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"Easier said than done" is the best phrase I can think of to describe Intel's ultrabook initiative. On paper, the plan seemed easy enough, although manufacturing partners and knowledgeable consumers alike would testify that it's been anything but. Aspirations to compete with Apple's ultrathin MacBook Air have been met with a number of compromises as hardware makers struggle to find the perfect blend of features while keeping the overall price somewhere around Intel's $1,000 target.
Could a few hundred bucks tacked on the top end make a difference between a vanilla ultrabook and something truly special? That's something Acer is willing to gamble on with its latest flagship ultrabook.
The Aspire S5 comes with a beefy Core i7-3517U clocked at 1.9GHz (Turbo Boost up to 3.0GHz), 4GB of RAM and 256GB of flash storage -- no hybrid caching system here. In most instances, an SSD is the best component upgrade for any modern system, but Acer took things one step further as the S5 is equipped with two 128GB SSDs in a RAID0 configuration. It goes without saying that the storage subsystem should be blazing fast.
User Comments: 13
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Personally, I don't like Acer because: 1) poor build quality, some cheap plastic feels, 2) poor display, or not-bright-display
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At first I thought the magicflip feature was kind of cool, but then when I go hands-on on a megastore, the acer s5 exhibit a loud gear noise upon opening and closing of the ports. I can imagine it probably been abused as a display unit, but S5 is fairly new product and it shouldn't break this fast.
the RAID0 SSD seems like a first in ultrabook. I hope they find a way into future windows 8 pro tablets. if surface pro is too expensive, I'd might find myself carrying an win8 pro acer tablet.
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I know I'm picking at minor details, but I'm noticing some slight inconsistencies in the article. "Core i7-3517U clocked at 1.9GHz (Turbo Boost up to 3.0GHz)" You later quote it as an i5 with lower specs, to come full circle at the end to call it an i7 again? Color me what you want, but a bit inconsistent in the review? Not to mention the comparison shows i5, eh well I guess it's a small slip up.
It's an all around good review, and gives me enough in-depth detailing. Not that I'm bothering with an Ultrabook or such, at least in the near future from what I've got planned. =)
I also kinda agree with the Guest. I'm not too fond of Acer either, which is actually the brand of PC I'm using. It's average at best really..
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VitalyT said:
Thank you. Next one...
I want an ultra-book with a no-bezel 13"-15" 1080P screen, Samsung 840 SSD, 16GB of RAM. Price not an issue.
Unfortunately they don't exist...
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This is not the first time RAID SSD is featured on a laptop. The VaioZ comes to mind, it has a quad raid option(4x128/256).
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"I want an ultra-book with a no-bezel 13"-15" 1080P screen, Samsung 840 SSD, 16GB of RAM. Price not an issue."
16GB of RAM in an ultrabook? for what purpose?
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ReederOnTheRun said:
Definitely gonna have to pass on the Acer. It seems like nobody ever likes their products. Also, screen quality is important on an ultrabook, for me at least.
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3DCGMODELER said:
Only 2 x 128 GB ssd's wow.. thats bad, thats to small.wow dang. that wont sell very well..
now if it were 2 x 512 GB ssd's maybe..
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At first I thought the magicflip feature was kind of cool, but then when I go hands-on on a megastore, the acer s5 exhibit a loud gear noise upon opening and closing of the ports. I can imagine it probably been abused as a display unit, but S5 is fairly new product and it shouldn't break this fast.
the RAID0 SSD seems like a first in ultrabook. I hope they find a way into future windows 8 pro tablets. if surface pro is too expensive, I'd might find myself carrying an win8 pro acer tablet.
Not a first at all My 2010 Sony Vaio Z has 128GB Raid 0 setup.
Also 1366x768 = fail my laptop is 13.3 1600x900 which I would consider the bare minimum.
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1 person liked this |"I want an ultra-book with a no-bezel 13"-15" 1080P screen, Samsung 840 SSD, 16GB of RAM. Price not an issue."
16GB of RAM in an ultrabook? for what purpose?
lol 16GB of ram in an ultrabook that is ment for light work sure bud!
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I didnt like acer for the longest time but over the past year or 2 they have improved their quality quite a bit in my opinion. their slim notebooks and netbooks are pretty neat. still not a fan of their basic laptop builds though
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"SSD RAID on an Ultrabook"
Thats laughable!!! The PC is slow but can find data as soon as the CPU finally decides to look for it.
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I don't understand you people wanting a hand-held device that displays 1080P. If the display is not going to be larger than 20 inches there is no need in 1080P.
What are you going to be doing, reading the text with a magnifying glass from a two inch distance? I can understand wanting the device capable of displaying to a second display at 1080P, but why would you want a display resolution that is beyond the range of eyesight on an ultra-book's display?
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