Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook - opinion?

I posted earlier, but this Ultrabook seems to tick all the boxes for me, and comments appreciated

Acer Aspire S3 i7 $899 after cashback

Comments

  • +1 for 256GB SSD
    +2 for an ultrabook that actually is ultra thin and light.
    -1 for only 2nd Gen i7
    -2 for no usb3
    -3 for only 4gb ram. 8GB would be nice at this price
    -4 for the rediculously drawn out youtube advertisement on the page.

    my 2c.

    • You forgot 'only 1366 x 768'.

      • edit:
        -5: Poor screen res ;)

        To summarise, OP can do better for $900 bucks

  • It might be worthwhile to edit in your requirements from the other thread to get some more suggestions rolling, OP.
    Is a touch display a deal breaker (I'll assume not, since this one isn't)? At the moment, we're not seeing a great deal of them, since Windows 8 was only released a short while ago. Future ultrabooks are required to have it, but at the moment, I think your money is better spent on a non-touch ultrabook.

    Perhaps revise your requirements, and post a budget?

  • +1

    Sorry for bit off topic but @Propspective Darkness - whats your thoughts on https://topbuy.com.au/tbcart/pc/$649-after-Cashback-Acer-ASPIRE-M3-581TG-Ultrabook-i7-3517U-15-6-inch-GT640M-4G-RAM-500-HDD-W7HP-NX-RYKSA-004-p189125.htm.

    • +2

      Well the i7 is a positive, though you might not need it, depending on what you're doing.

      4GB of RAM is fairly standard for the price. I'm curious as to what they're using, though, if an 'upgrade' to 2GB is another $10. I would probably upgrade to 8GB if it were me (I find Kingston to be more reliable than Team, anyway), but whether you need it or not is another thing.

      The dedicated graphics is also a positive - most ultrabooks only use Intel HD4000 graphics.

      It has an SSD cache, which can be seen as a positive and negative, really. It doesn't have a full SSD, but the 20GB cache will make things faster (and most notebooks don't have one).

      The resolution is a bit of a negative (1366 x 768), but given the price, it's not so bad.

      Weight-wise, it's a bit up there for an ultrabook (2.25Kg), but whether that's a deal-breaker is up to you.

      No backlit keyboard is a minor negative, but the battery life is apparently quite good.

      All up, it's not bad value for money (cheapest I could find, for the specs). Whether it's the best option for you depends on your usage. For example, the i7 will really only come in handy if you're running Photoshop extensively. The dedicated GPU would help with that too, as well as increasing game performance.

      If you're just looking at basic usage, you might be better off finding a full SSD to further increase general usage speed. A lighter option would also be more beneficial, if you're on the move a lot.

      The Cnet review seems overall favourable.

      • Thanks for extensive comments. I normally use my laptop for movies/music/ms office and SAP stuff. Since i m not carrying it everyday, 2.25 is ok with me. Thanks again.

  • Same laptop as OP $740 after cashback.

    http://www.onlinecomputer.com.au/product_info.php?products_i…

    Just an FYI.

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