The laptops in review are both 13-inchers and both boast of possessing good processing power and impressive specs.  On the blue corner is the Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880, a fresh entry that offers very good battery life.  On the red corner is the Lenovo Ideapad U330, a laptop endowed with AMD’s switchable graphics technology.

 

No matter which laptop wins this match up, both are excellent buys.  But for the sake of comparison, let the protagonists enter the ring and slug it out with each other.

Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880
 

The 3810TZ-4880 is part of Acer’s Aspire Timeline series that seeks to balance portability, computing power and the buyer’s pocket.

 

The Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880 is powered by Intel’s Core 2 Duo U9400 processor that clocks at a low 1.4 GHz.  The U9400 is a CULV processor, which eats up less power when processing.  This allows the Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880 to stay on for more than 10 hours.  The Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880 is supported by up to 4 GB of memory and is graphically muscled by an integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD.  With just this chipset, the Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880 cannot perform heavy graphics rendering, making 3D gaming a big no-no.

 

The Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880 could store up to 500 GB of digital files like movies, music and even important digital documents.  One does not have to worry where to save those large files with the Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880.

 

This Acer 13-incher boasts of a glossy black finish with box measurement of 12.7 inches x 8.9 inches x 1.1 inches, making it one of the thinnest laptops for sale.  The Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880 only weighs 3.7 pounds, thus giving it a very high portability score.

 

The Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880 comes with a 16:9 LED backlit display and a native 1366 x 768 resolution, and is ideal for HD movie watching.

Specifications:
Processor	1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU U9400
Memory	4GB, 1066MHz DDR2
Hard drive	500GB 5,400rpm
Screen size	13.3 inches
Resolution	1366 x 768
Dimensions	12.7 inches x 8.9 inches x 1.1 inches
Graphics	Intel GMA 4500MHD (integrated)
Weight	3.7 lbs

Pros:

The Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880’s dimension and weight makes the Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880 very portable.  The Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880 is also stylish to begin with.

 

The good thing is that Acer did not sacrifice performance when they designed this machine. The Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880 could do more than average computations, thanks to its powerful processor and memory backup.

 

The Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880 offers a large disk space – a nice partner around when storing files such a HD movies, high-quality music and important office documents.

 

The greatest thing about the Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880 is its battery life of more than 10 hours. This is more than enough for those who travel a lot.  This is also twice the battery life other laptops in the same size category has.

 

Cons

The Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880 lacks optical drive for DVD viewing and data burning.  Its single mouse button as well as its bad quality audio may annoy some users.

 

Lenovo Ideapad U330
 

In the limelight is Lenovo’s pride in the thin chic laptop category.  A descendant of the Lenovo Ideapad U110 laptop, the Lenovo Ideapad U330 sports a glossy black finish with its 12.5 x 9.3 x 0.9 inch box dimension. It weighs a measly 4.32 pounds

 

The Lenovo Ideapad U330 is powered by Intel Centrino Core 2 Duo P7350 Processor that runs at 2.0 GHz and backed by 3 GB of DDR3 read access memory, allowing lagless performance even performing heavy computing.

 

The Lenovo Ideapad U330 is endowed with switchable graphics, courtesy of the ATI Radeon HD 3450.  This feature allows the user to access two graphics option – an integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD or 258 MB of ATI Radeon HD 3450.  For regular graphics, the power-saving integrated graphics chipset will do.  When heavy graphics rendering is needed, one may switch to the dedicated graphics card without rebooting the system.  With this, some 3D games may be played, although memory hungry ones may just put a lag on the Lenovo Ideapad U330.

 

A Lenovo Ideapad U330 could be loaded with up to 320 GB of digital files. The good news is that Lenovo enabled its Active Protection System on the U330’s hard disk.  The APS has an integrated motion sensor that detects sudden change in motion and stops the hard drive to protect it from the impact.

 

The Lenovo Ideapad U330 comes with a LED backlit display and 1280 x 800 resolution.  And is fitted with an optical drive for external data reading and burning.

 

Specifications:
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 Processor 2.0 GHz
Memory	3GB, 1066MHz DDR3
Hard drive	320 GB 5,400rpm HD
Screen size	13.3 inches
Resolution	1280 x 800
Dimensions	12.5 inches x 9.3 inches x 0.9 inches
Graphics	Intel GMA 4500MHD (integrated) and
	ATI Radeon HD 3450 258MB Switchable Graphics
Weight	4.32 lbs

Pros:

The Lenovo Ideapad U330 is endowed with the capability to process more than average applications and may also render some heavy graphics – thanks to its Intel Centrino processor, 3 GB RAM and a switchable ATI Radeon HD 3450 dedicated graphics.

 

The Lenovo Ideapad U330 offers an impact-proof hard drive that could house up to 320 GB of digital files.

 

Even with an optical drive fitted in, the Lenovo Ideapad U330 remains a very portable machine.  Aside from being good-looking, the Lenovo Ideapad U330 is one of the thinnest and lightest laptops in the market today.

 

Cons

The Lenovo Ideapad U330 reeks of inferior battery life at around three hours.  Aside from that, the Lenovo Ideapad U330 could get uncomfortably warm.

 

Conclusion

Comparing also specs, the Lenovo Ideapad U330 should knock out early in the fight.  It has more powerful processor and better memory support.  While the Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880 relies on an integrated graphics chipset, the Lenovo Ideapad U330 offers better video processing with a dedicated graphics card.

 

Both laptops are slim, yet the Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880 is lighter than the Lenovo Ideapad U330.

 

The Lenovo Ideapad U330, however, is fitted with an optical drive while the Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880 is not.  The win for this category goes to the former.

 

Audio performance also goes to Lenovo Ideapad U330, but this laptop loses by a mile in terms of battery life.

 

Although the Lenovo laptop knocks out its Acer rival in this comparison fight, both laptops are very good buys.

Related posts:

1. HP Envy 15 vs. Acer Aspire 8930G-7665 – Laptop Comparison
2. DELL XPS M1530 vs. LENOVO’S IDEAPAD Y530 (40512AU) – Netbook Comparison

Tags: Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880, Lenovo Ideapad U330

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