New Acer Aspire TimelineX Laptops

Acer is launching a series of new notebooks in their Aspire TimelineX range boasting mobile form factors, Intel Arrandale processors, and up to 8 hours of battery life. These new models come in a variety of sizes, starting with an ultra low voltage 11.6" model. 13.3", 14" and 15.6" models with full voltage processors are also available.

All models feature Acer's CineCrystal 16:9 LED-backlit displays with a 1366x768 resolution, a claimed 8 hours of battery life, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. Connectivity wise, all models have an HDMI port, VGA port, up to four USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, and WiFi 802.11b/g/n. They all feature 1.3MP webcams with integrated microphones, a multi-format card reader and trackpads with gesture support.

The most interesting model is the Acer Aspire 1830T, which features an 11.6" display and Intel's recently announced ultra low voltage Core i7-680UM running at 1.46GHz, but turbo boosting itself to a nippy 2.53GHz. Like all the mobile dual-core parts, it also includes Hyper-Threading and integrated graphics with a TDP of 18W.

The 1830T weighs in at 3.09lbs with an 11.22" x 8.03" x 1.10" footprint and features a "full size" keyboard. Included in the compact chassis is 4GB DDR3 SDRAM, a 500GB HDD and integrated Bluetooth, but there's no space for an optical drive. Unfortunately, all this doesn't come cheaply, with this specification carrying a suggested retail price of $900. Fortunately, cheaper configurations with ultra low voltage Intel Core i3 or i5 processors start at a more reasonable $600.

Acer has also updated the rest of the TimelineX range. The 3820T features a 13.3" display and Intel Core i3 or i5 processors in a chassis weighing in at 3.97lbs. It comes with 3GB or 4GB DDR3 SDRAM (upgradeable to 8GB) and up to 320GB HDD storage.

Acer's larger models feature a more complete computing experience with integrated DVD drives, Intel Core i3 or i5 processors, up to 4GB DDR3 SDRAM (upgradeable to 8GB) and up to 500GB HDD storage. The TimelineX 4820T packs these features into a 4.65lbs chassis with a 14" display, while the TimelineX 5820T has identical features but in a 5.5lbs chassis with a 15.6" display and an integrated numeric pad. Both start at $700.

Acer is also offering additional models based on the 14" 4820T called 4820TG, with the "G" presumably standing for Graphics, as they pair an AMD Mobility Radeon HD5650 GPU with an Intel Core i5-460M for those looking to do some gaming on the move. These models will allow users to switch back to the integrated GPU to save on battery life when required, and will start at $800. While the 11.6" ultra low voltage Core i7 model grabs the interest, the capable midrange models with DirectX 11 support will probably be most relevant to consumers and seem to offer a decent level of performance without any major sacrifices.

Comments Locked

40 Comments

View All Comments

  • JarredWalton - Monday, September 27, 2010 - link

    Probably better (larger/heavier) HSF to handle the increased heat as well. Arrandale may be power efficient, but it still uses more power than the old CULV platform.
  • sleepeeg3 - Monday, September 27, 2010 - link

    They definitely seem to be going backward. I was looking forward to Arrandale, until I read reports on AT that the turbo does not seem to be as effective as it should be and it consumes almost double the power requirements. Decided to grab a SU9400 system instead. Getting about 8 hours with an SSD + 5800mAH battery.
  • damianrobertjones - Monday, September 27, 2010 - link

    After owning a refurn Latitude XT2 with SSD, I decided to sell for a profit and but an Acer 1820ptz tablet laptop. Set the Display DPI to 125%, installed an SSD, max ram, virtual mem off, tweaked, learnt the gestures and multi-touch scrolling... Amazing little machine.

    Why did I sell? The build quality. Poor? Yes. You could see gaps between the plastic and screen, along with the mirror glossy screen, those two points meant that after the Latitude, what could have been an amazing 'keeper', ended up back on ebay.
  • piroroadkill - Monday, September 27, 2010 - link

    Acers are cheap and have sub-par build quality? This is new and exciting information!
  • jmunjr - Monday, September 27, 2010 - link

    "Acer is launching a series of new notebooks in their Aspire TimelineX range"

    These have been out for months... The 1830T was available in June. I bought one for a friend over a month ago.

    Just saying.
  • Pjotr - Monday, September 27, 2010 - link

    These have been out for months... The 1830T was available in June. I bought one for a friend over a month ago.


    Yep, I got my 3820TG, with ATI 5650 gfx, also back in June. Works really well as a gaming laptop and has great battery life for office work etc. The perfect laptop (including price), except for the crappy screen of course.
  • therealnickdanger - Monday, September 27, 2010 - link

    Yeah, I've owned mine for several months too. Great portable machine!
  • sleepeeg3 - Monday, September 27, 2010 - link

    The lower end models may have been available, but Arrandale has not in the higher end ones.
  • byrdav - Monday, September 27, 2010 - link

    I am in the market for a new laptop. But the first thing I look for in the reviews is the screen aspect ratio. As soon as I see 16:9, I look no further.
    I have seen hundreds of comments in recent months re this impractical screen size for those of us who want to perform real work on their computers. Yet, the manufacturers insist on making them.
  • infodan - Monday, September 27, 2010 - link

    "No mention of graphics cards?"

    No nothing, except the whole of the last paragraph.

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now