Review Acer TravelMate P455-M-54204G50Makk Notebook
For the original German review, see here.
On their website, Acer states that the models in the Travelmate P4 series offer "staunch reliability for SMBs". At the aforementioned price point, the Travelmate P455 competes with systems like Hewlett Packard's Probook 650/655 and the Thinkpad L5xx series from Lenovo. Notebooks in both of these series offer comprehensive security features, good input devices, simple maintenance, and a docking port. At first glance, the Travelmate can't really compete, as it comes with the same chassis Acer uses for the Aspire E1 series - for example the Aspire E1-572 (Core i3-4010U, HD Graphics 4400). If the Travelmate can hold its own regardless is the subject of our review.
To evaluate our review model, we compare it to its competitors HP Probook 650 (Core i3-4000M, HD Graphics 4600) and Dell Latitude 3540 (Core i5-4200U, Radeon HD 8850M).
Since the Travelmate is nearly identical in construction to the Aspire E1-572 and other 15.6-inch models in the series (E1-532, E1-522), we won't spend any time on the chassis, port selection, input devices, the display, and the speakers - unless there are notable differences. For more details, please take a look at the individual notebook reviews.
Case
As mentioned in our introduction, the Travelmate shares its plastic chassis with the Aspire E1 series. One difference: the P455's display lid cover is brushed metal and not plastic. Rigidity hasn't improved much, however - we were still able to twist the lid rather easily. For around 800 Euro (~$1100), we would expect a higher-end chassis design. As is, the construction is perfectly adequate for an Aspire E1-series model, but in our opinion not sufficient for the Travelmate.
Communication
Security
For a notebook to appeal to businesses, certain security features have to be on board. In addition to the Kensington lock slot, Acer equipped the Travelmate with a Trusted Platform Module (1.2) as well as a biometric fingerprint reader and the required security software "Pro Shield". The software not only regulates access, but also allows the user to encrypt and securely erase data.
Operating System
The Travelmate ships with Windows 7 Professional (64 Bit) preinstalled, although Windows 8 Professional (64 Bit) is included as well. Acer does not supply media for either OS - rather, both are included as images on the hard drive. In order to replace Windows 7 with 8 or vice versa, the user needs to use Acer's eRecoverymanagement Software. A pamphlet, which is included in the box, explains the process.
Maintenance
Accessibility for maintenance purposes is not overwhelming. The single cover on the bottom hides the RAM and the hard drive. The Travelmate has two RAM slots, one of which houses a 4 GB module. The hard drive is easy to replace and both 7 and 9.5 mm models will fit.
Input Devices
Keyboard
Compared to the Aspire E1-572, the P455 features a backlit keyboard. The only options - accessible using a function key - are on and off. When the notebook is running on battery power, the backlight turns off by itself after a few moments and reactivates when any key is depressed.
Display
The matte Full-HD display is the same one Acer equips the Aspire E1-572 with, although the measurements are not identical. This is normal, since even structurally identical panels can show some deviations. Both displays are about average as far as their brightness is concerned and lack contrast. Our review version of the E1-572 sells for about 400 Euro (~$550) without a Windows OS, so the quality of the display is acceptable. The Travelmate, however, should offer a higher-end display. We would like to see an IPS panel like the one Acer uses for the Aspire V5-573G.
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Brightness Distribution: 87 %
Center on Battery: 195 cd/m²
Contrast: 361:1 (Black: 0.54 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 11.16 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.87
ΔE Greyscale 12.02 | 0.5-98 Ø5.1
47.9% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
53.8% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
75% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
52.4% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 3.05
Performance
The Travelmate P455-M is a 15.6-inch notebook designed for business environments and its processor is more than powerful enough to handle the commonly encountered tasks. Our review notebook sells for about 840 Euro (~$1150). At the time of writing, Acer does not offer any other versions of the P455-M.
Processor
Acer decided on Intel's Core i5-4200U processor for the Travelmate P455. This dual-core CPU is part of Intel's Haswell generation and features a base clock speed of 1.6 GHz, which can be increased to 2.3 GHz (both cores) or 2.6 GHz (single core) via the Turbo. The CPU doesn't consume a lot of power - according to Intel, the TDP is 15 watts.
The CPU handled the Cinebench benchmarks tests at its maximum clock speed. The resulting scores are comparable to the Latitude (Core i5-4200U, Radeon HD 8850M), which uses the same processor. The Probook's (Core i3-4000M, HD Graphics 4600) performance is also at the same level, although its CPU is not a ULV model, but a standard mobile processor with a higher base clock speed but no Turbo. In this case, the Turbo modes of the ULV Core i5 processors are close to the base frequency of the Core i3 and the results are thus more or less identical. The three CPUs in our comparison are all based on Intel's Haswell architecture. Thanks to its powerful dedicated GPU, the Latitude was able to outperform the other notebooks when running the GL tests.
System Performance
We can't complain about the overall performance: the Travelmate runs smoothly. The results of the PC Mark tests confirm our subjective findings. Both the Probook (Core i3-4000M, HD Graphics 4600) and the Latitude (Core i5-4200U, Radeon HD 8850M) fare slightly better, however, since the former has a faster 7200 RPM drive, while the latter has RAM that operates in dual-channel mode. The Dell also has a more potent GPU.
A Solid State Disk should increase performance, lead to faster system starts and program executions, and improve the PCMark scores. We put it to the test with a 64 GB Crucial RealSSD C300 SSD and were rewarded with PCMark 7 result of 4225 points, which is an increase of almost 80 %.
| PCMark Vantage Result | 5464 points | |
| PCMark 7 Score | 2344 points | |
| PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 2028 points | |
| PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 2973 points | |
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Storage Devices
The Travelmate is equipped with a Seagates Momentus Thin series hard drive with a capacity of 500 GB and a rotational speed of 5400 RPM. The hard drive comes with two identically-sized 219 GB partitions; the rest of the space is shared between the installation files and the recovery partition. The P455 features a shock sensor which parks the hard drive read/write head when a fall is detected, which in turn protects the drive from damage.
CrystalDiskMark attests a read rate of 98.85 MB/s, while HD Tune recorded an average transfer rate of 82.4 MB/s - good and in line with what we would expect from a 5400 RPM hard drive. We've encountered the same drive in many other notebooks, including the Aspire E1-572, which costs about half as much. In our opinion, Acer should have used a small SSD, a 7200 RPM drive, or a hybrid drive (conventional drive + SSD cache) for the Travelmate.
GPU Performance
Intel's HD Graphics 4400 is tasked with handling graphics. The GPU supports DirectX 11.1 and operates between 200 and 1000 MHz. The 3DMark benchmark results show that the HD 4400 doesn't fare that well when to the compared to the graphics cards in the competing notebooks, as both the Probook (Core i3-4000M, HD Graphics 4600) and especially the Latitude (Core i5-4200U, Radeon HD 8850M) feature more powerful graphics processors.
| 3DMark 06 Standard Score | 4131 points | |
| 3DMark Vantage P Result | 3306 points | |
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 777 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 33077 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 3744 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 494 points | |
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| Acer TravelMate P455-M-54204G50Makk HD Graphics 4400, 4200U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142 | HP ProBook 650 G1 H5G74E HD Graphics 4600, 4000M, Hitachi Travelstar Z7K500 HTS725050A7E630 | Dell Latitude 13 3540 Radeon HD 8850M, 4200U, WDC Scorpio Blue WD7500BPVX-75JC3T0 | Acer Aspire E1-572-34014G50Dnkk HD Graphics 4400, 4010U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142 | Acer Aspire E1-572G-54204G75Mnkk Radeon HD 8750M, 4200U, TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075 | |
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| 3DMark | 17% | 109% | -10% | 81% | |
| 1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Score | 33077 | 39808 20% | 38786 17% | 25080 -24% | 50492 53% |
| 1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Score | 3744 | 4360 16% | 6278 68% | 3339 -11% | 5433 45% |
| 1920x1080 Fire Strike Score | 494 | 563 14% | 1683 241% | 514 4% | 1209 145% |
Gaming Performance
The Travelmate is not very well suited for gaming. Some current games can be played at low resolutions and with the details set to low; games which are not very resource-intensive - for example the various Fifa versions - are playable at higher resolutions and settings. The frame rates can be improved slightly with a second RAM module, which allows the RAM to operate in dual-channel mode, thus improving graphics performance. The result is an average increase in the frame rate of about 20 % depending on the game.
Users wanting a business notebook which works well for gaming might want to consider the Latitude. The Probook is also an alternative, as it is available with a dedicated Radeon HD 8750M GPU. An obvious choice on the consumer side is Acer's own Aspire E1-572G (Core i5-4200U, Radeon HD 8750M), which is a version of the E1-572 with dedicated graphics. Equipped with a matte HD display (1366 x 768 pixels) and Windows 8, the notebook sells for about 500 Euro (~$685).
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) | 26.8 | 12.8 | ||
| Tomb Raider (2013) | 36.5 | 18.4 | 10.4 | |
| GRID 2 (2013) | 45.3 | 24.7 |
| Acer TravelMate P455-M-54204G50Makk HD Graphics 4400, 4200U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142 | HP ProBook 650 G1 H5G74E HD Graphics 4600, 4000M, Hitachi Travelstar Z7K500 HTS725050A7E630 | Dell Latitude 13 3540 Radeon HD 8850M, 4200U, WDC Scorpio Blue WD7500BPVX-75JC3T0 | Acer Aspire E1-572-34014G50Dnkk HD Graphics 4400, 4010U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142 | Acer Aspire E1-572G-54204G75Mnkk Radeon HD 8750M, 4200U, TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075 | |
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| Tomb Raider | 21% | 313% | 1% | 166% | |
| 1024x768 Low Preset | 36.5 | 46.2 27% | 37.1 2% | 92.6 154% | |
| 1366x768 Normal Preset AA:FX AF:4x | 18.4 | 21.9 19% | 67.2 265% | 18.3 -1% | 45.5 147% |
| 1366x768 High Preset AA:FX AF:8x | 10.4 | 12.2 17% | 47.9 361% | 30.8 196% |
Emissions
System Noise
The Travelmate is certainly not a noisy notebook. On the contrary: the notebook is mostly silent and even under full load, the fan is nearly whisper-quiet. The P455 gets the loudest when accessing the DVD drive. The Probook is also very quiet, whereas the Latitude is the noisiest - at least under load. Of course that's not very surprising, since this notebook comes with a dedicated and powerful GPU, which requires additional cooling.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 30.5 / 31.2 / 31.2 dB(A) |
| HDD |
| 30.9 dB(A) |
| DVD |
| 36.2 / dB(A) |
| Load |
| 32.5 / 34.7 dB(A) |
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30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
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min:  , med:  , max:  Voltcraft sl-320 (15 cm distance) | ||
Temperature
The surface areas of all three notebooks don't get very warm during idle. Under load, things don't change much - only the Probook and the Latitude exceeded 40 degrees C in one area each. Overall, the Travelmate stays the coolest.
During the stress test (Prime95 and Furmark running in parallel for at least one hour) both the CPU and the GPU remained at their maximum respective speeds (CPU: 2.3 GHz, GPU: 1000 MHz). The CPU temperature stabilized at around 70 to 71 degrees C with the notebook connected to external power.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 36.5 °C / 98 F, compared to the average of 34.3 °C / 94 F, ranging from 21.2 to 62.5 °C for the class Office.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 33.3 °C / 92 F, compared to the average of 36.8 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28.2 °C / 83 F, compared to the device average of 29.5 °C / 85 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 31.7 °C / 89.1 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 27.6 °C / 81.7 F (-4.1 °C / -7.4 F).
Energy Management
Power Consumption
During idle, the Travelmate consumes between 4.3 and 12.7 watts. The latter value is a bit high for a simple office notebook with a ULV processor. The Probook (4.6 to 9.4 watts) and the Latitude (6.3 to 10.8 watts) both need less. Under medium load levels (3D Mark 06) and full load (stress test, Prime95 and Furmark), the Travelmate requires 30.4 and 39 watts, respectively. The Probook, equipped with a standard mobile processor, is only slightly more power-hungry (37.1 and 41.5 watts). The Latitude (50.7 and 52.7 watts) needs the most because of the dedicated GPU.
| Off / Standby | 0.1 / 0.2 Watt |
| Idle | 4.3 / 10.5 / 12.7 Watt |
| Load |
30.4 / 39 Watt |
   
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Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Voltcraft VC 940 | |
Battery Life
In idle mode, the Travelmate lasted for 8 hours 13 minutes - in between the Probook (7 hours 41 minutes) and the Latitude (12 hours 34 minutes). To check the maximum run time, we use the Battery Eater Reader's Test. For this test, we turn down the display brightness all the way, enable the power saver profile, and turn off the wireless modules. Under load, the Travelmate kept running for 1 hour and 5 minutes before we had to plug it back in. Both the Probook (1 hour 40 minutes) and the Latitude (1 hour 56 minutes) lasted longer. To establish the minimum battery life, we use the Battery Eater Classic Test, maximize screen brightness, use the high performance profile, and enable all wireless modules.
The P455 shut down after 4 hours and 30 minutes when tasked with the WLAN test. Again both the Probook (5 hours 16 minutes) and the Latitude (5 hours 34 minutes) outlasted our review notebook. During this test, a script visits various websites in 40 second intervalls. For the WLAN test, we activate the power saver profile and set the display brightness to about 150 cd/m². We were able to play back DVDs for 3 hours 34 minutes. Both the Probook (3 hours 43 minutes) and especially the Latitude (4 hours 31 minutes) offer longer playback times.
It's not really surprising that the Travelmate has the shortest battery life, since its battery also has the lowest capacity (Acer: 37 Wh, Hewlett Packard: 55 Wh, Dell: 65 Wh). Acer still manages to extract decent run times despite the low capacity. The Aspire E1-572 has the exact same battery. Considering the price point of the Travelmate, we would have expected a larger-capacity battery.
Verdict
All things considered, the Acer Travelmate P455-M is a decent business notebook. The overall performance is good and the noise levels are very low. The battery life is also OK. In our opinion, however, the Travelmate is outrageously overpriced. The nearly identical Aspire E1-572 comes with the same hardware and Windows 8 for about 540 Euro (~$740). In other words, the Travelmate is much like the Aspire, but equipped with a fingerprint reader, a TPM chip, a shock sensor, a display lid made of metal, security software, and a second Windows license. The charge for these add-ons is about 300 Euro (~$410).
While the Aspire E1-572 offers a good price-performance ratio, the Travelmate simply doesn't. Given the asking price, we would have expected a higher-end chassis, a better display, a faster hard drive, as well as a larger battery. Additionally, we would like to see a docking port. Potential buyers who like the notebook but don't need the TPM chip or a fingerprint reader are better off with a notebook from Acer's Aspire E1 series.
The Dell Latitude 3540 is a good choice for users needing better graphics performance, since the notebook has a dedicated GPU. In addition, the Latitude also features the longest battery life in this group. The Hewlett Packard Probook 650 is extremely easy to expand and features a docking port. In addition, the Probook also sells for about 100 Euro (~$135) less than our review notebook.
