15.4" Acer Dual Core Laptop with 2GB RAM, Dual Layer DVDRW, & X1400 GPU!

[TheSiege]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: TheSiege
so i was looking at the bios, ide0 has the HDD ide1 has nothing, and IDE2 has the dvd drive, does this mean i can install another HDD on ide1?

Do you see a place inside that laptop to find another 2.5" hard drive? Just because the port is there doesn't mean you can use it

didnt wanna bother opening it up just yet

 

[fbrdphreak]

 

[Mordak]

I just got mine Sunday. At first I was a little dissapointed with the monitor, but I played with the colors a little and now I feel better. As for 3D I am a World of Warcraft guy so it doesnt need to have an insane card, but I am running it at max settings smoothly even in heavily congested places. So I think this is a great deal at 1300.

 

[roninmagik1]

I am also a World of Warcraft guy and am looking for a decent laptop to play on the go or at Starbucks, etc....this laptop is a little too steep though, from the specs though, it seems like a PERFECT WoW machine!!! (Video limitations on laptops notwithstanding)

 

[agrall]

Is anyone having trouble with their erebates at CompUSA?

For some reason, the printer is showing up, but not the computer!

 

[KnightFall]

Originally posted by: agrall
Is anyone having trouble with their erebates at CompUSA?

For some reason, the printer is showing up, but not the computer!

When did you submit it? I submited on monday, and my rebate didn't show up...
BTW, only submitting your receipt, will qualify us for rebate, is there anything to do??

 

[agrall]

Originally posted by: KnightFall

Originally posted by: agrall
Is anyone having trouble with their erebates at CompUSA?

For some reason, the printer is showing up, but not the computer!

When did you submit it? I submited on monday, and my rebate didn't show up...
BTW, only submitting your receipt, will qualify us for rebate, is there anything to do??

I submitted it on Sunday, I believe...

The status is showing the printer only and saying I do not qualify for the rebate because a computer purchase is required. (???) The computer purchase is on the same receipt!

 

[Nab]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: Nab
Can someone explain to me the difference between a 1.6ghz desktop and a 1.6ghz laptop? I have a 1.6ghz desktop (looking for a laptop upgrade). My brother just got a 1.6ghz dell laptop and it seems to run almost twice as fast as my desktop does. And last question, how does the x1400 compare with the radeon 9600? I'm just trying to figure out if it'll be a good upgrade or not.

It all depends what processor it is. Clock speed is not everything.

You probably have an old Pentium 4 desktop CPU. What it comes down to is how much work a CPU can do per clock cycle. The higher Instructions Per Clock (IPC), the higher performance it has than a CPU at the same exact clock speed. The Pentium M CPU in your brother's Dell laptop can do approximately 1.75 times more work per clock cycle than your Pentium 4. Thus, at the same clock speed, it wipes the floor with your desktop!

Here is a rough estimation of performance:

1.8GHz Pentium M = 2.0GHz Athlon 64 = 3.0GHz Pentium 4 (Prescott Core)

That is just a rough estimate, and each CPU has strengths & weaknesses. So while the Athlon 64 & Pentium M will kick ass in gaming, the Pentium 4 will be very fast in video/audio encoding.

This is a very simply explanation, I hope it helps.

oh, that's exactly the information that i was looking for, thanks . Since this laptop is a 1.6 Due, will that roughly be a 2.8 P4 ? (i need a nice little chart!!)

 

[imported_glenb2]

I picked this laptop up and have been very satisfied. The video will only be inadequate for a relatively select few games. Just wanted to mention that the sata 5400 hdd in this laptop outperformed my hitachi 7200 in my old laptop (a64 3000+) using sisoft sandra. NCQ I assume. Also Acer has rated this laptop at 3.5hrs w/ the built in USB 2.0 WebCam. Given the MS driver bug affecting battery life of core duos w/ usb 2.0 devices, I'm hoping it will get another 45mins or so. Windows reports the battery is made by Sony too. Great buy especially if you have a gaming desktop already.

 

[overclock]

I love how Intel made fun of AMD with the Performance Rating, ie 4400+, but they got trapped because their mobile processors are so much faster than their desktops. Personally I like the AMD's PR because it gives you a point of reference.

I am really debating this laptop. I love having a laptop as powerful as my desktop. My wife would kill me. Maybe not kill me but definitely mame me in some some way.

 

[hytek369]

is the screen glossy like some of the sony and HP?

 

[overclock]

I was about to pull the trigger on this but started doing some more research. As it turns out the Core Duo chip with the Yonah core is not 64 bit. Granted it is not essential at this time but I wanted this laptop to be the last laptop I purchased for a long time and with Microshaft ending support for XP Home at the end of this year and Vista going to be a 64 bit OS it would be nice to have a 64 bit cpu. AMD leapfrogged Intel in a major way with the 64 bit Athlon. Oh well. Saved my dough.

 

[agrall]

Originally posted by: hytek369
is the screen glossy like some of the sony and HP?

Yes.

 

[maximusfarticus]

Originally posted by: overclock
I was about to pull the trigger on this but started doing some more research. As it turns out the Core Duo chip with the Yonah core is not 64 bit. Granted it is not essential at this time but I wanted this laptop to be the last laptop I purchased for a long time and with Microshaft ending support for XP Home at the end of this year and Vista going to be a 64 bit OS it would be nice to have a 64 bit cpu. AMD leapfrogged Intel in a major way with the 64 bit Athlon. Oh well. Saved my dough.

Vista will come in 32 bit versions as well. It is planned to be the final 32 bit MS operating System.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: overclock
I was about to pull the trigger on this but started doing some more research. As it turns out the Core Duo chip with the Yonah core is not 64 bit. Granted it is not essential at this time but I wanted this laptop to be the last laptop I purchased for a long time and with Microshaft ending support for XP Home at the end of this year and Vista going to be a 64 bit OS it would be nice to have a 64 bit cpu. AMD leapfrogged Intel in a major way with the 64 bit Athlon. Oh well. Saved my dough.

If you re-read that article, even the author believes MS will extend XP Home support. Considering the majority of consumer laptops & desktops come with XP Home, they will not stop providing updates at the end of this year.

And as the other poster pointed out, Vista will be 32-bit as well. But I have to agree that if you're investing money in a laptop, I'd wait for Merom/AMD dual core

 

[waxking1]

I checked the bus speed and mine is 666.7. I really like the laptop but the battery life seems to be quite short. Its been lasting only around 2 hours. Anyone else getting short battery life?

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: waxking1
I checked the bus speed and mine is 666.7. I really like the laptop but the battery life seems to be quite short. Its been lasting only around 2 hours. Anyone else getting short battery life?

667 is the proper bus speed.

In terms of battery life, what capacity battery do you have? This unit has an integrated webcam right? Might wanna look into the MS power consumption bug:
http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=2693

 

[imported_chuckey]

I'm getting about 2.5-3 hours on mine (mostly surfing and playing with perl, bt off). I'm checking how much the battery will last me with a clean install of xp pro, but it seems about the same. I have to say, the acer power management software is really decent, a lot better than the default windows one.

 

[waxking1]

I've already looked into the USB bug. My computer had the correct registry entry already. Seems even with the fix this is still a problem. I guess the webcam may cause shorter battery life but I have read that there is no easy way to disable it. I may just need to play with the power management some more. I would like to have at least 2.5 to 3 hrs.

 

[hytek369]

Originally posted by: agrall

Originally posted by: hytek369
is the screen glossy like some of the sony and HP?

Yes.

awesome. that really puts the icing on the cake

 

[TheSiege]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: waxking1
I checked the bus speed and mine is 666.7. I really like the laptop but the battery life seems to be quite short. Its been lasting only around 2 hours. Anyone else getting short battery life?

667 is the proper bus speed.

In terms of battery life, what capacity battery do you have? This unit has an integrated webcam right? Might wanna look into the MS power consumption bug:
http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=2693

ive done all the upgrades, and it fixes it for me, or it atleast puts that registy info in, i didnt check it before tho

 

[batmanuel]

Originally posted by: overclock
I was about to pull the trigger on this but started doing some more research. As it turns out the Core Duo chip with the Yonah core is not 64 bit. Granted it is not essential at this time but I wanted this laptop to be the last laptop I purchased for a long time and with Microshaft ending support for XP Home at the end of this year and Vista going to be a 64 bit OS it would be nice to have a 64 bit cpu. AMD leapfrogged Intel in a major way with the 64 bit Athlon. Oh well. Saved my dough.

I'm kinda skeptical about XP Home support ending. They've made noises about ending support for Windows 98 multiple times, but it's STILL being supported until the middle of this year.

We see this cycle every couple of years. MS says they won't support an old OS, people bitch and then they extend the support. Considering that the underlying code is almost identical between the two platforms, I don't even see how they could write a security update for XP Pro and not have it also work on Home. This is the usual BS from MS to get people to upgrade.

 

[dementedlemur]

Originally posted by: overclock
I was about to pull the trigger on this but started doing some more research. As it turns out the Core Duo chip with the Yonah core is not 64 bit. Granted it is not essential at this time but I wanted this laptop to be the last laptop I purchased for a long time and with Microshaft ending support for XP Home at the end of this year and Vista going to be a 64 bit OS it would be nice to have a 64 bit cpu. AMD leapfrogged Intel in a major way with the 64 bit Athlon. Oh well. Saved my dough.

"The end result is that Windows XP Home will leave Mainstream Support and enter online support on January 1, 2007?in less than a year.

That's pretty much where Win98 and Win2000 is at. The only time I need "mainstream" support is when I have to jump through their hoops and call to activate windows after a reformat. Hopefully they'll account for that some way when they push everything to online support.

 

[kitkit201]

so what is the battery life after the usb fix posted by Anand and MS?

 

[KnightFall]

Originally posted by: kitkit201
so what is the battery life after the usb fix posted by Anand and MS?

First u don't need to fix it, 'cause it's already fixed...
Second, it is completely depending on your usage, usually most people getting 2.5-3.0 hours.