Acer Aspire S7-392 (Haswell) Owners Lounge

I don't see a thread for Aspire S7-392 owners so I'm creating a new one.

Here are some of the changes of the Aspire S7 from the S7-391.
- Updated the processor to a 4th generation Intel Core i5/i7
- Battery size increased. Battery life is now 7 hours (according to Acer)
- Full sized HDMI port included
- mini DisplayPort port included
- Power button moved so you don't accidentally hit it.
- Fan noise has been reduced
- RAM increased to 8GB for base model
- Keys on the keyboard travel more
- Computer no longer comes with a LAN adapter or mouse. It still comes with a case.

I ordered one from buydig.com for $1315 for the i5 version, $75 cheaper than Amazon.

Anyone else buy one? Care to share your experience with the updated S7?

 

Looking forward to your review.

BTW, does it really have Thunderbolt? I don't see it mentioned on their site (at least in the US version):

Acer | Aspire S7 | S7-392-9890 | Datasheet

 

You're right, no thunderbolt. It looked like it in the pictures. It's actually a mini DisplayPort, which is kind of redundant since there's an HDMI port.

 

How's battery in real usage?

 

I get my notebook tomorrow. Here is what an amazon review said:

--Battery During Heavy Use: When I was running the laptop with Adobe Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, and fireworks I was able to get to 6hours and 13 minutes of constant runtime which was awesome to me as a website developer on the go.

--Updated--Battery life (100% brightness): around 7 hours if at 99% full battery (please note the S7 comes with an automatic sensor like your smartphone to adjust brightness so the battery will last longer, automatically on by default)

 

7h at full brightness is quite amazing

 

Hey Bryan, did your S7 arrive yet?

**Sent from my GALAXY NOTE II**

 

My S7-392 is here!

Here are pics from the unboxing that I uploaded on SkyDrive.

Acer Aspire S7 Box
<iframe src="https://skydrive.live.com/embed?cid=6119235FFD051CC5&resid=6119235FFD051CC5%2111545&authkey=AD02XtJ8YqXpWyg" width='320' height="240" frameborder='0' scrolling="no"></iframe>

Case in the Box
<iframe src="https://skydrive.live.com/embed?cid=6119235FFD051CC5&resid=6119235FFD051CC5%2111546&authkey=AA9IYBnk-sAQgYM" width='320' height="240" frameborder='0' scrolling="no"></iframe>

Leather Case (not sure if it's real leather)
<iframe src="https://skydrive.live.com/embed?cid=6119235FFD051CC5&resid=6119235FFD051CC5%2111547&authkey=AFzLV6IxNCpZVUU" width='320' height="240" frameborder='0' scrolling="no"></iframe>

Laptop in the Box
<iframe src="https://skydrive.live.com/embed?cid=6119235FFD051CC5&resid=6119235FFD051CC5%2111548&authkey=AMDYCxVHP_xXxQI" width='320' height="240" frameborder='0' scrolling="no"></iframe>

Right side of the laptop
<iframe src="https://skydrive.live.com/embed?cid=6119235FFD051CC5&resid=6119235FFD051CC5%2111549&authkey=AFclbqugWhpGnFw" width='320' height="240" frameborder='0' scrolling="no"></iframe>

Left side of the laptop
<iframe src="https://skydrive.live.com/embed?cid=6119235FFD051CC5&resid=6119235FFD051CC5%2111550&authkey=AI31c_AIWkt4DRw" width='320' height="240" frameborder='0' scrolling="no"></iframe>

Power cable
<iframe src="https://skydrive.live.com/embed?cid=6119235FFD051CC5&resid=6119235FFD051CC5%2111552&authkey=AGMpu7TH82XnJwE" width='240' height="320" frameborder='0' scrolling="no"></iframe>

Power cable (short configuration)
<iframe src="https://skydrive.live.com/embed?cid=6119235FFD051CC5&resid=6119235FFD051CC5%2111553&authkey=AEAFXCy8jUV4kls" width='240' height="320" frameborder='0' scrolling="no"></iframe>

Power cable (long configuration)
<iframe src="https://skydrive.live.com/embed?cid=6119235FFD051CC5&resid=6119235FFD051CC5%2111554&authkey=AAq5pmFQiLUvYV4" width='240' height="320" frameborder='0' scrolling="no"></iframe>

Laptop Opened
<iframe src="https://skydrive.live.com/embed?cid=6119235FFD051CC5&resid=6119235FFD051CC5%2111555&authkey=AGZK8hVVLWeOjmo" width='320' height="240" frameborder='0' scrolling="no"></iframe>

Keyboard
<iframe src="https://skydrive.live.com/embed?cid=6119235FFD051CC5&resid=6119235FFD051CC5%2111556&authkey=AGNdqkwi81RHcEg" width='320' height="240" frameborder='0' scrolling="no"></iframe>

Feel free to ask any questions!

 

Nice pics!

A few things people will probably be asking:

1. Buid quality (flexing, creaking, general feel)
2. Screen quality (viewing angles, contrast, brightness)
3. Keyboard quality (flex, noise, depth?)
4. Heat issues (does it get hot, if so where?)
5. Fan noise (are the fans always audible, do they suddenly come on very loud after doing something cpu intensive?)
6. Battery life (is it as advertised)

Thanks!

I'm sure a lot of people will be comparing this to the Haswell ultrabooks that are already out - MBA 13 and Sony Vaio Pro 13. Similarly specced these three laptops are all around $1300. Besides screen resolution & OS, with the MBA coming with a non-FHD IPS screen, they are very similar and people will be looking at these criteria to make a decision.

 

1. The build quality is excellent from what I can tell. The keyboard doesn't flex and it's got a very high quality build feeling.
2. Screen is protected by gorilla glass 2. The bezel and screen are flush so it's easy to close apps with your finger on Windows 8.
3. The keyboard doesn't flex and I have no issues with the travel. I wish there was a top row for the F keys (F1-F12). Instead I have to hit FN-#. The page up and down keys will also get some used to. Other than that, I have no issues with they keyboard.
4. I'm writing this post on my lap. It's not hot at all. I'll update this after I run some high intensity apps.
5. It's very quiet unlike the Ivy Bridge Aspire S7. I don't hear the fan at all.
6. I haven't been able to test out the battery yet. My computer currently says 84% remaining (6hrs 50min remaining).

The trackpad is very good too. My wife who is a MacBook Air user tried the computer and really liked the trackpad also. She typically doesn't like Windows computers because so many come with horrible trackpads (not because she likes MacOS).

 

Congrats on your new laptop! Let us know how you like it after several days of use.

I'm still waiting for the Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus and the Asus Zenbook Infinity to come out before I make my decision.

**Sent from my GALAXY NOTE II**

 

Have had an S7-392-9890 for the last couple days. One disturbing thing I've noticed is that even with a 5-bar wifi signal, it has a tendency to drop Internet connectivity several times a day, disrupting my VPN connection. Sometimes it seems to recover spontaneously, sometimes I have to manually toggle airplane mode to get it to reset.

Particularly disturbing given some of the horror stories I've read about the Sony VAIO Pro 13, which I believe uses the same Intel wifi. I've tried repairing the drivers and disabling power management, but it still happened twice this evening while plugged in to wall current.

Got a 45 day return policy from Beach Camera and will give it another week or two to see what happens, but for $1500 I expect flawless basic functionality. So far, it hasn't met that bar.

 

Have you tried what the reviewer on Amazon did?

--Wireless Card: the Intel Dual-band 7260 + Bluetooth 4.0 for some reason started to act up by dropping signals in 5 bar areas but this was easily fixed by using Intel's PROSet/Wireless Software (downloadable through intel's site) to repair the card's drivers. Since then no issues.


**Sent from my GALAXY NOTE II**

 

I haven't had any issues. Maybe it only affects the S7-932-9890 model. Try running the Intel Proset program that comes with your computer and repairing the drivers.

 

As I indicated in my original post, I've attempted repairing the drivers, to no avail. The problem shows up with multiple different access points. I'm currently logging events to see if anything turns up.

 

What Wi-Fi card do you have and drover version?

 

Intel 7260 and 16.0.5.3, which is the latest version available on the Acer website.

A preliminary review of the statistics indicates that the device thinks it's being dropped by the AP. The overnight logs show three deauthentication (RxDeAut) errors at almost exactly one hour intervals. I'll dig a little more if I can find the time.

 

Check out those more recent drivers from Sager

Software Upgrade

 

Hi savingprvtbryan

Thanks for uploading those pictures! Are you able to upload one showing the details on the charger? In quite interested in knowing if the charger varies from the ivy bridge laptop and also by how much. Thanks!

 

What part of the charger do you want me to take a picture of? The tip? The data sheet?

 

Just the rear of the power brick with all the writing on it. The same as the picture you have called 'power cable' but just closer up so the writing on the brick can be read. Interested in the Watts, voltage and amps. Thanks a lot ! Appreciate it

 

Here you go.

<iframe src="https://skydrive.live.com/embed?cid=6119235FFD051CC5&resid=6119235FFD051CC5%2111568&authkey=AKoJufrVbhBP6g0" width='320' height="240" frameborder='0' scrolling="no"></iframe>

 

wow thanks for this cool unboxing!

do you have any feel for battery life yet?

Anandtech got 8.4 hours (503 minutes) in their "Light" test. Do you think that's about right? Or is it more like 7 that acer claims?

For comparison, they got 11h, 30m on the macbook air 2013 in the "light" test, which is actually lower than what other sites got in their tests (12,13 hours)

jcarrz1

 

I still haven't been able to test it. I've used my computer for around 4 or 5 hours before it hit around 40% battery life. I wasn't really tracking the battery so it's not scientific at all. Just an estimate. I'll let you know as I use it more.

 

Attempted to use these, but they didn't resolve the problem, and in fact appeared to interfere with network performance generally (throughput for all devices slowed substantially while the S7 was online; hibernating the S7 fixed the other devices). So I reverted back to 16.0.5.3.

On a whim, I'm extending the WPA Group Key Timeout on the Airport Extreme--some research has suggested that Win8 doesn't play well with WPA key renegotiation.

I'm also seeing wireless-N throughput on the S7 that is perhaps half that of the various other devices on my network. I suspect that the 7260 drivers are simply not well baked yet.

 

You're probably right about the drivers. It seems Intel is not entirely ready yet - Win 7 drivers are still not officially available either and more recent driver version is available on Sager website than on Intel's own.

 

I am looking to buy this laptop in just a week or so.
I have a few questions:

Does the screen get dirty very easily from fingerprints?
Is the build quality sturdy? I am going to be bringing this around a lot.
Will the outside scratch easily if it is in a backpack?
Random questions..

 

The screen attracts fingerprints like a smartphone. The screen has gorilla glass 2 on it like many smartphones so it's the same thing. I don't see the fingerprints when the monitor is on but I notice it if it's off... just like a smartphone.

The build quality is excellent. It doesn't feel cheap at all and it has a high quality feel to it. If there's a Microsoft Store near where you live you can go check out last year's model. When I went to my local Microsoft Store two weeks ago they were still carrying last year's model. The build quality is similar to last year's model.

I carry my laptop in the included laptop case (it feels like leather). That prevents any scratches. The outside top of the laptop is covered by gorilla glass 2 also so it's scratch resistant.

 

It just feels this laptop is too good to be true! The perfect college laptop with it's style and up-to-date software like a touchscreen.. Wow.

 

How is the glossy screen? I would prefer matte screen, but there aint any new ultrabooks with matte screen..

 

I like the glossy screen after using a matte screen for over a year on my 15.6" Samsung Series 7 laptop. I feel the screen is clearer and the colors are brighter. It's definitely good.

 

I don't find the glossy screen too distracting, and that's in comparison with a matte X220.

The physical design of the S7 is outstanding; it's an attractive and solid piece of hardware.

I do have some misgivings about the keyboard--although travel supposedly is increased over the S7-391, it's still very shallow, and the keys have a wiggly quality to them that doesn't provide a lot of tactile feedback. I find myself missing keystrokes more frequently and having to type with a firmer touch than on the X220, which worries me because I type quite a lot. I think Thinkpad keyboards have spoiled me.

One more wifi observation: after suspending the machine and bringing it in to work, network performance was horrible--speedtest reported download speed under 1 Mbps on repeated tests, when side-by-side tests with the X220 (which had been similarly suspended after being on my home network) yielded 20+ Mbps.

Rebooting the S7 helped bring things up to 8-9 Mbps, but still less than half of the X220.

I've pretty much decided that if there isn't a driver-based solution in the next two weeks that gives me better performance, I'm returning the S7. I'm convinced that most of the problem is with Intel, but regardless, I don't want to be a beta tester. And I'm already on the fence about the keyboard.

As always, YMMV; I have no doubt that things are working great for some.

 

I don't know of any touch-screen laptops with matte screen..
Is that even available currently? I could just be stupid..

 

I wasnt talking about matte touch display. I was just wondering how the glossy was, since matte isnt an option on new ultrabooks due to touch requirements by Intel.

 

This wifi issue is very disappointing. Some Sony Vaio Pro 13 users are reporting something similar.

Does anyone else with the laptop have this issue?

 

No issues with WiFi. Tried it at home and school.

 

and you were getting full speed? no cap at 8/9mbps like the other guy? did you compare to other computers?

 

I get full speed.

 

Does the aspire s7 use the same wifi as the asus zenbook ux31a? I want to sell mine to get the aspire s7 with haswell. I am sick of waiting for Samsung to release the ativ book 9 plus. Anyways is the wifi that bad and is the keyboard really good with zero flex?

 

It comes with Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 7260. I'm not sure if that's the same as the zenbook but I doubt it, the 7260 is brand new model that Intel just released. I have absolutely no issues with WiFi. I tried it at home and school with no issues. Also, the keyboard has zero flex so that's good.

 

I am currently debating whether I should get the Acer or the new dell xps 12with has well. Are the fans very quiet and is keyboard on par with an air? I would also know if the 7 hours of battery life is true, thanks.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

Does anyone know how much harddrive space is there remaining on the 128gb version?

 

Knowing from, past history, there shouldn't be more than 80 GB but there could be more, I'm not sure.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

Yeah, the 7 hours is legit.

I'm enjoying the keyboard a lot. The layout is a bit different (~ is moved next to Capslock) but there's a lot of space and the keys have fairly good travel. The backlight is also really well implemented. I'm a heavy typer so maybe I don't notice it the way the guy coming from an X220 does.

 

I believe the Wifi issue is related to range. I can get my full 30mbps if I move a bit closer, but it drops to 8-9mbps at a far distance where my old 6300N would get 30.

I've been posting my comments in the Amazon review comments, so you can read them there if you'd like. The speakers are probably the weakest part of the laptop, but they do get quite a bit louder if you turn on Movie mode in the Dolby Home Theater setting. Still dealing with laptop quality speakers, but at least they're much louder with that setting on.

 

Can you say for tasks like web browsing and typing in ms word the fan is always silent? That is a pretty important factor for me. Does the display have any backlight bleeding and also is there an angle where the glare display is able to be seen without a problem?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

Quick question - I'm technically an Acer Aspire S7-392 owner - picked one up yesterday from MicroCenter, but haven't opened the box yet - been trying to read up some more on it and make sure there isn't anything I'd want to return it for.

Right now it still sounds to me like it's a great choice, and I'm getting the sense it may pretty much be the best ultrabook option out right now (I had also been thinking of the Zenbook Infinity, ATIV 9 Book Plus and Vaio Pro 13).

I only have one question/sticking point remaining, and that's on battery life.

My big question is, what is the difference between this and the MacBook Air that accounts for the battery life difference? Is it just that the S7-392 has a 1920x1080 screen while the MBA has a 1440x900 screen? I'm basically just wondering what accounts for the 10+ battery life that the MBA seems to get real-world, while the S7 seems to be maxing out at 7 hours (I haven't heard as much from people getting more than that). It just seems like, spec-wise, they're pretty similar (although not sure if the MBA has a bigger battery or not).

I'm pretty much fine with Win8 or OS X, and I'm leaning towards keeping the S7, but I kind of want to make sure i have a better sense of the battery life differences between these two systems. I guess I'm wondering if there are circumstances where the S7 is capable of 10+ hours real-world battery life too.

 

I don't know what the max battery life on this is, just that I was able to get past 7 hours of browsing/messing around on the weekend.

The most likely differentiators in terms of battery life are:
1. Windows - Even on Win7, MBA battery life drops significantly. I don't know what it's like for the Haswell MBA, but the Ivy Bridge MBA got completely average battery times when running Win7, basically on par with the Surface Pro at <5hrs. If you want the amazing battery life, you have to commit to OSX. Not only is the Windows battery life worse, but also the relative quality of Apple's bootcamp drivers is getting worse.

2. Resolution. I'm curious to see what battery life would be like on this if I were to switch to that resolution. Needless to say, this has a great screen. The MBA does not.

3. Touch screen. Running a capacitive digitizer constantly is another drain on battery life. Tbh, I wouldn't want to run Windows 8 without it.

One question that remains is if Acer plans to have a battery accessory like they dd for the original S7. I believe one of the Sony ultrabooks has one and gets ridiculous battery life when you plug it in (while weighing about equal to a MBA.)

Here, it's 2:02 pm right now and just for s and giggles I'll disconnect it and see how long it'll last while I work on it. Nothing too intensive - Google Music playing in the background, web browsing, Outlook, occasional Youtube video, w/ 100% screen brightness.

 

I just opened up a muted 1080+ Twitch stream on full screen, and I couldn't hear the fan over the other white noise in the room until I put my ear next to it. I think a large part of it is that the vents are so well positioned, so the sound is directed away from the laptop and is blocked by the screen.

That area will get hot, however, as does the center edge of the laptop (where the base meets the screen) but it doesn't reach the keyboard. You'll probably feel it on your lap though.

EDIT: Just opened Lightroom and the fan has definitely become audible, but I still consider it fairly quiet.

 

Cool - yeah, if I were to go to the MBA I'd definitely just commit to OS X (I use OS X at work and Win7 on my desktop at home, so I'm generally comfortable with both). I've definitely heard that before that Win7/8 on the MBA loses a number of hours of battery life, so yeah, I wouldn't do that thing where you buy an MBA just to run Windows on it.

Seems like your other points about what could account for the lower overall battery life of the S7 make sense

Do you have more details on that external battery accessory? I didn't realize the S7 had something like that, but that's incredibly appealing if it does - or will get one. I thought the new S7 was pretty close to the old one, so any chance it would work with it? I have to say, when I was deciding specifically between the S7 and the Vaio Pro, the Vaio's Sheet battery (which I think bumps it's battery life to the 12-13 hour range) was probably the #1 factor that made me consider it.

If the S7 could use an external sheet battery accessory too, that would make it pretty much a no-brainer (the added thickness/weight when using it is easily worth the extra battery life when you need it).

EDIT: Here we are:

http://blog.laptopmag.com/acer-aspire-s7-391-extra-battery-tested-ugly-but-9-hours-of-power

That would be great actually - doesn't look quite as elegant as the Vaio Sheet battery, but still not bad. I'm trying to think of why this wouldn't work with the S7-392 too (or if not, why Acer wouldn't make the same kind of accessory).