NOW AVAILABLE for purchase - Acer Aspire TimelineU M3 released

Launched at Singapore's IT show 2012

Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3

Intel Core i5-2467m
NVIDIA Geforce GT 640M
Retailing at Singapore dollars 1298

First pictures revealed on the spot

 

1298SGD ~ 1034USD
Amazon.de 799 Euro for i5
1199 for i7
Still kind of steep for a 15.6" @ 5lb

"8hour battery?" would like some insight.

 

In Singapore, prices of IT products are steep. Have to live with it (pun intended).

 

Is there a 13" or 14" version? Hopefully it wont have the throttling problems.

 

The Timeline U will come in a 14" version. With its 17W TDP I5 ULV CPU and Kepler GPU, throttling is unlikely.

 

New Kepler core looks awesome. Battlefield 3 with no problem. Acer's Timeline Ultra M3 ultrabook maxes out Battlefield 3

 

How does Intel Core i5-2467m compare to the i5-2410m in the 38/48/5830 timelines?

 

The I5-2467m is a 17w TDM ULV CPU. Base clock is 1.6 ghz, turbo 2.3 ghz. It is far less powerful than a full powered CPU. That makes the kepler gpu performance look even more impressive. These new Timelines look like a real improvement over their throttling fermi friends. Shame the display is still such crap.

 

More reviews:
AnandTech - Acer Aspire TimelineU M3: Life on the Kepler Verge

 

Nvidia GeForce GT 640M Review: Kepler Arrives For Mobile | PC Perspective

 

NBR reviewed the M3
Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 Specs, Performance and Benchmarks

For the fully metal (magnesium?) case, it was good to hold with minimal flexing.

 

Waiting for the 14" version of timeline U!

 

If Acer prices the 14" M3 correctly ($850?), it will sell really well. In the few months between now and IB release, Acer can ship a lot of these units.

 

I'll be one to let them take my money!

The 14" version should be M5, but without detailed specs out, not surewhich Nvidia GPU it has

 

Finally, an ultrabook that looks like it can actually replace a laptop.

 

I like the specs and design, but not buying a new computer until Ivy Bridge is released.

 

This is good for people who absolutely needs a laptop, a lightweight one with great performance.

 

Lots to like about this laptop mainly the performance and thin size but the negatives are the touchpad, sub par screen and stupid placement of the power switch might be a too much to overcome the positives.

 

The Elan touchpad is the exact same used in the Samsung Series laptops.

 

I would love a 640m vs 6750m/6770m 1GB writeup. My MBP gives great performance and i would love to know where my 6750m stands against the new kelper mobile card's.

 

640m wins by about 25%

oh wait you got the 6750m, the castrated apple version.. then its more like atleast 50 to 60 %

 

25% seems like a stretch to me.

Using notebookcheck's game benchmarks.

Star Wars: The Old Republic (high)
6770- 40fps
640M-33fps

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (high)
6770- 30fps
640M-31fps

Battlefield 3 (high)
6770- 22fps
640M- 26fps

Crysis 2 (high)
6770- 40fps
640M- 40fps

There are games that favor 640M in F1 2011 640M wins (51 vs 27) and Deus Ex HR (61 vs 42) but most are very close.

Overall 640M is the winner since it either draws with 6770 or wins but I wouldn't go for an average 25% increase as more like double or nothing

 

downloads, there is a huge thing that slipped your eyes. That is, the GT 640M is tested with a Sandy Bridge ULV 17W CPU. If paired with the quads the GT 640M will definitely be around 20% to 30% better than the 7690M/6750M.

Also the comparison is on 6750M vs GT640M, not on 6770M vs GT 640M.

Either way GT 640M is a milestone for those who want a powerful discrete GPU in a thin form factor.

 

Yeah- that may be the case. I'm not saying 640M is bad though- to the contrary.
Last series of mid-range cards from both AMD and nVidia was useless. This time nVidia did good which hopefully will force AMD to work harder too.

I have nothing against being wrong as long as I'm underestimating those cards.

 

Not saying you are wrong. What you provided is a M3 GT 640M benchmark against current gen 6770M notebooks, which is really relevant to the thread. Just clarifying some parts which may not be clear to some of us when dissecting the information.

 

Actually, I think the Sony Z11, the Acer 3820TG and the LG P330 were more groundbreaking designs for their time, but I do like the new Timeline U and I think Acer will price it right. This is likely to be the best option for someone wanting a lot of GPU power for ~ $800 USD. The low power CPU is probably a decent compromise to prevent the CPU from throttling since it is clear that cooling systems like the 3820TG are too expensive for Acer. I like the idea of the self OC'ing Kepler GPU. Hopefully, the automatic OC'ing does not interfere with conventional OC'ing.

It is a shame that Acer discontinued the 13.3" display model of the Timeline U series in favor of its S5 ultrabooks. I think 13.3" is the sweet-spot if you are going to use an HD display.

 

I totally agree with you.. I just recently got the p330 and im quite satisfied, but I would wish the display is an IPS-Display as promised at computex at first..

But I do think that sooner or later there will be some 13.3 inch notebooks with atleast the 640m, there is already (suspected) a sager 11.6 inch with a 650m..

But I love the build quality of the p330, so I will probably just keep it and maybe consider Maxwell (Generation after Kepler), since the 650m perfomance can nearly be reached by overclocking and the difference isnt that great

BTW: I have owned the 3820TG too, but the build quality of the p330 is miles ahead.. But I loved the dual cooler of the 3820TG.. Currently only the 2442 from gigabyte (IVB + 640m kepler) seems to have dual coolers, but very very cheap build quality)

 

How much faster is the nvidia 640M compared to the Radeon HD 6550M installed on my 4820TG ?

 

About 50-60% depending on game?

 

Hmm, so if the main problems are the screen and power button placement, would it be worth waiting for Gigbyte's upcoming ultrabook?

Link

Also has a 640m, but includes a higher-res screen, seemingly sturdier construction, backlit keys, traditional port placement, and Ivy Bridge.

Having trouble seeing the Acer's advantage right now, aside from being released sooner and costing probably around $200 less.

 

But frankly, the gigabyte one is damn ugly....

 

Ya, that was my first reaction too! =P I like my black...

But, from a non-aesthetic standpoint, it seems to GB has all the advantages. Or am I missing something?

 

Looks Like Acer and Gigabyte will have a lot of competition when it comes to Ultrabooks with discrete NVIDIA Kepler graphics. NVIDIA launches 28nm graphics processor for ultrabooks - Liliputing The confluence of ultrabooks, Ivy Bridge and Kepler GPU looks really interesting.

 

I think they are talking about the HD 3000 vs 620m and so on..

I dont think we will be seeing too much portable notebooks under 15 inches with anything better than the 650m GDDR3, which is already a huge step up of course..

But I really dont like the term ultrabook at all, or do you? The 3820TG was a great notebook, highly moddable and even upgradeable (except gpu).. And most importantly it has a removable battery

Ultrabooks, for me, means a fixed battery, very thin profile (with the cost of having a fixed battery), soldered internal parts (such as the CPU, GPU or even the HDD), and having a ULV CPU.. Most of the time these Ultrabooks arent upgradable at all, and the thin profile doesnt really help cooling

Id rather want another 3820TG with dual coolers, IVY Bridge and a 650m GDDR3 or even GDDR5 version and a IPS screen (okay this is wishful thinking) xD

 

14 inch with Ivy Bridge, 1600x900 and GT 640m. As long as price is reasonable, I'm sold!

 

The gigabyte u2442 is for you then

but the preproduction sample that was showcased at the cebit was of extremely poor build quality.. extreme keyboard flex and even the chassis flexes..

Also it was tested from a german site

Gigabyte u2442n hands on

The official press release also talks about a 768p Display, so its not sure if they will use an HD+ display..

Gigabyte is also known for presenting products and not releasing them the site claims

 

PHP:

Hmm, good to know (sad to hear, though). Well, as Bronsky posted, it looks like there will be an influx of similar laptops, hopefully at least one manufacturer will get it right.

 

btw also the HD+ screen is mediocre in the preproduction sample, the u2442 which was showed failed almost on every aspect.. the hinge was even so broken that the screen was wobbly..

I think the nvidia article talks about 620m to 630m (the 28nm fermi refresh)

I doubt that there will be many 14 and sub14 inch notebooks with such strong gpus as the 640m, as it requires serious cooling solutions (like the dual coolers in the u2442) or the fat clevo 11.6

The 15.6 inch acer aspire m3 5800tg with the 640m and ULV also gets very hot, the CPU and GPU both reach up to 95 degrees (read the test from notebookcheck.com).. So I think the new keplers do get a little hot

Also that kind of goes against the ultrabook concept, strong cooling solutions require a certain thickness

 

The Aspire M3 is starting to look promising again...

I suppose for the heat issue, provided that you don't game on your lap (since for all intensive purposes you have to be plugged in anyway) it should be fine. A good observation, though.

 

Im sure it will be fine, the question is how does kepler heat up with a full powered ivb cpu that shares one heatsink.. Like the clevo 11.6 which features full powered sandy bridge mobile cpus plus the 650m ddr3 version..

I think the computex in june will reveal tons of IVB + Kepler notebooks though