Decent budget laptop from Acer (Acer Aspire 5720)

Member Name: cognition

Product:	Acer Aspire 5720
Date:	23/12/08 (1171 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: 2.0GHz dual core processor, 2GB RAM, fairly cheap

Disadvantages: Small hard drive (80Gb), integrated graphics card, no installation CD for Windows Vista

INTRODUCTION
The Acer Aspire 5720 laptop is a budget laptop, costing around £420 when I got mine early 2008. What drew me to this particular laptop at the time was the processor speed and amount of RAM for the price. On the downside, you get an integrated graphics card and a tiny hard drive. The hard drive issue has really upset me since (although I get by using an external USB disc). The graphics card doesn't bother me, as I'm not using this laptop for hardcore gaming. The laptop performs fine on games with lower requirements.


SPECIFICATIONS:
Screen: 15.4" TFT, Crystalbrite
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0GHz
RAM: 2048MB RAM
Hard Drive: 80GB Hard-drive
Extras: DVD±RW, Intel GraphicsX3100, WiFi, Integrated Webcam, Card Reader, Vista Home Premium

You can now get a similar laptop with 4GB RAM, 200GB hard drive and a proper graphics card for the same price (£420). At the time when I got this, it offered excellent value for price.


SYSTEM ORGANIZATION
The hard drive is split up into two partitions, meaning it's one actual physical hard drive, but it appears and is in use as if it was two separate hard drives. The first partition holds the operating system, Vista Home Premium, the second partition holds your back-ups, and there is some free space for your files as well. The basic reasoning for this organization is probably that you don't get an actual Windows Visa CD. As you boot up the laptop for the first time, you will be taken through the final stages of Windows Vista installation, such as choosing your language. Your first step should then be to make a backup using the included software. Although you can make a copy to DVDs, the program will by default make a backup to the second partition. Hence, you can re-install to the first hard drive partition without disturbing your back-up files on the second partition. As of yet I haven't re-installed. I would have felt more comfortable getting an actual Windows Vista CD with the laptop, but I do trust that this system will work when the time comes for a fresh start.

The laptop comes pre-loaded with a bunch of utilities and small programs from Acer. Most of this is useless and only takes up memory. Thankfully, they can all be uninstalled and removed, although if you don't know much about computers, these user friendly applications might help you get some basic tasks done.


PERFORMANCE
At first I was slightly disappointed with the speed of some operations. Then I turned off all the fancy visual eye candy in the options menu, removed the applications that start automatically, and I ended up with notably more snappy and responsive performance. I'm using the laptop mostly for word processing, using Open Office, and also some audio recording and mixing using Cakewalk Sonar Producer Edition 8. Everything is working just fine! Except... when using the internal sound card and speakers by themselves, I have at times experienced some "crackling" distortion in the sound, which seems to be a known issue with these laptops. I went abroad with work and was using my laptop as a music player. On some instances I had a lot of problems with the sound distorting, which was very disrupting. It's not a constant factor, however. The next time I went on vacation the sound was perfectly fine.


SOUND
The laptop has 'Dolby Digital Live' sound, which seems like a bit of a joke, the way it's printed over the tiny laptop speakers. As far as laptops goes, the sound really is quite good, but compared to even cheap external speakers, of course it sounds tinny and weak. The laptop does have an SPDIF output, though, which I haven't been able to test. I suppose this should, theoretically, result in pretty good sound if connected to an external amplifier using an SPDIF cable. There is a volume adjustment slider on the side of the laptop, a small plastic wheel you can neatly roll with your finger. This was working fine for half a year, but a few months of having the laptop in my backpack with me on journeys has resulted in the wheel not responding too well any more, which is a pity. I now have to adjust the sound exclusively using the windows volume adjuster.


SCREEN & VIDEO
The screen is in 15.4" widescreen format and utilizes Acer's Crystalbrite technology. Basically, this is supposed to result in less reflections on the screen. It's bright and vivid, and it performs brilliantly indoors. The unit can not really be used outdoors if in direct sunlight. Reflections are too severe. But then, what do you expect? Find some shade, and you'll be fine!

Even with the budget integrated graphics card, I've played some car racing games, which don't have that steep system requirements, all performing flawlessly on the system. Video files and DVDs play back smoothly, and with no problems whatsoever. The maximum resolution is 1280 x 800. The graphics card will perform perfectly fine for every day operations unless you are a gamer.


WEBCAM
The integrated webcam has a 0.3MegaPixel resolution and a tiny microphone. It's not amazing for taking pictures, obviously, but it will automatically work with MSN, Google Video Chat or any other webcam application you might want to use it for. It's a nice addition that works just fine. I didn't care for the webcam at all when I acquired the laptop, and I didn't think I would ever use it, but the time came when it became handy, and the webcam and accompanying integrated microphone works just fine!


CARD READER
(SD, MMC, MS, MS PRO, xD)
On the side of the laptop is a 5-in-1 card reader, which is another feature I never thought I would find useful, but then I acquired a camera that uses an SDHC memory card, and the card reader has become another invaluable feature of my laptop. You simply slide your memory card into the slot, and the card can be accessed on the computer as if it were an external USB drive.


BATTERY
The battery is of the type 4800 mAh Li-ion and seems to last on average 2 hours, which is acceptable. Recharging the battery with the AC adapter takes roughly 1-2 hours. It means I can usually get away with seeing a full length DVD film off one battery charge while on the move.


CONCLUSION
In March 2008 this laptop represented good performance for money, at the cost of integrated graphics card and a small hard drive. The price for the laptop was then £420. The price at the moment seems to average £350. This represents good value for money, but if you want to do gaming, get a laptop with a proper graphics card.

Summary: Perfectly fine burdget laptop

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