Intro: We were Acer Fans early on. We actually pushed and sold a lot of Acer units late 2005 <click here> and <click here>. Mid-2006 we stopped selling Acer units because we felt it had a few quality issues to be addressed in its Core Duo models. With the advent of Core2 Duo We purchased this laptop specifically to review Acer's Core2 Offering. How does it compare to the established brands? How is the perfomance? Is it worth recommending? We also intend to use this review as a benchmark. If after presenting this truthful review, customers still decide to buy the laptop then it signifies we should consider offering Acer Models again. In anycase, if in the end, you do not agree with the review presented here, this laptop model is available for your testing at the shop until the item is sold.

Manufacturer Overview:
The Aspire 5580 pushes 64-bit, mobile entertainment to the next level. The Intel® Core™2 Duo processor features Extended Memory 64 Technology (EM64T), granting memory-hungry applications full access to 4 GB of memory. Plus, intensely detailed imagery is rendered in brilliant colors via the 14.1" Acer CrystalBrite™ LCD. It's a complete multimedia super-package, designed for enjoying the latest 64-bit entertainment possibilities!

Our Take:
Aesthetic wise we have always liked the Acer Aspire Models more than the Acer Travelmate models. The Aspire provides a more masculine look with more black areas and the black border on the LCD display gives an effect of being larger than its 14.1"Widescreen size. Build quality is actually good, the notebook feels solid and the hinges are firm enough to support the 14.1"wide display. There is no noticeable flex/wobble on the display compared to the Acer 15.4inch models. The only suspect in the build quality is the lack of support for the keyboard.



The laptop was originally configured with only 256mb of RAM, which resulted to very sluggish performance. We upgraded the RAM to 1024mb(2x512mb) DDR2 RAM running on 533Mhz. Immediately the boot up time improved and reponse time during actual operations drastically improved. We did not benchmark the processor. Without a dedicated video card this laptop will not be used for serious gaming. Without a video card it has always been our position that a fast processor only serves to start up the laptop faster. Moreover, for basic office mutli-media and office use, Core2 processing power is seldom maximized.

Much of what you do on a computer today, including using the Internet, editing photos, making presentations, watching movies and gaming, involves intense graphics. The picture quality you experience is largely dependent on your notebook’s display. The Acer Aspire 5580 features a Translucent display which Acer calls "Crystalbrite". According to Acer - "CrystalBrite technology reads color coordinates more accurately for superior performance in darkroom and ambient-light setting. Conventional LCDs greatly diffuse internal lamp light, blurring pictures edges and reducing image quality. Acer CrystalBrite LCDs deliver clear, clean edges when displaying photos and images, bringing to life the most finely detailed pictures. Use Acer CrystalBrite to get the best visual experience from your notebook. The choice has never been clearer!.



We disagree! Acer's Crystalbright display in this model is dim and not at all sharp. Comparison with other translucent displays (Dell's Truelife, HP's Brightview, and Toshiba's truebrite) will testify to this reality. It is as if a "tint film" was simply placed on the LCD of the laptop to provide the reflective effect but resulted to lack of brightness. The best way we can described the image is like wearing sun glasses indoors. Another aspect of entertainment value is audio and unfortunately, Audio was another disappointment with this model. The sound from the speakers is barely audible. When playing a movie we had to put our ear almost on top of the keyboard to hear the audio.



Battery life on previous Core Duo Acer models was one of our major conerns. Specific to this Core2 Duo model Battery is excellent. Fitted with a 7200MAH/ 9-Cell battery that sticks our from the back, the laptop gave us 4.5hours on DvD Playback. (note: not all models offer the 7200MAH battery. Best to check before buying) Connectivity is also excellent on this model. It offers a Five-in-one slot that recognizes Secure Digital, MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, and xD formats. Communication wise you can connect via the internal Lan(10/100) or via Wireless with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Bluetooth transmits data between devices such as cellular phones, PDAs and notebook or desktop computers through short-range radio waves. For connection with external peripherals the Acer 5680 offers plus Three(3) USB 2.0 ports and both S-Video and VGA out to connect to external displays. Headphone and microphone jacks are located at the front of the unit which is convenient for head-set users.

The Acer Aspire 5580 is described by Acer as a mobile entertainment laptop... on this aspect the laptop is a disappointment. The display was dark and the audio barely audible. Other than multi-media, our opinion is the laptop will meet customers expectations. Word, Excel, Email and Internet surfing, and storing photos will be a breeze with the Core2 Duo processor; as long as the RAM is increased to at least 512mb. Priced at least P10,000 LESS than the major brands with the same specs, the Acer Aspire 5580 is easily one of the most affordable Core2 Duo laptops on the market today. The long battery life on this model is a definite bonus!!! If you are willing to sacrifice display quality (aka eye Strain) and will not use this laptop for presentations with audio, the Acer Aspire 5580 is a good buy as a workhorse laptop.