This laptop has everything, but more
isn’t always better
The Acer Aspire Timeline U M5 is a strange
laptop, combining elements from ultra-portables and heavier, more powerful
laptops. Although you’d expect the M5 to have the best of both worlds, the
result is quite muddled.
The M5 weighs 2.2kg which is a little too
heavy to carry comfortably. But it does have an excellent battery life at just
over eight hours, in part due in part to the power-efficient 1.7GHz Intel
Corei5 3317U processor, more commonly found in lighter laptops. It can
handle most home computing tasks, but since you’re more likely to use the M5 at
home rather than on the road, a faster, more power-hungry processor would have
been a better fit.
Acer
Aspire Timeline U M5-581TG
The built-in DVD writer is the reason the
laptop is so heavy, while the bulky size is due to its 15.6in screen. It’s an
average screen at best - image quality is mediocre and it’s not very bright.
The resolution of 1366x768 pixels is low for such a large
display, so onscreen text looks soft and dull, but it does look large, which
may be preferable if your eyesight isn’t perfect.
The
built-in DVD writer is the reason the laptop is so heavy
Acer has used the extra width of the laptop
to squeeze in a number pad. This should be a boon for frequent Excel users, but
the narrow keys will frustrate touch typists. This is a shame because the rest
of the keyboard works well, with large keys that give enough feedback when pressed.
Unusually, the large touchpad is towards
the left-hand side of the keyboard, instead of the middle. But this, along with
the touchpad’s oversensitivity, made it easy to accidentally move the cursor
by brushing the touchpad while typing, so text often appeared in the wrong
place. This is utterly infuriating, and a shame, because the touchpad is
otherwise accurate and smooth.
Unusually,
the large touchpad is towards the left-hand side of the keyboard, instead of
the middle
Most laptops at this price have cheap integrated
graphics chips which are powerful enough for playing older games and
high-definition videos, but little else. Acer has squeezed in a Nvidia GeForce
GT 640M graphics chip that runs all but the very latest 3D games smoothly with
reasonably detailed graphics. This is great if you’re a gamer, or if you use
the graphics card to boost the performance of demanding applications, such as
Adobe Photoshop.
Nvidia
GeForce GT 640M
The Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 is a
powerful laptop, especially for games, but it’s not designed for frequent
travelling despite Acer’s claims. Even if this isn’t a concern, the dim screen
and badly designed touchpad means it can be frustrating to use at home too.
It’s not a bad laptop, but unless you’re a gamer it’s not great value.
Verdict
Fast for games, but this laptop is
otherwise merely average
Ratings: 3/5
Best price online
Price: $945
Website: www.snipca.com
Alternative
MSI CX61 ONF-638UK
MSI
CX61 ONF-638UK
·
Price: $855
·
A powerful laptop designed for use around the
home
·
Ratings: 5/5
·
Website: www.snipca.com
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Acer Aspire
Timeline U M5-581TG specs
§ Screen
Size: 15.6 inches
§ Max
Screen Resolution: 1366 x 768 pixels
§ Processor:
2.6 GHz Core i5-3317U
§ RAM:
6 GB SDRAM
§ Hard
Drive: 500 GB SATA
§ Graphics
Coprocessor: NVIDIA Geforce GT 640M
§ Graphics
Card Ram Size: 1000 MB
§ Wireless
Type: 802.11bgn
§ Number
of USB 2.0 Ports: 1
§ Number
of USB 3.0 Ports: 2
§ Average
Battery Life (in hours): 8 hours
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