Acer embraces new Intel Core i3 and Core i5 Processors

Jumping right in with Intel's new CPUs, Acer (parent of the Acer, Gateway, and eMachines brands) is showing off a couple of new large-format laptops, starting at $600.

The new Acer Aspire AS5740 and AS7740 lines are designed as speedy multimedia machines, with wide-screen 15.6 and 17.3-inch displays and Blu-ray and ATI graphics in some configurations.

While we may spend most of our time talking about low-end Atom processors, the Intel Core i3-330M (2.13GHz) and Core i5-430M (2.26GHz) are the next step in mainstream computing, and should eventually eclipse the Core 2 Duo chips found in most PCs.

On top of that, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 or ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470 graphics are available (making these laptops part of the small club of Intel/AMD combo systems). That makes sense, as Acer is pitching these models at consumers who will be "composing digital music, editing photos, or playing...games."

Acer has been hawking a design philosophy called "Gemstone Blue" for some time now. We're not sure what it means beyond blue lids, and in this case, a "textured NeoWeave palm rest." That said, these systems look fine, and the 17-inch model even has a full 1080p HD display in some more expensive configurations (but not in the two examples shown below).

The Acer Aspire AS5740 and AS7740 will be available at U.S. retailers beginning on January 17, 2010, in several preset configurations. Two sample configs are below.

Acer Aspire AS5740G-6979 Notebook PC: $749.99
Intel Core i5-430M Processor
15.6-inch 1,366x768 display
4GB DDR3 RAM
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650
500GB SATA HDD

Acer Aspire AS7740-5142 Notebook PC: $749.99
Intel Core i3-330M Processor
17.3-inch 1,600x900 display
4GB DDR3 RAM
Blu-ray drive
500GB SATA HDD