Laptop question

[C.S.J]

ok techies....

is this a good laptop to buy?

Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
Intel® Core™2 Duo T8100 Processor
4GB DDR2 667MHz Memory
320GB SATA Hard Drive
512MB nVidia GeForce 9500M GS (DX10)
16" WXGA CrystalBrite Widescreen LCD
16:9 Aspect Ratio
Blu-Ray ROM Player / Dual Layer DVD Writer
Intel 4965AGN Wireless LAN
Built in Webcam
Multi-Format Card Reader
Built in BlueTooth,HDMI Connectivity
Acer CineDash Media Console with touch- Sensitive Inetrface
Bio Protection Finger Print Recognition

would it be able to play all the latest games too?
and what would the general peformance be?

[beetlejuice69]

Everything seems cool on that machine, specs wise, although I`d check for comments from Acer users. I got rid of my Acer after 2 weeks...not the same specs as the one you are talking about, but close. Maybe this one has a better consumer report. That`s all I can tell ya.

[lodore]

how much?
just to say Acer laptop comes with a recovery partition instead of a reinstall CD.
so if you want to easily restore back to defaults create a backup using imaging software before using it.

[C.S.J]

{QUOTE-> Everything seems cool on that machine, specs wise, although I`d check for comments from Acer users. I got rid of my Acer after 2 weeks...not the same specs as the one you are talking about, but close. Maybe this one has a better consumer report. That`s all I can tell ya. <-QUOTE}
i had an acer laptop before the one i have now, which is a dell.

£900 Lodore, worth it?

[lodore]

{QUOTE-> i had an acer laptop before the one i have now, which is a dell.

£900 Lodore, worth it? <-QUOTE}
Hey Chris
seems like a bargain compared to similar priced laptops with similar spec ive just looked at. I done a quick look around before i posted back.
i would say go for it.
it will be able to play most games.
as i said use imaging software to make a backup of the original config due to only having a recovery partition and no reinstallation disc.
any link to the website that is selling it?
hope this helps.
Tim

[Huupi]

{QUOTE-> how much?
just to say Acer laptop comes with a recovery partition instead of a reinstall CD.
so if you want to easily restore back to defaults create a backup using imaging software before using it. <-QUOTE}

right,mine came with lots of crap [sony vaio], ditched all crap,and then took an image ,so no need to use the recovery partition which i guess is loaded with the same crab.I plan to unhide the hidden partition,format it and add this space for regular use.

[Peter2150]

Based on my experience with high powered notebooks, be sure to get some of a cooling fan. They run warm.

Pete

[ccsito]

{QUOTE-> Based on my experience with high powered notebooks, be sure to get some of a cooling fan. They run warm.

Pete <-QUOTE}

They are mandatory. Quite a few at the corporate offices overheated. Once I opened a few browser windows with massive downloading and my laptop shut off completely. The fans were running when that happened so the critical operating temperature had apparently been reached. :o

[djohn]

I checked out some acer aspires before they seem sturdy made and some models do get good reviews.The one mentioned sounds like a good value.

[glentrino2duo]

Acer is the "new Dell" with regards to: "more value for your money" (but, personally, I'd prefer it over Dell anytime)

MSI and GigaByte notebooks, if they are available in you country, also offers great value for the price.

[Coolio10]

All you americans did not look at the currency.

900.00 EUR = 1,415.43 USD
Euro United States Dollars

It still seems like a pretty good deal.
Beter specs than most desktops around that price.

[MICRO]

{QUOTE-> look at the currency.

900.00 EUR = 1,415.43 USD
Euro United States Dollars
. <-QUOTE}

I think it was GBP's Cool. not Euros.

900 GBP's = 1,701.63 USD's

[MikeNAS]

{QUOTE-> ok techies....

is this a good laptop to buy?

Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
Intel® Core™2 Duo T8100 Processor
4GB DDR2 667MHz Memory
320GB SATA Hard Drive
512MB nVidia GeForce 9500M GS (DX10)
16" WXGA CrystalBrite Widescreen LCD
16:9 Aspect Ratio
Blu-Ray ROM Player / Dual Layer DVD Writer
Intel 4965AGN Wireless LAN
Built in Webcam
Multi-Format Card Reader
Built in BlueTooth,HDMI Connectivity
Acer CineDash Media Console with touch- Sensitive Inetrface
Bio Protection Finger Print Recognition

would it be able to play all the latest games too?
and what would the general peformance be? <-QUOTE}

What is the exact model? I have one Acer two years ago. Totally rubbish. Now I have Dell and IBM. I like to pay some more if I get 3 years warranty, superb quality and good customers service.

EDIT: Maybe computer is one of these? http://geizhals.at/eu/?fs=acer+9500M&x=0&y=0&in= Doesn't look so promising because only couple of shop sells those. Germany is probably cheapest place to order something if you live in Europe. United States is good too but sadly you have to pay taxes. Yeah I know ways to avoid those but still...

[farmerlee]

Yes you'll be able to play the latest games however you'll probably have to lower the settings to make them playable. I have an 8600m gt which can handle recent games using low/medium settings and the 9500 is supposed to have 10% better performance than the 8600.

[C.S.J]

yes it is in GBP.

it is the Aspire 6920.

[MikeNAS]

{QUOTE-> yes it is in GBP.

it is the Aspire 6920. <-QUOTE}

Price is quite correct. After all I choose some other manufacturer with longer warranty. I don't like that screen resolution, 16" WXGA glare TFT (1366x768).

[C.S.J]

actually Mike, thats not the screen on this model, that screen is on the cheaper ones.

this one im looking at, it has:

16" FULL HD - WUXGA ACER CINECRYSTAL TFT LCD 1920 X 1080


---
i think im already talking myself into buying it. lol

[MikeNAS]

{QUOTE-> actually Mike, thats not the screen on this model, that screen is on the cheaper ones.

this one im looking at, it has:

16" FULL HD - WUXGA ACER CINECRYSTAL TFT LCD 1920 X 1080


---
i think im already talking myself into buying it. lol <-QUOTE}

Intresting resolution but better than I thought. I have 1920x1200 and 15,4" Dell :D

[ThunderZ]

The only thing I do not understand is why 4 gigs of ram. AFAIK Vista Home Premium is 32 bit. At best the OS may only see\use maybe about 3 gigs of the ram.

[C.S.J]

{QUOTE-> The only thing I do not understand is why 4 gigs of ram. AFAIK Vista Home Premium is 32 bit. At best the OS may only see\use maybe about 3 gigs of the ram. <-QUOTE}
Yeah, does seem pointless.

however, id rather the machine still have it than not.

[ThunderZ]

{QUOTE-> Yeah, does seem pointless.

however, id rather the machine still have it than not. <-QUOTE}


Sure should not hurt anything. Just be aware that with the prices OEMs` charge for memory versus you buying it later.....probably raised the cost of the laptop around $150 USD. Then again that really is not much considering the total cost. I just always wondered why manufacturers do this.....other then as a selling point for unknowing users.

As mentioned in some other posts, over heating will probably be your biggest concern.

[C.S.J]

yes, i am aware of the heating issues on laptops.

however, ive used both acer and dell laptops, and acer definatly are cooler.

my dell dual core what i currently have, gets 'that hot!' that i cant even touch it, nevermind have it on my lap.

[Coolio10]

Even 2GB of ram gets the full 5.9 from the Windows Experience Index so it might not be worth 4GB.

[C.S.J]

{QUOTE-> Even 2GB of ram gets the full 5.9 from the Windows Experience Index so it might not be worth 4GB. <-QUOTE}
doesnt on mine.

it gets 5.3

so other things must be taken into account.

[midway40]

I got my Acer laptop over a couple of months ago and things are ok with it. I picked up a cheap sub-$500 5570z just to have to play with and to learn networking (in fact it was due to a conversation we had some time back about laptops that got me into thinking of getting one :) ). This being my first laptop I don't have anything to compare it with but I like it. It is not a gaming machine (my desktop takes that role, more on it later) but it does everything else reasonably well. Cons are the CrystalBrite glare and the battery life (just over two hours). But considering what I paid for it it isn't too bad.

I am typing this laying in bed with it on my lap. There is some warmth on the bottom and on each side of the touchpad (which I am finally getting used to, lol). The "exhaust" on the rear left side emits heat of course and I only hear a fan every now and then.

My main gripe with Acer is lack of documentation, both printed and web based. Luckily there is a Acer laptop forum here (http://forum.notebookreview.com/index.php). I found out how to add Bluetooth to my laptop there.

I was planning on getting a new desktop later this summer. Monday I was on NewEgg's site when I came across this Acer desktop (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103133) with a Quad core, 4 GB Ram, and 750 GB drive for only $750. I could not resist it so I purchased it and had it the next day. Man this thing is quick! And it is quiet too, in fact the DVD drive makes more noise than the CPU fan. Only con is that it has a weak video card, a ATI HD 2600 Pro 256MB which appears to have it's clocking halved and Catalyst cannot change it. I had the same card (but 512MB) in the old Dell and it performed better. Too bad it is an AGP card, lol. I surmise that since the PSU is only around 300w this card was modified to run with it.

Acer is ok as long as you remember the old "you get what you paid for" adage. The laptop and desktop combined costs only $150 more than I paid for the Dell desktop five years ago. But my Acers have a lot more pros than cons.

[farmerlee]

{QUOTE-> yes, i am aware of the heating issues on laptops.

however, ive used both acer and dell laptops, and acer definatly are cooler.

my dell dual core what i currently have, gets 'that hot!' that i cant even touch it, nevermind have it on my lap. <-QUOTE}
Heat shouldn't be an issue. This laptop is using the new penryn processor and nvidia chipset, both are designed to use less power and emit less heat.

[C.S.J]

is the CPU fast enough?

it only gives the model ive shown, no real information about it.

[lodore]

{QUOTE-> is the CPU fast enough?

it only gives the model ive shown, no real information about it. <-QUOTE}
hey Chris,
look here
http://www.intel.com/products/processor/core2duo/specifications.htm?iid=prod_core2duo+tab_spec
it is indeed a very new intel mobile processer.

[C.S.J]

ok, i might purchase it.

one last question before i decide.

what differences are between the T8100 & T5750, are they big differences?

i think its:

3mb cache vs 2mb
800 FSB vs 667 FSB
2.10 vs 2.00

it 'sounds' a big difference, but .. is it?

[HiTech_boy]

{QUOTE-> would it be able to play all the latest games too?
and what would the general peformance be? <-QUOTE}

Generally notebooks/laptops are not gamers' best friend but I guess this configuration will allow you play most of the games . I myself wouldn't buy this laptop - it is Acer . Only Toshiba or Sony (my own opinion - many reasons to pick these two only)

[Inspector Clouseau]

If you want to run some "power" games this laptop sucks. Alone for the fact that it has "only" a 2.1GHz Dual Core (no matter what GFX Card is attached)

I'm using a Dell Laptop XPS M1730 with X7900 CPU and SLI Multi-GFX nVidia.
So far there hasn't be a game that doesn't play with a 120 fps rate. Native Laptop LCD Screen Resolution is 1920x1200 pix. And this Laptop doesn't get hot. Not even a bit.

[C.S.J]

{QUOTE-> If you want to run some "power" games this laptop sucks. Alone for the fact that it has "only" a 2.1GHz Dual Core (no matter what GFX Card is attached)

I'm using a Dell Laptop XPS M1730 with X7900 CPU and SLI Multi-GFX nVidia.
So far there hasn't be a game that doesn't play with a 120 fps rate. Native Laptop LCD Screen Resolution is 1920x1200 pix. And this Laptop doesn't get hot. Not even a bit. <-QUOTE}
well, i wont be playing games like Crysis if thats what you mean, ive seen power-house PC's struggle with games like that.

[Inspector Clouseau]

{QUOTE-> Crysis if thats what you mean, ive seen power-house PC's struggle with games like that. <-QUOTE}

You don't have that problem with the XPS (the >2.8GhZ with 2x nvidia SLI) ;D
Runs all fine with maxed out settings.

[C.S.J]

i saw on a website, that this graphics card still performs well.

for DDR2 (not DDR3 which this laptop has), it said it can still play Doom3 at 'Ultra setting with an average of 86FPS

not too shabby for me.

[lodore]

{QUOTE-> If you want to run some "power" games this laptop sucks. Alone for the fact that it has "only" a 2.1GHz Dual Core (no matter what GFX Card is attached)

I'm using a Dell Laptop XPS M1730 with X7900 CPU and SLI Multi-GFX nVidia.
So far there hasn't be a game that doesn't play with a 120 fps rate. Native Laptop LCD Screen Resolution is 1920x1200 pix. And this Laptop doesn't get hot. Not even a bit. <-QUOTE}
then again nothing will run crysis at full settings and full resolution.
not even that new dual sli desktop graphics card which costs £300.
nice laptop btw=)
you dont have to worry about antivirus software slowing down your gaming:D :D :D

[Inspector Clouseau]

I'm running it with maxed settings.

[lodore]

{QUOTE-> I'm running it with maxed settings. <-QUOTE}
what is the max display resolution your laptop runs at?

[Inspector Clouseau]

My laptop display supports native 1920x1200.

Otherwise i'm using Resolutions > 2560x1600 when i use my external LCD.
(However; than you can't play games in max settings it struggles then)

[C.S.J]

well,

here are some vids of the DDR2 tested which shouldnt be 'as good'

to me, they look impressive.

http://www.gentechpc.com/Asus/Asus_M51Sn_1.wmv
http://www.gentechpc.com/Asus/M51Sn_NFS.wmv
http://www.gentechpc.com/Asus/M51Sn_COD4.wmv

[Sjoeii]

Are you only gaming ? Or what other things do you want to do with it?

[glentrino2duo]

Nice article about 6920: http://natalie1981.blogspot.com/2008/03/acer-aspire-6920.html

[C.S.J]

{QUOTE-> Are you only gaming ? Or what other things do you want to do with it? <-QUOTE}
i do alot of things, but usually.. if i game is good for gaming, its good for most things :)

[C.S.J]

well, its ordered :)

now, the waiting game.....