Ferrari. The name itself evokes images of supercars and racecars bearing the famed prancing horse logo, of glorious V12 exhaust notes, and red.
Oh yes, Rosso Scuderia, quite possibly the most instantly recognizable color in the automotive world.
So when Acer set out to create its latest Ferrari-branded laptop, it naturally decided to make the lid bright red, with the iconic prancing horse shield right in the middle. As with the rest of the Ferrari line, the 11.6" Ferrari One ultraportable has an AMD processor; in this case, it's a dual-core Athlon 64 X2 L310 clocked at a very un-Ferrari-like 1.2GHz. Beyond that, we've got 3GB of RAM, a 250GB 5400RPM hard drive, ATI's Radeon HD 3200 integrated graphics chip, Windows 7 Home Premium, a bunch of red accents to match the lid, a faux carbon-fibre palm rest, and a nice Scuderia Ferrari logo under the keyboard.
Acer Ferrari One Specifications
Processor AMD Athlon 64 X2 L310
(1.20GHz, 65nm, 2x512KB L2, 800FSB, 13W)
Chipset AMD M780G
Memory 1x2048MB+1x1024MB DDR2-800
Running @ DDR2-480, 3-4-4-12 Timings
Graphics Integrated ATI Radeon HD 3200
Display 11.6" LED Glossy 16:9 WXGA (1366x768)
Hard Drive 2.5" 250GB 5400RPM (Toshiba MK2555GSX)
Networking Atheros AR8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet
Atheros AR5B93 802.11a/g/n WiFi
Audio Realtek AL269 2-Channel HD Audio
(2.0 Speakers with headphone/microphone jacks)
Battery 6-Cell, 10.8V, 4400mAh, 48Wh
Front Side None
Left Side 1 x USB 2.0
VGA
ATI XGP Connector
Right Side SD/MMC reader
Microphone/Headphone Jacks
2 x USB 2.0
AC Power Connection
Kensington Lock
Gigabit Ethernet
Back Side None
Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium
Dimensions 11.22" x 8.03" x 1.03" (WxDxH)
Weight 3.31 lbs (with 6-cell battery)
Extras 1.3MP Webcam
Warranty 1-year standard Acer warranty (USA)
Price Red 4GB Ferrari One FO200-1799 at $569
Ignoring the Ferrari branding, this ultraportable is basically the AMD version of the Aspire 1410/1810T that we have come to know and love. The Athlon 64 X2 L310 is one AMD alternative to Intel’s CULV platform (though other 45nm models would likely improve the overall picture). Beyond the 1.20 GHz clock speed, there’s a 333MHz DDR2 on-die memory controller, 800MHz HyperTransport link, and 2 x 512KB L2 cache. It’s manufactured on a 65nm process, and has a power envelope of 13 watts. The closest competitor to it in Intel’s CULV processor lineup is the 1.30 GHz Pentium SU4100, which is built on a 45nm manufacturing process and has a TDP of 10W. Of course, the AMD thin and light platform contains the aforementioned Radeon HD 3200 IGP, which should be faster than the CULV-standard GMA 4500 MHD.
Of note is that our test system is an older model equipped with a 1GB and 2GB SO-DIMM, which means the memory runs in single-channel mode and performance is somewhat lower than the FO200 model with 4GB RAM. The MSRP on this particular model was $549, but it's no longer available online.
