Acer Aspire One 751 Review - 11.6" Netbook with 1366 *768 res

Here's my experience with the 751h sofar. I will be updating this review in the next couple of days. Let me know if you have any questions.

Configuration:
Intel Atom Z520 1.33 GHz running at 1.24GHz
1366*768 Crystal bright (glossy) LCD with LED backlight
1GB memory
160GB Hard drive Hitachi 5K320 family
6 cell battery 4400mAh/ 46Wh. (RMClock reads Designed capacity 48840 mWh, fully charged capacity: 50294 mWh)
weight: 1.35kg (Acer's list)



The Acer 751 (plastic is still on the screen)

Screen: The 1366*768 screen is very sharp, what an improvement of the common 1024*600 netbook screens. Contrast isn't the best, but it's good enough (my estimate: 150:1 at 100 cd/m). Brightness is good but not good enough to overpower reflection when working outside with sunlight (my estimate: 190 cd/m). Colors look vibrant and photographs look realistic with help of the glossy coating. When tilting the screen forward contrast lowers quickly and colors become faded. Tilting the screen slightly backward makes the contrast look better and colors more vibrant.



Touchpad: Excellent. Very smooth, big enough. It's Synpatics, very accurate and has multi touch support. (bigger than NC10 touchpad).

Keyboard: Has some flex but doesn't bother me. It's 100% size, kind of strange to get used to after typing on a NC10 with 92% for a while. Acer uses a style of keyboard that I have not seen before.



Performance: I'm surprised that the Z520 running at 1.24GHz does not bother me. Surfing with several tabs goes well (with Flashblock).
-Playing 720p mkv files goes 100% smooth.
-Playing normal quality flash like Youtube goes 100% smooth.
-Playing 720p wmv (like Microsoft showcase) or HD Youtube does NOT go well. Lots of stuttering.

Hard drive: for some odd reason the harddrive seems to be capped at 45MB/sec. Still trying to figure this out. HDTune is at the bottom of this page.

Battery life: From what I've seen 7 hours is realistic with light use and dimmed screen.
On lowest brightness, wifi on, Windows indicates 8 hours battery life.
On highest brightness, wifi on, the indication 5:30 hours.

Pros:
Sharp screen
Long batterylife
Weight
Very slim (1") and sexy design
Excellent Multi Touch Touchpad

Cons:
CPU is not running at full speed (1.24GHz instead of 1.33GHz)
Hard drive is not running at full speed. (42MB/sec instead of 52MB/sec average)
Performance is ok for a netbook, but not more than that.
Standard Battery (6 cell) sticks out

 

Nice review...but this size is wrong for a netbook .IMO they should be <=10"!

 

You'd be surprised. This netbook actually fits in my NC10 sleeve!
It's hardly bigger.

And it's lighter than Asus 1000

 

i saw this at walmart for $400 w/ similar configuration but it had 2gb ram, 250gb hard drive instead.

 

I think that's a version with Vista. I would not install Vista on a Z520 personally.

 

Good news, the Z520 can be overclocked with SetFSB. I tried 1.33GHz and that was 100% stable. Clock generator is ICS9LPRS365BGLF

Some overclocking results:
At 1.24 GHz CrystalMark : 21657
At 1.45 GHz CrystalMark : 24421

Source: http://www.aspireoneuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=87&t=14361&start=10

 

Hello Phil! I have been trying to get this question answered for a long time regarding the 6-cell battery.

Can you show a photo of the 6-cell battery and how it sticks out? I would be very appreciative.

How much thicker or wider does it make the machine?


-------------------

By the way, thank you so much for the review! Your information, particularly about expected battery life, is really helpful. As are the comparison shots next to the NC10. It really puts the size of this machine in perspective.

Thanks!

 

This should answer your questions:

 

Thank you Phil! I'm glad they made the extension out the back, rather than adding thickness to the bottom. Much better for fitting into a messenger bag or backpack. Though I do wish they could have found room for the higher capacity battery within the case. I guess you can't have it all!

 

Acer.co.uk mentions a 5200 mAh battery. I wonder if that's a mistake or true.

 

This isn't the first time we've seen such a bait-and-switch tactic. MSI did this with the original Wind U100. The first batch of the 6-cell version (which made it to reviewers hands) had a higher capacity battery than the later batches of Winds sold with 6-cells. And there was no way to know which battery you would get. 1100 mAh difference is large. Probably another 1 to 1 1/2 hrs of battery life.

I checked google - this has been noted in some early reviews. Still stinks.

http://mytechnews.info/b/tag/aspire-one-751

T

 

That's awesome...I wonder if the Z530 in a Dell Mini 12 could be overclocked using SetFSB?

 

I would think so, if you're able to find the right clock generator.

As far as know this can be found out by opening up the laptop. Or maybe someone else has already found it out.

 

Hi Phil

I travel a lot and use my netbook for e-mail, web and watching movies.
I have my eye on the 2GB RAM version with VHP as I'm in it for the RAM - guess I can upgrade to Windows 7.
How will it do with movies in DivX wich is what I watch most? Will I get no perfomence untill I either downgrade to XP or upgrade to W7 or does it only have issues with movies in 720p?

I currently have a Wind U100 with the 2GB RAM - it's been pretty good, but starting to show signs of wear and tear (6 months on the road).

 

With XP Divx movies are no problem. Neither is 720p (avi/mkv). I never tried any other OS.

What was a problem: 720p flash and wmv.

 

hmm... there's hope yet. I fell in love with the 751h before they were for sale (wal-mart had one on display, but couldn't sell because of wrong info on the packaging), but my hopes were smashed when I found out that it only had a 1.33 GHz processor. is Vista still sluggish on such a low processor? with 2 GB and 250 GB of hard drive space, I would probably go with a multi-boot option anyway, windows for work related purposes (spreadsheets and a low resource CAD program), linux for internet and killing time (maybe finding out how to play games through WINE), and another OS(x) (that I'm apparently not supposed to mention) for media and iTunes. I figure running linux, I wouldn't have to have a high procesor speed, and if I OC to 1.45, that wouldn't fall much behind the standard 1.6 N270.. so yeah, my hopes rise again! hehe

 

Vista on 751 would be sluggish I expect. The CPU is slow and hard drive speed is capped.

XP was running fine though.

 

A guy on Youtube has some nice reviews. His version came with Vista and he had significant problems with slowdown and the operating system was generally slow to respond. Also, under Vista his machine would not run YouTube videos smoothly (standard definition videos). Once he downgraded to Windows XP, these problems disappeared. The system was much more responsive and standard definition YouTube videos played smoothly.

Personally, I'd get the cheaper version, which has 1 GB of RAM and Windows XP. Windows XP doesn't need more than 1 GB to function well. Besides, it would be cheaper to upgrade the RAM to 2GB than to buy Windows 7 separately (it won't be free forever...)

 

Someone in the Netherlands reported he had no problems playing 1080p mkv files with identical configuration. (Packardbell's version of this laptop with Z520)

Too bad I did not try it. Seems like the Z520 really has some HD capabilities that the N270 is lacking.

 

I saw and demoed this laptop today, and I came away impressed. It is VERY sleek, and looked far more polished than the AOD150 that I had to compare it to. The bezel was very slim, and I imagine that the netbook as a whole wouldn't be that much larger than 10.1-inchers out there. 1366x768 on a 11.6" screen made for very crisp viewing, while the keyboard was so large that I had trouble typing on it

In my mind, this is a very interesting alternative to the CULV-wielding ultraportables starting to hit the shelves that manages to stay cheap.

 

Phil,
how did you get to 1.45Ghz overclock?
What specific parameters did you change when using SetFSB?
Thanks

 

hmm.. is this netbook worth the $350? xD
I'm thinking about this one at this moment, but when i was testing this at costco, it couldn't do wmv hd using window media player, it was lagging like crazy, but the cpu wasn't even being used to 100% either.
how is the video performance on this anyways? i basically want a good quality in video for a netbook right now xD.

 

I did not push it that far. The guy I linked to did. I got to 1.34 GHz. I used the upper slider and did not change the lower slider.

It's a very good netbook. Imo the best around if you can be ok with mediocre performance. The best because of the big and sharp screen, multi touch touchpad, full size keyboard and very long battery life. It must be run with XP imo.

WMV HD does not play well. 720p mkv plays very well. 1080p mkv is said to play well (I never tried it).

And like any netbook I've tried, they're not powerful enough to play Youtube 720p.

 

Phil,


Did you try this one out in sunlight ?

Higher battery options ?

 

I did. I could work with it outside but the reflections are strong. I needed to sit strategically in the shade to have a good view of the screen.

I don't know of higher battery options. I was quite happy with 7 hours.

 

In the shade , everything is crystal clear viewable ?

Minimum to be happy is 10 hours for me :0)

 

In the shade it's clear. The display is about 200 cd/m according to Notebookjournal.

 

hmm.. costco only offers the 3 cell version.. no clue on the battery life on that? is it like at least 3 hours? xD my AAO 8.9" only gets 2 hours..

 

Acer's website reports:
24.4 W 2200 mAh 3-cell Li-ion battery pack, up to 4 hour battery life

Going by my experiences with the 4400mAh battery, 3.5 hours should be possible with lower brightness, wifi on, BT off. The 3 cell won't stick out and make it a bit lighter.

751 will last a lot longer than AAO 8.9" because the US15W chipset is a lot more power efficient.

This will be a nice competitor for the Acer 751: Asus 1101HA
http://www.trustedreviews.com/laptops/news/2009/06/16/11in-Asus-1101HA-Revealed/p1

 

Do you think it is worth paying $350 to upgrade my current netbook that I have which is an Acer Aspire One 8.9" w/ N270 processor, 120gb hard drive, 1.5gb ram, and 3 cell battery.

 

I set both slides to get 1.5ghz.
Upgraded to 2Gb
It is perfectly stable.
Removed original antivirus and replaced with AVAST.
Perfectly ok with 720p video (tried with netflix)
This is a great little notebook

 

Acer do one with WWAN, on the standard version is there a working simcard slot and free mini pci-e slot?

Reason it plays HD Video is because it uses GMA500 which decodes H264, Quicktime does not use hardware decode nor does adobe flash HD which is H264 based like quicktime, also GMA 500 should decode WMV9 (WMV HD)

Also I have used this and it is the Netbook Killer, best all round netbook you can buy, amazing screen and design

 

can anyone test this netbook in 720p/1080p playback w/ specific settings and post a video? xD
I want to see how it really performs xD i can't do much at costco, since i'm like not allow to install programs and other stuff to test it's performance

 

720p (tested) and 1080p (I've been told) mkv just plays fine on default settings.

I think it was this 720p file I used: http://www.vuze.com/az-web/details/CIPT2WIOWO6HZYTLUNUJ37W2AP4QONKW.html

Your AAO is even more portable than the 751. If you are satisfied with the keyboard, touchpad and resolution there is no reason to upgrade.

 

Micro Anvika?

 

have anyone try this http://jkontherun.com/2009/06/19/new-intel-atom-graphics-driver-offers-major-video-improvements/
to see the improvement of the graphics?
i'm planning to get the 751 at costco tomorrow xD

 

"Significant cuts in comparison to Intel Atom N270 / GMA950 combination you have in terms of system performance suffered. The Acer Aspire One to get the Intel Atom Z520 CPU with 1.33GHz nominal clocking in conjunction with the Intel US15W Express chipset and GMA 500 graphics chipset is used. A variant of this combination, we know already from Sony `s P11 Series and is currently the weakest variant of the Intel Atom platform. "

http://translate.google.com/transla...book.17570.0.html&sl=de&tl=en&history_state0=



I don't understand why Acer chooses for such a weak combination ?!

 

Ahahaha, bring along a USB with portable programs. I actually boot Steam games off a thumbdrive to test performance in stores

 

First of all Z520 beats the N270 in video playback.
Second, it's easy to overclock the Z520.

Reason they choose it is because of Intel restrictions. Intel does not allow N270 on a 11.6 display with 1366*768 (yet).

 

meh.. i just got my AO751H today from Costco.
I thought there was 2 PCI-E slot x.x which there is only 1

 

What was your plan with 2 PCI-E slots? I figure one is for 3G...

 

I'm thinking about getting this or the Dell Mini 12. Does anyone have any opinions or the mini 12 vs this machine?

Also, I'm coming from an m1330 which IMHO has been the best form factor/function laptop I've owned. I'm moving to a 17" MacBook Pro for development work but I'd like to get a netbook for travel use.

Thoughts?

 

New 751 review from portable monkey.

 

I mainly heard bad things about the Mini 12. It has been discontinued. I never saw it in real life, so I don't know.

All I can say is that the Acer 751 with XP is my favorite netbook at the moment. Reasons: screen, touchpad, weight, batterylife.

It would be nice if it has a bit more power but it's enough for browsing.

 

the mini 12 is similar to the acer 751 but the mini 12 has cpu options up to z530. it is basically similar to the acer 751 but might be bigger and less battery life.

 

Great, thanks for the feedback. This acer does look great, my main attraction is the screen.

 

Mini 12's screen is not as good as Acer 751. Notebookjournal.de and Notebookcheck have measured both.

 

here's a longshot - anyone happen to have a side by side of the Acer 751 and a Dell m1330?

 

I bought the Costco model. Weight and size are wonderful, the screen is also very good. But I am unhappy with the performance. It is rather sluggish with Windows 7 RC and I never tried the XP it came with. 2GB memory would help, but it seems the CPU is just not catching up. I cannot get video to play smoothly even at smaller resolutions. Full-screen video - forget it.
Battery life is 3h max I would say with the Wifi on. The screen is barely readable in sunlight and kindof washed out looking. It is crisp and sharp and evenly lighted. Viewing angles are tight.
But then that's not what a netbook is for. Still, starting apps and switching does take a long time.
I am considering the 3810T for $600 instead. There is also a 4810T with a 14"screen available at Costco, (for $630) but that's too big.

 

With the default installed XP 720p and 1080p H264 plays 100% smooth full screen.

Overclocking with the Z520 is fairly easy and can let you run the CPU at 1.5GHz or higher.