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Pussyfoot. Acer's TravelMate P253-M is supposed to be a 'laptop for everyone'. Our review reveals whether the combination of a matte, 15.6-inch screen, Core i3 processor and Windows 8 is enough to fulfill this promise.

For the original German review, see here.

Acer introduces a new range of affordable office laptops based on Windows 8 to the market with the TravelMate P253 series. We are testing the TravelMate P253-M-32324G50Mnks in this review. Our test laptop is powered by Intel's Core i3-2328Mdual-core processor. Intel's HD Graphics 3000 GPU takes care of video output. The laptop sports four gigabytes of working memory. Applications and data are stored on a 500 gigabyte hard disk. A DVD burner is also installed.

We used HP's ProBook 4530s-B0Y11EA (Intel Core i3-2350M, Intel HD Graphics 3000) and Lenovo's ThinkPad Edge E535 (AMD A8-4500M, AMD Radeon HD 7640G) to compare with the TravelMate.

Acer packs the whole laptop technology in a plastic casing. Black is dominant and only the wrist rest exhibits a silver-gray color. The lid's back, the wrist rest and the display bezel are coated with glossy paint. The other parts of the casing present matte surfaces. The applied plastic is appropriate for the laptop's price and does not make a cheap impression. The ThinkPad Edge E535 is also completely made out of plastic. If you value metal components, you should look closer at HP's ProBook 4530s. The base unit's top and the lid's back both feature an aluminum finish.

The stability of Acer's casing is satisfactory. The wrist rest only yields marginally under pressure. The TravelMate's base unit warps a bit when it is picked up at the front corners. A weak point is found in the area beside and below the touchpad. The base unit dents overall when pressure is applied. The lid warps too easily. However, the lid proves to have a higher pressure resistance when it is pressed on the back. The hinges keep the lid firmly in position and only rock marginally. It is not possible to open the lid with one hand.

The ProBook 4530s and ThinkPad Edge E535 sport the same interfaces as the TravelMate. Both former devices also provide USB 3.0 ports. If you need USB 3.0 ports, the TravelMate will not satisfy you. HP's laptop also features an ExpressCard slot.

Communication

The TravelMate's Wi-Fi module comes from Atheros (AR5B124) and supports the 802.11 b/g/n standards. Broadcom's Gigabit Ethernet chip is responsible for cabled networking (NetLink BCM57785). Unlike both the ProBook 4530s and ThinkPad Edge E535, the TravelMate P253 does not have a Bluetooth chip. When required, you will have to use a Bluetooth dongle. A webcam is built into the display's bezel.

Accessories

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Acer only includes the usual quick start posters, warranty and safety information for the TravelMate. There are no other accessories included.

Operating System and Recovery

Acer delivers the TravelMate P253-M with Windows 8 (64-bit) preinstalled. A Windows 8 DVD is not included. The system can be restored via a recovery partition. The corresponding recovery system can be opened by pressing Alt and F10 directly after turning on the laptop. The recovery system can also be opened directly under Windows.

Maintenance

The hard disk, the working memory and the Wi-Fi module are behind the laptop's maintenance cover. It is not possible to access the fan. The TravelMate features two RAM banks. Our test laptop is equipped with a four gigabyte module but can be upgraded to 8 GB of working memory. The hard disk is very easy to replace. But note: Acer installs hard disks with a height of 7 mm (~0.28 inches) into the TravelMate P253. Conventional hard disks have a height of 9.5 mm (~0.37 inches).

Warranty

The TravelMate P253-M includes a 24-month bring-in warranty. The customer has to send the laptop to Acer in warranty cases. Acer offers more warranty options than the competition. The warranty period for both the ProBook 4530s and ThinkPad Edge E535 is only valid for twelve months. The TravelMate's base warranty can be upgraded too, for example, 3 years for approximately 80 Euros (~$106). Acer's warranty upgrades have to be bought and activated within the first 90 days after purchasing the notebook.

Keyboard

The TravelMate P253 features a conventional laptop keyboard. The main keys have a size of 16 x 17 mm (~0.63 x 0.67 inches). It is virtually impossible to miss the big keys. Unfortunately, the arrow keys are somewhat too small and make a cramped impression. The keys feature a medium drop and a clear stroke. Altogether, the keyboard conveys a pleasant typing feel and will be more than sufficient for most users. The keyboards in the Edge E535 and ProBook 4530s are somewhat better and more suitable for prolific writers.

Touchpad

Elan's 8.6 x 4.5 cm (~3.4 x 1.8 inches) touchpad is slightly lowered in the wrist rest. It's slightly roughened surface does not impair the finger from gliding. The pad supports multi-touch gestures, such as pinch-to-zoom in pictures. The single gestures can be en- and disabled in the configuration menu. Two corresponding mouse keys are located below the pad. They are very smooth and feature a short key drop. Their pressure point is clearly palpable and audible.

A matte, LED-illuminated, 15.6-inch screen is installed in the TravelMate P253-M. It features a resolution of 1366x768 pixels. Acer does not offer any other screens for the laptop. The screen's average brightness of 211.1 cd/m² is midfield. The screens in Lenovo's ThinkPad Edge E535 (259 cd/m²) and ProBook 4530s (239.7 cd/m²) have a higher brightness.

The TravelMate screen's contrast ratio of 418:1 and black value of 0.56 cd/m² is within a good range. The rates of HP's laptop (436:1; 0.58 cd/m²) are on a par with Acer's laptop. The Edge E535 lags far behind both contenders with rates of 123:1 and 2.24 cd/m². The screen in Acer's laptop can reproduce neither the sRGB nor AdobeRGB color spectrum.

The TravelMate is not inevitably made for outdoor use. The screen's brightness on battery power clearly drops to below 200 cd/m², which is the minimum rate for an outdoor suitable screen. The matte surface and good contrast ratio still make outdoor use possible when bright surroundings are avoided.

The TravelMate P253-M's low price is noticed in viewing angle stability. The image distorts quickly when the vertical viewing angle is changed. In return, the image remains stable over the entire horizontal viewing angle. Merely the brightness decreases. Both contending laptops do not do a better job than Acer's laptop.

With the TravelMate P253 series, Acer is offering a range of affordable office laptops that are both suitable for private and business use. Routine tasks, such as MS Office applications, Internet communication, using Internet services and playing videos, are not a challenge for the TravelMate.

At the time of this review, we found three models from the P253 series. The TravelMate P253-32324G50Mnks we are testing represents the midrange in both price and performance (approx. 470/~$622). The three models only differ in terms of CPU. The other two models sport either Intel's Pentium B960 or Core i5-3210M processor. If you prefer a smaller size, you can take a model from the P243 series. It is consists of 14-inch laptops that are largely identical to the P253 series.

Processor

Intel's Core i3-2328M processor powers the TravelMate P253-M-32324G50. It is a member of Intel's Sandy Bridge processor generation. The i3 CPU clocks with 2.2 GHz and does not feature Turbo.

The processor finishes the Cinebench tests at full speed. The results are accordingly at the expected level. The ThinkPad Edge E535 (AMD A8-4500M, AMD Radeon HD 7640G) is far ahead of both contenders in the GL tests. This is not surprising since the Radeon GPU is much stronger than Intel's GPU. It is the exact opposite in the CPU tests. HP's ProBook 4530s-B0Y11EA (Intel Core i3-2350M, Intel HD Graphics 3000) and the TravelMate clearly have the lead on Lenovo's laptop. This is not surprising either since the Intel CPUs in both devices are much stronger than AMD's counterpart.

System Performance

The TravelMate P253-M works swiftly and smoothly. Windows 8 is also booted quickly. PCMark 7 confirms this subjective impression. Acer's laptop excels both HP's ProBook 4530s (Intel Core i3-2350M, Intel HD Graphics 3000) and Lenovo's ThinkPad Edge E535 (AMD A8-4500M, AMD Radeon HD 7640G). We believe this is due to the much faster hard disk.

Acer installs a hard disk from Hitachi's TravelStar Z5K500 range in the TravelMate P253-M. The disk spins with a speed of 5400 revolutions per minute and bids a storage capacity of 500 GB. That is enough storage for innumerable pictures, music tracks or even videos. The hard disk surprises with rather unusual measured rates for this price range. CrystalDiskMark recorded a read speed of 94.74 MB/s. HDTune ascertained an average transfer rate of 84.6 MB/s. Both rates are good for a 5400 rpm disk. The hard disk in the ProBook 4530s and ThinkPad Edge E535 merely achieved average transfer rates of 63.3 MB/s and 66.2 MB/s respectively according to HDTune.

Graphics Card

Intel's HD Graphics 3000 is responsible for video output on the laptop. It clocks with 650 to 1100 MHz and supports DirectX 10.1. The results of the 3DMark benchmarks are on the expected level. The ProBook 4530s (Intel Core i3-2350M, Intel HD Graphics 3000) reaches identical rates due to the same GPU. The ThinkPad Edge E535 (AMD A8-4500M, AMD Radeon HD 7640G) leaves both contenders far behind because of its stronger Radeon GPU. Moreover, AMD's GPU supports DirectX 11 in contrast to Intel's GPU.

Gaming Performance

The TravelMate P253-M copes with computer games that have the performance requirements of the FIFA series. If you want to play up-to-date 3D games you should take another laptop.

System Noise

We very much liked the very low noise level that Acer's laptop generates. We ascertained a noise level between 30 and 30.8 dB (A) in idle. The fan is often disabled. The noise increased to 36.2 dB (A) when the laptop's DVD drive was used. The TravelMate got louder during full load (Prime95 and FurMark run simultaneously). We measured a noise of 37.6 dB (A). The noise was only 33.3 dB (A) in medium load (3DMark 06). The ThinkPad Edge E535's noise development is very similar to that of Acer's laptop. It is a bit louder in idle use, but a bit quieter during full load. HP's ProBook 4530s is clearly defeated by Acer's and Lenovo's laptop in this exercise. HP's laptop produces more noise in idle than both contenders make in medium load.

Noise Level

The TravelMate P253-M is not affected by hot flushes. The laptop reached temperatures between 26.3 and 32.7 degrees Celsius (~79.3 and 90.9 Fahrenheit) on both the top and bottom while idling. The temperatures increased to rates between 26.8 and 42.7 degrees Celsius (~80.2 and 108.9 Fahrenheit) during full load (Prime95 and FurMark run simultaneously). Thus, it would even be possible to place the laptop on the thighs. Although the wrist rest exceeds a temperature of 30 degrees Celsius (~86 Fahrenheit) in idle and full load operation, it is still within a range that allows working.

The CPU always clocked at maximum speed during the stress test in both AC-mode and battery power (Prime95 and FurMark run simultaneously for at least one hour). On the other hand, the GPU ran at full speed in AC-mode in the stress test (1100 MHz). It clocked with 650 MHz on battery power. The CPUs temperature settled to approximately 72 degrees Celsius (~161.6 Fahrenheit) here.

Speakers

Both stereo speakers are located above the keyboard behind a perforated grille in the TravelMate. They produce a very thin sound that lacks bass. Speech is well-intelligible. However, we did not observe the tendency for a tinny sound like in many other laptops. If the sound does not satisfy you, you can always connect external speakers or headphones to the device.

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Power Consumption

The TravelMate consumed 7.3 to 10.6 Watts in idle mode. Thus, it is a bit more energy-efficient than the ProBook 4530s (8.7 to 13.2 Watts) and Edge E535 (8.1 to 11.6 Watts). Acer's laptop is satisfied with a power consumption of 43.8 Watts during full load (Prime95 and FurMark run simultaneously). Both other contenders consume 6 Watts more. With a power consumption of 24.3 Watts, the P253-M excels both contenders in the medium load range (3DMark 06) (HP: 40.7 Watts; Lenovo: 40.6 Watts).

Battery Life

The TravelMate P253-M extracts a runtime of 7:11 h from the battery in idle use. The ProBook 4530s (7:24 h) and ThinkPad Edge E535 (8:26 h) last longer. We ascertained the idle runtime using tools from Battery Eater. The Reader's test runs with enabled energy-saving profile and disabled wireless modules. The screen is set to minimum brightness. Acer's laptop achieved a runtime of 1:19 h in load (HP: 1:37 h; Lenovo: 1:31 h). We also use Battery Eater's “Classic” for the load test. For this, the screen is set to maximum brightness and the high-performance profile as well as the wireless modules is enabled.

The Wi-Fi test lasted for 4:49 h (HP: 4:16 h; Lenovo: 4:48 h). Websites are automatically opened every 40 seconds by a script in this test. Energy-saving mode is enabled and the screen's brightness is set to approximately 150 cd/m². The laptop is drained after only 3 h in the DVD test (HP: 3:30 h; Asus: 3:46 h). The screen is set to maximum brightness, energy-savings mode or a higher profile (should the DVD not run smoothly) is used and the wireless modules are off.

The battery life of all three laptops can be compared well with each other since their batteries have an identical capacity (Acer: 47 Wh; Lenovo: 48 Wh). However, the TravelMate's battery runtimes could be better. Dell proves that a longer runtime can be retrieved from the hardware components with its Vostro 2520. The laptop sports the same hardware equipment as the TravelMate P253-M, but achieves much longer runtimes with the same battery capacity.

Acer's TravelMate P253-M is not a 'laptop for everyone' - but that is not possible anyway. However, it should satisfy the requirements of most users since it has enough power for everyday application scenarios. Acer's laptop convinces with its good application performance and low noise development. Alongside the matte screen and acceptable keyboard, Acer has created a laptop that enables concentrated work.

HP's ProBook 4530s-B0Y11EA is interesting for users who place value on a very good keyboard and extensive warranty options. Lenovo's ThinkPad Edge E535 comes into question when longer battery runtimes are needed and the GPU's performance is more important than that of the CPU.