a whopping 12 hours 7 minutes.Acer Aspire 4710G battery
Since this battery life does not reflect everyday use, we also performed the "Internet Browsing via Wifi" test. At 8 hours 14 minutes, you can get a whole day's worth of work done and then some (depending on the intensity of the tasks at hand).Acer Aspire 4720 battery
The power consumption in various scenarios is naturally (inversely) proportional to the battery life we measured.Acer Aspire 4720G battery In idle mode as well as during light office work, a mere 9.3 watts are consumed—typical of even smaller netbooks of previous years—which accounts for the uncommonly long maximum battery life. Under heavier use, the energy consumption jumps from 42.8 watts all the way up to 79.9 watts when the Nvidia dedicated GPU becomes active. The power supply with a capacity of 90 watts can easily handle this level of stress.Acer Aspire 4720Z battery
