Acer Aspire R7 laptop review: upside down. Operation under load, heating level, noise

Intel Companies and Microsoft have made huge contributions to the development of touch controls in laptops in recent years. The first strongly recommends that manufacturers use touch screens in their ultrabooks, and the second is doing its best to promote its new Windows 8.1 OS with a rethought interface adapted to “sensitive” displays. Touch screens are gradually appearing not only in miniature ultrabooks - they can often be found in all-in-one PCs, and even in medium-format laptops they have begun to appear quite often.

You don’t even need to mention the various “transformers” - their touch layer on the display is considered perhaps the most important component. One of these devices came to us for testing - the Acer Aspire R7. The laptop (let's still call it that) does not have an optical drive - it is too thin, so at first glance it can be confused with another representative of the ultrabook family, although in fact it is considered a transformable laptop.

One of the highlights of the laptop is its touch display, equipped with an Ezel hinge, which makes it easy to turn a medium-format laptop into a large “almost tablet”. From the point of view of the transformation mechanism, R7 is a bit like Sony VAIO Fit 15 multi-flip - well, let's see how convenient and reliable it is in the case of our test subject. The second highlight is the location of the touchpad and keyboard. For some reason, Acer decided to swap them.

⇡ Appearance

As mentioned above, by the standards of medium-format laptops, the Acer R7 is quite thin, but it can transform into a tablet. However, we should not forget that the optical drive became a victim on this altar of ergonomics.

For some, this may be a significant drawback, but in the era of inexpensive and capacious flash drives, such a disadvantage can be easily forgiven. According to the manufacturer, the laptop has an all-metal body, with a soft soft-touch coating on the bottom.

Due to the design features of the Acer Aspire R7, there is a large recess on its lid where the mounting leg is located, which holds the laptop display. There is no need to worry about the integrity of the cover coating at the point of contact with the leg - there is a rubber insert there that protects the body from scratches during transformation.

In tablet mode, the display is not completely adjacent to the body, but at a slight angle. Alas, a similar drawback is inherent in many transformers. Acer Aspire R7 is a middle link between a laptop and a tablet, its weight is 2.4 kg. Therefore, in tablet mode it is more convenient to use it not in your hands, but on a horizontal surface, where convenient work With a large touch screen, a slight tilt will be very useful. The manufacturer claims that the user can select the desired screen position with a slight movement of the hand. However, one hand, much less a slight movement, cannot do the job.

The hinges turned out to be quite tight, so when transforming the laptop, you have to hold its base with your second hand so that the portable PC does not move from its place. However, the transformation mechanism also has a more significant drawback than sliding along the mounting surface. Acer R7 came to us for testing after the exhibition, where everyone could try the Ezel hinge in action and, of course, have a lot of fun with the mechanism. Of course, no one was particularly careful, but, to the credit of the laptop, nothing came loose, and the cunning patented Taiwanese design did not fall apart after such executions. Only small and long scratches appeared on the working area, closer to the back side - this is due to the incompletely thought-out design of the display or its legs. During the transformation of the device into a tablet and back, the monitor body touches the work area: scratches from this “interaction” are clearly visible in the following photo.

Scratches from the monitor case are especially noticeable

At the front there are a pair of status indicators, as well as a pair of microphones, and at the back there are two large ventilation grilles. On the left is Acer's proprietary connector, which looks like Mini DisplayPort or Thunderbolt, but is actually neither. This is the connection port VGA adapter. Next to it is an HDMI port, as well as a pair USB connectors 3.0, universal audio jack for connecting a headset (or headphones/microphone). On the right is a memory card reader, USB port 2.0, double volume buttons, power key and charger connector.

The bottom of the laptop is made of plastic with a soft touch coating - usually no one does this, but in the case of the Aspire R7, such coating on the back of the laptop is justified. In tablet mode, holding on to such plastic is much more pleasant than holding on to regular plastic. The bottom is flat, and small ventilation grilles are provided only in the area of ​​the rear legs. By the way, the transformer has as many as 6 rubber feet, and they are all very large. But, as already noted, they are not particularly tenacious. Therefore, the laptop will slide both on a lacquered or glass tabletop, and on a regular office table made of chipboard. There is also a pair of speakers installed on the bottom, closer to the user.

The working area of ​​the laptop looks extremely unusual, because the manufacturer decided to rely entirely on the touch screen and swapped the touchpad and keyboard. From a subjective point of view, this castling is catastrophically inconvenient, but it makes you use it more often touch screen. Not a single touchscreen ultrabook that came to us for testing could convince the author of the advantage of a touchscreen. But after a couple of days of communicating with the hero of this review, when working with a stationary PC, my hands themselves reached for a regular display in order to press something on the screen. Why? It's simple: you quickly get used to good things. Indeed, unlike most ultrabooks, the Acer Aspire R7 display does not wobble with every light touch.

The touchpad is huge, its size is 106x77 mm, but due to its non-standard placement this does not provide any advantages. The bottom corners of the touchpad, as usual, are the left and right keys of the pointing device. Their progress turned out to be unexpectedly soft, but at the same time noisy. In addition, the moment of pressing is not felt at all, and you have to navigate solely by clicks.

The keyboard has only one drawback: there is no additional number pad, which is not so difficult to place in a medium-format laptop if desired. Otherwise, this is one big plus - it is perfectly secured, so even with very strong pressure the base does not sag, the key travel is of medium hardness, and the moment of operation is perfectly felt, in addition to everything, the keys are almost silent. Overall, this keyboard is a pleasure to work with. There are few pressed keys - traditionally this is the long-suffering “tilde” (“е” in the Russian layout), as well as arrow keys. Separately, it is worth noting the white backlight of the keyboard. It is very uniform, and there are two levels of glow. Of course, there is no smooth adjustment, but even a couple of levels allows you to choose a more or less comfortable brightness level in any lighting.

⇡ Technical characteristics declared by the manufacturer

Acer Aspire R7-571G-7353121Tass
CPU	Intel Core i7-3537U: 2 GHz (up to 3.1 GHz in TurboBoost mode); 4 MB L3, 2 computing cores; TDP 17 W
Chipset	Southbridge: Intel Panther Point HM77
Graphics controller	Intel HD 4000, integrated into the processor NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M, 2 GB GDDR5
Screen	15.6 inches, 1920x1080, IPS Glossy surface, touch layer, LED backlight (AUO B156HAN01.2)
RAM	1x8 GB DDR3-1600
HDD	1000 GB HDD(Toshiba MQ1ABD100)
Optical drive	No
Flash card connector	SD (HC/XC)
Interfaces in a laptop	2 x USB 3.0 1 x USB 2.0 1 x HDMI 1 x proprietary VGA adapter header 1 x microphone and headphone connector (mini-jack 3.5 mm) 1 x memory card slot
WiFi	802.11a/b/g/n (Atheros AR5BWB222)
Bluetooth	4.0
Network adapter	USB-Ethernet adapter
Sound	HDA (Realtek ALC282); 2 speakers, microphone
Battery	Non-removable, 53.4 Wh (3708 mAh, 14.4V)
Size, mm	376.8x254.5x28.5
Weight, kg	2,4
operating system	Microsoft Windows 8 64 bit
Approximate price	43,500 rubles

It’s rare, but it happens that some devices do not lose their relevance after years, and a striking example of this is the Acer Aspire with the R7 index - a hybrid laptop in its “own” form factor, which differs not only in appearance, but also in its productive hardware.

Appearance of Acer Aspire R7

The main feature of the device is the unusual attachment of the screen to the laptop keyboard. The bridge between them is a long and wide loop - Ezel Hinge. Thus, three operating modes are available: laptop mode, tablet mode and hybrid mode. The last option is unusual, since it involves a “rear” placement of the screen and is most optimal for presentations, or maybe something completely new, implemented on the go. Indeed, the “lid” of the laptop can be rotated any way you like, and this is better demonstrated by pictures than words. If there are any doubts about such a rotating design, then several years later there has not been a single complaint about the Ezel Hinge, and yet the device was released almost four years ago.

The hybrid body is metal with plastic inserts. It can be opened with one hand, for which a special protrusion is provided, rather than having to use two limbs. And in general, the ergonomics are excellent, for example, the keyboard here has a soft and short key travel, which in turn are not a monoblock, but are spaced apart from each other, but the number pad does not. At the same time, the thickness of the case is 28 mm, but visually this is not noticeable; of course, the gadget cannot be called airy, but there is still a feeling of compactness despite the average screen diagonal - 15.6 inches. If we talk about weight, it does not exceed 2.4 kg. An average-sized laptop weighs the same amount, so on a business trip, as they say, it won’t weigh on your pocket.

It is also worth noting the location of the cooling system radiators, there are two of them, and they are located at the rear. The layout prevents you from accidentally plugging the holes, as this will lead to overheating of the iron. It's a pity that modern devices This solution is rarely used. All necessary interfaces are located on the left, which is convenient. There is no optical drive, but this is not very disappointing.

Separately, I would like to note the touchpad, which is quite large in size and is located not under, but above the keyboard. At first, the decision will seem strange, but doubts about the ease of control will disappear after you begin to transform this comrade. Laptop dimensions - 376x254.5x28.5 mm.

Display Acer Aspire R7

R7 is equipped with a 15.6-inch IPS display with Full-HD resolution and touch control. There is no protective coating, but it itself is glossy, so despite the wide viewing angles, glare in the sun cannot be avoided. However, in 13th year “gloss” was in trend and only then even the flagships became matte, which was done for the sake of practicality, and not a beautiful appearance.

Needless to say, the response to taps on the laptop is excellent, there is LED backlighting, the picture looks juicy and at the same time real. To be honest, 1920x1080 pixels do their job. In addition, now 17.3 inches do not always have such a resolution, but here it’s an average compact.

Filling Acer Aspire R7

In Russia, the modification with the Intel Core i7-3537U was mainly sold - this is a stripped-down SoC of the flagship processor with two cores divided into four threads. This achieves a frequency of 3.1 GHz, and RAM works in 2-channel mode. The last few options:

• DDR3 stick, 1600 MHz, 2 GB capacity;
• DDR3 stick, 1600 MHz, 4 GB capacity;
• DDR3 stick, 1600 MHz, 8 GB capacity.

Naturally, performance directly depends on the size of RAM. It is for this reason that the 8 GB laptop model has been and remains the most popular. At the same time, it can be expanded, since there is a second slot for the bar. By the way, the R7 with Intel Core i5 was offered abroad, but it can rarely be seen on Russian shelves, if at all.

The graphic component remains unchanged. The laptop has both integrated and built-in graphics cards. The first is represented by the Intel HD 4000 video core and is part of the chip. At the current time graphics accelerator has lost its relevance, but it is more than enough to display the OS interface. Discrete video card - NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with 2 GB GDDR5 memory. In general, the laptop cannot be called a gaming laptop, and it was not positioned as a gaming station, but there is enough power for presentations and working with graphics without fanaticism. In addition, the mobile solution has been time-tested and has served faithfully for quite a long time to this day. But the Intel HM77 Express chipset is hopelessly outdated, although it does not lack third-generation USB support.

Several types of disks produced by Western Digital and Toshiba are responsible for storing data:

• 512 GB HDD (WD);
• 750 GB HDD (WD);
• terabyte hard drive (Toshiba).

Abroad there was a modification with SSD of 128 and 256 GB, but what is this for a modern laptop. In general, the drive is the weakest point here, since it not only takes up a lot of space and adds weight, but also has a fairly low spindle speed - 5400 rpm.

Acer Aspire R7 Software

Out of the box, the laptop comes with 64-bit Windows 8 preinstalled. Needless to say, upgrading to Windows 10 won’t be difficult. Moreover, for a full-fledged version, which will feel comfortable on this hardware. We also recommend updating the drivers and flashing the BIOS to latest version what is it used for special utility. Acer has not forgotten its brainchild and still supports it, albeit occasionally.

Acer Aspire R7 test

Modern synthetic tests do not give the device the highest rating, but the possibility of running games cannot be completely ruled out, for example, Battlefield 3 with low FPS, but at high settings it will run like hell. You can even take a swing at Mafia II, but here it's only low quality. Otherwise, it’s a good workhorse for everything, which is characterized by low power consumption, which means you can’t call it a “barbecue.”

Multimedia Acer Aspire R7

The device has as many as four 8-watt speakers to simulate surround sound, so do not neglect installing a proprietary audio driver that will reveal the full potential of the sound. Be that as it may, you shouldn’t expect Hi-End miracles, but the acoustics will please the average ear.

There is also a webcam with a resolution of 720p, which lives in splendid isolation. It is quite enough for video conferencing and calls via Skype.

Interfaces Acer Aspire R7

The R7 offers two USB 3.0, one USB second generation, HDMI, RG-45/D-Sub, but through adapters, as well as a mini-jack, so you’ll have to look for headphones. There is also a card reader for SD cards. Wireless interfaces include Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0. Yes, the device does not have a rich set of ports, but for most users this will be quite enough. So, you can simultaneously connect a projector and a printer, as well as external storage. A 90-watt power supply will handle this.

Autonomy Acer Aspire R7

Since we are talking about autonomy, a 53 Wh battery is implemented here - about 3000 mAh. Yes, it’s not enough, but the processor and video card are energy efficient and, if you don’t play, it will be enough for 6–8 hours of productive work without a constantly active wireless Internet connection.

Price and video review of Acer Aspire R7

Acer Aspire R7, despite the years, remains a relevant and interesting device, but more for geeks than for regular user. This indirectly contributes to the unusual form factor and several transformation modes. In terms of hardware, there are comments only about the HDD, but otherwise it’s time-tested hardware and a balanced configuration.

No matter how they made assumptions earlier, the Ezel Hinge mount turned out to be a reliable solution, there is not even a hint of creaking or play. In addition, the design does not look massive and can even surprise others, emphasize individuality, and simply work comfortably, be it in the office, on the road or at home.
The price of Acer Aspire R7 in Russia is from 35,000 rubles. Video review is presented below:

Acer Aspire 7 (A715-71G-513Z) is quite thin laptop, equipped with a backlit keyboard and capable of delivering acceptable FPS in AAA games. At the same time, its price does not bite. Let's see what disadvantages the laptop has. After all, they should be at this price. The first formal flaw is the name. Firstly, the Aspire 7 family includes not only laptops from the modern line, but also quite old solutions. Secondly, this family includes both 15.6-inch models and laptops with a 17.3-inch display diagonal. In general, you can navigate which model is being considered only by using the code, which is difficult to remember. And if the “reviewers” ​​are rubbish, then such an approach to naming can be very confusing for a potential inexperienced buyer. However, this is not a drawback of the laptop, but of marketers, who are facing another negative in their karma. We are much more interested in what the laptop itself is capable of and what its weaknesses are.

Specifications

Display	15.6 inches, IPS, 1920x1080 pixels
CPU	Intel Core i5-7300HQ, Kaby Lake-H, 2.5-3.5 GHz
Chipset	Intel Sunrise Point HM175
Graphics adapter	Intel HD Graphics 630 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050, 2 GB
RAM	8 (1x8) GB DDR4-2400
ROM	Toshiba MQ01ABD100, 1 TB
Sound	integrated
Optical drive	No
Flash card reader	Yes (SD/MMC)
Interfaces	1x USB Type-A (USB 3.0); 2x USB Type-A (USB 2.0); 1x USB Type-C (USB 3.1 Gen 1); 1x HDMI; 1x RJ-45 (Ethernet); 1x headphone/microphone connector (3.5 mm);
WiFi	Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac IEEE802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4/5 GHz, MU-MIMO
Bluetooth	v4.2
3G/4G	No
Network adapter	Realtek RTL8168/8111 Gigabit Ethernet
Battery	lithium-ion, 4 cells, 46 Wh (3220 mAh/14.4V)
power unit	19 V/7.1 A, 135 W
operating system	Linpus Linux Console mode
Dimensions, mm	381,60*262,80*23,95
Weight, kg	2,4

Appearance

Despite the good hardware and low cost, the manufacturer did not save much on the exterior of the laptop. Of course, the housing is plastic, but the lid and panel of the work area are made of aluminum alloy with a rough polished effect. In addition, there is a small unpainted chamfer on the work area panel, which makes the laptop look more interesting and more expensive. But the black metal surfaces very quickly collect fingerprints, which is why the case quickly loses its attractiveness.

The torsional rigidity of the case is quite high, so you can bend the laptop even a little only with significant effort. Unfortunately, when you try to twist and squeeze, the case cracks a little. But still there are no special comments about the build quality.

There are no functional elements at the front. Only a large ventilation grille is visible from the rear.

On the left side surface there is a Kensington lock connector, a memory card slot, RJ-45, HDMI, USB Type-A (USB 3.0), and USB Type-C connectors. The last USB 3.1 Gen1 connector, without Thunderbolt support, because the laptop is relatively inexpensive, and you need to save on something. The following elements are installed on the right: an external power jack, a pair of LED indicators, a headphone or headset jack, and a pair of USB Type-A ports, but in the USB 2.0 version. In general, another saving, although, given the presence of a USB Type-C (USB 3.1) port, this is not so critical.

The bottom of the laptop is flat, with many ventilation grilles, which, on the one hand, has a positive effect on cooling efficiency, and on the other hand, contributes to the collection of dust. There are speakers at the corners closest to the user. There are also a couple of covers available here, under one of which the hard drive is hidden, and under the second there are slots for installing a memory card. Our modification has only one module with a capacity of 8 GB, so the amount of RAM can be increased relatively painlessly to 16 or 24 GB. The body rests on a pair of plastic protrusions in the center of the bottom, as well as on 3 rubber feet, one of which stretches across the entire width of the body. The contact area with the mounting surface is huge, so the laptop grips the tabletop extremely tenaciously. A distinctive feature of the laptop is the huge opening angle of the lid, which is approximately 210 degrees. In general, a good bonus for those who like to work while lying down with a laptop on their lap. Not a transformer, but still the laptop earned its plus in the piggy bank.

The laptop uses a full-size island-type keyboard, complemented by a numeric keypad. The width of the letter key is 15.3 mm. [Ё], also known as [~], is much smaller in width – 10.5 mm. The number pad keys, whose width is 12.5 mm, were also damaged. In addition, the height of the [up] and [down] arrow keys has been halved. Of course, the function keys have also been reduced in size, but this is no longer so offensive. From a subjective point of view, the key stroke is too soft - the letter key is activated with a force of only 36 grams. The rebound occurs with a force of 16 grams.

The touchpad is medium in size - 106*78 mm. Keys are integrated into touchpad. There is also a fingerprint scanner built into the touchpad, which you wouldn't expect to find in a relatively inexpensive laptop.

Display

The laptop uses an IPS matrix with a matte protective coating and Full HD resolution. Matrix model - BOEhydis NV156FHM-N42. Manufacturing company at this moment is a subsidiary of SK Hynix, Inc., but was originally known as Hyundai Display Technology Inc. In general, this is not some little-known manufacturer, but rather a well-known one, and it is included in the TOP10 manufacturers of LCD matrices. But the tested model is inexpensive (you can already buy it in our retail for about $50), so you shouldn’t expect a miracle from it.

Viewing angles, as for an IPS matrix, are not too great. Of course, when viewed from an acute angle, the colors are not inverted, but the contrast drops significantly. At maximum backlight power, the brightness of the white field is 209.52 cd/sq.m, and the brightness of the black field is 0.29 cd/sq.m, which gives a final static contrast of 723:1. Unfortunately, the uniformity of illumination is not satisfactory, and the largest deviation from the maximum level is 24%. In addition, on a uniform black field, backlight leakage zones are clearly visible.

The color gamut is quite narrow and corresponds to the standard sRGB color space by only 64% and AdobeRGB by 50%. The color temperature is slightly lowered, and is in the range of 6175...6325K.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Delta E color deviation on the gray wedge turned out to be negligible, but on the colored fields it is quite large. Actually, it was precisely thanks to the small deviation in shades of gray that the average error turned out to be relatively small - 5.29, while the maximum error in test shades was an impressive 23.09.

But the color uniformity across the frame field is pleasantly pleasing - the delta E deviation does not exceed 2.6, so with the help of hardware calibration you can achieve very good color rendition. But we should not forget that such a correction invariably leads to the appearance of more pronounced steps on gradient fills.

Sound

The laptop is equipped with a pair of speakers installed on the corners of the bottom closest to the user. Thanks to this placement, the distance between the speakers and the mounting surface acts as an acoustic chamber, which gives a certain volume to the sound. In general, the sound is devoid of any obvious defects. In addition, when the volume is set to maximum, the cabinet does not resonate. But the sound quality is not high. The sound is flat, the low-frequency range is noticeable only from a frequency of about 120 Hz, the high-frequency range is of no quality and only the mid-frequencies sound acceptable. But at the same time, one cannot help but note the rather high volume of the speakers. When playing a test sinusoidal signal with a frequency of 1 kHz at a distance of 1 meter, the level was recorded sound pressure 84.7 dBA. The signal level at the analog audio output is average. When playing the test signal and operating at a load of 32 Ohms, a level of 311.3 mV was recorded.

Noise and heat

In normal office operating mode, the laptop's cooling system rustles almost imperceptibly - the noise level is extremely low, and for example, when working in reading mode, the cooler generally stops periodically. When operating under load, the cooler, of course, makes more noise. To identify all the subtleties of the system, we first activated the processor stress test in the AIDA 64 package, and after 15 minutes, the Furmark stress test was launched in parallel, which loads the video subsystem. The total duration of the stress test is 30 minutes, the ambient temperature is 21 degrees Celsius. If there was a significant change in frequency, processor temperature, or noise level, the measurement results were entered into a summary table. It is noteworthy that at 100% load on the processor, the sound pressure level generated by the cooling system does not rise above 39.8 dBA, and there is not even a hint of throttling. With additional activation of the GPU stress test, the cooler was able to be overclocked a little. However, even in such operating conditions that are far from the actual mode of use, the cooling system turned out to be very effective. With additional activation of the maximum load on the GPU, the frequency of the CPU cores began to drop to 2.5 GHz, but it never reached the point of throttling.

	Stress test duration, minutes
	1	8-15	15	20	30
+	+	+	+	+
		+	+	+
Noise, dBA (30 cm from laptop)	38,0	39,8	42,8	42,8	42,8
CPU core frequency, GHz	3,1	3,1	2,5-3,1	2,5-3,1	2,5-3,1
CPU core temperature, C	60-76	62-78	69-85	71-85	71-85
Throttling (no more), %	0	0	0	3	3
GPU core temperature, C	39	39	48	57	57

The heating temperature of the case was measured at 9 points on the bottom and 9 points in the work area after 30 minutes of parallel operation of the ADIA64 and Furmark stress tests.

heating the work area	bottom heating

Performance

The laptop is based on a combination of an Intel Core i5-7300HQ processor with clock frequency 2.5-3.5 GHz and NVIDIA video cards GeForce GTX 1050 with 2 GB of onboard memory. RAM is only 8 GB, which is the minimum required for modern games. But, as mentioned above, the amount of RAM is easy to expand. The bottleneck of the system is the disk subsystem, based on a regular, rather than hybrid, hard drive with a capacity of 1 TB. The modification being tested uses a Toshiba MQ01ABD100 hard drive with a spindle speed of 5400 rpm and a buffer with a modest capacity of 8 MB. In general, even without testing it is clear that this is the first candidate for an upgrade. It is worth noting that a slow drive periodically causes freezes in heavy games, which affects not only the average frame rate, but also the overall comfort of the game.
Overall system performance was assessed in the Futuremark PCMark 8, PCMark 10 and 3DMark, Geekbench 4 packages. Disk subsystem performance was assessed in the Crystal Disk Mark package. The following laptops were taken as opponents:
: 15.6 inches, 1920x1080 pixels, Intel Core i7-7700HQ, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB, 8 GB RAM, SSD+HDD;
: 15.6 inches, 1920x1080 pixels, Intel Core i7-7700HQ, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 2 GB, 8 GB RAM, HDD;
: 15.6 inches, 1920x1080 pixels, Intel Core i5-7300HQ, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 2 GB, 16 GB RAM, SSD+HDD;

To evaluate gaming performance, preset minimum and maximum quality settings are used. Vertical sync can be disabled manually.

Autonomous operation

The laptop is equipped with a non-removable battery with a capacity of 46 Wh, which is clearly not enough for long-term operation, given the “stuffing” used. When tested using our method, the laptop lasted only 276 minutes in reading mode, 223 minutes in video playback mode, and 50 minutes in gaming mode. The results are modest, but the battery charges quite quickly. It only takes an hour and a half to charge up to 85%, and 138 minutes for a full charge.

Conclusion

Acer managed to make a fairly balanced laptop with an excellent cooling system at a reasonable cost, on which you can run modern AAA games. Of course, we had to save on something. For example, the USB Type-C connector does not support Thunderbolt 3, the disk subsystem is based on a slow hard drive, the sound of the built-in speakers is without obvious defects, but not particularly pleasant, the LCD matrix, although IPS, has limited viewing angles and color gamut , and the delta E color deviation is decent.

Minuses:
— easily soiled metal surfaces;
— viewing angles of the matrix;
— narrow display color gamut;
— significant shift in displayed colors;
— uniformity of display illumination;
- slow disk subsystem;
- duration battery life;

Pros:
— huge opening angle of the lid;
— keyboard backlight;
— display contrast;
— quiet and efficient cooling system with an excellent operating algorithm;
— no throttling even with simultaneous 100% loads on the CPU and GPU;
— performance in games (including cost);
— fast charging battery;
- price;

The Aspire S7 line, apparently, is a new flagship for Acer, which is designed to demonstrate the level of development of the company in terms of both technology and style.

The company released its first ultrabook, the Acer Aspire S3, in strict accordance with Intel's requirements and wishes, including a low price. The result was an inexpensive working system, but without any striking features. But the next model, Aspire S5, went into the fashion segment, receiving a more interesting configuration and a beautiful, high-quality case with a retractable port panel. At the same time, the company wisely did not discontinue the S3, leaving it as a cheaper alternative (this model received the new Ivy Bridge platform and remained in service). The Aspire S7 claims to be an absolute leader in all areas.

It is worth noting that almost all other manufacturers chose the opposite and more traditional approach: first they released expensive fashion ultrabooks, and then slowly began to introduce cheaper models in this segment to the market.

The Aspire S7 has a very high-quality design and appearance, and quite good hardware. The 11-inch model can be equipped with the latest generation Core i5 and Core i7 processors (albeit from the ultra-mobile line), SSDs are combined into a RAID array (giving twice the performance), and most importantly - in both 13- and 11-inch S7 has high-quality screens with Full HD resolution.

In general, the characteristics of the model turned out to be very impressive, and in the review we will see what it is like in real life.

Personal introduction

Initially, I didn’t want to take the Acer Aspire S7 for testing, because I didn’t really like it when I first met it. But in the end, curiosity (and Acer’s persistence) prevailed. In order to burn all bridges, I chose the 11-inch model (on the Internet, as a rule, there are reviews of the 13-inch, but it feels very different, and the 13-inch segment is much more crowded) and immediately installed needed software, went on a business trip, where the little Aspire S7 became my only friend for a week - because if it’s impossible to return to your usual environment from a laptop, but you have to do things, then this is the right way to either make friends with it or hate it.

Based on the result, I can say that neither one nor the other happened. And although the S7 has a lot of interesting things, for me this model turned out to be too innovative: it changed too much compared to the laptops I was so used to, and it didn’t always turn out better. In addition, on top of all this splendor stands Windows 8, and if earlier I looked at it mostly for research purposes, then here I had to work and relax with it without any alternatives. And upon meeting personally in this capacity, the system unexpectedly turned out to be much more inconvenient than I expected from it. However, first things first.

Line configuration

You can look at all the models in the line (at the time of testing there are four of them: two 11-inch and two 13-inch). ABOUT technical characteristics oh, we’ll talk a little later, but now we’ll briefly outline the main advantages of the hero of the review, which the manufacturer talks about.

• The screen is protected by durable Gorilla Glass 2
• The thickness of the 11-inch model is only 12.2 mm
• Touch control with 10 touch points
• Full HD screen with excellent viewing angles (IPS technology)
• The opening angle of the lid is 180 degrees (with a footnote that depends on the model - this is not the case for the 11-inch model). For some reason it is believed that this function is suitable for team work
• Electroluminescent (I don’t know what it is; diodes?) keyboard backlight with adjustment to external brightness
• Adaptive cooling, where one fan draws air in and the second blows it out of the case

Well, the main advantages of the Acer Aspire S7 are listed, I would even say that a couple of advantages could be added. By the way, please note that drivers for this model are available on the Acer website only for Windows 8.

We had a configuration for testing.

Acer Aspire S7-191
CPU	Core i7-3517U, 2 cores, 1.9 GHz Mobile DualCore Intel Core i7-3517U, 2233 MHz (22×102)
Chipset	HM77
RAM	4 GB DDR3
Video subsystem	Intel HD4000
Screen	TFT color LCD with ComfyView active matrix Diagonal: 29.5 cm (11.6″) Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Resolution: 1920×1080 (Full HD) Backlight: LED Touch input, up to 10 touches
Sound subsystem	Integrated Intel (for HDMI) Realtek ALC269
HDD	SSD 256 GB, recognized by the system as Intel RAID 0
Optical drive	No
Network interfaces	Wired network	Via USB-LAN adapter
	Wireless network	IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, Atheros
	Bluetooth	Eat
	Additionally	No
Card reader	microSD
Interfaces and ports	USB (2.0/3.0)	0/2
	VGA Out	Yes, through an adapter
	HDMI	Yes (Micro)
	DisplayPort	No
	eSATA	No
	RJ45	Yes, through an adapter
	ExpressCard	No
	Headphone output	Combined
	Microphone input	Combined
	Line output	No
	Additionally	No
Input Devices	Keyboard	Modified (major changes in key layout)
	Touchpad	Clickpad, glass surface
	Additionally	Touch screen, up to 10 points
Battery	2500 mAh, 4-cell battery, Li-Pol
power unit	Parameters: 19 V, 3.42 A, 65 W
IP telephony	Webcam	Yes
	Microphone	Yes
Additionally	No
operating system	Windows 8 Professional
Dimensions	283.6×195.6×12.2 mm
Weight	1.22 kg
Guarantee period	1 year ()

It’s worth noting the platform right away: the Core i7, although ultra-mobile, should provide a very good level of performance, at the level of “large” laptops with a mobile Core i5. Plus, there is a capacious SSD, and even in RAID 0, which theoretically gives a twofold increase in speed. So, according to preliminary estimates, the Aspire S7 is capable of coping with any tasks of a modern user mobile computer no worse than other models with acceptable portability. Theoretically, the ultramobile Core i7 should heat up more under load than the ultramobile Core i5, but the difference will only be noticeable under heavy and prolonged load.

The most interesting feature of this ultrabook is undoubtedly the screen. Apparently it was done according to IPS technology and has excellent viewing angles, and the color rendition is subjectively very good. In addition, with such a small diagonal, it has Full HD resolution.

It's interesting to note that the fight for a thinner case has reached such heights that even a microSD card reader here - an SD card would be too thick. Well, there are few expansion ports. However, we will talk about all this below.

Finally, let's see how the models in the line differ; Acer's website has a convenient interface for comparing their technical characteristics. models with a screen diagonal of 11.6 inches. Our eldest was tested. The younger one has a different processor, it has a Core i5-3317U, and an SSD of only 128 GB. There are no other differences.

Appearance and ergonomics of the case

Packaging and equipment

Stylishness, as we know, begins with packaging. The Acer Aspire S7 is packaged in a cardboard box, which has become standard with lightweight Apple hands despite the fact that it has practically not been used anywhere before.

For more than 20 years, all laptop boxes were opened from the top, and the laptop had to be pulled up, and then suddenly... how everything changed in two years. I am aware that ordinary buyers they open the box once (and not like me - every week), but nevertheless, if they “copy” the design, then it’s not so obvious. However, everyone is doing this now; it’s somehow hard to blame Acer. Inside the box there are many, many small compartments, the lid of each of which is equipped with a fabric tab to make it easier to lift.

Inside the box the buyer will find:

• the laptop itself is wrapped in film;
• power unit;
• case;
• mouse (and two batteries for it);
• additional battery for laptop;
• USB-LAN adapter;
• Micro-HDMI-VGA adapter;
• a lot of papers.

Despite the current trends toward minimalism: “I need a laptop, and I can buy everything else myself,” I believe that Acer is doing the right thing by providing its flagship ultrabook with a set of adapters and nice little things. The buyer of an expensive laptop often does not immediately realize that he will also need an adapter (or something else) to work, and is faced with the fact that he will have to go to the store again. And this, of course, does not add pleasant sensations. Against the background of Lenovo, which for its flagship corporate model offers the often necessary LAN adapter separately and for 500 rubles. (and remember when purchasing that you will need it!), the Aspire S7 kit looks especially good.

True, in this regard, I was happy early on, because I was unable to connect the Aspire S7 to a TV with HDMI while visiting: the laptop has Micro-HDMI, no one has an adapter for it (everyone has a full-size plug). Alas.

Also included with the Acer Aspire S7 is a mouse of futuristic proportions and appearance. I practically didn’t use it, because I worked with the Aspire S7 mainly on the road, and in these situations it’s much more difficult to carry a mouse with you than a laptop. However, even if it is only used at home, its presence is still a plus.

Finally, the case:

It is made of soft leather and looks very cool, but, in my opinion, it does not harmonize well with the metal body of the laptop, which has a very futuristic look.

Frame

I chose the 11-inch model for testing for a number of reasons. It is lighter, thinner, more convenient to carry and, within the framework of the proposed semi-toy style, it should look more interesting and be more suitable for positioning. In addition, for such a small laptop it is easier to justify the compromises on the case, keyboard, ports, etc. Finally, I was interested to see how ultraportable laptops (and ultrabooks) have evolved, and whether it is possible to use them as a single work laptop.

When comparing, be sure to keep in mind that the 11-inch model I tested is very different in appearance from the 13-inch Aspire S7. It seems to me, for the better.

Apparently, Acer tried to visually make the Aspire S7 clean and neat: the case uses either snow-white plastic or very light silver metal. The top metal cover (by the way, it is entirely metal, without any plastic inserts) generally looks very powerful and monolithic - as if it were a solid thick sheet. The cover texture is made in the form of diagonal intersecting stripes, and there is also a shiny Acer logo on the cover. The lid is snow-silver, cold in color. In my opinion, it's lighter than any other aluminum laptop I've seen (even Apple laptops), plus it sparkles a little, which gives the impression of frosty freshness. By the way, during use the lid became stained with fingerprints, and although they are practically invisible, the feeling of sparkle, in my opinion, has disappeared. Or I'm just used to it.

The closed Aspire S7 looks airy and light. It is so thin that the thickest and most massive element is the lid (a couple of times it was even mistaken for a transformer). This impression is created due to the fact that Bottom part it is made of white plastic and is strongly beveled towards the bottom: this visually makes the ultrabook even thinner, and it is much more convenient to lift it from the table. By the way, carrying the Aspire S7 in your hands is very comfortable, especially in open state- it is very light and fits well in the hand. If the laptop is closed, the sharp edge of the lid may put a little pressure on your fingers.

The loop knot here is made in an unusual way: the loops are not L-shaped, but placed upward, and the central part of the loop is visible even when the lid is closed. In general, the design is the same as in the Aspire S3. There are indicators on it, and they are perfectly readable both with the lid open and closed. There are no problems or inconveniences during the work. However, despite this design, it is not possible to open the lid 180 degrees; the maximum opening angle is around 160 degrees.

You won't be able to open the lid with one hand. There is a recess in the lid that makes it easy to grab onto with your finger, but the body is too light and rises with the lid, so you have to hold it with your other hand. The lid seems quite heavy, but the Aspire S7 still stands on its knees without tipping over. Even if not very stable.

An open laptop is the kingdom of metal and silver. It's all light silver, including the keys, and maintains a neat and clean appearance.

The Aspire S7 has thin screen bezels (especially the side ones), which looks beautiful and shows that the laptop is small for its screen diagonal. The frame has a matte edging that prevents dust from getting inside a closed laptop (this solution also first appeared on a large scale, as far as I remember, on Apple laptops, and then spread throughout the market). The keyboard is recessed relative to the stands (so as not to rest against the screen), but this is noticeable only by the sharp bevels on the sides, and only if you look closely. And so the surface looks smooth. Another feature is that the keyboard in the case is moved down quite a bit, pinching the touchpad and reducing the space of the palm rests. At the same time, there is a lot of space left above the keyboard. According to official information, the space at the top is needed for a cooling system with two fans. And, yes, the keyboard has only five rows.

According to modern fashion trends, the main focus of the Aspire S7 design is on the high-quality appearance of the materials used; the design itself is very simple, with clean, straight lines. One of the most striking aspects of the design is the use of a metallic silver color for the keys as well. On the one hand, it turned out to be expensive, stylish simplicity, on the other hand, it seemed to me that it looked a little secondary, too “in trend.” And although you can find many differences in it from Macbook Air, but questions: “Ahh, why did you buy a MacBook?” - cannot be avoided at first.

To sum it up, it’s hard to deny that the laptop is stylish and interesting in appearance. During the three-week acquaintance, he invariably aroused the interest of those around him. But I, for example, never fell in love with him. In addition, it seemed to me that this was more of a women’s laptop, but for some reason the women I knew didn’t react very well to it. It aroused more interest among young people, however, they also perceived it more as a bright and interesting toy, and not as a real candidate for purchase.

As for reliability and durability, the Aspire S7 does just fine with this. The laptop is very light, and at the same time it is made of high-quality materials with high durability, i.e., I think it is very difficult to damage it in any way. The top monolithic cover is generally impenetrable; it cannot be pressed or bent. Once I pressed the Aspire S7 quite hard at an angle, and a notch even formed on the sharp edge of the lid. I suspect that with such an impact the plastic cover could crack. The magnesium bottom should also be strong. I noticed that if you press your finger on the middle of the bottom, it bends inward, pressing against something there. But I don’t think anything terrible can happen there, unless you specifically hit it with a hammer.

additional battery

Let's immediately talk about such an interesting component of the package as an additional battery.

It looks like a long tube made of the same white plastic as the body elements. The battery clings to the bottom of the laptop and is secured with two spikes on the sides, as well as two bolts that screw into the bottom of the Aspire S7.

The battery is connected “through and through” - it has its own power plug on the case, which is inserted into the connector on the laptop case, and on its case there is a connector into which the plug from the power supply is inserted. The additional battery does not tell the laptop its charge, but on its right side there is an indicator with a button and five blue diodes that show its charge level.

It always lights up when the laptop is running on battery power, otherwise it is turned off - in order to see how much charge is left, you need to press the button inside the indicator. The laptop determines that it no longer works from the network: the tray icon shows that it is running on battery power, but it shows 100% while the power is coming from an external battery. You can see how much is actually left in it only through its own indicator.

When you connect an additional battery, the appearance of the ultrabook changes significantly. I'd say the Aspire S7 loses a lot of its flair. Carrying it in some situations is less convenient, in others it is more convenient (you can grab the battery). With an external battery connected, the hero of the review stands on the table differently: rear end noticeably rises, the angle of the keyboard changes.

Ports and expansion options

Modern ultrabooks don’t have very many ports anyway, and in the 11-inch model there is nowhere to place them due to the limitations of the thin case.

To my surprise, Micro-HDMI was placed on the rear edge.

On the one hand, it is less convenient to connect and disconnect the cable, especially if the laptop is standing with the lid open, on the other hand, the cable does not get in the way at all.

To make the connection easier, I even had to make a notch in the additional battery (it makes connecting the cable even more inconvenient).

It so happened that it was during this testing that I really appreciated how bad the existing zoo of standards was: I wanted to connect a TV (and then an external monitor), and the required adapter not found. But I found a bunch of different ones in my desk: DP-HDMI, DVI-HDMI, HDMI-HDMI and others. And what is the result? Dedicate a whole drawer to cables and adapters? Well, let’s say, I can afford it, but won’t everyone do it in the expectation that the owner of a laptop with the appropriate connector will come to visit him? At the same time, I ran into the same problem with another laptop (I needed DP-DVI, but there was DP-HDMI). There are too many formats, and each one also exists in full and mini format, i.e. the number of adapters can be multiplied by two. That's why the best option for a home laptop, in my opinion, full-size HDMI. You can plug a regular household cable into it and don’t need any adapters or your own cables.

However, let's leave this question and see what else the Aspire S7 has.

On the left side is the power connector. The plug is small, angled, the wire is thin. It never interferes with your work, the only thing is that if you connect the power cord and place the laptop on the table, the cord will definitely end up under the case. Next is the USB 3.0 port, and here is the power button. The location of the button is poor, it is difficult to find and you have to constantly feel for it. But, on the other hand, it is rarely needed: a laptop, as a rule, is started from the keyboard or by opening the lid. It’s also easier to put him to sleep by closing the lid or pressing the appropriate key combination.

On the starboard side there is another USB 3.0 (with the ability to recharge mobile devices), a universal audio headset jack and a slot for MicroSD. The solution is not very good: formally the functionality seems to be preserved, but in an ultrabook you expect full-fledged SD. As a result, it turned out that there seems to be a card reader, but you can forget about the regular SD from the camera. You need to either stock up on an external card reader, or take care in advance to insert MicroSD into the camera via an adapter, or use exotic solutions like SD + WiFi. Users complain that some cards can get stuck in the card reader, but I had nothing to verify this claim.

And these are all the ports that the Aspire S7 has.

On the one hand, there are few ports: just connect wired mouse and an adapter for LAN - and that’s it. On the other hand, an ultramobile laptop should not turn into a center for connecting various peripherals; it has other tasks. This is a traveling machine for working on the road, and the inability to connect a bunch of external devices to it is definitely not a minus of the Aspire S7. The ports are located well: closer to the rear edge, so that devices and cables almost do not interfere with each other and the user.

The power supply is quite good in terms of parameters for an ultra-mobile model (although compared to a thin, elegant laptop it still looks a bit large), everything is traditionally spoiled by a thick one network cable with a huge plug, but this is the fate of all laptops officially supplied to Russia. If you want a thin cord and a small plug, take laptops from the USA or some other countries where a thin two-core wire is sufficient (or buy a power supply from there).

The laptop weighs 1.2 kg without a power supply, 1.55 kg with it.

Keyboard

The keyboard is the part of the Acer Aspire S7 ultrabook that has undergone the most significant damage. In order to free up space for the cooling system, the designers of the Aspire S7 set an ambitious goal - to get rid of the top row altogether. And they achieved their goal, but with considerable losses.

Let's start with the formalities. The keyboard is island-type, the keys are strictly square, the working surface is flat, not concave. The keys are very similar to metal, but, apparently, they are plastic. The letters are transparent outlines in the silver keys. Russian and Latin characters are spaced along the edges of the keys, the readability of the fonts is quite good.

The keyboard has a built-in LED backlight. When it is turned off, the letters appear dark, but in daylight (or just bright light) they are readable well. In dim lighting, it is better to turn on the backlight.

The keyboard backlight is not white, like most laptops, but has a noticeable bluish tint, and a strange one, closer to the color of a sea green. Additional symbols (for example, F1-F12) are highlighted in completely blue-blue. The backlighting is not very even, the corners of the letters are not always illuminated well, this creates a feeling of sloppiness and sometimes reduces readability (look, for example, at the letter “Y” in the photo above). The gaps between the keys and the substrate are very small; the light from the diodes through them does not hit the eyes. The backlight has two levels, one, weak, for complete darkness and does not hurt the eyes at all (but the letters are visible), the second, stronger, for situations with dim external lighting. You can switch them manually; there is also a light sensor. In general, two levels of backlight - good decision, allowing you to work comfortably in any lighting.

The keyboard layout suffered greatly due to the destruction of the top row, and the necessary keys from there spread across the entire keyboard. The most important loss for me was Del, which moved from the upper right corner to the right side of the bottom row, replacing the right Ctrl (despite the fact that the call context menu remained!). In theory, this arrangement should be even more convenient, especially when editing texts, since the key is now located next to the cursor. However, in practice I never got used to it. And if, God forbid, you get used to it, then switching back to any other keyboard will be very painful. Plus, a couple of times I, out of inertia, tried to press Ctrl+Shift+Enter (showing the full path to the file) and erased the selected file. Fortunately, in my case there were safety copies, but what if they weren’t there?

Finally, one last change. Tilde (aka the letter “yo”, I have the Russian/English switch displayed on it, so, alas, we won’t see this letter in the article) moved to the same place as Caps Lock, taking away most of this key. And again, in theory, the solution is very logical: we use Caps Lock very rarely, so it is convenient to press this key in one of the last places, and if there is e... i.e. “yo”..., in general, the tilde is also pressed too rarely, and if you suddenly need it, you can find it and click it in a new place. As a result, it’s difficult for me to switch the language (because it’s unusual), and I can’t find Caps Lock by touch; I have to be distracted and look at the keyboard. However, this solution is inevitable: the Esc key is used much more often, and it needs to be in the upper left corner of the keyboard.

By the way, I should note that on this laptop I did not have special problems using a cursor, although in the same Lenovo Thinkad X1 Carbon with absolutely the same key configuration, I constantly pressed two keys at the same time. Apparently, due to the fact that the key travel here is very short, there are enough recesses on the key so that the next one does not have to be pressed.

The keyboard has a very, very short stroke, which, in principle, is logical, given the small thickness of the case. It is worth noting that at the end of the stroke the keys hit the substrate quite hard, this is annoying and leads to rapid finger fatigue during large volumes of typing.

In theory, you gradually get used to the short key travel. But in practice, when typing blindly at a high pace, my number of typos increased greatly. And both in general (there are always many more of them on uncomfortable keyboards) and specific ones. On the one hand, often the key works as if twice, i.e. it turns out something like “finally”. On the other hand, very often when typing quickly, the key is not pressed until it fires, which is why letters are skipped. The number of these typos directly depends on the relative position of the fingers and the keyboard (if you type “from above”, on a low table, there will be fewer typos).

It is worth noting interesting fact: I had to type a lot on the Toshiba Z830, which also has a very short stroke, and the “b” key was constantly not pressed. I even wanted to disassemble the keyboard, I thought something had gotten under the key. However, the Acer Aspire S7 showed the same problem, so the problem may not be with the key, but with the combination of pressing and short-travel keys.

Finally, in addition to difficulties with the “b” key, the “up” cursor key did not always respond. Moreover, if you press it on purpose... everything is always fine. But when you need to quickly move the cursor up while typing, the key often gets stuck. In some situations it was annoying.

Overall, the keyboard has a very easy movement, so if you don't type very much, you shouldn't have any problems using it. Also, I think women should like it. With active fast touch typing, the keyboard reveals a number of features and shortcomings, which makes working with it difficult and not always rewarding.

Additional keys and indicators

This model has only two indicators: operation and battery charging. Both of them are located on the ledge of the case, where the lid hinges are, and look up. The location is very convenient, the indicators are perfectly readable both with the lid open and closed. The indicators are two-color: orange and blue. The left one lights up blue when the laptop is running, blinks orange in sleep mode, and doesn’t light up when it’s turned off or in hibernate. The battery indicator lights up orange when charging, blue when the ultrabook is charged, and goes off when disconnected from the power supply. The latter is especially important: you can always immediately understand whether the Aspire S7 is plugged in or not.

Additional functions are usually located on the keys of the F1-F12 row, but here we do not have such a row. And F1-F12 themselves are executed as a combination of Fn+ on the number keys 1-10 (and two keys + and =). This is unusual and inconvenient for me (and for large quantity active users whose experience began almost in DOS and Norton Commander), however, “modern” users who do not use the F1-F12 functions, I think, will not notice this loss at all.

Therefore, the control functions have gone all the way to the top letter row “qwerty”. However, once you get used to it, you discover that this is much more convenient: now the function keys are closer to Fn itself and you don’t have to spread your fingers wide. By the way, everyone additional functions are also backlit on the keyboard, so they're easy to find even in the dark.

Fn-Q disables wireless interfaces. In Windows 8, this functionality is already built into the system, so external utilities are not needed, it is enabled system function"airplane mode" Even a notification is shown from Windows 8. Fn + W - puts the laptop into sleep mode. Using the combination is much more convenient than using a dedicated button. However, it is only useful when you do not want to close the lid.

Fn+E switches the video output to an external or built-in monitor, and Fn+R turns off the monitor's backlight (but the computer remains on and does not block the screen), Fn+T allows you to disable the touchpad (which is sometimes useful), and Fn+Y mutes the sound. Fn+U and Fn+I control the brightness of the keyboard backlight (remember, there are 2 levels). Fn+O - rotates the monitor 90 degrees in a circle. Why this is needed in a laptop that is not a transformer - I don’t really understand. The most commonly used functions for adjusting monitor brightness and audio volume are located on the cursor keys. This is convenient because they are easy to find (including in the dark and by touch), but because of this the mute button is located far from the volume control.

The PrtSc, Pause/Break, and Ins keys are also assigned to combinations with Fn. Well, Home/End is performed using the combination Fn+ PgUp/PgDn.

Touchpad

For several years now I have been writing about how when typing on some laptops you often hit the edge of the touchpad, and this leads to the cursor jumping. This is always a nuisance, but in Windows 8 the problem has grown to epic proportions.

The fact is that the creators of Windows 8 came up with new way tablet control - when menus are pulled out from behind the edge of the screen (you need to swipe across the screen from the edge to the center - and a menu will appear, one on each side). They liked this control method so much that they copied it for the touchpad. So if you swipe from the left edge of the touchpad to the center, the system will open the previous active application (this will definitely be a metro application, i.e. the gesture only works for them). As a result, when you type (and here we still touch the touchpad with our left palm), now your cursor does not jump, but you are transferred back to the metro application. Occasionally you can touch the right edge - then a side menu will appear on the right edge of the screen (but it can be easily removed). Words cannot describe how annoying this is. Plus, to remove it, you have to constantly swipe your finger again either on the touchpad or on the touchscreen.

Despite the unusual dimensions (the touchpad is small in height but impressive in width), this did not cause me any particular problems while working. Otherwise, this is a typical clickpad today (without buttons) with a slightly rough glass surface and an increased reaction to false positives. In some situations, this touchpad inexplicably did not respond to the touch. In other words, you move your finger over it, and the cursor moves jerkily - it seems that the touchpad loses your finger for a split second, and then restores contact.

However, the touchpad has lost its exclusive meaning, because we have a much more progressive way to control a laptop: the touchscreen.

Touchscreen

An important feature of the Aspire S7 is the presence of a touchscreen. Firstly, the touchscreen is the most intuitive way to control the system. I saw it and pointed it with my finger. No mice, no keyboard shortcuts, everything is simple and clear.

Secondly, the touchscreen is the most convenient way to control the new Metro interface (I know that it can no longer be called that, but it’s a habit... you can’t imagine how much Microsoft has released in its time of materials explaining the rationality of this particular name). When creating it, Microsoft focused specifically on control using fingers (this, however, was done with the goal of conquering the tablet market, but it is quite possible to control a laptop). Therefore, all controls in the interface of the new operating system are optimized specifically for control via the screen. For example, in Windows 8, the ribbon of tiles scrolls horizontally, and it is very convenient to do this with your finger - as if you are flipping through a book with a very natural and intuitive gesture. But on the touchpad, in order to scroll it to the right or left, you have to move your finger up or down (this is the result of optimization for the mouse wheel), which is somewhat confusing.

Manage the modern "tiled" interface of Windows 8 and menu items (the same right and left menu systems), of course, it is more convenient using a touchscreen, because when using a mouse or touchpad, even simply displaying them on the screen becomes a problem. However, even on a good old desktop, a touchscreen can be useful: for example, if a dialog box with “ok” and “cancel” buttons opens, it’s faster and more convenient to press them with your finger on the screen. Well, it’s also more convenient to select some large interface elements with your finger rather than with the touchpad.

Theoretically, it is more convenient to press the buttons in the application interface with your finger, but most of them are mouse-oriented and small in size, so they are difficult to access (the situation is aggravated by the ultra-high screen resolution of the Aspire S7). But it’s still more convenient to randomly poke at the screen than to move the cursor to the button using the touchpad (I did both).

The convenience and simplicity of this method of control is evidenced by the fact that upon my return I spent another two weeks pointing my finger at the screens of all my laptops until I finally lost the habit of using the touchscreen. So the touchscreen, despite all its disadvantages, is a very convenient thing to use. For a laptop, of course.

However, in general, the situation with system management has become worse, and Windows 8 is to blame for this. I specifically noticed that all the actions that I constantly use now require one or two more clicks. When using a touchscreen, this is not so noticeable (although you still have to make more gestures), but if you perform them with a mouse, it’s just torture.

In general: in a modern laptop, especially if Windows 8 is installed on it, a touchscreen can significantly simplify and optimize interaction with the system. True, in the case of Windows 8, it makes life a little easier, which at first was seriously complicated operating system. On the other hand, the main disadvantages of the touchscreen have not gone away, which slightly worsen the ergonomics of the laptop as a whole. Firstly, the touchscreen is a glass surface in front of the matrix, which has a lot of glare - sometimes even more than just a glossy matrix. Secondly, when you poke your finger at the screen, you are sure to leave greasy marks on it.

Screen

The screen is one of the main advantages (or - one of the main features) of the Aspire S7. So, first, the technical specifications.

The screen diagonal is 11.6 inches, and the resolution is the same as that usually used in desktop monitors with a diagonal of 23-24 inches, i.e. the screen size is twice as large. We'll talk about this a little later, but for now let's look at the brightness and contrast parameters.

As you can see, the Acer Aspire S7 screen demonstrates excellent brightness and contrast parameters. Looking ahead, I will say that in other respects the screen is quite good, except that it is worth noting the low color temperature (about 6000k).

The main question when looking at the combination of diagonal and resolution: is it even possible to work with such a screen? We will try to write a separate article on this topic, but I will say this briefly. The new Metro interface adapts well to any resolution and diagonal, there are no problems with it. But the traditional Windows desktop interface was built a long time ago and according to other principles, which assumed a fixed number of pixels per inch, so all elements become very, very small. To some extent, the situation can be improved by specifying a larger scale for it in the screen settings. However, this entails the possible appearance of a number of problems associated with incorrect rendering of interface elements. Somewhere elements are no longer displayed correctly (the text becomes too large for its button, graphic menu elements are set incorrectly, etc.). In many applications, when scaled, fonts in menus and application windows no longer display correctly; they lose clarity and become unreadable.

No less serious problems arise when viewing websites, since they are also, as a rule, optimized for a certain pixel size of elements. The default scale is very small, and when you increase the scale, elements tend to float. The worst situation is for sites that are optimized for screen (window) width. Finally, sometimes there are problems with scaling images, because they have a given size in pixels.

However, the behavior depends on the browser. I liked the way IE10 worked better: its operating logic is close to that of tablets. And the scaling is perfectly implemented - very fast and very, very smooth. But if you enlarge the image to a comfortable font size, then the required column may become too large and not fit on the screen. There were problems with other browsers: Opera, for example, scaled in jerks and recalculated the sizes of columns, trying to optimize them for the width of the screen when fonts were enlarged. Zooming with gestures from the touchscreen did not work in Chrome (it worked from the touchpad), there were also problems with organization on the screen, etc. Chrome for the metro interface, by the way, has the same interface as the desktop one, so the controls are too small . Plus, browsers are still starting to fight with each other: in metro mode, only one browser is opened, which is installed by default, the rest are reverted to the desktop version. But this is already a feature of Windows 8.

If you open sites in the metro version of the IE10 browser, the effect is very similar to that advertised by Apple for Retina screens - nicer, smoothed fonts, clearer and cleaner images. Although this is not striking, when compared head-to-head, the difference is immediately visible (those interested can read the comparisons iPad screens 2 and New iPad in order to get a general idea from people who have a positive attitude towards any changes, and do not ask: “Why is this necessary?”).

If we look from a technical point of view, the most important thing we see is that it is, in fact, a competitor to Retina. The difference between these screens is small; you literally have to look for it with a magnifying glass. So if you need to work with the screen and not be proud of the marketing, the experience will be very close. Another question is that the software needs to be optimized for high resolution. Apple more or less coped with the task, adapting both the system and applications of its own production, for other applications the process is ongoing.

Users of the new tiled Windows interface can enjoy clearer images now. As for Windows desktop software, a significant part of it will experience problems. More precisely, the user will experience problems due to elements that are too small or problems with scaling - even pain and stinging in the eyes. In addition, problems often arise with the layout or scaling of Internet sites.

As a result, if your work takes place primarily on the desktop (i.e., traditional Windows applications), then before making a purchasing decision, you should evaluate the capabilities of the applications you need to work at this resolution, as well as possible difficulties with small elements on the screen. If you are focused more on entertainment and a new interface, then you can safely choose the Acer S7 screen.

Sound

On the one hand, professional sound is declared: this is evidenced by the inscription “Professionally Tuned” near one of the speakers and “Dolby Home Theater” on the other.

The speakers are located at the bottom and look directly down, i.e. they will play “from the surface”, and even at a very strange angle. Actually, this affected the sound - it is also a little unusual. What the laptop sits on is very important. If it stands on a soft surface, the sound is very significantly muffled.

As for the applicability of acoustics, it is better not to listen to music on this laptop. For example, in the song “We Will Rock You” you can’t hear the drums at all. No, this is a normal situation for such speakers, but it is still worth understanding what to expect. Don't expect bass. I would say that the upper and mid frequencies are also not very smooth: algorithms for software “improving the sound”, adding reverberation, etc., are superimposed on the characteristics of the speakers and all this, in turn, is superimposed on the fact that the sound is coming under the laptop and from there it begins to somehow be reflected to reach the user’s ears.

The Aspire S7 copes with speech. You can watch films (especially in dubbed versions) and there are no problems with legibility. Although the special effects are poorly conveyed, especially since in modern films they are most often built on bass. The S7's capabilities should also be sufficient for Internet telephony. But it’s worth considering that the S7’s microphone is also located almost at the bottom, so you shouldn’t place the laptop on a soft surface when talking.

In general, you shouldn't expect anything supernatural from the Aspire S7's acoustics, but for an ultra-portable system it's adequate.

Testing

So, let's take a closer look at the configuration of the model that we tested.

As already noted, an ultra-mobile Core i7 processor is installed here, otherwise everything is pretty standard for the Ivy Bridge platform.

Configuration

Let's look at the components used. The processor in our ultrabook is . Ultramobile processors, even the Core i7 line, always have two cores and four threads, i.e. in this parameter they are no different from the Core i5. The nominal processor frequency is 1.9 GHz, maximum frequency when overclocked using Intel TurboBoost - 3 GHz. In all other respects, it is no different from other processors in the ultramobile line. Let's look at the data from the test utility.

In idle mode, the frequency is fixed at 800 MHz, the voltage is 0.881V. A little high, but the voltage changes frequently.

Graphics subsystem:

Nothing unusual either.

Finally, let's evaluate the performance of the SSD. In our Aspire S7 configuration, the total storage capacity is 256 GB, and besides, the SSDs are combined into a RAID array and should show very high speed.

Yes, that’s what happened - the average speed in the “greenhouse” test conditions is as much as 1 GB per second. In fact, this is a very high result, placing the small S7 among the leaders in linear reading speed among all laptops. Of the competitors, I can only remember Sony with their proprietary technology creating a RAID from SSD drives and MSI with their SuperRAID.

However, the linear speed is not always adequate to the results of the drive in real life. So let's look at the results in another test that uses more realistic scenarios.

If we exclude a strange dip in reading at 4K, then in general the drive holds the leading position in terms of speed, although in general the results are lower. Finally, let's look at the results in HDTune.

As you can see, the linear reading parameters are very good here too, although the graph shows reading dips at the very beginning and the very end of the disk.

Let's also look at the test result for completed I/O operations.

True, in terms of IOPS, the advantage of this drive, for example, over the SSD from X1 Carbon (where there is no RAID, and the linear read speed is about 300-330 MB/s) is very small. However, the overall performance and performance of the SSD in the Acer S7 is impressive.

In general, the Aspire S7 should not be inferior in terms of performance, but rather will be superior to a large laptop with the Intel Core i5 mobile platform and powerful internal components. In other words, it should be enough for the vast majority of modern users, even those using fairly resource-intensive applications. However, do not forget that we are talking about an ultra-thin 11-inch laptop.

Operation under load, heating level, noise

Let's see how the Aspire S7 behaves under load. A thin body and a Core i7, albeit ultra-mobile, is an interesting combination, but will it be prone to overheating when performing resource-intensive tasks?

At 100% processor load (we use a synthetic test from the AIDA64 package), without load on graphics adapter the processor immediately picks up a frequency of 2.8 GHz, the supply voltage rises to 1.011 V. This is quite a lot. Subsequently, this parameter decreases to 0.996 V. The temperature stabilizes around 75-76 degrees, the operating frequency remains stable. In other words, the Acer Aspire S7 can work indefinitely at maximum CPU load at the maximum overclocking frequency; its cooling system is sufficient for this load. An excellent result for a small ultrabook.

However, if you also include the load graphics core, then the voltage instantly drops to 0.931 V and the frequency to 2.3 GHz. Then the frequencies begin to jump from 1.9 to 2.7 GHz, and these jumps continued throughout the test. At the same time, the temperature remains approximately at the same level, 76-79 degrees, not reaching eighty. Thus, there was still a margin for temperature, so most likely Turboboost began to lower frequencies due to too much power consumption. In general, in this situation, the Aspire S7 behaves like any other laptop with Ivy Bridge (they all begin to drop operating frequencies when the CPU and graphics part of the processor are simultaneously loaded, despite the temperature). To be fair, I note that situations of simultaneous 100% load on both subsystems are quite rare.

As for the body temperature, the Acer S7 hardly heats up when there is no load. It becomes a little warm (around 28 degrees) at the bottom in the center and the panel above the keyboard. The remaining parts are at room temperature.

Under load, heating in the same places increases to a level of 35-36 degrees. Exhaust temperature is 44-45 degrees. The remaining parts of the case remain at approximately room temperature.

Under load, the Acer Aspire S7 buzzes noticeably. The sound can be described as a mixture of hum and rustling, it somehow reminded me of the surf, but the laptop hums smoothly, on one note. There is not much high-frequency howling. If you sit at a laptop in a quiet room, the hum is clearly audible and a little distracting.

Battery life

Testing for battery life is carried out in two modes: minimal load mode (reading text from the screen) and when watching a movie. Tests are carried out without the use of test programs. Energy saving parameters: the power scheme is set to “balanced”; if the laptop manufacturer offers its own power scheme with similar characteristics, it is set. The monitor shutdown time is set to “never”. There are no other interventions in power management (switching graphics, turning off components, etc.), they remain at default values. The screen brightness is set to maximum, wireless interfaces are disabled. During testing, the laptop reboots, all utilities installed by the manufacturer are launched (except antivirus program, it is uninstalled before tests).

When testing for battery life in reading mode, no programs are launched, except for a utility that measures battery life.

When testing for playing a movie with hard drive The laptop is playing a movie in avi format. Used for playback portable version Media Player Classic, which contains built-in codecs.

The rated capacity of the built-in battery is 28788 mWh. The external capacity is specified as 28 Wh. Charging the built-in battery takes approximately 2 hours 30 minutes. - 2 hours 45 minutes

The 11-inch version of the Acer Aspire S7 comes with an additional battery. Creators of ultra-small laptops are always faced with a difficult choice: either a small body and light weight, or long battery life with a large battery. And very often they choose a compromise: a small battery inside the case and an equally or more capacious one outside. The bottom line is that if you take a laptop for a short meeting, you can limit yourself to the built-in battery, but if we are talking about long-term work on the road, you can connect a second one, doubling the battery life.

In reading mode, when there is no load on the Aspire S7, it lasts surprisingly well: more than four and a half hours on the built-in battery and almost nine hours with two! And this is with maximum screen brightness. This result should be assessed as very good.

The problem is that under load the battery life drops immediately and very significantly. Video playback loads the processor by only 6-7%, but battery life is almost halved: only two and a half and four and a half hours.

While traveling, I constantly had to use the Aspire S7 on battery power, and far from a power outlet. According to my feelings, the laptop lasts more than five hours, but less than six hours, and this is taking into account the fact that WiFi was turned off. If you turn it on, the battery life will drop further. In other words, the built-in battery is enough to work with email a couple of times, move from one office to another, or quickly show something to a colleague.

Thus, if battery life is high on your list of priorities, then an additional battery is a necessary accessory. However, even with it, the Aspire S7 only catches up with regular 13-inch ultrabooks in terms of battery life (they show approximately the same results when watching videos with a built-in battery).

Of course, from such a small and light laptop I would like more autonomy, especially since ARM devices have spoiled us. On the other hand, the additional battery turned out to be quite large. For a laptop to last all day, it needs to be twice as large, which negates the benefits of a thin chassis. And don’t forget that in S7 you get a powerful platform suitable for almost any modern task, a capacious and very fast SSD, USB ports 3.0 and an excellent screen (which in terms of power consumption is also not the most economical).

Impressions from use, conclusions

It’s difficult to sum up my personal experience with the Acer Aspire S7.

Firstly, the impressions are largely due to the combination of Ultrabook + Windows 8, when the shortcomings and Windows problems 8 (and so seriously I encountered it for the first time) affect the impression as a whole. However, the Acer Aspire S7 is sold only with Windows 8, so you will have to work with it anyway.

Secondly, the Aspire S7 is clearly not a laptop for my use cases. It's the age-old debate between muck-hauling pickups and convertibles with "only two seats and a small trunk." No, you can get used to it, and for most problems you can find some workarounds (except for the keyboard, you will have to buy an external one). Therefore, when choosing, correctly assess your needs.

Thirdly, it has a couple of features that cannot be called cons, but after other laptops you need to think about them specifically. It seems like a small thing: MicroSD instead of SD. And how many times have I stood in front of him with the SD card taken out of the camera (and I didn’t take the adapter - I’m just so used to the fact that there is a card reader with SD support everywhere that I didn’t realize). Or the already described example with an HDMI cable. On the other hand, I once again appreciated the convenience of the touchscreen: largely thanks to it, I managed everywhere without a mouse (which I took with me, but did not use at all).

I was very surprised that the 11-inch ultrabook is not much different from the 13-inch models in terms of subjective comfort of use. The keyboard is almost the same (except for Acer's initiatives; let's just say, maybe the same), the screen is almost 2 inches smaller, but since you still had to use scaling, there was no problem setting the scale a little more. Finally, the physical dimensions did not play a role for me: the laptop is either in a backpack or in the hands, and in both cases there is no difference subjectively and in terms of sensations. Perhaps it is a little more comfortable to carry in your hands, but I, for example, did not feel this difference. The difference between a 13- and 15-inch laptop is much more noticeable. And after all, I mostly had to carry the Aspire S7 with an additional battery attached.

The second surprise is the screen. I won’t lie, after all the marketing howls from Apple about Retina, I was drawn to try it Macbook Pro, so when I realized that the screen parameters of the Acer Aspire S7 were about the same, I paid more attention to it. On smartphones, I felt the benefits of a display with a high pixel density very well (it became easier to read, so I just stopped taking the tablet with me). But even here I didn’t succeed, thank God. If you put two Windows 8 laptops next to each other and lean closer, you can clearly see the difference: the fonts become clearer and smoother, and it’s much more convenient to read. But the difference manifests itself only in the new interface (which I almost never used for work tasks), and when working on a desktop, a screen with such a resolution is more of a hindrance than a help. So, to experience the benefits of the Aspire S7's Full HD screen, you'll have to master the new interface and its apps.

But the touchscreen is, without a doubt, a very convenient thing to use. You should not be afraid of it or think that it will not be useful. Once you get used to it, it’s very difficult to give up such a simple and convenient way management.

But what I couldn’t get used to was the keyboard. It is clear that the situation with it is due to objective difficulties, that space was needed for a cooling system... As a reviewer, I can understand this, but as a person who suffered with it for two weeks, I cannot. It caused me a lot of unpleasant moments, and if you are going to do a lot of typing (especially touch typing) on ​​a laptop keyboard, you should not choose the Aspire S7.

The autonomy was also disappointing. From a laptop with such a large external battery, you subconsciously expect a long battery life. In reality, the Aspire S7 struggles to match 13-inch Ultrabooks without any external batteries, which is a bit disappointing. I felt this very well myself, because the battery constantly ran out at the most inopportune moment.

Who should pay attention to the Aspire S7 with an 11-inch screen? Firstly, for those buyers who are interested in the combination of a powerful productivity platform and maximum compactness. At work or at home, the Aspire S7 can be connected to an external monitor and keyboard, and when necessary, simply disconnect everything and take it with you. Perhaps it will also appeal to a business woman who can put it in her bag. Here, by the way, an 11-inch case would really be preferable.

From the point of view of style and image, the white-silver color and appearance of the cover are a big plus for the Aspire S7 as an image product. But with the battery attached... it's like showing up at a social party with a backpack.

During the entire period of communication with the Aspire S7, I was left with the impression that it was missing the “This is what we can do!” sticker. On the one hand, it contains a lot of interesting things from both a technical and image point of view. On the other hand, it seems that they were collected for show, to show the relevance and modernity of the manufacturer. The Aspire S7 is too eclectic for my liking, and this odd combination of specs (coupled with the equally odd Windows 8 that runs it) is unlikely to make it a likely candidate for a rational purchase. So, it seems to me that among the buyers there will only be those who have enough money, who liked the appearance, and who are not alien to some spirit of experimentation and are ready to put up with numerous controversial innovations of the Aspire S7 for this purpose.

Advantages and disadvantages

As always, when it comes to buying an expensive and stylish laptop, you definitely need to like it. In this case, you will use it with pleasure, and solve minor problems as they arise. If, when choosing, you are guided by mathematical formulas, tables of technical characteristics and other people’s reviews (which is why I always encourage you to critically evaluate mine!), then as a result, you either buy yourself something that someone else liked, or you will be immediately disappointed. And since it is very difficult to resell an expensive laptop, you will have to suffer and use it... In general, first you should like the Aspire S7, and then you should compare it with your needs and evaluate whether you can get along with it?

Portability and autonomy. Appearance and durability are pluses. The fact that the case is thin should be assessed only aesthetically: you won’t be able to put the laptop in your pocket anyway, and when carrying it in your hands or in a bag, the difference between 12 and 15 mm has no effect at all. In terms of weight, the Acer S7 is practically no different even from 13-inch ultrabooks (the difference in weight approximately corresponds to the weight of its power cord with a thick plug). But this ultrabook is still easy and pleasant to carry, and it’s also easier to tuck into any bag. True, this raises the question of autonomy. The fact is that the laptop does not work for long with a built-in battery, and a large external battery greatly worsens the weight and dimensions, and even appearance doesn't have the best effect. And even with it, it will only reach the level of autonomy of 13-inch ultrabooks without any external batteries. In general, you should separate carrying your laptop from working on the road.

Screen. From a technical point of view, the screen is very good, and the readability of fonts (especially small ones) on it will in any case be much higher than on “traditional” resolutions (if there are no problems with scaling). Even if you don't pay much attention to it, it will be better for your eyes in terms of smooth lines and readability. Another thing is that due to the scaling features in the traditional Windows interface, there can (and most often will be) problems with excessively small elements or incorrect scaling. Well, it’s worth noting the glossy surface of the touchscreen: yes, there will be glare and reflections.

Keyboard. Inconvenient to type, with a non-standard arrangement of keys, short travel, etc. No, you can work with it (I typed for two weeks, and a lot - and did not die). But I still couldn’t call the process comfortable. If you communicate on ICQ, social networks, etc., it may be enough. If you type a lot, then this keyboard will not suit you.

Performance. The Aspire S7, especially in the older configuration that we tested, is slightly superior in performance to most large laptops. Its capabilities are enough for almost all tasks that arise for both home and corporate users, even resource-intensive ones. If we talk about subjective sensations, then this ultrabook wakes up instantly, works quickly, responds to user commands instantly and does not slow down anywhere. What else is needed?

As for the remaining points, in general they are not of a fundamental nature that can influence the choice. Specific considerations are outlined in the article and provide enough information to help you make your choice. The main thing is to correctly assess your own needs and preferences, then it will be easier to make a choice, and then the purchased laptop will not disappoint you.

P.S. The too frequent use of phrases “on the one hand... on the other hand” reflects the contradictory impressions that I got from communicating with the Acer Aspire S7.