# Quick look at Budget Laptop / Notebook Acer 4710z



## Choto Cheeta (Sep 24, 2007)

Now days Notebooks are really getting cheap, if one plans to buy a Desktop for office for some personal Day to day usage its really recommended that he/she should go for a laptop / notebook… I got my hands to one of the best budget laptop / notebook, available right now on the market, the Acer 4710z.

*Acer 4710z*
*www.acer.co.in/images/as4710.jpg​
Intel Dual Core T2080 @ 1.73 GHz (1 MB L2 533 FSB)
1 GB DDR-II 667 MHz
160 GB SATA
Intel GMA 950 (Mobile 943 Chipset)
14.1? Wide Screen 1280×800
DVD RW
1.3 MP Web Cam
Inbuilt Mic and 2 stereo Spks
Wireless LAN / 5 in 1 Card Reader / LAN / Bluetooth / IEEE 1934 / USB 2.0 / Supporting EXT Skps / 56.6k Modem

Read the Full Config here

*Price*

INR Rs. 33,500/- all inclusive (Kolkata, India)

*Quick Look at the Product....*

Design is good and compact, as you expect for a Laptop… Though personally I think the white keyboard though looks good but will get dirty as you daily use it…

Port management is good, 4 USB ports are distributed at both sides, head phone slot is given at front, which was nice to see as easy to plug in, but again this creates a small problem while pluging in bigger speakers … lol…

*Hardware Performance*

Screen is good and bright enough… did have issue if you directly get the sun at front of the screen otherwise, good performance for the Wide screen Display… I run 720p HD movies, run quite fine, though gave little issue with 1080p movies as you expect with GMA 950…. it is not ment to play such high HD content (Note usually a movie of 1080p is around 14GB in size and minimum of 1920×800 Resolution)…

Is there any Difference between 15.4? and 14.1?… ?? Not really, I dont see much of a difference on screen size with Dell 1520 and this one side by side… both set to be running at 1280×800 !!!!

Processor is T2080 Dual Core non 64bit one… for this segment is more than enough…

*img255.imageshack.us/img255/3372/02ms7.jpg

GMA 950 is Vista Ready (not DirectX 10 for GMA 950) runs at Direct X 9.0L (DX 9.0C is for Windows XP and 9.0l is for Vista under non DX 10 hardware) Mode…

*img231.imageshack.us/img231/284/03ov2.jpg

Plugged my vg1930wm with its external display out put, and run the LCD at 1440×800 resolution… Run fine no issue at all…. 

.

The Built in 1.3 MP Web Cam is really good quality.. as expected from a 1.3 MB CAM… the only issue is Indian ISP bandwidth, all though you may over come the speed issue with now days 2 MBPS Broadband connection but this 1.3 MP and Voice chat will eat up a lot of Bandwidth so data charges will be really high… !!!

*img66.imageshack.us/img66/4242/webcameq1.jpg

So though the CAM quality is really good but in real time we really cant use the cam because of the high cost of Bandwidth ….

.

Once my good friend Bobby, told me that they stopped making laptop’s, now days the all make only NoteBook, because if you call is Laptop people will put it under their lap and will burn them self and end up suing you… So now days these are all noteBooks…

Quite true in this case also, I run some test on it to see the temp limits…

*img514.imageshack.us/img514/8323/untitledis6pu2.th.jpg

As you can see while under load of Pi Test, Temperatures shot up at close to 58c… Run the Test for a long time… System was stable under 60c all the time… So though little hot but no Stability issue…

.

I tested the Battery by playing a 720p HD Video from DVD… now under vista wtih Screen brightness Set to 40% it gave the Critical Battery warning on exact 1 hour and 51 mins….

*Software Sector*

As I said its a Budget Notebook for mainly office usage… so apart from gaming i run quite a lot of softwares under it to test…

1st glance hey no OS, dealer will install Linux, so I asked no stop, I would install by my self… I installed Fedora and Ubuntu, all run fine apart from WLAN and the bluetooth, no driver at Acer Web site… a let down… I installed some mosic players like WinAMP and VLC… No issue with VGA or sound, worked well…

Now turn for Windows… XP to start with… *Beware*, immediate hiccups, SATA/RAID driver are not found under Default Windows XP installation source… !!! so HDD not found… Its not a problem for a Pro user, as for me too, it only delayed procidings, as no Floppy drive so I have to go to the Acer Support Site to Download the ACHI (SATA/RAID) drivers for the Model 4710z…. and then using N-Lite I needed to integrate them with Windows XP… !!! And then Burn a Bootable CD to install Windows XP… No issue for me, but certainly a halt for average home / office users… After installation only point to note is Bluetooth didnt work with Windows XP, even after trying to install driver from Acer Support site for Windows XP version of Bluetooth driver, it still said, installation cant progress becasue only Vista is supported !!!!!

But once again, this Lappy is Windows Vista Ready, So at next OS text for Windows Vista No issue at all… all went smooth with Vista’s Default un-touched installation… With 1 GB RAM Vista running quite smoth and good with this model…

.

As I said Home of Office use budget Laptop… so it performed great with Office apps under Vista…

.

*MutiTasking…. ??*

How about some Pro Apps, Litte Image editing, Run PhotoShop… run Well… Installed Ulead Video Studio 10 plugged my Handy CAM with its IEEE 1394a… Run Quite fine on Single click DVD Making for a miniDV… Installed Pinnacle Studio, even there too though encoding time is more than a Desktop C2D or even High End Lappy like Dell 1420 / 1520 or Such… but it didn’t the job well…

While Video Editing I Surf the Net / used Office apps, Chatted in Yahoo, no issue… that app run Fine in Background while I run my tasks in Fore ground….

. 

.

*So My Verdict ??*

Pros


The Cofig is Good (Dual Core / 1 GB / 160 GB / Vista Ready / WLAN / Modem / Bluetooth / DVD RW) 
14.1? I would say makes it light and gives better battery life too 
Price of INR Rs. 33,500/-… really good price even compare with Dell 6400…. 
Fully Vista Ready… 
Can run 24×7 for those Torrent hungry people !!!

Cons


The Battery life isnt that great… 
No Native support for Windows XP 
No bundle OS, so you have to find your own 
No support for Linux at Acer Support Web Site..

So I would say really good deal for Rs. 33,500/- …. Great Vaule for money product....


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## ravi_9793 (Sep 24, 2007)

Looks nice..but one Q...........Does this laptop comes with any OS pre installed ..or only with DOS.


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## Choto Cheeta (Sep 24, 2007)

^^^

I already wrote... No OS... says Will come with Linux but didnt come with any from Factory... dealer offer choice of Fedora or Ubuntu un-officially ... !!!


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## ravi_9793 (Sep 24, 2007)

okkk..........sorry I didn't read ur post completely, Actually I felt little lazy(long post)..

Actually I am planing to either upgrade my PC, or buy a new PC/laptop.


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## Sukhdeep Singh (Sep 24, 2007)

Congrats cheeta...Any ideas for one with C2D 1.7 and how much is 1GB laptop RAM these days...i have friend and she was askin me which laptop to buy....will suggest this one


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## fun2sh (Sep 24, 2007)

@choto cheeta 

wat abt acer 4710. i purchased it in 41k and all config is same as 4710z but 4710 is C2D @1.73 AT 533 fsb. but i think mine was overclocked by acer itself as it show around 700 fsb.

and i hav no problem with XP on it. bluetooth also works under this. but i see ur photo tru 4710z is of good quality in comparision to mine 4710. which software u using for cam ?


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## Pathik (Sep 24, 2007)

Hey choto is the 4520 available in ur area?


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## john_the_ultimate (Sep 24, 2007)

Saurav, nice review..........even I am looking for a budget laptop. Will surely be looking into this one. And do you have any other suggestions for this price point.


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## Choto Cheeta (Sep 24, 2007)

@sukhdeepsinghkohli

its not mine  Frnds Lappy, right now at my place for Testing 

@All

ISP Down because heavy rain in Kolkata, will reply in details of the question later on when ISP comes Back or I get chance to come online 

Anyway Few Quick thoughts...



			
				Ravi said:
			
		

> Actually I am planing to either upgrade my PC, or buy a new PC/laptop.



Well keep in find if you are a power user who will atleast like to RIP 3 DVDs a day, use Adobe Premire / Maya and such performance software all the time.. this one is not for u...

This one would be,

for a Home user, who will occasionally ecnode his Handy CAM movie, Bit of Photo shop, Some ImToo Format conversion for Web Sites or to mobile phone... stuff like home / Office usage...

@sukhdeepsinghkohli

Well if with 2 GB from Acer Company RAM + Warrenty, price was up at 37k where I bargained it down to 36.5k !!! but with a Dual Core procy and GMA 950, 1 GB is enough... 2 GB will not going to boost any thing...



			
				fun2sh said:
			
		

> and i hav no problem with XP on it. bluetooth also works under this.



Strange... both are same in config exact even uses the same drivers, its just the Procy is different,  but I saw no Native support for Windows XP... drivers (Bluetooth) gave a Hard time in XP too 



			
				fun2sh said:
			
		

> but i see ur photo tru 4710z is of good quality in comparision to mine 4710. which software u using for cam ?



Yahoo Messenger with Vista default drivers... actually in the support CD / Site there are 2 Web Came rivers available...  none matches with the name (Crystal Eye) written for the Web Came... so trusted the Vista's Default driver  and used Yahoo Messenger 

Also dont mind though, about Acer 4710, C2D with GMA 950, personally dont like the idea when you have option of x3100 



			
				john said:
			
		

> Saurav, nice review..........even I am looking for a budget laptop. Will surely be looking into this one. And do you have any other suggestions for this price point.



Thnx for the comment bro... 

see, there is one thats Dell 6400 , same config as Acer... but its little costly at Rs. 35k but Dell one promised to have better Battery backup and even Dell will offer you option for 9 Cell Battery... performance of both would be same exact as for same config, but I am not happy with the Battery Back up of the Acer model... so do consider Dell option too  9 Cell should give better battery backup...

but 2 hours on load isnt bad at all with this one


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## infra_red_dude (Sep 24, 2007)

excellant review, saurav. kudos! 

one thing what i'd like to clarify is about the processor. it is advertised as pentium dual core t2080 then why is it identified as core duo 2250, even tho it has only half the cache? or is it that ur version of cpu-z needs update?


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## Choto Cheeta (Sep 24, 2007)

thnx for the comment...

No, it is T2080 if u see the specifications (CPU-Z)... it went to Power saving mode becsue power cut when i was running the CPU-Z vista immidialtely shifed it to Power saving mode... may be thats the Issue


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## fun2sh (Sep 24, 2007)

wat x3100 u were talkin choto. were talkin abt intel graphics x3100. if yes then wat option  was u talkin? i didnt undertand anything

and why there is so much difference in prices of 4710 n 4710z. they hav only different processors.


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## Choto Cheeta (Sep 24, 2007)

^^^

Yes Intel Mobile 965 / x3100 i was talking about...

When going for a C2D... i personally dont like the idea of C2D on a GMA 950 (in this same Mobile 943)... Dell 1420 base option is available with x3100 with same price range as urs 4710 ...  performance is better with x3100 and 965 chipset 



> and why there is so much difference in prices of 4710 n 4710z. they hav only different processors.



If u see a lot of thing is different.. 4710 is Mobile 945 where as 4710z is Mobile 943... also Promiised Battery life is also Better with 4710 its 2.8 hours compare to 4710z is 2 hours....


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## infra_red_dude (Sep 24, 2007)

that difference in processor performance is huge. a 32bit 1mb cache vs. a 64bit 2mb cache. it does matter a lot. plus the mobo constitutes the price difference too.


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## arunks (Sep 24, 2007)

is theree any diiference between dual core processor and core duo processor.. 

i purchased a laptop with core duo t2450 @2GHZ..
so which is better one


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## sabret00the (Sep 24, 2007)

wow very nice review but one correction though,



> Once my good friend Ayush Arya, told me that they stopped making laptop’s, now days the all make only NoteBook, because if you call is Laptop people will put it under their lap and will burn them self and end up suing you… So now days these are all noteBooks…


 
was not said by Arya but it was said by me in City Center as this is what I was told by trainers at Dell facility in Bangalore during training....


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## infra_red_dude (Sep 24, 2007)

not much difference except the cache.


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## fun2sh (Sep 24, 2007)

but hard disk in 4710 is is not SATA. mine shows as ATA IDE only. also acer has quoted the size of 160gb but formatted size is 149.05gb 

also can any1 tell how can i know (without openin my Lappy)that i can upgrade my graphics card on 4710


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## infra_red_dude (Sep 24, 2007)

i think its sata. coz thats what is mentioned on the site. mebbe it uses the ahci to emulate ide interface. regarding the size all 160GB hard disks are 149GB in actual capacity (thats coz the hdd manufacturers and the OS makers use different conversion factors for bits and bytes). you can't upgrade the gfx card.


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## Choto Cheeta (Sep 24, 2007)

sabret00the said:
			
		

> wow very nice review but one correction though,
> 
> 
> 
> was not said by Arya but it was said by me in City Center as this is what I was told by trainers at Dell facility in Bangalore during training....




oppss.... My miss take, My miss take  sorrry brother


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## cyberzook (Sep 24, 2007)

gr8 review!!
but where is your pic.. removed it ?


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## Choto Cheeta (Sep 24, 2007)

cyberzook said:
			
		

> gr8 review!!
> but where is your pic.. removed it ?



Nope its still there  under Web Cam Section


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## ThinkFree (Sep 24, 2007)

Very decent configuration at not a premium price


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## Kiran.dks (Sep 24, 2007)

Good lappy. I don't understand why didn't they make it 2MB Cache, which is common these days.


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## Choto Cheeta (Sep 24, 2007)

Bro, its a Budget segment... Go as Low  type war...  so even this 1 MB Cache is more than enough for the use for which it is ment 



> @Choto Cheeta ........ WONDERFUL review frd ...........
> 
> just awesome ....... detailed & with solutions 2 [regarding OS & drivers] .....
> 
> must say u really worked on this ........ bt which 1 is LIGHTER [weight] ? ....



Thnx for the comment... 2 and a half KG  .... !!!!


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## fun2sh (Sep 24, 2007)

but on intel's site its written that 945gm chipset cna be upgraded with a graphics card


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## saurabh kakkar (Sep 24, 2007)

Great review Great job Cheeta i m a fan of Yours  

keep the Good work Going


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## sabret00the (Sep 24, 2007)

thanks to ur review buddy...I already suggested this notebook to one of my colleagues today...and I'm also considering this one for my girl friend whose desktop has conked off a month back....


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## infra_red_dude (Sep 25, 2007)

afaik, none of the acer models haf an option for MXM card (gfx card for mobile computers). its supported by the chipset, but the final authority on it is the manufacturer.


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## gauravakaasid (Sep 25, 2007)

@Saurav...great review boss....u rock!! btw, u bought this for yourself?? where do you get sooooo much moolah to invest in hardware anyway???


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## Choto Cheeta (Sep 25, 2007)

thnx for the comment guys...

@gaurav

No... not mine... my frnds I brought it at my home for testing


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## Choto Cheeta (Sep 26, 2007)

.

hmm.. there is another thing i would point... i tested it for 4/5 days in this 5days one problem i faced... 

personally i dont own a Lappy so another -ve point I exp over this 5 days that in my desktop I am used to work by looking up to my display where with a Notebook we have to look down towards its display so I cant seat in my usual seatting position. . . which is causing a lot of Neck and back pain


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## Vishal Gupta (Sep 26, 2007)

^^ You are not alone buddy. I also use my laptop for surfing daily 9-10 hours and I'm suffering from a huge neck and back pain. 

Sometimes it gets unbearable and I hv to take some pain killers.


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## Sukhdeep Singh (Sep 26, 2007)

Vishal Gupta said:
			
		

> ^^ You are not alone buddy. I also use my laptop for surfing daily 9-10 hours and I'm suffering from a huge neck and back pain.
> 
> Sometimes it gets unbearable and I hv to take some pain killers.


+1... By the time we guys are 40...we will be using a walking stick i guess


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## Choto Cheeta (Sep 27, 2007)

Got a Solution for us atleast... the owner of the lap (my frnd) and me seat together and discussed the issue,

we end up with this solution that we bought one ext keyboard and mouse... then when at home i kept the lao at the possition where a desktop monitor would be and placed few old books bellow it... it took the screen at a hight of usual desktop display... and worked on it using the External Keyboard and mouse...

Rs. 700/- for both 

now its much better


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## cyberzook (Sep 28, 2007)

Choto Cheeta said:
			
		

> Nope its still there  under Web Cam Section


 
arrey office theke ektao chhobi kholey na


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## gurujee (Oct 8, 2007)

i find core2duo at 40000rs. the only difference between 4710z and 4710n is core2duo and bluetooth. IS the core2duo worth the 5000+price....?

and whats better between 4710z and the new lenovo G series. price is closely same with same config except 80gb 512ram ???


And whats better between dell 1420 and acer 4710n...same price same config, only acer has dolby sound ???


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## infra_red_dude (Oct 8, 2007)

Core2Duo is the 64bit proc while Pentium Dual Core is more like a rebranded CoreDuo with less cache. And believe me, the cache does make a lot of difference in performance.


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## arunks (Oct 8, 2007)

infra_red_dude said:
			
		

> Core2Duo is the 64bit proc while Pentium Dual Core is more like a rebranded CoreDuo with less cache. And believe me, the cache does make a lot of difference in performance.



and what is difference between a core duo and core 2 duo processor?????????????


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## infra_red_dude (Oct 8, 2007)

a different more efficient core, added 64bit support. read more here: *www.shivaranjan.com/2006/08/09/intel-core-2-duo-vs-core-duo/


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## gurujee (Oct 18, 2007)

bought it finally 

very very good lappy except the XP thing


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