Acer V3-371 Owners Thread

Hi guys, seems like no one has started a thread on the Acer V3-371, just released last July 2014.

I just got this unit last week as a replacement of my aging Asus K40AD which has started showing its problems.

Specific Model Number: V3-31-56CB
Specs:
Intel Core i5 4210u 1.7Ghz with Turbo Boost up to 2.7Ghz
Intel HD Graphics 4400, up to 1792MB Dynamic Video Memory
4GB DDR3 L Memory
1TB 5400RPM HDD
13.3" 1366 x 768 Acer ComfyView™ Display
4-cell battery rated up to 6.5 hours

Initial Impressions:

Performance:
The Dual Core i5 4210u installed is more than enough for normal web surfing, office applications and occassional video-streaming. Pretty mid-range performance basically. One thing to note, on Power Saver, the laptop rarely goes past 0.67Ghz so there's an evident slowdown in launching of programs when multi-tasking.
The unit only has 4GB of single channel DDR3L Memory installed rated at 1600mhz. For Photoshop users, might want to upgrade this a little more. Or better just get a laptop with a discrete graphics option as the HD 4400 is just so-so.
Haven't tried gaming on it as the HD 4400 is below-average. Just youtube HD 4400 to give you an idea if it's capable of gaming.

Display & Sound:
Acer's 13.3" ComfyView installed on this model is just a TN Panel but a matte display is a welcome sight in a sea of glare panels installed on most budget builds. Viewing angles are around average, for personal use this won't be much of an issue.
Sound quality is surprisingly good given the tiny stereo speakers installed on both sides at the bottom. Audio quality streamed from Sky.fm is pleasant to the ears. Pre-installed Dolby Home software might have something to do with this. Don't expect deep bass though.

Build Quality & Weight:
The V3-371 came with a full-sized keyboard installed. Key sizes are great and key presses are deep but not too deep. It's a bit noisy when you're typing a long report but no issues so far, feedback is accurate.
The touchpad is another story though. Response is sort of random. Takes some adjustment and getting used to. I'd rather just get a wireless mouse tbh.
Laptop is very light, around 1.5kg only, pretty easy to carry around. The 45W power brick that comes with the package is pretty small too.
Backside of the screen is made out of patterend black aluminum which is pleasant to touch. Laptop's surface is made of black matte plastic, pretty minimalist design overall. Acer also offers a white option for this wanting something more girly-looking (no offense).

Battery Life:
Acer claims this to have 6-7 hours battery life on normal use. So far with just web-surfing and Microsoft Office on, I'm getting same results as the rating. In one-hour of web-surfing, it only dropped from 100% to 88%. Will update you guys on this.

Price & Value for Money:
This being a "bridge" laptop, having around average laptop specs in a semi-ultrabook form, I can say it's pretty good value. Price I got it was for around $700 (converted).

Some issues:
I opened up HWMonitor and BatteryBar, both show that the wear level is already at 7% given that I haven't even used this for a week yet. I'm hoping this is just a software glitch.S


Pics to follow.

 

Thanks. I woud be interested in knowing how easy it is to upgrade the ssd and and ram if you ever get round to that or if someone else has one?

 

Nobody? I guess this isn't a popular laptop.

 

I've upgraded my hdd to 120GB Adata SSD, and its pretty easy. Just remove the back screws, open the back cover using credit card or any card you have, and just unplug the hdd and install new ssd... its very simple... however, you'll lose factory warranty since you break the warranty seal on the back cover.

excelent laptop. ive been using for two weeks, and feel amazed on how fast the system is. Using win 8.1 64 bit. i'm planning to upgrade my ram to 8 GB in the future...

 

Just got this laptop yesterday. Seems to be working fine.

What I liked: lightweight, fast enough, inexpensive for its specs

What I didn't like: slow startup (possible due to all those apps installed by Acer which I haven't explored yet)

Overall, a very good buy, I think. Planning to upgrade to 8GB. Not sure how much or if it is even possible to upgrade this to SSD.

 

Hi guys, pardon if I haven't updated this thread. Been using it for 9 months straight, daily for office work and light duties, mostly Excel, Photoshop CS6 and light gaming (Age of Empires II HD). Temps go up to the mid 50s with AoE II, pretty okay.

Battery life is still decent at 5.5-6 hours average use. Battery wear shows 15-17% in HWMonitor. I'm planning to upgrade the 1Tb 5200rpm unit to a 240gb SSD, either a Kingston SSDNow V400 or Crucial MX100.

For those who want to DIY the ram and hdd upgrades,

 

I've the Core i5-5257U version with the Iris 6100. So far I can get 7 hours of battery life on Windows 10 with Edge, i'm pretty happy with the touchpad while I don't like much the keyboard.

I've upgraded my notebook to 10 GB of RAM and using a Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB.

 

Hey guys,
I've had my v3-371 for over an year now and while i was using a virtual workstation it crashed on me and the HDD never worked again (replaced it). Since then, i have severely damaged the screen and is in need of a replacement. However, i have been having a lot of trouble specifically finding the screen for a v3-371. I can only find v3-372's and have been wondering if it would be sufficient if i were to use one of those in the same size, if not where could i get a proper replacement for my specific laptop?

a reply would be greatly appreciated
thanks