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Acer Aspire AS5740-6491 LX.PM902.130 Notebook PC - Intel Core i5-430M 2.26GHz, 4GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, DVDRW, 15.6″ Display, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, Blue
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Compare Prices on Acer Aspire AS5740-6491 LX.PM902.130 Notebook PC - Intel Core i5-430M 2.26GHz, 4GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, DVDRW, 15.6″ Display, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, Blue
Enjoy multimedia brilliance with the Acer Aspire AS5740-6491 Notebook PC showcasing a vivid 15.6″ HD widescreen CineCrystal™ LCD display, Intel Core™ i5 performance and Dolby Home Theater® cinema-style surround sound. Add to that digital media features, Bluetooth® Technology, convenient quick keys and unprecedented connectivity making it easy to multitask, get creative and enjoy your favorite entertainment at home or on the road.
- Amazon Sales Rank: #13488 in Consumer Electronics
- Brand: Acer
- ESRB Rating: Kids to Adults
- Dimensions: 4.52 pounds
- CPU: Intel Core Duo 2.26 GHz
- Memory: 4MB SODIMM
- Hard Disk: 500GB
- Processors: 2
- Display size: 15.6
Features
- Box Contents - Acer Aspire AS5740-6491 Notebook, 6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery
- Intel Core i5-430M 2.26GHz Processor with Turbo Boost up to 2.53GHz
- 3MB L3 Cache, 1066MHz FSB
- 4096MB Dual-Channel DDR3 1066MHz RAM
- 500GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Five Star Review, 99% “Good” but here are the “Bad” points
The 6491 configuration of Acer’s AS5740 boasts Intel’s new Core i5 processor, and a quick review of the spec sheet reveals that this configuration is amazingly “tricked out” for the price. For those wondering, the “Gemstone” blue color is very dark, almost black.
I’m extremely pleased with the notebook, but offer the following for those who may be considering this purchase. Note that I actually ordered a replacement from J&R because of the following concerns, but will ultimately be keeping the original.
First, you’ll need to live with the fact that the speakers are simply no good in the AS5740s. They’ll pass at low volume, and are OK for general computing, i.e. Windows system sounds, but for music and movies — not so good. At increased volumes they vibrate a bit, and the different settings available, i.e Dolby, Surround, etc., just change the sound without really improving it. I thought I had a dud machine with bad speakers, but the replacement was just as bad, and other reviews point to the speakers as one of the few criticisms. If you plan to use this as a mobile media player, then you may not be satisfied. Again, for general use, it’s OK.
Second, as with many of the newer energy saving hard drives, the HD in the AS5740s (in my case a Western Digital Scorpio 500G drive) frequently parks its heads - causing a noticeable click (or tink) that was driving me absolutely crazy. I would describe the sound as kind of like a camera shutter, and at first I thought it was a Windows system sound — perhaps the Internet Explorer “Start Navigation” sound, i.e. the click you get when you move to a new web page. I muted all Windows sounds and it was still there, so I knew it was mechanical. When the replacement machine made the same sound, I researched the issue and found that it was indeed the heads parking — a common complaint with many different brands of hard drives these days.
It’s a power-saving feature that can be modified with any Hard Drive management software. I tried a program called Drive Power Manager (drivepowermanager dot com) and adjusted the settings to high performance 254 and disabled the standby mode, and now the HD is quiet as a mouse. In effect, you just need to keep the HD working so it doesn’t constantly park. And you can always go back to the power-saving settings if you wish, or if the sound does not bother you (unlikely).
So, bottom line, I’m keeping the original machine, sending the replacement back to J&R (who were wonderful throughout), and rate the AS5740-6491 with 5 stars, notwithstanding its less than impressive speakers. The other features more than make up for that shortcoming.