Acer Aspire M3-581TG
Specifications
Price comparison
Average of 7 scores (from 10 reviews)
Reviews for the Acer Aspire M3-581TG
Kepler's Debut. "Ultrabook XL" is one way of describing the Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 as the notebook doesn't exactly check in gracefully in its 15-inch case. However, with the new GeForce GT 640M graphics card, Acer offers a worthwhile treat that promises gaming on the go.
Source: Good Gear Guide Archive.org version
It's a laptop that should appeal to those of you who want a good, all-round laptop that's slim, yet well stocked. The Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 is a very good notebook overall, offering exceptional performance and battery life. It's also well built and stylish. However, we wish it had some ports on the sides and that there was a little more room for the left palm rest.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 06/01/2012
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Techradar Archive.org version
Nvidia has been calling the Acer Timeline U M3 the first true Ultrabook. And the big, green graphics giant has good reason to be backing this svelte-looking machine - at its heart beats the very latest in mobile graphics power, the GeForce GT 640M.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 05/02/2012
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Tech Advisor Archive.org version
The Acer Timeline M3 offers excellent overall performance and an elegant-looking package, but with less than optimal input devices and an eye-gouging LCD panel that left us cold. You can adjust to an odd keyboard feel, and you can tweak trackpad settings, but nothing will save your eyes from a display that's not up to snuff.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 04/13/2012
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: PC World Archive.org version
The Acer Timeline M3 offers excellent overall performance and an elegant-looking package, but with less than optimal input devices and an eye-gouging LCD panel that left us cold. You can adjust to an odd keyboard feel, and you can tweak trackpad settings, but nothing will save your eyes from a display that's not up to snuff.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 04/11/2012
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Engadget Archive.org version
With the Ultra M3, Acer has delivered some serious computing power in an incredibly thin package. In our opinion, it's simply too big to be evaluated as a true Ultrabook, though it is thinner and lighter than typical 15-inch laptops. Its high-end internals allow for some noteworthy performance, but its plastic construction and shoddy screen scream low-end, making it a bit of a paradox.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 04/04/2012
Source: Laptop Mag Archive.org version
While it's already been proven that you can cram very good graphics and battery life into a thin 15-inch system, the Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 takes it to the next level. Nvidia's next-generation GeForce GT640M GPU can hang with the best of them, letting you play the latest games anywhere. The audio is also quite satisfying. We only wish the M3 had a display that could better show off all that the GPU is capable of doing and that the ports were more easily accessible.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 03/16/2012
Rating: Total score: 70%
Foreign Reviews
Source: Notebookcheck DE→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 03/22/2012
Rating: Total score: 82% performance: 91% display: 67% mobility: 90% workmanship: 87% ergonomy: 80% emissions: 78%
Source: CHW ES→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 03/22/2012
Source: 3DNews.ru RU→EN Archive.org version
Positive: Performance; 10 hours battery life; Decent speakers.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 05/18/2012
Source: Notebook.cz CZ→EN Archive.org version
Positive: High performance in a thin body; Good sound; Long battery life; Silent cooling. Negative: Rear headphone output; Awkwardly placed switch; Resolution of the display.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 04/19/2012
Comment
NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M: Middle class graphics card of the 600M series based on the 28nm GK107 chip (Kepler architecture).
Modern games should be playable with these graphics cards at low settings and resolutions. Casual gamers may be happy 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.
15.60":
15-inch display variants are the standard and are used for more than half of all laptops.
The reason for the popularity of mid-sized displays is that this size is reasonably easy on the eyes, often allows high resolutions and thus offers rich details on the screen, yet does not consume too much power and the devices can still be reasonably compact - simply the standard compromise.
» 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.
79.14%: This rating is not earth-shattering. This rating must actually be seen as average, since there are about as many devices with worse ratings as better ones. A purchase recommendation can only be seen with a lot of goodwill, unless it is about websites that generally rate strictly.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.