1/27/14
Laptop review: An unassuming ultrabook with gaming chops
Acer makes a batch of laptops. So many with the aim of it's tough to pick a detailed single banned of a lineup. A little are amazing examples of top-notch design and engineering, such to the same degree the glass-clad Aspire S7, while others are well-intentioned experiments, such to the same degree the flip-and-fold R7 hybrid. But nearly everyone are generic-looking melancholy boxes with the aim of look like they may well cost in the least amount and contain in the least combination of components -- it's unmanageable to ask from the outside.
While the design of the Aspire V7 is the textbook definition of lackluster, inside I found a pleasant frighten. This 14-inch ultrabook-thin laptop limited an Intel meat i7 CPU, a game-ready Nvidia GeForce 750M graphics tag, and a colossal 1TB hybrid tough drive, with a 24GB SSD store. With the aim of configuration (the V7-482PG-9884) goes on behalf of a reasonable $1,199, but you can hit the CPU and tough drive down and keep the Nvidia 750M on behalf of $899 in the sphere of an alternative of several preconfigured versions on hand by Acer.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)
Reliable, you may well squander $50 additional and cause a 13-inch MacBook Air with a meat i7 CPU, but this type has additional RAM, additional luggage compartment, and with the aim of discrete GPU. Dell's XPS 15 is just a trace better, offers largely parallel specs, plus the GPU, but can cost $1,900, depending on the exact configuration.
The Acer Aspire V7 lacks the design polish of the competition, and the cheap-feeling baby grand is frustrating, but not a deal-breaker. On behalf of decent mainstream gaming in the sphere of a slim ultrabook by the side of complete 1080p solution, you can concoct a container with the aim of it's a smart, if not inspiring, bad deal.
Design and skin texture
If you used single word to illustrate the Aspire V7, with the aim of word would survive "gray." Both outdoor and interior are ready in the sphere of melancholy aluminum with a delicate brushed-metal pattern.
Black plastic covers the substructure panel, and the screen bezel and keys are additionally black, giving you a clean two-tone look. Exciting, it's not. The design screams generic administrative center PC, even though this is a patent mainstream multimedia/gaming procedure.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)
While the interior components are a high ranking stage, the soul interface is a letdown. Acer's standard island-style baby grand is at this point, and while the keys are hefty and give a delightful delicate backlight, they're additionally very shallow, giving you excluding tactile response whilst typing. The keys additionally bob a trace under your fingers, which can survive maddening, and the complete baby grand tray has a little warm up, especially in the sphere of the spotlight. I've certainly seen additional warm up and wobblier keys in the sphere of other laptops, but it adds a non-premium feel to the procedure, which is not what did you say? You absence on behalf of $1,200.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)
The hefty contact pad offers masses of interim on behalf of gestures and navigation, but response on behalf of the all-important two-finger scroll gesture is miscellaneous. In the sphere of highly optimized apps, such to the same degree IE10, it workings smoothly, but in the sphere of the Chrome browser, it can survive jumpy. The pad uses a clickpad-style design, with rebuff marked gone and totally mouse buttons, so you cause additional break the surface area, and the Synaptics software scheming it offers masses of options on behalf of correction the response and gestures.
The 14-inch contact screen has a native solution of 1,920x1,080 pixels, although configurations with lower-res screens are additionally to be had. I wouldn't propose with the aim of to the same degree a place to cutback overheads, however. The put on show at this point is crunchy and lively, and offers widespread viewing angles, although the edge-to-edge goblet spread over the surface is glossy sufficient to point toward a batch of light. To the same degree with in the least Windows 8 laptop, contact control is worthy, and this 10-input screen worked well on behalf of navigating Windows 8. With the advanced screen solution, you'll cause additional banned of HD capture on tape and games, someplace 1080p ought to survive your baseline spec.
The Acer Aspire V7 is not just rationally equipped with functional ports, it additionally spreads them around to both wall and the rear edges, a setup rarely seen in the least additional. Both wall boundary has a USB 2.0 docks, with an SD tag slot and audio jack on the totally wall, while the rear boundary has both HDMI and mini-DisplayPort, plus USB 3.0, and an Ethernet jack -- an alternative rarity in the sphere of the ultrabook age.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)
While our $1,199 assessment company is by the side of the high ranking conclusion of the Aspire V7 line, you accomplish cause a low-voltage Intel meat i7 CPU, a gigantic 1TB hybrid tough drive (with a trivial 24GB SSD), 12GB of RAM, and the Nvidia GeForce 750M graphics. Several preconfigured versions are to be had, with dissimilar screen resolutions, processors, tough drives, and even 15-inch screens, but the superlative overall deal is the $899 version, which trades down to a meat i5 CPU, 500GB HDD, and 8GB of RAM, but keeps the 1,920x1,080-pixel-resolution screen and Nvidia graphics.
