Acer laptop Santa Rosa/Core 2 Duo 1.5GHz/8600M GT/15.4" WXGA/2GB DDR2/160GB HDD/HD-DVD/HDMI/$1099 at Best Buy online

[Dokes]

Doesn't anyone else think this is a pretty good deal? (No one seems to be raving over it in the various deal sites that I've browsed through...)

Acer Aspire Notebook with Intel® Centrino® Duo Mobile Technology
Model: AS5920-6313

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...oduct&id=1179876462320

$1099.99 for a Santa Rosa-based Core 2 Duo w/Vista Home Premium, 15.4" WXGA, 2GB DDR2-667, 160GB HDD, HDMI/VGA/S-vid out/, combo HD-DVD-ROM/DL DVD burner, subwoofer, Dolby Home Theatre certification, integrated webcam, and a DX10 256MB 8600M GT - sign me up! (Wish the CPU was faster than 1.5GHz, but it should suffice.)

Regular price is $1299.99, but it's $200 off instantly for 7/1-7/7. Comparably-configured system through Dell is ~$1500, not including a higher-def drive.

I saw the machine on display at the store, and the two-tone color actually is aesthetically pleasing, as are the curves.

Review of the higher-end $2000 2.0GHz version:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/...31/Acer-Aspire-5920/p1

Unfortunately, I made the mistake of thinking that the best laptop for ~$1000 just last week was an Asus F3T w/Turion 64 X2 TL56 1.8GHz, 1GB, 120GB, DX9 GeForce GO 7600. Premature purchase! I'd rather have this Acer that's on sale at Best Buy!

The other unfortunate thing is that it's so new, there's no in-store stock along the West Coast. (At least according to their website.)

I wish I could do my purchase over...sigh... Too bad NewEgg doesn't take returns on laptops...I'd even be willing to take the hit on a restock fee just to get this Acer...

 

[pontifex]

that does seem like a great deal.

 

[Harmattan]

Yes, apart from the 1.5 ghz C2D, this is a great deal. The 8600M GT mobile is good, but I have a feeling it's bottlenecked by the CPU and performs somewhat worse in DX9 than a 7600 GT. The 160 GB HD and 2GB RAM push this into the HOT category though.

lol, don't you just love stores using patriotism to sell stuff (Stars & Stripes sale)? It's kind of implying "if you don't buy things here, you hate freedom".

 

[vrbaba]

Originally posted by: Harmattan

Yes, apart from the 1.5 ghz C2D, this is a great deal. The 8600M GT mobile is good, but I have a feeling it's bottlenecked by the CPU and performs somewhat worse in DX9 than a 7600 GT. The 160 GB HD and 2GB RAM push this into the HOT category though.

lol, don't you just love stores using patriotism to sell stuff (Stars & Stripes sale)? It's kind of implying "if you don't buy things here, you hate freedom".

LOL, i think u are forgetting 4rth of July coming up. every store has a "stars and stripes" sale

 

[Dokes]

Originally posted by: Harmattan

Yes, apart from the 1.5 ghz C2D, this is a great deal. The 8600M GT mobile is good, but I have a feeling it's bottlenecked by the CPU and performs somewhat worse in DX9 than a 7600 GT.

Yeah, it's always hard to compare GPUs of different series, since the newer architecture and die shrinkage may have a substantial impact on the performance, even if the core and/or memory speeds and/or memory type are noticeably different.

In the example that you bring up, both are 128-bit parts, so that's probably a wash. But the GeForce GO 7600GT has 12 pixel pipes/5 vertex shaders/500 core/600 mem, while the GeForce 8600M GT has 16 pixel pipes/16 vertex shaders/475 core/700mem.

Here's an excellent benchmark chart for most (if not all) current notebook GPUs, which shows the 8600M GT beating the 7600GT in 3Dmark03, 05, and 06:

3Dmark benchmarks for notebook GPUs

Yes, I know that 3Dmark is a synthetic benchmark, but this chart should still give a good idea on relative performance.

Still, I'm not sure whether either the CPU or the GPU are the potential bottlenecks... Haven't found any reviews of such a combo yet...

 

[sparks]

Originally posted by: Harmattan

The 160 GB HD and 2GB RAM push this into the HOT category though.

The HD-DVD burner makes it smoking

 

[Dokes]

Originally posted by: sparks
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Harmattan

The 160 GB HD and 2GB RAM push this into the HOT category though.

</end quote></div>

The HD-DVD burner makes it smoking

Just for clarification, it is a combo drive, meaning it can play HD-DVDs, but can only burn DVDs (+/-/DL).

Then again, I've read elsewhere that some people have had problems viewing HD-DVDs, but no problems w/regular DVDs, so go figure...

If the HD-DVD does indeed work, someone wondered what the use would be, since the laptop display is only WXGA 1280x800, which would only be good enough for 720p content. Well, since the laptop has HDMI out, I assume that one could hook it up to a 1080p TV, no?

 

[middlehead]

I've been meaning to get a laptop, but I don't know if I can swing 1100 right now

 

[iseestars]

Originally posted by: Dokes
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: sparks
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Harmattan

The 160 GB HD and 2GB RAM push this into the HOT category though.

</end quote></div>

The HD-DVD burner makes it smoking</end quote></div>

Just for clarification, it is a combo drive, meaning it can play HD-DVDs, but can only burn DVDs (+/-/DL).

Then again, I've read elsewhere that some people have had problems viewing HD-DVDs, but no problems w/regular DVDs, so go figure...

If the HD-DVD does indeed work, someone wondered what the use would be, since the laptop display is only WXGA 1280x800, which would only be good enough for 720p content. Well, since the laptop has HDMI out, I assume that one could hook it up to a 1080p TV, no?

That's Blu-Ray hype. Yeah the very first players had some issues. Most of the current ones work fine.

 

[deci8]

I just picked this system up, but havne't had a chance to use it yet. I'll post about the 1080p out to tv via hdmi tonight/tomorrow.