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Aspire One 7552G-6436: Portable, Not Powerful

11.04.2011
Acer's Aspire One 7552G-6436 may be packed with a quad-core processor and ATI Radeon graphics, but it can't keep up with most of PCWorld's top-ranked desktop replacement systems. Nevertheless, its light weight, bright screen, and affordable price may be just what some users are looking for.

Our review model, priced at $730 (as of April 11, 2011), came configured with a 2.1GHz AMD Phenom II N950 quad-core processor, 4GB of RAM (upgradable to 8GB), a 640GB hard disk drive, and an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6650 graphics card. The desktop replacement also features a 17.3-inch glossy widescreen, a "floating" island-style keyboard, and a DVD-RW drive. The system runs a 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium. It's not nearly as fast as the most powerful desktop replacement laptops we've tested, but it still delivers considerable bang for the buck.

The Acer 7552G-6436 is lighter than most other desktop replacement laptops, weighing in at about 7 pounds, 4 ounces. (The top-ranked tips the scales at 9 pounds, 11 ounces.) The power brick is lightweight, too--and you'll probably need it, since the battery conked out after just 2 hours, 20 minutes in our tests. The laptop measures about 16.3 inches wide by 10.8 inches deep by 1.35 inches thick.

The Acer's chassis has a businessy color scheme: mostly black, with a little gray and some hints of silver. The cover is plain, with an etched criss-cross pattern and a silver Acer logo in the center. Inside, a shiny black bezel encloses the glossy screen, and a slate-gray brushed aluminum deck surrounds the island-style keyboard. The power button, located at the top left corner, is round with a sliver of blue light to indicate whether it is turned on. Elsewhere, there are just four other tiny indicator lights.

Port selection is average for the category. The left side of the laptop features a gigabit ethernet port, VGA- and HDMI-out ports, microphone and headphone jacks, and one USB 2.0 port. The right side has three additional USB 2.0 ports, a Kensington lock slot, and a DVD-RW drive. At the front of the laptop is a small multiformat card reader, which supports MS/MS PRO, xD, MMC, and SD cards.

On our review model, one of the right-side USB ports was slightly off-kilter, though this did not affect the port's usability. The Acer also has a built-in 1.3-megapixel Webcam and microphone, which is pretty much standard these days.