Acer Extensa 4420 Review

The new Acer Extensa 4420 is a new budget notebook from Acer which comes with a nice hardware configuration and a nice design. It is aimed at the lower end of the budget notebook segment, which are priced in the same range as most netbooks, but offer much better specs at the cost of portability. They are ideal for those users who don’t want to spend much, don’t need the portability but much better hardware specs. It is an AMD Athlon X2 based machine which are not as powerful as the Intel Core 2 Duo based ones but can manage the regular tasks easily. In this review, we have a close look at the Acer Extensa 4420.

Acer Extensa 4420 Specs:

• Dimensions: 13.2 x 9.8 x 1.62 inches
• Weight: 5.4 lbs
• Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 TK-57
• Memory: 2 GB DDR2 RAM 667 MHz
• Optical Drive: 8X DVD ± RW / CD-RW DL
• Display: 14.1 inch WXGA TFT-LCD CrystalBrite Display, 1280 x 800 pixels
• Hard drive: Hitachi 160 GB SATA HDD, 5400 RPM
• Graphics: ATI Radeon Xpress X1250 graphics with 256 MB VRAM
• Speakers: 3D Sonic stereo speakers with HD audio support
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
• Wireless: Acer InviLink wireless LAN (802.11b/g)
• Ports: 4 USB 2.0 ports, VGA out, S-Video out, Ethernet Port, Microphone and Headphone jack, Modem, 5 in 1 card reader, Kensington Lock slot, Optical Drive

Design and Build Quality:

The Acer Extensa 4420 is a nice and subtly stylish 14 inch notebook which has a sleek fully black look. At dimensions of 13.2 x 9.8 x 1.62 inches, it is quite portable and compact. It weighs just 5.3 lbs – just about the segment average. It sports a mag alloy casing which is very tough while not compromising on the weight. Thanks to it, the build quality is also very sturdy. It is suited for daily rough usage and can last about 2 years easily. It has smooth surfaces and rounded edges. There is very little flex in the display and keyboard areas. It has a nice range of ports arranged around the body. There are also nice status indicators in the front of the notebook. In the front, you find the IEEE 1394 port, IR port, a USB port, Mic and Headphone jacks and a Wi-Fi switch. The back is almost empty with just a modem port. On the left, you will find the Kensington lock slot, the Optical drive, a USB port and a 5 in 1 card reader. On the right, you see 2 USB ports, a S-Video out, a VGA out and Ethernet port and the power jack.

Display and Speakers:

The Acer Extensa 4420 has a 14.1 inch WXGA glossy display with a native resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. The display quality is great with nice brightness and contrast levels. The picture quality is nice with vibrant colors. The display is ideal for movie watching and video playback. The viewing angles, both horizontal and vertical are pretty decent. You can use Acer’s Grid Vista technology to split the display into a number of sections for better multitasking.

The Acer Extensa 4420 sports a set of Acer’s 3D Sonic stereo speakers with HD audio support. They are located at the front of the notebook. The speaker sound output is strictly average with decent volume but slightly nicer sound quality. The sound quality is relatively nice compared to other notebooks in this budget range, but we would seriously recommend using headphones if you want better sound quality.

Keyboard and Touchpad:

The Acer Extensa 4420 sports a nice black keyboard with superb key spacing and travel. It feels nice to type on and the keys provide nice feedback. It is a standard sized ergonomic keyboard which is curved around a center and has a nice feel. There is almost zero flex in the keyboard which is quite commendable. Just above the keyboard, on the right, you will find a set of customizable Quick Launch buttons which you can customize and use as shortcuts to your favorite programs.

Just below the keyboard, the touchpad is located in the center. It is a Synaptics based touchpad, the very best in the touchpad business. The touchpad is nice and responsive and has good sensitivity. It also provides a good grip which enhances the navigational capabilities. Below the touchpad, there are two mouse buttons and between them, a 4 way scroll key. The touchpad buttons are nice and offer good feedback. It will also support basic multi touch functionality with the new Synaptics driver updates.

Performance:

The Acer Extensa 4420 is powered by the AMD Athlon 64 X2 TK-57 processor. While not as good as its Core 2 Duo counterparts, it is powerful enough and can run basic stuff easily. It also has 2 GB DDR2 RAM 667 MHz which is quite good for basic multitasking. It also comes with the ATi Radeon Xpress X1250 integrated graphics with 256 MB VRAM. The storage department is handled by Hitachi’s 160 GB SATA HDD at 5400 RPM. The overall configuration is capable of running the bundled Windows Vista Home Premium quite decently. It can run most apps easily and can also handle basic gaming, atleast the older ones at low settings. The hard disk also offers good transfer speeds. This is the near the maximum you can expect at such a low budget. The Wi-Fi reception is pretty nice and offers good data transfer speeds and a nice range. Alongwith the bundled Windows Vista operating system, it also has a set of tools by Acer like Acer eNet, Acer eDataSecurity, Acer eLock, Acer eRecovery, Acer eSettings, Acer ePower, Acer ePresentation Management and other features.

It is powered by a 6 cell Li Ion battery which offers decent battery life. The battery lasts about 2 hours and 10 mins on a full charge with moderate usage. You can optimise the battery life by using common battery saving tips like lowering the display brightness, switching off Wi-Fi when not in use, lowering the sound volume on the speakers etc.

Pros:

• Inexpensive
• Good design and build quality
• Nice specs for its price
• Nice performance

Cons:

• No Webcam
• Average Speakers

Final Words:

The Acer Extensa 4420 is a very nice and inexpensive notebook with decent specs. It is a great buy for those who want decent performance but can’t afford to pay much. It gives you the power of an average notebook at the price of a netbook.

Our Rating: 3.25 / 5.