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Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 review: an Ultrabook with discrete graphics (and an optical drive)
More Info Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 review Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 hands-on Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 Ultrabooks with Kepler graphics coming to the US for $680-plus The PC industry might have 100-some-odd Ultrabooks up its sleeve, but fortunately for restless tech reviewers like yours truly, they're not all cast from the same mold. As the year wears on, we'll see prices dip as low as $700, and a few will be offered with discrete graphics -- a nice respite from games handicapped at 30 fps. And, in some rare cases, you'll find machines that manage to achieve both. Enter the Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 series, a pair of 14- and 15-inch laptops that start at $680, and, for an added premium, can be had with NVIDIA Kepler graphics. What's more, the 14-inch model we tested has a DVD burner, making it as much a full-fledged laptop as an Intel-approved Ultrabook. Accordingly, then, we'll be comparing it not just to other low-priced ultraportables, but to some budget mainstream notebooks on offer this back-to-school season. So how does it stack up? Let's see.%Gallery-161687%
Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 Ultrabooks with Kepler graphics coming to the US for $680-plus
We spotted Acer's new Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 laptops at Computex earlier this month, and though we already knew some key specs (NVIDIA's Kepler-based graphics, for example), these Ultrabooks hadn't yet been announced for the US market. Today that changes, as Acer just revealed full specs and pricing details for those of us here in the states. The Aspire Timeline Ultra M5, available with 14- and 15-inch screens, lives up to its Ultrabook classification with a 0.81-inch thick profile and up to eight hours of battery life. As we noted previously, the M5 maintains some of the Aspire M3's design cues, including the chiclet keyboard, 1366 x 768 display and thin silhouette. At the same time, it ups the premium quotient with aluminum alloy done up in a brushed-metal finish. All models include a DVD drive and 500GB of storage plus a 20GB SSD. The base configuration will feature a second-gen (read: Sandy Bridge) Intel processor clocked at 1.5GHz, but higher-level options step up to an Ivy Bridge CPU clocked as high as 2.6GHz. The 14-inch version weighs 4.3 pounds and starts at $680 with Intel HD Graphics 4000 but is also available with an NVIDIA GeForce GT640M LE GPU for $780. The $830 15.6-inch M5 features an edge-to-edge screen, along with that same NVIDIA chip, but it weighs a heftier 5.07 pounds. The Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 Series will ship at the end of June -- in the meantime, check out the photos and press info below. %Gallery-158589%
Acer ships Aspire M5 Ultrabook to UK in June, Ivy Bridge and Kepler chips in tow
Acer made something of a splash when it trotted out its Timeline Ultra series of Ultrabooks at CES; those waves are just now hitting the shore with a full-on release in the UK under a tweaked Aspire M5 name. Both the 14- and 15-inch models are now known to be packing Intel's Ivy Bridge-era third-generation Core processors, and the "dedicated" video we heard about in January is NVIDIA's Kepler-based GeForce GT 640M, which we saw in the Timeline Ultra M3. Either new PC is still under 20mm (0.8 inches) thick with the option of an SSD, like the M3, but slapping the M5 badge on top means a much narrower display bezel, a backlit keyboard and other more upscale touches that show where your money's going. Picking the 15-inch model adds an optical drive along with a keypad for number-crunching. Mum's the word on exact specs and that all-important pricing, but those questions will be answered by the time the M5 hits British shops in mid-June. Now all that's left is to know when the new Aspire reaches the other side of the Atlantic.
Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 brings an NVIDIA Kepler GPU to the ultrabook party
Acer unveiled several new Ultrabooks at CeBIT last week (we spent time with the V5 and V3) but its M3 may be the most special one of all. NVIDIA mentions it will not only be the first with a discrete GPU -- beating Lenovo's T430u to the punch -- but that the included GeForce GT640M is based on the long-awaited 28nm Kepler architecture. That should give it enough power to run the latest games while still remaining true to the ultrabook tag with a 20mm thick frame and (promised) 8 hours of battery life thanks to Optimus technology. The 15-inch Aspire Timeline M3 Ultra also breaks the mold by squeezing in a DVD drive for games you can't get from Steam, along with options for either a hybrid hard drive / SSD or SSD-only storage setup. Neither company has included a pricetag in their joyful announcements, but these no-compromise packages are expected to begin shipping later this month.
Acer reveals Timeline Ultra at CES: eight hours of life, shipping Q1 2012
Wondering just how hot the Ultrabook token is here at CES? Wonder no more. Acer just tacked "Ultra" onto its revised Timeline series, pushing the actual boundaries of the definition. The new range -- which includes a 14-inch and 15-inch model -- touts up to eight hours of battery life, a "two-spindle" design, Instant On functionality, a chassis that measures 20mm thick, Intel's latest Core i processors, dedicated graphics and a slim DVD Super Multi optical drive. Those who buy in will get their choice of HDD or SSD and an HDMI port, with shipments starting this quarter. Shame there's no price to pore over, though.
