Urban Echo

The Acer Aspire 5740G is essentially a well-needed update to the 5738G albeit an internal one. This is because the changes are in the configuration of the laptop.

Our laptop came with the following configuration:

Intel Core i5 430M
4 GB DDR3 RAM (2x2 GB)
500 GB 5400 RPM HDD
24x Optical Drive (slow)
ATi Mobility Radeon HD 5650 with 1 GB DDR3 RAM


Acer under-clocked the graphics card core speed at 500 MHz negating the speed advantage of DDR3 memory which is clocked at 750 MHz. Games such as Batman Arkham Asylum and Need For Speed Shift can be played at highest detail at full resolution. World In Conflict can be only played in 1024*768 at High setting without stuttering (This should be an important consideration when playing new demanding strategy games such as StarCraft II).



The packaging and presentation remains staid. You pay for the laptop and the carrying case (included with the laptop). There are no recovery discs (you will have to burn your own) and there is no documentation (the PDF files are on the hard disk). The Acer "Gemstone" design is the same. In fact, placing the 5738 and 5740 together will not yield any visible difference except that the 5740 loses the fingerprint reader (a feature in the 5738G that was hampered by bad placement and bad software) and has bigger rear rubber feet giving the laptop a slightly thicker look.

Unfortunately, some of the performance irritants are retained in this update. The DVD drive remains slow in reading and writing discs. For the size of a 15.6" laptop, the speakers lack depth and volume. A set of speakers is recommended to enjoy movies and games.

That being said, the 5740G is neither a gaming nor multimedia laptop in the true sense, but it is a compelling choice in the Indian market as no other laptop comes close in specs and configuration (and price). In fact, at the time of writing this review, this is one of the only Core i5 laptops, but this is the only laptop in the market with a mid-range DirectX 11 graphics card (the Dell Studio 15 comes with the entry-level 5450).

Cons:

• no documentation
• no recovery disc provided - you'll have to burn it yourself
• no Win 7 installation disc
• restrictive practice of placing warranty void stickers on RAM and hard drive openings (!) preventing up-gradation of RAM and hard drive
• battery only charges when laptop is first powered on
• no Firewire
• no eSATA
• frequent scrolling due to screen aspect ratio
• below average/average battery life - nearly 2 hrs 15 min.
• poor lid opening mechanism
• no slot loading optical drive :-)
• speakers produce underwhelming bass-less sound
• third party power adapter
• no LEDs on the exterior - a feature found even in netbooks
• only one color - dark blue
• screen flex
• hinge - prefer book opening types
• USB ports are placed too close together
• slow DVD drive (24x CD writing)

Pros:

• separate bluetooth and wifi keys
• full keyboard layout

Our verdict: the Acer Aspire 5740G is a good buy (do look for a good bargain, though), but this wishlist should improve a good thing:

• An eSATA port
• A slot loading DVD drive
• Speakers with a sub-woofer
• Keyboard with better tactile feel
• switchable graphics
• BlueRay drive
• WWAN card
• A 14" version - definitely more portable and fits in more backpack