If you want to get an Intel Core i7 quad-core based laptop PC at a relatively low price, the Acer Aspire V3-571-9831 is one of the best options to consider. As the crowning feature of the system, the 15.6-inch V3-571-9831 delivers the 3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3632QM quad-core chip running at up to 3.2GHz for a price of $700.
The i7-3632QM is among the fastest 3rd Gen Intel “Ivy Bridge” CPUs, but keep in mind that the 4th Gen chip have already arrived on the market, bringing noticeably better power efficiency, more powerful Intel HD-series integrated graphics, and slightly greater raw CPU power. However, the currently available i7 Haswells are used in much more expensive gaming laptops. Back to the 3620QM, it’s a good solution if you do a lot of resource-heavy work like video creation and imaging. For other less demanding tasks, the i7 is even an overkill and won’t bring big difference if you put it against the mid-range i5.
If you think that the notebook will impress you in other aspects as well, you’re out of luck, but there are no major disappointments either. The i7 chips in notebooks are usually paired with dedicated video cards, targeting advanced users who don’t want to sacrifice computing speed in any way. But this time, customers get only the Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics processor, so gamers are advised to look elsewhere. System memory and hard drive amounts are 6GB and 750GB. RAM is more than sufficient for virtually all tasks. There’s never enough data storage capacity, but 750GB is much more than usual 500GB. For DVD / CD reading and writing needs, Acer has included a built-in optical drive.
The Acer V3-571-9831 is a standard-size machine and somewhat on the bulky side due to weight of 5.7 pounds, up from category’s average of about 5.3-5.5 lbs. The notebook is wholly made of plastics. The lid and palm rests are constructed of shiny black plastics which does catch fingerprints a lot, while the area around the keyboard is matte silver.
Acer officially claims the battery life on this model is up to 4.5 hours, about as expected for an i7 configuration with a six-cell battery.
The V3-571-9831 has an admirable feature set including Dolby Home Theater audio, stereo speakers, three USBs, HDMI, VGA, memory card reader, webcam, Wi-Fi, LAN, and Bluetooth.
To conclude, this laptop model is good for doing intensive computing tasks, but because of the Intel HD 4000 it’s not good for gaming. If you don’t plan to use your next laptop much for heavy computing, you will be perfectly fine with an i5 chip. One of the excellent i5 laptop offers is Lenovo’s P500 – 59372845 with aluminum base, backlight keyboard, similar feature set, and a retail price of between $500 and $600, depending on available discounts.
Acer Aspire V3-571-9831 Specifications
- Display: 15.6″ 1,366×768 pixels, glossy
- Processor: Intel Core i7-3632QM quad-core “Ivy Bridge” 2.2GHz – 3.2GHz, 6MB L3 cache
- Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000 integrated
- Memory: 6GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1,600MHz, up to 8GB supported
- Storage: 750GB 5,400rpm hard disk
- Optical drive: DVD±RW/CD-RW writer
- Webcam: Yes, unknown sensor
- Audio: stereo speakers, Dolby Home Theater v4 audio technology
- Network: Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n, Gigabit Ethernet LAN, Bluetooth 4.0 + HS
- Input: Isle-style keyboard with dedicated number pad, multitouch touchpad
- Ports and Slots: 1 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x HDMI, 1 x VGA, 5-in-1 media card reader
- Battery: 6-cell 4400mAh li-ion, “up to 4.5 hours” battery life
- Dimensions: 1.3 x 15 x 10 inches
- Weight: 5.73 lbs
- OS: Windows 8
- Warranty: 1-year
Laptop is a peace of carp
I bought a used one at a pawn shop for s $320.00. Seems to work just fine. Did I do O.K.