Multimedia and multitasking have begun to take up a hyperactive role in the present scenario. So much of importance is given to the entertainment and media field and also the speed, because nobody in this world has time to “wait” as everybody is preoccupied. In fact, the notebooks these days act as a helping hand for our busy users. Considering the speed of performing the tasks, the Aspire 5740 offers good processor speed since it has the next generation Intel iCore Processor. Acer has very well caught the minds of the people and so has come out with this product, the Aspire 5740 series which is mainly aimed at home users whose target is to watch movies or videos in the big and comfy 15.6” screen, good memory size and a sufficient number of ports. The Taiwan Company indeed earns lots of credits for its job in areas like the overall design, processor speed, HD screen and a handful of useful ports. The common query of the users is, “Will this notebook be my proud asset”?! Guess you have that doubt too. Read a little further and check the answer by yourself.

Acer Aspire 5740 Notebook

Design:

The 5740 series is a 15.6″ notebook with a neat design and appealing looks. The notebook comes in different colours and the display size 15.6” is something that is nice and comfortable to watch movies. The lid is glossy and this means attraction towards the finger prints. But then glossy lids are preferred by many these days and are not a big issue at all. The same glossiness extends to the screen too and there arises the problem, the viewing angle. It is highly difficult to manage in seeing what is displayed on the screen if there is excess light.

The Acer Aspire 5740 Notebook has a width of 383 mm, depth of 250 mm while the height of the machine ranges from 26 to 37 mm. These measurements suggest that the machine is not too thick or too heavy with a weight of 2.8 Kg.  Obviously, this machine is not ultra-portable. But it definitely can be used without much difficulty. The resolution of the screen is about 1366 x 768p and this is adequate for a 15.6” screen. The aspect ratio of 16:9 adds up to the astounding video quality.

Acer Aspire 5740 Keypad

Keyboard:

The Aspire 5740 15.6 inch notebook has a wide keyboard with keys that are of good size and the alignment of the keys is in the chiclet style. The keyboard goes with an integrated numeric keypad. The keys are neatly laid out and are comfortable to type on. The arrow keys are so closely placed and this can be irritating at times. Also, the keyboard occupies most of the space thereby resulting in slipping of the hands at times while typing. The volume control buttons are present on the right top corner just above the keyboard.

Touch Pad:

The touch pad of the Acer 5740 Laptop Computer is a comparably good sized one with the see-saw click button and a vertical scroll bar. Also, there is the button beside the touchpad to enable or disable the use of the same. Since the touch pad has only one button in the base, both the left and right mouse button jobs are done using this single button. This button has complaints since it does not suit the majority. The separate two buttons, one for left and another for right, would have been the best choice. The pad supports multi touch gestures which mean that the users can perform the pinching, rotating and swiping actions to view their photos. The touch pad is not very good in response and Acer could have made it better.

LED:

The Light Emitting Diodes (LED) shines every time to indicate that the particular feature is under usage and they are quite useful since they make our job easier. This notebook has 2 LEDs located in the front side of the notebook. The 2 LEDs are used for indicating the Power and the wireless connectivity. So this means that the users can easily find out whether the power is switched on or off and also check out the wireless connection with the LEDs.

Camera, Microphone and Speaker:

The camera is present right on top part of the bezel and with this Crystal Eye web cam, the users can have loads of fun and utilize the internet to the full extent. Video chat and conferences will be immensely easy and pleasurable with this 2 MP camera. Moreover, the built in microphone adds up the flavor. Two stereo speakers are integrated in the notebook but if the users expect very high range and excellent sound quality, it would be best to use external speakers.

Ports:

The 15.6” 5740 Acer notebook is one which has great number of ports. On the left hand side are present, a power adaptor, RJ-45 Ethernet port, a 15-pin VGA, HDMI, 2 USB 2.0 ports, audio in and audio ports. The Multi card reader is housed in the front part of the notebook and this port reads the contents of all types of cards like, SD, MS, MMC, MS Pro and xD. The left side occupies 2 USB 2.0 ports, an 8X DVD Super Multi-double layer/ 4X Blue ray drive for loading the optical disks, a modem port and the Kensington lock for security. The presence of the VGA obviously implies that the users can get their contents hooked up to an external monitor while the HDMI port places another big interesting feature for its users, watching the movies loaded into the drive in a bigger home theatre. The presence of 4 USB 2.0 ports is something astounding because this means that you can connect 4 peripheral devices or drives, all at the same time. A point to consider here is the closeness of the ports. Since they are very close by, it might not be convenient to use many ports at the same time. The optical drive takes the users to the world of movies and media and entertainment, to sum up, to the world of fun. Another wonderful surprise is that the drive supports blue ray disks too. You can watch the blue ray movies in High Definition scale either in the 15.6” screen or in the bigger 40” TV.

Processor, Memory and OS:

Intel has seen its evolution by being used in most of the laptops and many other electronic gadgets, in many forms. In this Aspire 5740 the Corei3 processor has been used. This processor has a speed of 2.13 GHz, which is pretty high. So with this processor, multitasking will no longer be troublesome. The users can easily manage all their tasks at the same time very efficiently. The Aspire 5740 notebook goes with a 4GB of DDR3 1066MHz RAM and it is extendable upto a good 8GB. This memory is sufficient to hold all the main applications. The hard drive capacity has been extended to a 320GB from an initial 250GB. This memory quantity would well suffice anyone who wants to store a large amount of data. The notebook comes with the 64 bit Windows 7 Home Premium pre installed and this Operating System software is the common and appealing one. The OS works well and since this is the widely used software, there are possibly no doubts on its user-friendliness.

Acer Aspire 5740 Notebook side View

Connectivity:

We have come to an era where, Internet has become the “4th basic necessity”, in addition to the normal three necessities food, clothing and shelter. All the notebooks at least sport the wired connection through the RJ-45 Ethernet port, though not the wireless connection. The Aspire 5740 Core i3 Notebook supports the wireless internet connection too. The wired connection can be availed by connecting the plug to the port and the required tasks can be achieved in optimal time with the Fast and Gigabit ethernet. This notebook supports not just wireless connection; but then, it provides the fastest speed wireless connection, the 802.11 n. So for the internet freaks, who constantly update their status in facebook, or those who do a lot of works like surfing, chatting etc., then the notebook is in your positive side.

Heat and Noise:

The heat and noise produced from this machine go unnoticed when the notebook is put to normal use. But then ofcourse, the fan noise reaches the audible level and the hotness reaches the detectable level when tasks are really high in number, demanding more strain and speed from the processor.

Battery:

The 4400mAh 6 cell Li-ion rechargeable battery has been employed in this notebook. The Li-ion battery is the widely used battery and it lasts long for a decent 4 hours. This 4 hour time period is only for normal usage while it drastically reduces to even lesser time period of 3.5 hours and 2.5 hours without the power supply and with a lot of jobs like gaming or many applications running at the same time.

Performance:

The Aspire 5740 Laptop Notebook comes with the Intel GMA HD graphics and so naturally, there is no doubt for the video quality. It looks amazing. The performance of this notebook is not really bad when it is used lightly or when movies are watched. But then one area where the performance and the speed lag behind a little is the gaming area. The notebook is not precisely advisable for the game freaks because you would land up getting frustrated if you try to play the most challenging games. However, this notebook is pretty cool for others since the Corei3 processor does a good job. The video quality is exceptionally good in this notebook and there are no complaints as regards the audio too. The notebook is enhanced by the addition of the Dolby Home theatre audio enhancement which practically elates the quality of the audio and with the Dolby bass and optimized surround system, the audio becomes just perfect.

Warranty:

The warranty time period for the services and labour is about 2 years for this Aspire 5470 while it has the International Travelers warranty for 1 year.

Verdict:

The Acer Aspire 5740 definitely can not be compared to the ultimate success products, for instance, it has not reached the height that the perfection personified Apple (Macbook) notebooks could, and it can not be compared to the not so beneficial but the modern outfit Sony VAIO, not as good as the power packed performer Dell, and in fact, it is not as good as the HP notebooks in its design or use. But what this Aspire 5740 has achieved is a place high enough to attract the users who can afford a “not-too-high-not-too-low” price and at the same time enjoy all the fun that the others have, needless to mention the eminence of the HD display. Deep contemplation is indeed necessary for choosing any technical product, the notebooks in particular. If you feel Acer Aspire 5740 would be your best outfit; then fit it in your purchase basket.

Acer Aspire 5740 Notebook – Technical Specification Table

Manufacturer Acer
Model Name Acer Aspire 5740
Dimensions: (W x D x H) 383 x 250x 26/37 mm
Weight 2.8 Kg
Type Notebook
Display
Screen Size 15.6 inch
Screen Type HD CineCrystal Display
Screen Resolution 1366 x 768p
Internal Components
Processor Intel Core i3-330M/Intel Core i5 – 430M
RAM 4GB DDR3 (Extendable up to 8 GB)
Hard drive 320GB
OS Comes pre-installed with Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Keypad Good response keys
Touchpad Yes, with Multi touch facilities
Multimedia
Speakers Built-in stereo speakers
Communication Setup
Wireless support WLAN 802.11 BGN
Memory card slot Multi-in-1 card reader
Connectivity 4 USB 2.0 ports, Audio line in, Audio line out,
1 VGA video output, 1 HDMI
Other Detail
Warranty 1 Year International Travelers warranty
2 Years warranty for parts and labour

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