Even the use of 24GB Cache from the predecessor is miserable for my taste. I'm also a bit put off by the small battery and to use the touchpad has to be weird. But an active digitizer for that price point is clearly a nice addition!
i'd rather buy the SSD myself as long as it's easy to get to. In today's market, if a laptop has a SSD, the manufacturer thinks he can charge a extra $500 for it... No thanks, let me buy a $80 128GB ssd and call it a day.
No, I just got a bunch of other things going on. I'm hoping to post it along with about eight other reviews before Christmas. Wish me luck! But the P34G is going to be sooner rather than later I think. It's not bad for the most part; not a huge fan of the trackpad, or the cursor key layout, but otherwise no real complaints for the price and build quality.
Thank you very much and good luck, Jarred! I half-wish that there were some practical way to crowd-source some of the effort that goes into an AnandTech review. Google Docs comes to mind, but no ad revenue means that it could likely drain more resources than it would save.
It puzzles me that they use ULV cpu and pretty small battery, and still it is very thick and heavy. For comparison, samsung series 9 15" weighs almost 2 pound less.
IF they made it slim and light, and chose wacom instead it would be a great mobile canvas.
Something I've started to notice with Acers, well really the Acer V7 482pg is also like this, is that their display model is thicker and heavier than others.
You can see it clearly here as well, the display is as thick as the base unit of the laptop.
I'm wondering if this was a durability concern with the touchscreen and digitzier and the different usage pattern that would entail.
I think it was a decision made to improve build quality, but perhaps there are better ways to do this. Interestingly, the S7 sort of takes the same approach, and that's a super thin Ultrabook. The display half is nearly as thick as the CPU/keyboard portion, and the whole thing is only 12 or 13mm thick. It actually makes it a bit awkward to open, as the two halves almost have the same weight.
Run out and buy an Samsung Series 9 15" for $899 and let me know how that goes for you. Oops, sorry, it costs $1800. Why is that $80,000 Porsche lighter than my $20,000 Ford?
You mention a Wacom instead. I am new to digitizer touchscreens and unfamiliar with the technology, though I am very tech-savvy. I have been researching 3D printing for awhile now, and want to start learning CAD and buy a 3D printer. I could afford a more expensive machine, but I love the fact the the touch screen on this lies at an incline, so I was thinking about purchasing one, swapping the hard drive for a solid state and upgrading the RAM. I am not concerned about photo editing or artistic drawing, just CAD. Do you know if a non Wacom will make a difference? Also, if you are familiar with CAD, I realize I might have to swap out the GPU for one with dedicated memory. How doable is that in this machine?
You're right of course -- I keep forgetting that point. So RST is available, but Acer is choosing not to use it or any other form of caching. I've now got a 480GB SSD in my primary desktop and laptop, though, and I can't ever go back to HDD storage for anything besides games and videos/pictures. </spoiled>
I CANNOT believe it. I wanted the previous model desperately but the WIFI was well known UNUSABLE, (See ACER Community forum). So I waited for the Haswell update and really-- better WIFI.
Now a 5400 RPM Drive with NO SSD Cache or SSD Drive option!
It's gonna be 2014 and they put in a 2003 HD with NO Option?
No 7200 RPM Drive which I Still wouldn't buy and Not even SSD Cache/
It's inconceivable this thing will be slower than my 5 yr old 10" netbook, but it will because of No SSD.
Tell me you guys are for real? What Totally Whacked-brain feriegners designed this? Tell me I can't even order with 256gb SD.
Acer, I don't expect the world but UnUsable Wifi is a Deal Breaker, and Now.... a NO-SSD-cached 5400 RPM Drive is the New Deal Breaker. Never bought an Acer and never will now. I really liked the front keyboard too.
How is this even possible? How can they think anyone but Utter computer-illiterates would buy this?
Only explanation?
This is designed to stay under 1000 and sell to blithering morons in Best Buy only. No Drive cache or options is INexcusble.
I think you're right about how they've crippled this device in order to keep the price under $1000.00 for Best Buy shoppers. It's unfortunate. I've been waiting for someone to make a modern tablet PC with as large a screen as possible and this was it. I was prepared to pay much more for it. I don't want to get one of these and be disappointed with performance and end up bringing it right back. I don't like that they went with N-Trig. I want to be comfortable that the stylus will work properly with the usual graphic software and I don't know about N-Trig. I want an i7 Processor and I don't want a compromised ULV type. Battery life is important, but processing power is more important. But if I don't pick up one of these I'll have to keep waiting and hoping that someone else will make one, and I'm not really hopeful about that.
If Geek squad can replace the drive for me - or if anyone can, I'd still get it. Otherwise 5400 RPM with not even a 'Flash Cache' is just NOT going to happen.
How much more would keeping a 24gb ssd cache in there have cost them? $20? Now the thing is inconceivable bad. And No reason not to offer optional 128gb/256gb SSD and sell for say 1099/1199 etc. Maybe they will but don't want to hurt initial sales by announcing it. The best way to get them To offer is NOT buy this first absurd edition.
What's the point of having Haswell upgrade if overall the machine is overall Much SLOWER due to 5400 RPM drive with no SSD Cache nd No SSD option? (as the last model with Bad Wifi)
No point except being able to say "Haswell" to illiterates. I'd much rather stay with 3rd gen processor and get SSD..
I think Mohammed had a 5400 RPM drive on this "Mecca I" laptop in the 7th Century.
You mention the stylus. I am new to digitizer touchscreens and unfamiliar with the technology, though I am very tech-savvy. I have been researching 3D printing for awhile now, and want to start learning CAD and buy a 3D printer. I could afford a more expensive machine, but I love the fact the the touch screen on this lies at an incline, like an architectural drafting table (too a lesser extent), so I was thinking about purchasing one, swapping the hard drive for a solid state and upgrading the RAM. I am not concerned about photo editing or artistic drawing, just CAD. Do you know if a non Wacom will make a difference for that purpose? Also, if you are familiar with CAD, I realize I might have to swap out the GPU for one with dedicated memory. How doable is that in this machine? I am a tech-savvy guy, mechanically inclined, but not an IT pro. However, when my old Dell laptop got too loud, I got the 81 page repair manual, read the whole thing, took it apart piece by piece and changed the fan, resurfaced the heat sink, and applied new cooling compound, gel, or whatever it's called; problem solved. I'm not afraid of the work, but want to know if it can be done without too much risk of destroying the thing and if it the processor will even be compatible with some other GPU. Instructions/suggestions would be greatly appreciated, but all I'm really asking for is a little direction, like a link to somewhere I can do the research.
I've become a blithering Best Buy moron due to their price-match policy and no-questions-asked 15 day return policy. Try it for two weeks, take it back if you don't like that hassle free. Where else can I do that.
As for the Whiners complaining about the HDD, man-up! I just bought a 250GB Samsung SSD with 500MB/s transfer speeds (extra enclosure included) for $200 delivered and will be popping that into my new R7, using the 1TB device for File History. My 7 year old can turn a screw driver and follow instructions, I might actually walk him through it.
Um not to give you a hard time but let me explain how to solve this problem: 1) By a TORX screwdriver. 2) Remove the back. 3) Remove the HDD. 4) Buy a 128 GB SSD from Amazon for $89. 5) Install it. 6) Problem solved for about $200 less than you would pay the manufacturer to do it. 7) Even better you can add a 128 GB mSATA SSD and keep the 1 TB HDD for backup.
So seriously, what are you freaking out over? A child could do this upgrade.
First of all it is pretty quick, despite being 5400. Secondly, an SSD upgrade is incredibly easy to do (and cheap). So why all the bellyaching? No way Acer can sell this for $899 with an SSD and active digitizer. It's an amazing machine. Buy it and spend the $100 to upgrade the HDD.
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30 Comments
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gobaers - Thursday, November 21, 2013 - link
I refuse to buy another machine that doesn't have an SSD, or at least a big 10GB+ cache.Rogess - Thursday, November 21, 2013 - link
Even the use of 24GB Cache from the predecessor is miserable for my taste. I'm also a bit put off by the small battery and to use the touchpad has to be weird.But an active digitizer for that price point is clearly a nice addition!
limitedaccess - Thursday, November 21, 2013 - link
I'd honestly rather do it myself instead. a 128gb SSD is worth maybe $80-$100 for me and you can still do whatever with the HD they give you.If it came with a 128gb SSD it would be $200 if not more to the MSRP with who knows what actual SSD you get.
This is what I hate about laptop buying in general, boxed in with no choices and flexibility compared to self built desktops.
Morawka - Friday, November 22, 2013 - link
i'd rather buy the SSD myself as long as it's easy to get to. In today's market, if a laptop has a SSD, the manufacturer thinks he can charge a extra $500 for it... No thanks, let me buy a $80 128GB ssd and call it a day.Wade_Jensen - Thursday, November 21, 2013 - link
Yeah, what's the point of any core i processor if your just going to limit performance with a mechanical hard drive?GrammarNietzsche - Thursday, November 21, 2013 - link
What happened to the P34G review? Did it end up being too full of issues to carry on?JarredWalton - Thursday, November 21, 2013 - link
No, I just got a bunch of other things going on. I'm hoping to post it along with about eight other reviews before Christmas. Wish me luck! But the P34G is going to be sooner rather than later I think. It's not bad for the most part; not a huge fan of the trackpad, or the cursor key layout, but otherwise no real complaints for the price and build quality.GrammarNietzsche - Thursday, November 21, 2013 - link
Thank you very much and good luck, Jarred!I half-wish that there were some practical way to crowd-source some of the effort that goes into an AnandTech review. Google Docs comes to mind, but no ad revenue means that it could likely drain more resources than it would save.
iwasdaman - Thursday, November 21, 2013 - link
What app is that in the pic? Not Fresh Paint.Flunk - Thursday, November 21, 2013 - link
Seems like a pretty niche product.limitedaccess - Thursday, November 21, 2013 - link
Do n-trig digitizers have proper full functionality (pressure sensitivity) with Photoshop now?nerd1 - Thursday, November 21, 2013 - link
It puzzles me that they use ULV cpu and pretty small battery, and still it is very thick and heavy.For comparison, samsung series 9 15" weighs almost 2 pound less.
IF they made it slim and light, and chose wacom instead it would be a great mobile canvas.
limitedaccess - Friday, November 22, 2013 - link
Something I've started to notice with Acers, well really the Acer V7 482pg is also like this, is that their display model is thicker and heavier than others.You can see it clearly here as well, the display is as thick as the base unit of the laptop.
I'm wondering if this was a durability concern with the touchscreen and digitzier and the different usage pattern that would entail.
JarredWalton - Friday, November 22, 2013 - link
I think it was a decision made to improve build quality, but perhaps there are better ways to do this. Interestingly, the S7 sort of takes the same approach, and that's a super thin Ultrabook. The display half is nearly as thick as the CPU/keyboard portion, and the whole thing is only 12 or 13mm thick. It actually makes it a bit awkward to open, as the two halves almost have the same weight.mitchellvii - Sunday, December 29, 2013 - link
Run out and buy an Samsung Series 9 15" for $899 and let me know how that goes for you. Oops, sorry, it costs $1800. Why is that $80,000 Porsche lighter than my $20,000 Ford?That lightness is expensive.
aeophile - Tuesday, February 18, 2014 - link
You mention a Wacom instead. I am new to digitizer touchscreens and unfamiliar with the technology, though I am very tech-savvy. I have been researching 3D printing for awhile now, and want to start learning CAD and buy a 3D printer. I could afford a more expensive machine, but I love the fact the the touch screen on this lies at an incline, so I was thinking about purchasing one, swapping the hard drive for a solid state and upgrading the RAM. I am not concerned about photo editing or artistic drawing, just CAD. Do you know if a non Wacom will make a difference? Also, if you are familiar with CAD, I realize I might have to swap out the GPU for one with dedicated memory. How doable is that in this machine?IntelUser2000 - Friday, November 22, 2013 - link
The U and Y series chips do not have a named chipset because its on-package with the CPU.JarredWalton - Friday, November 22, 2013 - link
You're right of course -- I keep forgetting that point. So RST is available, but Acer is choosing not to use it or any other form of caching. I've now got a 480GB SSD in my primary desktop and laptop, though, and I can't ever go back to HDD storage for anything besides games and videos/pictures. </spoiled>Hrel - Friday, November 22, 2013 - link
It's an Acer, pass.mitchellvii - Sunday, December 29, 2013 - link
And Fords used to suck too. Are you saying a brand can never improve?unmarc - Friday, November 22, 2013 - link
I CANNOT believe it.I wanted the previous model desperately but the WIFI was well known UNUSABLE, (See ACER Community forum).
So I waited for the Haswell update and really-- better WIFI.
Now a 5400 RPM Drive with NO SSD Cache or SSD Drive option!
It's gonna be 2014 and they put in a 2003 HD with NO Option?
No 7200 RPM Drive which I Still wouldn't buy and Not even SSD Cache/
It's inconceivable this thing will be slower than my 5 yr old 10" netbook, but it will because of No SSD.
Tell me you guys are for real?
What Totally Whacked-brain feriegners designed this?
Tell me I can't even order with 256gb SD.
unmarc - Friday, November 22, 2013 - link
Acer, I don't expect the world but UnUsable Wifi is a Deal Breaker, and Now.... a NO-SSD-cached 5400 RPM Drive is the New Deal Breaker.Never bought an Acer and never will now.
I really liked the front keyboard too.
How is this even possible?
How can they think anyone but Utter computer-illiterates would buy this?
Only explanation?
This is designed to stay under 1000 and sell to blithering morons in Best Buy only.
No Drive cache or options is INexcusble.
Kuttyjoe - Saturday, November 23, 2013 - link
I think you're right about how they've crippled this device in order to keep the price under $1000.00 for Best Buy shoppers. It's unfortunate. I've been waiting for someone to make a modern tablet PC with as large a screen as possible and this was it. I was prepared to pay much more for it. I don't want to get one of these and be disappointed with performance and end up bringing it right back. I don't like that they went with N-Trig. I want to be comfortable that the stylus will work properly with the usual graphic software and I don't know about N-Trig. I want an i7 Processor and I don't want a compromised ULV type. Battery life is important, but processing power is more important. But if I don't pick up one of these I'll have to keep waiting and hoping that someone else will make one, and I'm not really hopeful about that.unmarc - Saturday, November 23, 2013 - link
If Geek squad can replace the drive for me - or if anyone can, I'd still get it.Otherwise 5400 RPM with not even a 'Flash Cache' is just NOT going to happen.
How much more would keeping a 24gb ssd cache in there have cost them? $20?
Now the thing is inconceivable bad.
And No reason not to offer optional 128gb/256gb SSD and sell for say 1099/1199 etc.
Maybe they will but don't want to hurt initial sales by announcing it.
The best way to get them To offer is NOT buy this first absurd edition.
unmarc - Saturday, November 23, 2013 - link
What's the point of having Haswell upgrade if overall the machine is overall Much SLOWER due to 5400 RPM drive with no SSD Cache nd No SSD option? (as the last model with Bad Wifi)No point except being able to say "Haswell" to illiterates.
I'd much rather stay with 3rd gen processor and get SSD..
I think Mohammed had a 5400 RPM drive on this "Mecca I" laptop in the 7th Century.
aeophile - Tuesday, February 18, 2014 - link
You mention the stylus. I am new to digitizer touchscreens and unfamiliar with the technology, though I am very tech-savvy. I have been researching 3D printing for awhile now, and want to start learning CAD and buy a 3D printer. I could afford a more expensive machine, but I love the fact the the touch screen on this lies at an incline, like an architectural drafting table (too a lesser extent), so I was thinking about purchasing one, swapping the hard drive for a solid state and upgrading the RAM. I am not concerned about photo editing or artistic drawing, just CAD. Do you know if a non Wacom will make a difference for that purpose? Also, if you are familiar with CAD, I realize I might have to swap out the GPU for one with dedicated memory. How doable is that in this machine? I am a tech-savvy guy, mechanically inclined, but not an IT pro. However, when my old Dell laptop got too loud, I got the 81 page repair manual, read the whole thing, took it apart piece by piece and changed the fan, resurfaced the heat sink, and applied new cooling compound, gel, or whatever it's called; problem solved. I'm not afraid of the work, but want to know if it can be done without too much risk of destroying the thing and if it the processor will even be compatible with some other GPU. Instructions/suggestions would be greatly appreciated, but all I'm really asking for is a little direction, like a link to somewhere I can do the research.blinkdt - Thursday, January 16, 2014 - link
I've become a blithering Best Buy moron due to their price-match policy and no-questions-asked 15 day return policy. Try it for two weeks, take it back if you don't like that hassle free. Where else can I do that.As for the Whiners complaining about the HDD, man-up! I just bought a 250GB Samsung SSD with 500MB/s transfer speeds (extra enclosure included) for $200 delivered and will be popping that into my new R7, using the 1TB device for File History. My 7 year old can turn a screw driver and follow instructions, I might actually walk him through it.
mitchellvii - Sunday, December 29, 2013 - link
Um not to give you a hard time but let me explain how to solve this problem:1) By a TORX screwdriver.
2) Remove the back.
3) Remove the HDD.
4) Buy a 128 GB SSD from Amazon for $89.
5) Install it.
6) Problem solved for about $200 less than you would pay the manufacturer to do it.
7) Even better you can add a 128 GB mSATA SSD and keep the 1 TB HDD for backup.
So seriously, what are you freaking out over? A child could do this upgrade.
blinkdt - Thursday, January 16, 2014 - link
Exactly. Heck, if the manufacturer offered the option I'd STILL do it myself. I want to choose my drive and my RAM.mitchellvii - Sunday, December 29, 2013 - link
People seem to be freaking over the 5400 RPM HDD.First of all it is pretty quick, despite being 5400. Secondly, an SSD upgrade is incredibly easy to do (and cheap). So why all the bellyaching? No way Acer can sell this for $899 with an SSD and active digitizer. It's an amazing machine. Buy it and spend the $100 to upgrade the HDD.
Geesh.