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Acer Aspire M5-481PT review: Jack of all trades, master of none |
December 10, 2012
A year and a half ago, the Acer M5-481PT would have been a revelation. A Windows 8 Ultrabook, the M5 sports a third-generation Intel Core i5-3317U processor, 6GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive (with 20GB SSD cache), a 14-inch 10-point multitouch screen, and a DVD-RW drive. It’s an impressively robust hardware package, especially for its budget pricetag of $800.
Now, in the age of ultra-portability and high-end laptop performance, however, the M5-481PT feels just a bit too big, a bit too heavy, a bit too slow, and a bit too dull to be properly labeled as an Ultrabook.
Design and Usability
The Acer M5-481PT technically meets Intel’s Ultrabook design specifications—but just barely. Eschewing the wedge design of smaller Ultrabooks, the M5 stands at a uniform height of 0.9 inches tall on all sides. Though not ugly by any means, the best word to describe the M5's overall design would be “solid.” Solid in its durability, solid in its aesthetics, solid in its build quality. Solid as a rock…but also dull and heavy as a rock. Though not as hefty as a performance machine, the M5 weighs in at a substantial 4.5 pounds, and over 5.2 pounds including the power brick. The touch-screen and the optical drive certainly contribute to the weight, making the M5 one of the heavier Ultrabooks around, especially in its performance range.
The M5's keyboard is the highlight of the build—quite literally, including a nice-looking and useful backlight. The keys are big, well-spaced, and responsive, allowing for fast, accurate, and comfortable typing.
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Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2019190/acer-aspire-m5-481pt-review-jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none.html
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