[Comparison] Acer Aspire S5 vs Acer Aspire S3

Well now, we all know that the Acer Aspire S5 is definitely better than the Acer Aspire S3 – techies will frown at the need to mention this, but by how much? I can easily write up a statistical comparison using numbers and charts which you would probably not care about (which will be included at the bottom anyway), in which case, it would be an obvious difference. The fact is, it’s better to see it for yourself. Besides the speed, the S5 is actually slightly larger in some dimensions, thinner, lighter and has better build quality compared to the S3. The looks may fool you though, the chrome exterior of the S3 will make it look tougher and stronger, but in reality, it’s the same material only with the S5 being lighter.

Razor thin, lightning fast

As a proud owner of a swimming Acer Aspire S3, I had no doubt the S5 will trample my little pony, but I had to know by how much.

We did a test that with a fresh S5 (no programs installed except an anti virus) versus a S3 in diagnostics mode (minimum items for start-up to make it “fairer” for the poor S3). The S3 isn’t using a SSD, while the S5 is Ivy Bridge with a SSD on board.

Conclusion, the S5 can turn on, get into windows and shut down before the S3 can even get past the load screen. Now, the best part about it is that, from sleep to wake, its a lightning speed of 1.5 seconds and 6 secs out of deep sleep. Impressive improvement to say the least. But is that enough to pay RM1,000 more?

As I previously stated, the build quality is significantly better and is much lighter than its predecessor – 1.2kg vs 1.35kg. It is slightly larger too, if you look at this comparison here (ignore those 2 games, some of my favourites but not related to any tests here :D) – 324/15/227mm vs 323/18/219mm (width, depth, height).

In conclusion, the Acer Aspire S5 is THE rival to the MacBook Air in terms of pricing and weight, if not a Window’s equivalent. The ‘magic flip’ I/O port is interesting, but may be impractical considering that the amount of space saved isn’t largely significant. Adding more moving parts (the electric motor on the ‘magic flip’) gives it another part to break.

All in all, the Acer S5 is THE thinnest ultrabook out in the market for now, ‘Magic Flip’ is probably the most innovative improvement one could have on an ultrabook.

However, rumour has it that the Acer Aspire S3’s newer generations will be upgraded to the Ivy bridge as well, which narrows the speed difference down. The Acer Aspire S5 is very generous with its 256GB SSD, which would be a seller by itself for an ultrabook this size.

It all boils down to your own personal preference, your need for speed and the amount of weight you intend to carry. Its fast, its thin and its light – “Thincredible” seems absolutely fitting.

Here’s the statistical comparison for the Acer Aspire S5 versus Acer Aspire S3.

Acer Aspire S5 (Link)

 Acer Aspire S3 (Link)