Solid build, uninspiring looks
This Aspire is certainly not visually stunning, but the case design is functional and seems to be built solidly. I’m not too convinced about Acer’s decision to bring all three of the USB 2.0 ports to the front corners, though. Despite its plastic construction, the 5749 still weighs in at a hefty 2.4kg.
PCMark 7 Results
Longer bars are better
Given that the case has a quality feel, it might be expected for this to extend to the keyboard and trackpad. However, the keyboard feels a bit cheap and tacky. I didn’t particularly enjoy typing on it due to the flat faces on the keys. As for the trackpad, my recommendation would be to avoid it and plug in a mouse.
I was disappointed to find that the Ethernet port is but a lowly 10/100Mb/s device, not Gigabit. Fortunately, the Wi-Fi works well and will likely outperform its wired counterpart.
Not a top-quality keyboard
As with so many PCs these days, Acer bundles a bucket full of bloatware. Sifting through this mess turned up a couple of useful (non-trial) applications in the form of Acer Backup Manager for the data integrity conscious user and Cyberlink Clear.Fi to handle your media streaming needs.
Running PCMark 7 continually resulted in a total drain of the 5749's six-cell, 4400mAh Li-Ion battery in 2 hours 15 minutes, a fairly impressive result. Acer claims that you should be able to squeeze six hours of real-world use, and I’m inclined to believe it.
A decent build
Verdict
The Aspire 5749 is far from being the most powerful machine on the market, but the combination of respectable battery life and more than sufficient processing power could make this an ideal notebook for the cash-strapped. It may have its foibles, but Acer has released a decent computer at a very attractive price. ®
More Notebook Reviews |
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 Apple
MacBook Pro 13in |
 Acer
Aspire S3 |
 Lenovo
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Vaio SB |
Acer Aspire 5749 budget 15in laptop
COMMENTS
glossy screen
Can somebody come up with an after-market screen-unglossifier?
Some sort of an etching compound that achieves the silky screen finish found on all the good old laptops that we don't seem to get any more.
And no I don't want royalties for my brilliant idea. Just send me a free tin of the stuff once you'e done, to compensate me fro my brilliant idea. Thank you.
16:10 screens rule
I agree too on 16:10. 16:9 is only any use for watching the output of the film studios. And even then it doesn't matter if you've got a 16:10 screen showing a black bar at top and bottom whilst you watch a film does it? Because the reverse - using a movie-resolution 16:9 screen for actual computing just doesn't work - I can't display my extra vertical lines on parts of the screen that don't exist...
As an aside, my old 1920x1200 resolution laptop needs replacing, and I can't find any for sale at all. There's a few 1920x1080 (16:9) around, but I really need the missing 10% vertical resolution. Can anyone tell me of any? Apart from whatever Mac it is that currently has such a screen as I'm just not a mactard.
Laptop resolution
"I’m not a fan of 16:9 displays on notebooks - call me old-fashioned, but 16:10 makes much better use of the available area - so it’s no surprise that I didn’t take too well to the 1366 x 768 resolution."
I'm with you on that one, unfortunately I really struggle getting a monitor or laptop at 16:10 ratio, do they exist anymore?
I like my 1600x1200 screen. Sad the rest of the laptop is getting old :-(.
wifi
How is the wifi likely to outperform 10/100 wired ethernet?
Higher bandwidth, better reliability and lower latency, all at the same time?
