Acer Aspire One 751 Review

Phil · 05-24-2009, 12:05 PM

Here's my experience with the 751h sofar. I will be updating this review in the next couple of days. Let me know if you have any questions.

Configuration:
Intel Atom Z520 1.33 GHz running at 1.24GHz
1366*768 Crystal bright (glossy) LCD with LED backlight
1GB memory
160GB Hard drive Hitachi 5K320 family
6 cell battery 4400mAh/ 46Wh. (RMClock reads Designed capacity 48840 mWh, fully charged capacity: 50294 mWh)
weight: 1.35kg (Acer's list)

The Acer 751 (plastic is still on the screen)

Screen: The 1366*768 screen is very sharp, what an improvement of the common 1024*600 netbook screens. Contrast isn't the best, but it's good enough (my estimate: 150:1 at 100 cd/m). Brightness is good but not good enough to overpower reflection when working outside with sunlight (my estimate: 190 cd/m). Colors look vibrant and photographs look realistic with help of the glossy coating. When tilting the screen forward contrast lowers quickly and colors become faded. Tilting the screen slightly backward makes the contrast look better and colors more vibrant.

Touchpad: Excellent. Very smooth, big enough. It's Synpatics, very accurate and has multi touch support. (bigger than NC10 touchpad).

Keyboard: Has some flex but doesn't bother me. It's 100% size, kind of strange to get used to after typing on a NC10 with 92% for a while. Acer uses a style of keyboard that I have not seen before.

Performance: I'm surprised that the Z520 running at 1.24GHz does not bother me. Surfing with several tabs goes well (with Flashblock).
-Playing 720p mkv files goes 100% smooth.
-Playing normal quality flash like Youtube goes 100% smooth.
-Playing 720p wmv (like Microsoft showcase) or HD Youtube does NOT go well. Lots of stuttering.

Hard drive: for some odd reason the harddrive seems to be capped at 45MB/sec. Still trying to figure this out. HDTune is at the bottom of this page.

Battery life: From what I've seen 7 hours is realistic with light use and dimmed screen.
On lowest brightness, wifi on, Windows indicates 8 hours battery life.
On highest brightness, wifi on, the indication 5:30 hours.

Pros:
Sharp screen
Long batterylife
Weight
Very slim (1") and sexy design
Excellent Multi Touch Touchpad

Cons:
CPU is not running at full speed (1.24GHz instead of 1.33GHz)
Hard drive is not running at full speed. (42MB/sec instead of 52MB/sec average)
Performance is ok for a netbook, but not more than that.
Standard Battery (6 cell) sticks out

Xirurg · 05-24-2009, 03:51 PM

Nice review...but this size is wrong for a netbook .IMO they should be <=10"!

Phil · 05-24-2009, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xirurg

Nice review...but this size is wrong for a netbook .IMO they should be <=10"!

You'd be surprised. This netbook actually fits in my NC10 sleeve!
It's hardly bigger.

And it's lighter than Asus 1000

runtohell121 · 05-24-2009, 08:29 PM

i saw this at walmart for $400 w/ similar configuration but it had 2gb ram, 250gb hard drive instead.

Phil · 05-25-2009, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by runtohell121

i saw this at walmart for $400 w/ similar configuration but it had 2gb ram, 250gb hard drive instead.

I think that's a version with Vista. I would not install Vista on a Z520 personally.

Phil · 05-26-2009, 03:13 AM

Good news, the Z520 can be overclocked with SetFSB. I tried 1.33GHz and that was 100% stable. Clock generator is ICS9LPRS365BGLF

Some overclocking results:
At 1.24 GHz CrystalMark : 21657
At 1.45 GHz CrystalMark : 24421

Source: http://www.aspireoneuser.com/forum/v...14361&start=10

TrackSmart · 05-28-2009, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil

Standard Battery (6 cell) sticks out

Hello Phil! I have been trying to get this question answered for a long time regarding the 6-cell battery.

Can you show a photo of the 6-cell battery and how it sticks out? I would be very appreciative.

How much thicker or wider does it make the machine?

-------------------

By the way, thank you so much for the review! Your information, particularly about expected battery life, is really helpful. As are the comparison shots next to the NC10. It really puts the size of this machine in perspective.

Thanks!

Phil · 05-28-2009, 10:28 AM

This should answer your questions:

TrackSmart · 05-28-2009, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil

This should answer your questions:

Thank you Phil! I'm glad they made the extension out the back, rather than adding thickness to the bottom. Much better for fitting into a messenger bag or backpack. Though I do wish they could have found room for the higher capacity battery within the case. I guess you can't have it all!

Phil · 05-28-2009, 11:19 AM

Acer.co.uk mentions a 5200 mAh battery. I wonder if that's a mistake or true.