interesting...

I have been using Acer TimelineX 3820tg since last Oct. The notebook has gone thru endless benchmark and driver update. I also defragment frequently. This notebook has been travelling with me to many many oversea trip as well. Completed 14 major games, including Darksider, Dragon Age 1&2, Mass Effect 1&2, etc... It is still solid! Of cause, I am the type that really watch over the notebook for temperature and I'm always physically gentle with my 3820tg.

Dont know about some really low budget notebook from Acer, but my experience with TimelineX is really good. I heard that the business line TravelMate is even better.

PS: did i told you that I overclock, flash my BIOS and overvolting my GPU quite often too?

This post has been edited by cowithgun: Aug 25 2011, 09:08 AM

I think you are missing the point here. The unique feature of 8481 is the 14" screen on a small 13.3" footprint.

Comparison:

U31:
- Dimension: 32.8 x 23.3 x 2.54 ~2.85 cm (WxDxH)
- Weight: 1.78 kg (6 cell)
- Screen size: 13.3"

Acer 8481: 1.78 kg
- Dimension: 32.8 x 23.9 x 1.8 ~ 2.23
- Weight: 1.5kg (4 cell)
- Screen size: 14"

As you can see, 8481 is about the same dimension, except that it is thinner, lighter and housing 14" screen.

Also, please don't buy any notebook with Sandy Bridge that pair with a low end GPU such as GT520 or HD6470. The HD3000 in the SB is already as powerful as those GPU but running at lower power and less heat. If you plan to play game, you should not chose those low end GPU. But if you are not playing game, HD3000 is already sufficient.

GT520 should still better in gaming. Check for yourself, go to Game Benchmark and compare between GT520 and HD3000:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForc...0M.43104.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Grap...00.37948.0.html

You will see the performance is really close, however, the most important point here is, gaming with these 2 cards are really bad. GT520 may be a little better, but it is still not good enough for gaming.

Left: GT520m___________________________________________________Right: HD 3000