Acer makes a lot of laptops. So many that it's hard to pick a specific one out of a lineup. Some are amazing examples of top-notch design and engineering, such as the glass-clad Aspire S7, while others are well-intentioned experiments, such as the flip-and-fold R7 hybrid. But most are generic-looking gray boxes that look like they could cost any amount and contain any combination of components -- it's impossible to tell from the outside.
While the design of the Aspire V7 is the textbook definition of unexciting, inside I found a pleasant surprise. This 14-inch ultrabook-thin laptop contained an Intel Core i7 CPU, a game-ready Nvidia GeForce 750M graphics card, and a huge 1TB hybrid hard drive, with a 24GB SSD cache. That configuration (the V7-482PG-9884) goes for a reasonable $1,199, but you can knock the CPU and hard drive down and keep the Nvidia 750M for $899 in another of several preconfigured versions offered by Acer.
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Sure, you could spend $50 more and get a 13-inch MacBook Air with a Core i7 CPU, but this model has more RAM, more storage, and that discrete GPU. Dell's XPS 15 is only a bit bigger, offers largely similar specs, including the GPU, but can cost $1,900, depending on the exact configuration.
The Acer Aspire V7 lacks the design polish of the competition, and the cheap-feeling keyboard is frustrating, but not a deal-breaker. For decent mainstream gaming in a slim ultrabook at full 1080p resolution, you can make a case that it's a smart, if not inspiring, buy.
| Acer Aspire V7 | Lenov IdeaPad Yoga 2 Pro | Dell XPS 15 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $1,199 | $999 | $1,899 |
| Display size/resolution | 14-inch 1,920x1,080 touch screen | 13.3-inch, 3,200x1,800 touch screen | 15.6-inch, 3,200x1,800 touch screen |
| PC CPU | 1.8GHz Intel Core i7-4500U | 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-4200U | 2.2GHz Intel Core i7-4702HQ |
| PC memory | 12GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz | 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz | 16GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz |
| Graphics | 4GB (dedicated) Nvidia GeForce GT 750M | 1792MB (shared) Intel HD Graphics 4400 | 2GB (dedicated) Nvidia GeForce GT 750M |
| Storage | 1TB 5,400rpm hard drive, 24GB SSD | 128GB SSD hard drive | 1TB 5,400rpm hard drive, 32GB SSD |
| Optical drive | None | None | None |
| Networking | 802.11b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0 | 802.11b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0 | 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Operating system | Windows 8 (64-bit) | Windows 8.1 (64-bit) | Windows 8.1 (64-bit) |
