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195 of 200 people found the following review helpful.
Outstanding step forward
By Dave
I've had mine for a few hours so these are just first impressions:The build quality is very high - this laptop feels solid despite being very light. The design is clean and simple, the screen is bright and the colors are vibrant. The sound is well above average for a laptop, but that's not saying too much.This is my first exposure to Windows8 and from what I read in the press, I was expecting to hate it. On the contrary I think for home use it's going to work out perfectly. If you are comfortable with the iPhone style interface you'll have no problem with Windows8. During the initial setup boot it shows you the two main things you need to know in order to navigate. With that I was up and running. I wasn't too sure about the touch screen idea: love it for my phone, but how would the ergonomics feel with a laptop? Answer: awesome. With the Windows8 "tile" based interface, touch just works. I've barely used the touchpad since I got this thing. My other computers seem lame now. Again, this is based on a few hours of use, but the first impressions are very good. I think the Windows OS has made a big step forward out of the cluttered mess it was.I work in the computing industry so I looked a little closer into some of the specs for those who like to know these things: the CPU, as noted is an Intel i5. That doesn't really tell you much, since that can refer to multiple generations of Intel chips. In this case it is the latest and greatest "IvyBridge" dual-core Intel CPU (22nm, Tri-gate transistors). This is a 17w(!) CPU. That is insanely low power for the performance you are getting. This CPU also includes some fairly robust integrated graphics on the die with 16 graphics execution units. This is 4 more than the previous high-end, and 10 more than the current "second tier". I've read up on the benchmarks and it out classes many discrete graphics solutions. This should actually enable you to do some fairly decent gaming on your laptop if you so choose. It will won't compete with a dedicated "gaming" laptop with high-end discrete graphics, but then again it won't cost you 2-3K. One thing to note is that the Intel graphics drivers generally fall short of AMD or Nvidia when it comes to some of the more high-end graphics settings. Most users don't even know how to get to those features, but if you are serious gamer this is something to consider. On the other hand when it comes to mainstream applications and video performance, Intel performs as well or better than the competition.A few things to note: this laptop has a nice big 500GB hard drive, but it's a conventional drive and not a solid-state drive. All conventional drives are at risk of failure, and so you should pick up a cheap external back-up HDD just to be safe (or sign up for an online back-up service from somebody like Amazon). It's cheap insurance. Another thing worth mentioning is that while this is not an "Ultrabook" it's pretty close to being that thin. While cool looking, it does mean you have an adapter for network cables and VGA displays. Nobody should need a VGA display connector anymore (the laptop has a conventional HDMI port) but if you plan to plug into a network you have the adapter to think about. Fortunately the wireless on this laptop is first rate. I've got a pretty high-end business class HP laptop from work, and this Acer blows it away on connection speeds.So my overall impression? This is a great laptop and based on what I've experienced I can comfortably recommend it to anyone. Any doubts I had about Windows8 have been erased. It's simple, intuitive and with a touch screen, computing is kind of fun again.****Just a note that after a week of using this laptop I still really like it. I'm finding Windows 8 is fairly intuitive to use and learn. That being said if you are really used to tweaking around in the old Windows there are some frustrating moments trying to figure it out in Windows 8. However overall they've made configuring things like privacy settings *much easier* so I think the average user will find themselves doing things in Windows 8 they would never do in Windows 7.I still think that touch is why Windows 8 works and I'm not sure I could suggest buying a non-touch laptop with this OS. I've really gotten hooked on the "10 fingered" touch. It makes my "two fingered" touch on my phone seem antiquated. This makes me wish there were more convertible tablet/laptops out there. It seems like laptop makers are missing the market here.
79 of 82 people found the following review helpful.
Pretty darn sweet
By SkyeNoir
Acer isn't an unfamiliar brand around our house. In fact, my husband's first personally owned computer was an Acer (486SX-25, cira 1993), as were the first and second computers we bought together. Over the years, Acer's quality has ranged from excellent for the money, to dismal at best. Especially after buying up Gateway, the Acer seemed to struggle with quality. In more recent history, they're back on the upswing, but still not wonderful. So, it was with some hesitation that we got the Aspire V5, not quite knowing what to expect.After a few weeks, I can say that we're pleasantly surprised. The V5 is quite thin and light compared to the other laptops we have around the house (Lenovo G770, Lenovo ThinkPad T420s, Compaq CQ56, HP DV4, and HP DV9000). The backlit keyboard is quite nice, both in appearance and feel. Typing away feels good, with just the right amount of tactile resistance. Of the models we have, only the ThinkPad outclasses the V5 in this area. The inclusion of a numeric keypad was an added bonus, as only our 17" models have these. For me, the addition doesn't make the keyboard feel cramped, but, my hands are on the smaller side, so this could vary. The touchpad itself is very sensitive, with a surface that lets your fingers glide right across it easily. I'm not a touchpad person myself, but I did check out the extensive adjustments and gesture control options that are built in, just before turning them off. (Yes, I know, how antiquated of me.)The battery life is very good, with ours lasting just under 6 hours while doing some light gaming the whole time. This bested the older models we have, but came in about the same as the pair of Lenovos. Speaking of gaming, the Intel graphics chip inside isn't a slouch, but, it's not going to come close to what can be had with a dedicated gaming laptop or other laptop with decent graphics chip from NVIDIA or AMD. The CPU is certainly powerful enough, especially when backed by Intel's Ivy Bridge chipset, but expect to be turning down the graphics options if you're into heavy gaming (first person shooters, RPGs, etc). For your typical tasks, like web surfing, emailing, document creation, watching videos, playing games on Facebook or Pogo, and the like, you'll be more than happy with the performance. In terms of overall performance, I feel the V5 held put itself ahead of the rest of our pack, with most everything seeming to run a bit quicker and more smoothly than on any of our others.Yes, V5 comes with Windows 8, but, I'm not going to try and review that, as it's a whole beast in and of itself. I would like to note that the V5 does come with a fair amount of bloatware, those programs that no one really wants but the manufacturer stick in there as a "value add" item. The V5 wasn't nearly as bad as the HPs and Compaq, which are notorious for the amount of garbage they come with. Bummer there wasn't a full copy of Office Home and Student instead of the trial version, but I can't actually complain about that since I knew that what it came with in the first place. Lastly, and the only thing I will say about Win8 is that it runs very smoothly compared to some prior new major releases (*cough* Vista *cough* WinME *cough* Win95). Not a single hitch to be had during this whole time, and we've been putting the V5 through it's paces.Lastly, just a few bits on the V5's other features. Touchscreen! Yes, it works very well, but you'll likely love it or hate it, depending on if you like reaching up to the screen a lot and if you don't mind cleaning the screen a lot more often than on a conventional laptop. The HDMI output has come in very handy for things like gaming, watching Netflix, and web surfing on an HDTV. Our son loves it for the gaming, so he and his friends can all watch the action without having to crowd around the person at the keyboard. Sound quality is decent enough, though you're not going to get quality enough to satisfy an audiophile. The webcam is...well..meh. It works well enough, to be sure, but don't expect crystal clear and grain free image quality. It's simply not that great, at 1.3MP.Overall, I think the V5 is an excellent machine in terms of price, performance, and features. I'm almost tempted to trade my G770 for it but...I really like the bigger screen. Our son is loving it, and as previously stated, hasn't run into a single hitch yet. Only time will tell if the quality inside is up to snuff though.
125 of 136 people found the following review helpful.
Good value if you can live with its compromises
By Damodar Chetty
On paper, this laptop has a lot going for it - a 3rd generation Ivy Bridge i5 dual core processor, 6 GB RAM, a 15.6" multi touch screen, a 5GHz wifi adapter (Atheros AR5BWB222), 3 USB ports (1 USB 3.0), 5 hour battery life (as per the product specs - in reality this is about half that), and a modern design aesthetic.Unfortunately, the more I used it, the more I ran into its limitations, and hence my 3 star (It's Okay) rating.1. Performance.Its Windows Experience Index numbers (on a scale of 1 to 9.9) are:Processor (6.9), Memory (7.1), Graphics 4.5, Gaming (6.2), Hard disk (5.9)The V5 is really hurt by its anemic Intel HD Graphics 4000 chip (only 128MB of dedicated video memory); as well as by its 5400 RPM hard drive.2. ConstructionThis is a handsome laptop, but its cut corners soon become apparent with use - it feels plastic-ky and less well finished than my other laptops.3. Usability - TouchpadThe touchpad is located too far to the left making left clicks a challenge, has a stiff click action, and tends to lose sensitivity when performing click-drag operations (when closing Modern/Metro apps, touch pad drags were often ignored.)It supports Win8 actions such as invoking the Charm menu, but these were easy to trigger inadvertently yanking me out of my thoughts.4. Usability - KeyboardThe keyboard is firm, full sized, and backlit. However, some keys are simply too small, and the Caps/Num Lock keys provide no indication when active.5. Usability - Touch screenThe touch screen is the perfect complement to Windows 8's Modern/Metro interface, and is natural to use. However, right click and click drag actions were harder to pull off, and I kept resorting to the mouse.Reaching across the keyboard can be an uncomfortable action depending on user position.Touching the screen can also be sacrilegious for those sensitive to screen smudges :)6. ScreenThe display was sufficiently bright, with adequate color reproduction. Its 1366x768 resolution is measly for a 15.6" screen, but has the benefit of making text easier to read and icons easier to click - since each pixel is larger.7. No built-in Ethernet/VGA portsIn a tragic design decision, these ports are only available using a separate adapter cable. That means I not only have to pack this itty bitty connector each time, but I also have to worry that I will misplace it :(8. Battery life - even with light use, the battery ran down in 3 hours. This is too short for mobile use.9. Integrated Optical Drive - a nice touch, but as expected at this price point, Bluray is not supported.10. SoftwareThis unit was surprisingly clear of bloatware (except for NTI Media Maker). Even the trial Windows Office 2010 is a download link. Unfortunately, Acer was just as sparing with useful software.Who is this for?###########This laptop seems to be aimed at users with light to moderate usage needs - it should be adequate for Internet browsing/streaming, general home use, and for school homework. The larger pixels at this resolution and screen size should also be easier on older eyes.However, gamers, road warriors, developers, and other power users will likely be better served elsewhere.Conclusion#######While this may seem to be a lot of laptop for the money, I found that there were some material compromises.How satisfied you will be with this laptop will depend on which of these compromises matter to you.Happy Computing!~Damodar
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MSI Customer Service is atrocious
Good deal
