14 DAY TRIAL // Acer once again decided to make a noticeable update to its mobile PC lineup, this once taking three of its exiting machines, the AS5745, AS7745 and 5742G, and outfitting them with new technologies, the NVIDIA Optimus and, for the last one, 3D Vision.
Putting integrated graphics circuits inside its CPUs let Intel grab a fair bit of the graphics market, but its solutions still can't compete with NVIDIA's and AMD's in on the higher levels of the market.
To exploit this performance superiority, NVIDIA developed the Optimus technology, which dynamically switches between the integrated and discrete graphics.
It is this technology that has now been added to the 15.6-inch AS5745 and the 17.3-inch Aspire AS7745.
The third machine, the 15.6-inch 5742G, has gained a different capability, namely 3D Vision, which means it has a 120 Hz display (1,366 x 768 pixel resolution in this case).
For those interested in overall specifications, these three have configurations centered around Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs.
Whichever chip is chosen is backed up by up to 16 GB of RAM and the NVIDIA graphics with Optimus, though the AS7745 can also come with a Mobility Radeon HD 5650 from AMD.
Other specifications include a hard disk drive of 500 GB (or up to 1TB on the AS7745), as well as a Blu-ray Drive.
"Consumers desire the best of both worlds when buying a new notebook PC, including advanced productivity and outstanding entertainment capabilities that may be enjoyed anywhere, anytime," said Preeta Anil, senior manager of product marketing for Acer America.
"The new Aspire AS5742G, AS5745 and AS7745 notebook series upholds Acer's strong tradition of combining innovation with value by delivering leading-edge technology at a price that's accessible to many consumers," Anil added.
The 5742G sells for at least $649.99, whereas the AS5745 has a starting price of $799.99. Finally, the AS7745 starts at $999.99.