Acer Aspire S3-3951
Specifications
Pricecompare
Average of 15 scores (from 29 reviews)
Reviews for the Acer Aspire S3-3951
Source: Computer Active Archive.org version
Ultrabooks, Intel's name for thin and light laptops, tend to be sleek and eye-catching. While the Acer Aspire S3 ultrabook is certainly very slender, its dull grey appearance is far less attractive in the flesh than it is in photos, although some may prefer the less flashy look. The Aspire S3 isn't a bad ultrabook, but its keyboard and battery life could be better and the lack of USB3 ports could be limiting in future.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 02/28/2012
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: Computer Active Archive.org version
The Aspire S3 isn't a bad ultrabook, but its keyboard and battery life could be better and the lack of USB3 ports could be limiting in future.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 02/27/2012
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: IT Reviews Archive.org version
The Acer Aspire S3 is stylish, light and impressively thin with good visuals. There is more than enough power for daily multitasking, with an attractive power saving ‘Instant On’ feature. Although it has significant peripheral omissions, along with some keyboard issues that need addressing.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 02/03/2012
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: AnandTech Archive.org version
We’ve now looked at three 13.3” ultrabooks, plus the MacBook Air 11 and 13, and the ASUS UX21E. I’ve also had some hands on time at a local store with a Samsung Series 9, so that covers much of the ultrabook market right now. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to see any of the Lenovo IdeaPad U300/U400 offerings or any other ultrabooks in person (yet), so I’ll have to leave them out of consideration.
Comparison, online available, Long, Date: 12/21/2011
Source: Pocket Lint Archive.org version
There are a few areas that we hope Acer gets the chance to tweak before the Aprire S3 lands in the shops: they’ve already confirmed that addressing the trackpad click action is on the list, but the screen could do with being a little brighter too and another central foot would make the leading edge feel much more rigid.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 11/17/2011
Source: Pocket Lint Archive.org version
But Acer have achieved their aims in creating a slim and light Ultrabook. It performs well enough from what we’ve seen and although the design doesn’t offer the premium flare you get from the MacBook Air, the price (not currently confirmed) at around £800 puts it in the range of those looking for a primary work or play machine - and we’d expect online discounts to make it a much more appealing over time.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 11/17/2011
Source: Trusted Reviews Archive.org version
As the first Ultrabook we’ve reviewed, Acer’s 13.3in Aspire S3 has a lot to live up to, and on quite a few points it manages it. We’re impressed with its performance, build quality and screen, while it also scores points in the looks and usability categories. Only connectivity, audio and battery life cause any serious concern, while missing features like keyboard backlighting detract from the premium feel. However, if you’re happy with the slim girl next door rather than a super model, the S3’s low price means it’s definitely a contender.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 11/16/2011
Rating: Total score: 80% price: 90% performance: 80% features: 80% mobility: 70% ergonomy: 50%
Source: Reg Hardware Archive.org version
The best summary I can think of for the Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook is that it’s a splendid product with some annoying details. On one hand, it’s a good all-rounder in an amazingly slim, lightweight package. On the other hand, the keyboard will take some getting used to, the trackpad is awkward and the fan noise could drive your office colleagues nuts, however, Acer tells me that the review S3 was from a pre-production batch and what's on sale now should be cured of these ills. Yet for carrying around and flipping open here and there whenever needed, the Acer Aspire S3 is just the job. Oh, and if you want to shave £200 off the price, there's always Acer's Intel 1.6GHz Core i5-2467M model to consider.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 11/16/2011
Rating: Total score: 70%
Source: CNet Archive.org version
The Aspire S3 is Acer's first foray into the world of the ultrabook. It aims to offer enough of a kick to get through all your computing needs without taking up space in your backpack. On its own, the Acer Aspire S3 is a slim, good-looking bit of kit with powerful components under the hood. Sadly, it's beaten to the punch by the competition who offer better specs for the same money.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 11/01/2011
Rating: Total score: 70%
Source: Digital Versus Archive.org version
Although imperfect (glossy mediocre quality screen, poor connectivity), the Acer Aspire S3 does deliver in terms of battery life, processing power and thickness (under 2 cm). Although the MacBook Airs still have certain advantages over this model, notably when it comes to the finish and materials used, they are also more costly.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 10/28/2011
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: Gadgetmix Archive.org version
The Macbook Air has few competitors just yet.And for $999, the Macbook Air is a good offer. Ultimately, the Acer Aspire S3 costs a full $400 less than the 13-inch Macbook Air, and even $200 less than Asus’s ultrabook offering, the UX31. But it doesn’t stand out enough to justify a purchase before seeing what the other players have to offer.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 10/20/2011
Source: Hardware Zone Archive.org version
Ultrabooks are really the most anticipated machines of 2011, and finally we’ve had our hands on one: the Acer Aspire S3. This anorexic Windows machine is close to what Intel thinks Ultrabooks should be, and quite frankly, while we weren’t exactly blown away by it, we remain very impressed with the Ultrabook promise, and very optimistic about what the future holds for Ultrabooks.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 10/07/2011
Rating: Total score: 85% price: 80% performance: 80% mobility: 90%
Source: T3 Archive.org version
The Acer Aspire S3 is an impressive portable, which offers superb power in an incredibly lightweight design. We’re really happy that this marriage of proper computing power, and great design finally has a home in the PC market. We hope that the small problems we experienced will be ironed out in time for its full release, and enable this laptop to be a benchmark of what can be achieved under the Ultrabook brand.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 10/03/2011
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Computer Shopper Archive.org version
Get ready for a new notebook craze. Much like in the netbook era, which swept in like a flash flood in 2007, Intel is spurring on the rollout of another kind of ultra-mobile computer, this time called the "ultrabook." Love the MacBook Air but hate its price? The Aspire S3-951 is a bantamweight 13-inch ultrabook with a design and feature set unexpected in an $899 model.
Comparison, online available, Long, Date: 10/01/2011
Rating: Total score: 86%
Source: V3.co.uk Archive.org version
Overall, the S3 looks a promising piece of kit, but we have yet to be convinced that it's better than the MacBook Air. With Microsoft hyping Windows 8, it remains to be seen whether consumers will buy an ultrabook now or wait a little bit longer for a next-generation model with a touch-screen operating system.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 09/16/2011
Source: Stuff TV Archive.org version
Should you buy an S3 Ultrabook? Well, yes. Unless you don't. The MacBook Air remains the better built machine, has the sharper screen and has high-speed Thunderbolt for express file transfer. Spec it up to the Acer’s numbers, though, and it also costs £450 more than the S3. While that could be seen as money well spent (much of it pays for the all-solid-state memory and Apple laptops have a healthier resale value than their peers), Acer’s svelte Ultrabook is still worth considering. After all, with a similar spec, the MacBook Air is a tad slower than the S3. And that's not all. The S3’s considerable processing grunt and supercharged wake times are impressive specs to find in a laptop under two centimetres thin and weighing just 1.3kg. It runs Windows natively and has a full HDMI port. It can sleep for nearly two months and be ready to pounce into Windows in under six seconds. Yes, it costs a lot, but the Acer Aspire S3, like a slightly flawed diamond, is still worth waving your wallet towards. Just don't expect perfection.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 09/14/2011
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Tech Advisor Archive.org version
I am impressed with the Acer Aspire S3 and I look forward to trying a shipping model. If my first taste of Ultrabooks is any indication of what's coming, I think PC users are in for a treat, delivered by Acer as well as other brands.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 09/06/2011
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Reg Hardware Archive.org version
There's the metallic look, the sunken keyboard, the sparse port array, the - a first time for a Windows machine? - large touchpad placed centrally in the wrist rest area, not aligned to the positioning of the spacebar. There's the dark, plastic hinge cover that provides a window for the machine's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 09/04/2011
Source: Trusted Reviews Archive.org version
It’s difficult to try and label the Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook as anything but a reaction to Apple’s Macbook Air models without it feeling like an exercise in self-deception. But sensibly Acer hasn’t gone head-to-head on all fronts. In ditching the expensive unibody construction, the manufacturer has been able to use its usual strategy of undercutting the competition. We’re yet to hear the exact specs and prices that will be available to us in the UK, but £799 is much easier to swallow than £1099 – even if the Aspire S3 doesn’t quite have the desirability of Apple’s babies. But then who does?
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 09/03/2011
Source: Pocket Lint Archive.org version
There are a few areas that we hope Acer gets the chance to tweak before the Aprire S3 lands in the shops: they’ve already confirmed that addressing the trackpad click action is on the list, but the screen could do with being a little brighter too and another central foot would make the leading edge feel much more rigid. But Acer have achieved their aims in creating a slim and light Ultrabook. It performs well enough from what we’ve seen and although the design doesn’t offer the premium flare you get from the MacBook Air, the price (not currently confirmed) at around £800 puts it in the range of those looking for a primary work or play machine - and we’d expect online discounts to make it a much more appealing over time.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 09/02/2011
Foreign Reviews
Source: Chip.de - 2/12
Comparison, , Medium, Date: 01/01/2012
Rating: Total score: 77% performance: 53% features: 62% display: 92% mobility: 66% ergonomy: 74%
Source: c't - 3/12
batter runtime very good, office performance good, 3D-gaming performance bad, display bad, noise emissions bad
Comparison, , Long, Date: 02/01/2012
Source: c't - 25/11
low weight, considerable fan noise
Comparison, online available, Long, Date: 11/01/2011
Source: PC Actual ES→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 10/18/2011
Rating: Total score: 80% price: 70%
Source: Retera RU→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 09/08/2011
Source: enet.com.cn zh-CN→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 10/12/2011
Source: PC Online.com.cn zh-CN→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 09/27/2011
Source: enet.com.cn zh-CN→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 09/13/2011
Source: Komputer for alle DA→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 03/02/2012
Rating: Total score: 70%
Comment
Series:
The Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook was one of the first ultrabooks to hit the market. The idea of the Ultrabook was introduced by Intel but not much of marketing had been done by them. As one of the firsts, all it had was the ‘Macbook Air lookalike’ identity. This isn’t that good to start with for the Aspire S3 as it doesn’t look as thin as the Macbook Air. The Aspire S3 also has the option to use a mechanical hard drive which gives it a significant disadvantage due to the inferior performance offered by a solid state drive offered by other manufacturers. The asking price is another unjustifiable issue. The Asus Zenbook and Dell XPS 13 are also priced around the same price range but they have much more to offer. Another issue with this ultrabook is its plastic-feel construction compared to the aluminium chassis on the Zenbook and carbon fiber feel of the XPS 13. The lack of a USB 3.0 port and backlit keyboard puts it behind most 13 inch ultrabook out there.
Being one of the earliest Ultrabook certainly has its downside. However, it’s not all bad. The Aspire S3 has a display that can tilt far back, more than any other ultrabooks that we’ve seen. It looks very much like the MacBook Pro but is much lighter and has the excellent boot time of Ultrabooks. It can wake up from sleep mode in about less than 2 seconds.
Intel HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge): Processor graphics card which is integrated in the Sandy Bridge Pentium and Celeron processors. Similar to the desktop HD Graphics 2000 and not related to the old Arrandale processor graphics with the same name.
Only some 3D games with very low demands are playable with these cards.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
Intel Core i7: The Intel Core i7 for laptops is based on the LG1156 Core i5/i7 CPU for desktops. The base clock speed of the CPUs is relatively low, but because of a huge Turbo mode, the cores can dynamically overclock to up to 3.2 GHz (920XM). Therefore, the CPU can be as fast as high clocked dual-core CPUs (using single threaded applications) but still offer the advantage of 4 cores. Because of the large TDP of 45 W / 55 W, the CPU is only intended for large laptops.
2637M: Power saving ULV processor clocked at 1.7-2.8 GHz due to Turbo Boost. Offers an integrated HD 3000 clocked at slow 350 / 1200 MHz and a DDR3-1333 memory controller.» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
13.30":
There are hardly any tablets in this display size range anymore. For subnotebooks, on the other hand, it is the standard format.
The advantage of subnotebooks is that the entire laptop can be small and therefore easily portable. The smaller display also has the advantage of requiring less power, which further improves battery life and thus mobility. The disadvantage is that reading texts is more strenuous on the eyes. High resolutions are more likely to be found in standard laptops.
» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.Acer: In 1976, the company was founded in Taiwan under the name Multitech and was renamed Acer or Acer Group in 1987. The product range includes, for example, laptops, tablets, smartphones, desktops, monitors, TVs and computer peripherals. Since 2007, the group has merged with Gateway Inc. and Packard Bell, which also market their own laptop product lines.
Acer computers are designed for a variety of purposes, including ultrabooks for mobile use, gaming laptops for gamers, affordable options for everyday tasks, and 2-in-1 convertible laptops for versatility. Acer's product portfolio also includes tablets that offer portable computing and multimedia capabilities.
73.2%: This rating is poor. More than three quarters of the models are rated better. That is rather not a purchase recommendation. Even if verbal ratings in this area do not sound that bad ("sufficient" or "satisfactory"), they are usually euphemisms that disguise a classification as a below-average laptop.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.