Theje Reviews The Acer 5742G, Core i5 w/ Nvidia 540M GT (and gameplay footage)

[ketchups]

oh and it has 750gb hard disk to

[ketchups]

Why I does my Acer 5742g has 8gb RAM and my GeForce 540m has 2gb instead of 1? :x

[samhanmma]

between Acer 5740G and Acer 5742G the both of theme have ATI Mobility Radeon HD5470 512 Mo DDR3 .wich one shall i chose?help plz.

[MrPatatoPants]

Hey I got this laptop around may this year and its very good. It runs games very well. However It has a problem with overheating. I bought a cooling pad and it didn't do much. I can only play a game for about 15 minutes now and it overheats. Should I open it up and clean it? Anybody got a solution?

[spejsad]

@MrPatatoPants got the same problem got mine in may aswell

[zarkov1980]

@MrPatatoPants I'm go in to make fluid cooling or good vents.Only solution.

[thenoorer]

we have in morocco a deal that combines this laptop and a samsung galaxy tab all with price tag of 800 dollars isnt this great? :)

[chgotbanned]

im thinking about the acer AS7741G-6426 and it has the same processor, i was wondering if u think its good enough for like HD video, not a pc game, just like my music, and HD video and things like that. thanks

casey

[Theje]

@chgotbanned Oh yeah, that guy will handle whatever you throw at him.

[chgotbanned]

@Theje alright thank ya

[moemoe20092007]

@Theje Is the Graphic's card (UMA) ?

[Theje]

@moemoe20092007 The GT 540M has 1 GB DDR3 VRAM on the card itself.

[moemoe20092007]

@Theje Ah great, because me and UMA aren't good friends xD

Btw great Video, straight forward and well put.

[moemoe20092007]

@Theje oh I see, thank you

[MrNacho547]

this or a macbook Pro 13inch ????

this seems better and cheaper and will it run minecraft?

[radulicah]

@MrNacho547 NEVER go for apple products when it comes to pc. with half the money you can buy a laptop that is twice as powerful, not to mention mac and games...well...they just dont work

[evilmagic43]

should i get this notebook or the hp dv6 you recently reviewed?

[Theje]

@evilmagic43 A notebook with the 540M GT is going to give you better gaming performance.  There's an Acer 5750G with the 540M GT available now for $680 on the Egg, and that sounds like a smashing deal!

[evilmagic43]

@Theje thanks

[Boozeguy123]

same cp, but gta iv stutters/frame skip issues, any tips ? please reply

[WIIstpM2]

Is the Acer 5742g-484g775mnkk any good?? Does it have the same deisn as the one in your video?

[TheSaintpintcool]

I am planing on buying BF3 to this computer what do I need to do to get it playing mediem or high seting? plz Tell me what it is and what tha name is, I dont care about the price just tell me waht I need!

[Theje]

@TrendyhendyPD 8 GBs seems to do the trick.

[pcmax173]

I am probably going to purchase this laptop soon, and I was wondering if you could clarify something for me. I read that the screen has a visible screen-door effect. Is that true? If it is true, how visible is it?

Another thing I would like to know is if the screen is, a step up or step down from the screen on the laptop that I am using right now, that is, a HP dv5-1126em.

[Theje]

@pcmax173 Nothing about this screen struck me as particularly terrible glare, at least not compared to other glossy screens. Compared to the HP dv5, both notebooks will be in the same class of color gamut and gloss. Don't expect an improvement or a seriously disappointing comparison.

[pcmax173]

@Theje That sounds good. Thanks for the fast reply-- it was helpful.

[XxarieztotelxX]

is this ok for video editing?

[Theje]

@XxarieztotelxX For light video editing (length of about 5 mins), this will work fine. For projects as heavy as my notebook reviews, you'll need more memory than 4 GB, and some extra processing power would make a noticeable difference. For the most part, you can get by with this Acer and a memory upgrade.

[XxarieztotelxX]

@Theje tnx men, so if i use this for video editing it will not laggy?

coz when i edit some video on my laptop its so laggy i cant edit it.

can you give me some advice on selecting lapto?

[redux911]

@Theje

Thanks man, your help is much appreciated,

[TheSaintpintcool]

I want to upgrade my ram, how many GB ram do you advice??

[redux911]

@Theje thanks for your reply

Updated the BIOS, ran crysis on medium settings CPU temp averages at ~84 and GPU ~79

Should i invest in a cooling pad?,

Just to clear the air i've gotten conflicting replies for the same question on different forums though core temp, realtemp sets tjmax for 480m at 105 what's your take on ideal CPU, GPU temperatures for a laptop?

[Theje]

@redux911 Cooling pads are always a good investment because they extend the life of your notebook and they protect your lap completely from heat. Ideal temps for notebook CPUs is to idle around 50 and run around 80 under load. They're a whole different animal from desktop CPUs. GPUs can go up to 90 under load, but as always, gaming in one hour intervals with 15-minute breaks is the best medicine for you as well as your notebook's insides.

[redux911]

@Theje I own the same notebook, my dilemma is idle temperatures of CPU, GPU hover at ~48, 52(in celsius) respectively, but while playing games CPU records avg temp of ~85 and GPU at ~80, what data did you record while testing?

Should i be worried?

[Theje]

@redux911 Those temps are perfectly normal, you have nothing to worry about. Danger levels for notebook CPUs and GPUs are above 95 degrees.

[Ps3Homepage]

Hi nice laptop, I'm looking at getting a Vaio in the next few months with the following specs.

Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM Processor 2.0 Ghz

4GB DDR3 SDRAM

NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M GPU 1GB

Will this laptop run games good?

[Theje]

@Ps3Homepage This Sony should run games just a tad bit better than this Acer. The Core i7 2630QM is a much faster processor than the Core i5 480M, however the 540M GT graphics card is taxed perfectly by the Core i5, and the Core i7's power is merely overkill. Expect about a 2-5 FPS increase at 720p.

[cammz3]

Whats the music at 0:40? Sounds very familiar.

[Theje]

@mirallasosfp If it has more than one speaker, it's a better laptop.

[Theje]

@mirallasosfp I haven't been able to dig up a lot of articles about problems with the 540m gt, nor have I read about a huge myriad of issues, so I wouldn't worry about that. Also, like I've said before, video card manufacturers like to tack on extra memory because it's cheap and it drives up the price without actually doing anything for the actual performance of the card. The performance will only improve iff the speed of the memory is increased, like GDDR5 instead of DDR3.

[deinemutterhatweed]

it's kinda depressing to see that a notebook that's about 150€ cheaper than my desktop PC can run games on better settings...totally gonna buy this!:D

nice review etc.

[TheSaintpintcool]

Those this have a multi-GFX?

[Theje]

@TheSaintpintcool No, it doesn't.

[BL41D3R]

funiona gta 4? xq yo tengo el mismo prosesador la misma ram disco duro de 640 tarjeta grafica de radeon 512mb pero me handa lento :$

[Theje]

@BL41D3R I'm sorry to hear that.

[greatkhan85]

I just bought this laptop.. But its with Gforce GT540M Cuda 2 GB.. so adding one GB extra would make any difference?? if i dnt wanna go for that 7200 RPM replacement.. Currently its 5400 RPM HDD

[Theje]

@greatkhan85 Memory is cheap these days, so it's easy for video card manufacturers to tack on an extra gig and raise the price, but there isn't any performance gain unless you speed up the memory or widen the bus width.

[TheSaintpintcool]

If this acer can run battlefield 3 , then I´ll buy it because of the price. Thanks for the info!

[TheSaintpintcool]

Will it run Battlefield 3?

[Theje]

@TheSaintpintcool Sure, but only in medium detail settings.

[MacReviewsandStuff]

could this computer run mw2 ?

[Theje]

@MacReviewsandStuff Yes.

[uzairazmi100]

what software could make my acer aspire 5742G fast and which anti-virus should i use on this notebook.

[Theje]

@uzairazmi100 This notebook runs fast enough by itself without extra software. As for anti-virus, I use AVG Free. It's never given me any grief.

[TheSaintpintcool]

I am looking for a good laptop for around 700-900 dollars ( or 6000kr swedish ) , should I buy the 5742G or something else?

[Theje]

@TheSaintpintcool If you want to save some coin, grab the 5742G. For around $900 you could get the Acer 5750G with the Sandy Bridge i7 and Nvidia 540M GT or the Lenovo Y560 with the i7 740QM and Radeon 5730. They'll all give you about the same gaming and system performance. Personally, I would have the Radeon 5730 over the 540M. There's less stuttering in the gaming performance and the color quality has more vibrance.

[TheSaintpintcool]

@Theje Thanks , but laptops in Sweden arnt what you call cheap. The 5742G costs 850 dollers here and the 5750G costs 1070 dollers. The prices are diffrent. Anyway I looket up a laptop the HP dv6-3163 , I am intressted in both the dv6 and the 5742G, witch one would you pick?

[Theje]

@TheSaintpintcool I can't find an HP dv6-6163 with anything better than an Intel graphics accelerator, so if you can find one with a Radeon 5730 or better, then go with the HP.

[kixmgc]

best video on this laptop

[herrfiskens]

Great review, thanks for sharing.

[KlingonSpider]

can you swap out the WLAN card for different one like an intel centrino advanced-N 6200 series card or does the BIOS not have it whitelisted?

[Theje]

@KlingonSpider As far as I know this is only a problem in HP and Dell notebooks. Acer's netbooks don't have a problem with it, so I don't see any reason why this Acer notebook would. I'll give it a green light.

[razify1]

Thanks a lot man!! Dont really had a good experience with avers, thats why I dont wanna buy this one. If I choose the i5 instead of the i7 on the Asus n53sv it wont do any difference for gaming?:) or do you have any other gaming laptop below 1000$ to recommend:D?( not hp or acer) Dont know how I could possibly thank you enough for your help! Cheers mate

[Theje]

@razify1 The i7 processors will only give you a performance advantage over the i5s iff your graphics card uses GDDR5 memory, like the Nvidia GTX 460M or higher, or the Radeon 5870 or higher. If you're shying away from Acer and HP, the first company to look is Asus, but you may also want to research the Lenovo Y560 or the Samsung RF711. An equivalent Radeon to the 540M GT would be the 5730.

[HiMyNameIsMaria]

will this laptop handle sims 3 on high?

[Willowman100]

@HiMyNameIsMaria sure LOL

[razify1]

Hey again!

Have been looking around abit, and I am now planing to buy the Asus N53SV, with the i7 sandy bridge processor. Would you say the performance will be worth the 400$ more, compared to this acer?=)

[Theje]

@razify1 The gaming performance won't be any better since the Nvidia 540M GT is taxed even by last year's i5 processor.  The only place the extra performance will shine is if you're heavy into video and photo editing.

[davecoreproductions]

Hey, nice review !!! I´m looking for a new Notebook since my Macbook Pro died. I´m going for a Windows, either a Sony or this Acer. The Sony has the exact specs as the Acer but only the video card is a AMD RADEON 5650 HD. Any infos on the gaming capability of the Radeon for games like Crysis 2, Fallout New Vegas, SC2 or Metro 2033? Is the screen of the Acer really bad in contrast and color output? Have a nice day :)

[Theje]

@davecoreproductions The Radeon 5650 graphics card is good for playing games at 720p with medium detail settings. Both cards are in the same performance class, but the 540M GT will put out slightly higher framerates across the board. The color quality of the Acer isn't noticeably bad, but if you're big on professional photo editing you'll want to plug in an external monitor with a deeper color contrast.

[davecoreproductions]

@Theje thanks for the quick reply.  Have a nice day :)

[Atheismrulez]

Wait... you actually think the keyboard on this is better than the one on the Asus 660?

What in the name...?

[Theje]

@Atheismrulez What I experienced with the Asus laptops in general is that some of my keystrokes went unrecognized. It was a consistent issue with every single one, a problem that never happened with any other manufacturer.

[Atheismrulez]

@Theje

Well, I haven't had that problem with my G60VX. The keyboard has very good spacing and it recognizes all my keystrokes.

[razify1]

Hi!

How is this compared to the 5745g ? And how would this handle WoW? I am a casual gamer and I wonder if you can tell only by looking at the"content" if it will be a good gamingcomputer?:) and so for the last question, what gaminglaptop would you recommend for a price below 1500$

Thanks alot man! Awsome, over and out

[Theje]

@razify1 Looks like the 5745g uses the 330M graphics card, which is less powerful than the 540M, but still capable. WoW will run very well in mostly high detail settings, and for a sub-$1,500 gaming notebook... stay tuned! ;)

[razify1]

@Theje Thanks!!:) would you say that the 5742g is the best in its priceclass ?

[Theje]

@razify1 For performance, yes. For build quality, I'm sure there are similarly-priced laptops out there with more than one speaker. :)

[Zero254]

@razify1 I'm almost sure this thing can do wow

[mytubenik]

@Theje How well will this laptop work for playin RIFT ?

[Theiinfantry]

i saw this laptop yesterday and hell , it is so cheap! and good for games..no more alienware and asus

[gokuzx]

This laptop is just great for everything, especially for gaming!

[Bingo6104]

Thanks for the reply. I'm not as hardcore gamer as I used to be. I'm getting rid of my desktop so I kind of want a replacement for it. Since the Acer drivers are still young I wonder if it will be better for future games than the Asus?

[Theje]

@Bingo6104 The GTS 360m in the Asus has a sizeable performance advantage over the 540m GT in the Acer thanks to its GDDR5 memory. The 540m GT is compatible with DX11, whereas the 360m only does 10.1, so with the Acer, fugture games will look noticeably better, but play significantly slower. No matter the title, present or future, the Asus will always give you better framerates than the Acer.

[Bingo6104]

I see you reviewed the Asus G60, how would you compare the upgrade Asus ROG G60JX to this Acer?

[Theje]

@Bingo6104 Comparing the gaming performance is tough with the drivers for the 540m gt being what they are. Regardless, the Asus will give you faster framerates in higher detail settings. The Acer, on the other hand, will have longer battery life, lower temps and weighs less. It's a good trade if you're a casual gamer. If most of what you do on the computer is play games, use the Asus.

[evilmagic43]

Yay i love your review! More coming?

[Cyt0nic]

From the reviews that I've read, all of them said that the screen is too glossy. What would you say about that?

[Theje]

@Cyt0nic It doesn't seem to be noticeably more glossy than any of the other laptops I've reviewed.

[Darklite117]

is the case really that bad?

[Theje]

@Darklite117 It's not that the case is bad, it's just subpar compared to other manufacturers, like Dell or Asus in terms of rigidity. I, personally, prefer as much non-glossy textures on notebooks as possible, and I do wish that the body of the Acer was more rigid. On the other hand, this would drive up the price, and the price/performance ratio of this notebook is at such a sweet spot it hardly matters at all.

[marklaisa]

wow the m11x outperformes this

[Theje]

@marklaisa Sorry, but no. The M11x does not outperform the Acer 5742g. The 3dMark06 scores are higher for the Acer, and so is the Dirt 2 and GTA IV performance. My review of the M11x might have featured only the SU4100, but the performance for r2 model with the Core i7 CULV processor isn't enough to make up the difference.

[marklaisa]

@Theje M11x ran MW2 on maximum settings and max fps, this acer could barely run 30 fps BO. And the Acer has a better processor so the difference in the games should be balanced. Also, I was talking about the i5 m11x, not the core 2 duo one.

[Theje]

@marklaisa Okay... Black Ops is a bit more intensive than Modern Warfare 2, so framerates are naturally going to be lower on the same machine.  Also, I'm reading on Notebookcheck that the M11x R2 with the i7 gets 36 fps in Modern Warfare 2 on 1024x768/medium/2xAA/no Vsync.

[marklaisa]

@Theje I don't get that though, in your video you clearly played on max with X0 AA, I dont think X2 would make such a big difference in frame rates? Actually scratch that, I just looked at the video again, indeed the game ran at around 60-30 fps, for some reason maybe I remembered another one of your videos... hmmm and yes I stand corrected. Although the performance of this laptop still is pretty bad, CoD has technically been the same over the years, and it seems like computers arent advancing.

[speedyduck38]

i love your reviews :')