Will the Acer Aspire S3 run SL comfortably?

[Maddie Macalroy]

I was thinking of getting the Acer Aspire S3 as my tiny notebook is on it's last legs. I really want to be able to play SL again, I don't use my laptops for any other games only web browsing such as FB, YT, some movie watching but the only game I want to really play is SL.

Will it run it smoothly ?

The Specs I could find are:

Manufacturer Acer

Model name Aspire S3

CPU type Intel Core i5 2467M

CPU speed 1600 Mhz

Graphics Intel HD Graphics 3000

OS Windows 7 Home Premium

Display Size 13.3" 1366 X 768 Screen Type LED-Backlit LCD

Touch Technology No Touch

RAM 4096 MB

Flash 20 GB

Hard Disk 320 GB

Keyboard YES

Mouse Pointer YES

Battery capacity 36.4 (Wh) Weight 1350gm / 47.6 oz. Size (w/h/d mm) 323/219/18 mm Size (w/h/d inches) 12.7/8.6/0.7

[Synge Takacs]

That will run SL, but poorly on anything but low settings on account of the Intel integated graphics.  Intel graphics have historically been terrible.  They have improved a lot recently but they still don't come close to Nvidia and AMD dedicated chips.   For a thin and light laptop in that price range to run SL, look for something with a Core i5 and the best Nvidia graphics that you can afford.  If you don't mind a 15 inch laptop, your best bet at $600 is probably the Acer Aspire V3-571G-6602.   I think the best bet in a small laptop for SL will be a little more expensive.   Take a look at the 14" Acer Timeline M5 Core i5 with 4gb/500gb HD/20gb caching SSD and a Nvidia GT640M LE for $779.  It's a bit more expensive, but it may be right up your alley.  It should run SL on medium settings quite smoothly and if I were buying right now, that's what I'd get.

[Peggy Paperdoll]

The Intel HD 3000 graphics adapter will should run SLl fairly decently......not great by any stretch of the imagination but surprisingly good.  Low settings in your viewer preferences with a draw distance of about 100 meters or less should give you "comfortable" frame rates in most places.  My problem is "comfortable" is a very subjective term when used in the context you are asking.........."comfortable" for me is releatively smooth video and knowing that I am not abusing the hardware components that make up my computer.  It's that "abusing" part that qualifies my comfort level.  I would not feel too concerned with low settings on an HD 3000 GMA but up the preferences to medium and I would be a little concerned.......and that would not be "comfortable" to me.  The HD 3000 will run SL fine as long as you keep in mind the graphics adapter is not designed for what SL throws at it.........it's a weak graphics adapter so treat it accordingly. 

Spend a little more and get more system RAM.  4 GB is fine for most uses but SL being so graphically intensive and your graphics has not dedicated RAM of it's own, it will use your system RAM.......get another 2 GB if you can.  The will replace most of what SL is going to use from your system which in turn makes your computer's life a little easier.  Also, spend a little on a cooling pad........people with laptops running SL without a cooling pad are just asking for a burned up laptop way before it's life expectancy.