The Official Arrandale Timeline Thread

This or Asus UL30JT?

 

Hard to say, with acer's i7/5650 combo, this is a killer performing ultraportable 13 inch. In terms of raw power, this acer here will definitely take it. In terms of battery life though the asus will excel along with its warranty.

Hard decisions

 

If I was getting a 3820T I'd much prefer i5/5650 over i7/5650 if possible, as it would be significantly cheaper. As it is, though, I'm personally more interested in the ASUS K42JV and N82JV due to the warranty.

 

Agree. The whole Alienware design recently is butt ugly.

 

UL30JT = up to 10hr battery life
3820TG = up to 8hr battery life

Asus = 2 year warranty + 1 year AMEX
Acer = 1 year warranty + 1 year AMEX

I think i'm still going to go with the Acer 3820TG... the raw performance power over the UL30JT puts it over the top for me and they will be priced very similarly.

 

How much will the Acer cost? the non upgraded one.

 

My guess is ~$800 for i3/5470, ~$1000 for i5/5650, and ~$1200 for i7/5650, but that's just a guess.

 

I would so buy this if it wasn't for the resolution. 1366 by 768 simply isn't enough real estate for me. Why does Acer always do this. POR QUEEEE!!!

Ok rant over, lol. Besides the resolution solid laptop though.

 

It's not just Acer; there aren't many laptops at 14" or less that have the option of higher resolution. Those are mostly high-end or business laptops, e.g. Sony VAIO Z, Lenovo ThinkPad, HP EliteBook, Dell Vostro/Latitude, with the exception of the Sony VAIO CW.

 

True, but they put that resolution in the 15 inch! How lame. I think 1600 by 900 should be the new 15 inch standard. That resolution is perfect for a 15 inch.

 

thing im concerned about is price, battery life, and if it has metal palm rests and other metal accents

im just a sucker for metal clad notebooks

if the battery life is 4 hours and the price on this thing is too high im goin for a UL30JT or PL30JT

 

Link to this so called PL30jt? Did a google search, but nothing really came up.

 

Info in ASUS World Magazine.
PL30JT thread.
UL30JT (closely related) thread.

 

I hope this comes out by early April at the very least... that's when my Amazon.com Prime membership ends .

 

@coldmack

the PL30JT and the UL30JT are basically the same but the PL has a matte screen and a Intel AntiTheft technology option, i really only care for the matte screen

thanks @lackofcheese for being so quick with the info!

 

Don't forget that it also has a different touchpad and two separate mouse buttons. I know a lot of people weren't fans of the UL30VT touchpad and single bar mouse button that has migrated over to the JT as well.

 

@sn_85

aye, thanks for reminding me and pointing that out

i hate how asus and somewhat with acer have so many different namings of laptops that are very similar, i guess its thats the price they pay for not having customizable comps

 

I know Acer is at the bottom in terms of reliability but how about specifically their timeline series? This product looks to be exactly what I need, somewhat a desktop replacement ... like a Sony Z without the sony pricetag.

Will this acer last me 3 years with considerable usage and is it possible to get extended warranties for up to 3 years? Or do they only give out the standard one year warranty?

I guess I'm refering to how well the 3810's were built to guage if the 3820 will be reliable given that it's from acer

 

I just want a price and release date, is that to much to ask..

 

Release date was said to be end of month by Acer CEO...
And that russian site said 699 for the i3 I think. and 899 for the 'considered config' assuming i5 and probably 1000 for the i7?

 

so which are people thinking would be better the acer or the asus ul30jt.

does the acer have some sort of turbo boost like with the asus.

 

I would assume that the HD5650 version would cost even more. My guess is that the I7-620M/HD 5650 will cost in the $1,200-$1,500. A Sony Z I7-620M/GT 330M/128 GB SSD costs around $2,000. Early comments confirm that Sony has completely eliminated any heat related issues from its I7-620 machine.

I think that the Acer is the only competition for the Sony. The GPU in the UL30JT is too weak and the N82 is too big and heavy. But for $500-$700 more than the Acer, you get a better HD Display, SSD HD, 3 pound weight and Sony engineering. The Acer has to be a sweet deal and there has to be no heat issues with the HD 5605, before it becomes a real Z alternative. Looking forward to seeing someone review this notebook when it is released at the end of the month. Still leaning Sony but I like the CPU/GPU combination of this Acer.

Bronsky

 

in terms of pure specs alone, the Acer trumps the ul30jt.
It uses standard standard watt i3/i5/i7 as opposed to the ulv i7/i5 in the asus. As well, the turbo33 for the i7/i5 is still in question from asus since these processors has it's on turbos and we have no idea if Asus will do a 33% on top of the intel turbo.

Warranty and battery is better on the Asus though.

 

If the 5650 + i5 is around 1200 I'm sold. Does anyone know if you can get extended warranty though?

 

Let's just hope it won't cost more than 1200 USD. You think Acer wouldn't provide warranty extansion regarding the 3820T?

The Z is definately better built, with better keyboard, no doubts on HDD as well, but the Z's GPU is definately slower, though I don't know wehter One could significally feel the difference.

 

Oh you will definitely feel the difference in gaming. There is a HUGE difference in performance between the Z's 330m and Acer's ATI 5650. Even compared to alienwares 335 there is a huge difference.

 

wow didn't know it was that much!! tought it would perform almost exactly the same as 335GT... now i'm even more sold to the ACER hehe price I believe will be around 1000-1200 for the 5650 + core i5... if its near 1000 I;m even more convinced, if its around 1200 I will have to think a little.

 

Well maybe a bit exaggerated when I say huge, but anywhere from 6-30 fps gains over the 335 depending on the game [based on the sketchy notebookcheck gpu comparison charts].

But also, 5650 has dx11 support where as the 335 doesn't.

 

Thanks about the info.

 

I have to say i've been excited about the Vaio z ever since it was announced, but seeing how this is more powerful and I can replace the SSD with my own intel (which is guaranteed trim capable) i'll hold out for this before pre-ordering the sony. The only thing I know I would like more on the sony is build quality and their amazing backlit keyboard, and possibly the higher res screen but is that really worth what will likely be a 1k+ difference in price?

 

The price difference is probably more like $500-$700. I can get a CTO Sony out the door with I7-640M/GT 330M/128SSD/6GB DDR3/premium carbon for around 2k. If the Acer is 1200 or more with the HD 5650, you have to figure in the cost of the SSD and the extra ram. I would guess its a bit cheaper. The difference is in the hardware. I would guess that the Sony is better built but the Acer might perform better. I like the Acer configuration enough to hold off on the Sony order until the end of the month.

Bronsky

 

heh, just remember guys these laptops use 35W cpu + 20W Video card, 55W for the two, m11x uses 10W CPU + 22W Videocard which totals 32W.

So 55W VS 32W, I doubt the battery will be any bigger or better then the m11x so your almost looking at half the battery life of the m11x, Im guessing 1 hour of battery life while gaming and a lot more heat, not to mention acer is crap and nobody there knows anything about airflow, none of their products have good airflow, anyways just some stuff to think about before getting ahead of yourselves.

If acer cant make this machine completely fanless when idling and performing smalls tasks then the battery life will DROP SIGNIFICANTLY

I never beleive the battery life that is advertised, out of all the laptops I've purchased I would say the m11x has the most accurate battery life advertised, all others I find to be far off while m11x actualy advertises less battery life then I get, I get 8-9 hours with second lowest brightness setting and light browsing and stuff

 

So someone posted something about the Acer 3820T/TG on the Asus UL30JT thread and now that I look at it, it seems the Acer will suit my needs better than the Asus. Does anyone know any other laptops that are sort of comparable in terms of relatively light weight, good/great battery life and switchable graphics?

The only thing I'm worried about for the Acer is build quality. I've heard so many horror stories and I know three people who had their Acers' fans get crazy loud before the laptop died a painful death on them.

 

In regards Vaio z and Acer 3820.

Resolution is better on the Z, but for a 13" screen size it's also fair enough (for me maybe even more user friendly) on the Acer as well IMO.

Funny, few days before I couldn't imagine purchasing a notebook without an optical drive and backlit keyboard, well, things change, the main point I'm concerned about now - and this one definately Sony's good/strong point - is the built quality.

 

m11x is indeed a very portable gaming machine...but it's SO UGLY, and OMFG thick as a brick (for a 11" laptop)

 

I don't get it. 1366x768 is crap resolution. What's the point of increasing the size of the screen only to keep the resolution the same?

 

I agree with you that 1366x768 is not a great resolution, but I think it's pretty good on a 13". I wouldn't enjoy it on a 15" screen tho.

 

Holy crap. If the 3820TG is really available with an i5 or i7 and a Radeon 5650, then I have an M11x order I need to get on the phone and cancel. This is exactly the machine i've been waiting for.

I've never looked much at Acer-- where are their laptops typically sold?

 

we are still waiting for how well the 3820 will handle heat, I bet Acer will do a good job, but even if they fail probably it will not get so warm with the onboard video... wich is the one I will use when i'm in direct contact with the notebook.... when gamming I will always use it docked, so heat is not a problem... Acer will not sell a notebook that will heat so much to cause trobble to the hardware components, that we can be sure...

 

bestbuy, futureshop, the source, newegg to list a few.

 

If you look at the review linked in the original post, the following battery test results are shown:

However, these results must be taken with the caveat that the test was done with a 4400mAH battery, while the review states that the producion model will have a better battery - indeed, Acer's specs state 6000mAH, which is 36% more. Additionally, the review claims a 9-cell battery as an optional upgrade.
The 3820T will likely last less than two hours under maximum load, but that isn't a fair comparison since it's much more productive under such conditions. With the improved battery, battery life under typical usage scenarios should be close to the 3810T.

 

Does anybody do preorders?

 

I would like to know this as well...Dont see any websites offering them yet.

 

Is there any reason why I shouldn't get a Lenovo Y460, with an ATI 5650?

 

The price, mainly.
It's also possible that the battery life will be weaker.

 

Eh if it's less than 8 hours it's still ok with me. 6-7 would still be ok in my eyes.

 

An inch? Size matters.

Bronsky

 

I like the 14" screen.

The only thing holding me back is the 5400 RPM HDD. No option to customize it also.

 

Hope You're right, fingers crossed!

Same here...and again: fingers crossed.

Once again, I hope You're right (sorry for repeating myself so many times in the same post), I believe I read some hardware related issues (enede up in recalls) about Timeline models, but then again I personally never had an Acer notebook, my colleague had two "low end" models those performed OK, so I guees one can't really know, one thing is for sure, some of us in this thread are concerned ( or shall I say wonder) about built quality, that can't be ignored.

 

It's pretty easy to swap out the HDD with a faster one and do a fresh install on it. That's the second thing I do when I get a laptop (first being totally groping it out like it's a fetish or something)...