Acer Aspire TimelineX 3820TG vs Acer Aspire TimelineX 4820TG

Hello everybody,

I'm wondering whether to buy the Acer Aspire TimelineX 3820TG-332G32Mn or the 4820TG-332G32Mn.

They share the same specs:
-Intel Core i3-350 (2.13Ghz)
-ATI Mobility Radeon 5470/Integrated Intel Graphics
-2GB Memory
-320GB Hard Drive

It's just between the screen size (13' and 14') the weight (1.8kg and 2.1kg) external ports, battery life, and overall performance.

By the way they both cost the same.

Edit: Please dont reply telling me to go for one with higher specs; I'm on a budget.
I would also like a website with full reviews, if possible.

Thanks!
lunatica2727

 

Both in use here, but with the HD5650.
Battery life and performance are close enough to call identical.

The main difference is the optical drive.

Do "you" need or even want an optical drive today?
Now convert everything to ISO images anyway, so the optical drive actually takes away some from the laptop. A better solution might be to replace the optical drive with a second hard drive, and use a SSD for primary HD.

How important is the size difference to "you".
Here I needed the 3820's smaller size to fit in special very light and tight spaced travel situtations.

The smaller and lighter 3820TG without optical drive is the one I prefer.

I use these all day and night long. Prior laptop was a 17" in use for 4+ years. Even with older eyes that now require reading glasses for many things, I can get by fine with the 3820TG 13" screen without any glasses (windows display set to medium 125% and small icons, with screen an arms length away).

 

Thanks RobsTV,

I have noticed that the 3820TG does not come with a optical drive; which I believe takes away some weight- but I might be watching some dvds and listening to cds.

Thing is: I've never really used a 13' or a 14', just used to have a 17' laptop... Is there a large difference between the 13 and the 14'? I need it for both on the road and inside my house, so I think the 14' would be more suitable, but I would also need mobility- nothing too heavy.

 

An optical drive is not needed to watch DVD's or listen to music. Try to keep a collection of current multimedia on the laptops hard drive. An ISO image of a DVD is one way that works great, or ripped DVD's to reduce file size. Much more convenient than messing with carrying a bunch of DVD's everywhere. Faster too since laptop optical drives are very slow. I also use those small cheap IDE/SATA to USB cable adaptors for transferring things between a bunch of PC's. For less than $15, it is worth getting if you do not have a built-in optical drive for transferring data. You can quickly connect any normal cheap internal drive (CD/DVD/HD) to laptops USB port and have full access to the drives data.

Only a small size difference between 13" and 14". The 14" seems much bigger to me, but it really is not. The weight difference is not that big and not something most need to worry about. If you are used to a 17", going to a 13" will not be much different than going to a 14".

 

Like ... you won't have to carry your notebook in the back of your pickup truck anymore.

Bronsky

 

Here's a quick comparison between the 3820TG and 4820TG.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/acer/499204-acer-aspire-timelinex-4820tg-owners-lounge-207.html

Within the post, there's also a link
to helpful photos for visual size/dimensions comparison.

It just all depends on personal usage and preference. Both models are awesome for their size, weight, quality, and performance.