Acer Aspire 4710 (Core 2 Duo T5500 Processor 1.66GHz, 1GB RAM)

Performance And Battery Life

With all these great features, our review unit of the Aspire 4710 achieves its remarkably low price in part by incorporating a budget dual-core Pentium processor (built on the Pentium architecture rather than the Core architecture that's been the standard for more than 18 months) and a single gigabyte of slow 533MHz RAM. It was no surprise, then, that the laptop displayed pokey performance on CNET Labs' benchmark tests, falling in line with another Pentium dual-core system, the Toshiba Satellite P205 retailing in the US. What surprised us was that the Aspire 4710's performance came close to matching that of the some Core 2 Duo processor and well beyond the single-core Celeron processor found on some budget system. That's not to say that the Aspire 4710 will set any speed records; in fact, it will feel sluggish to anyone accustomed to Core 2 Duo-based systems. But for the money, it's definitely speedy enough for the productivity programs, media playback, and Web surfing that constitute most home computer use.







The Aspire 4710's battery held out for 1 hour 59 minutes on our taxing DVD drain test. While we always welcome lengthier battery life, we consider the 2-hour mark within the acceptable range for a thin-and-light laptop. Of course you can expect longer life from casual Web surfing and productivity work.



System configurations:

Acer Aspire 4710
Windows Vista Home Premium; 1.73GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T2080; 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; 224MB Mobile Intel 945GM Express; 120GB Toshiba 5,400rpm

Toshiba Tecra A6
Windows Vista Business; 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5600; 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 128MB Nvidia Quadro NVS110M; 80GB Hitachi 5,400rpm Serial ATA/150

Service And Support

This notebook comes with an international one-year warranty from Acer. Recognizing that mobile computing has become a key activity for executives, the Taiwan company promises to fix any hardware issued within 2 hours, or it will deliver the unit to your preferred location free. Extended warranty can be purchased from the service center, with packages ranging from S$249 (US$179.50) to S$397 (US$286.19) depending on the degree of coverage and service required. For DIY troubleshooting, a toll-free telephone helpdesk is available for assistance. Acer support Web site offers downloads of updated drivers as well as an email for notebook issues. In the event that further technical assistance is required, the machine can be brought to any Acer service center worldwide for diagnosis.

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