Acer Laptop

[Alfahorn]

I need to buy a new computer this weekend. Because of the limited space I have a need a lap top and I'm thinking of buy this.


http://www.acerdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_9303WSMi_L...

Any opinions?

[cromptonenator]

I wouldn't recommend, unless you want to upgrade to XP. That processor sucks- 1.83 is needed for any kind of multi-tasking.
Asus is a better choice for that kind of money - or a low end Dell Studio. My personal favourite and choice was a Toshiba A300 Mid-Spec, which is a bit beyond your budget.
Also, having used that particular model, I found that the plastic feels cheap and made with a
production method derived from Pringles.

Don't forget the Microsoft Gospel Either-
Chapter 5 Verse 12: "Take heed, You shall not have less than 2 gigabytes if Vista will be run, for otherwise there will be suffering without relief"

You could always upgrade the RAM though to two gigabytes, should cost you about £9 from Crucial.co.uk.

Edited by cromptonenator on Saturday 23 August 21:27

[Ganglandboss]

How are you posting this then?

[Flip Martian]

I can recommend Acer laptops overall - I've had one for 3 years and it has not even needed reformatting/reinstalling in that time. Rarely crashes either. I bought a cheaper one for my OH last year and that has probably had "light use" (unlike mine which gets used for audio ripping and even some games) and again has proved fine for the task given to it - her only gripe is she hates Vista as its so slow to get through to do anything. Again, her's has never given her a problem otherwise.

[Simond001]

cromptonenator said:

I wouldn't recommend, unless you want to upgrade to XP. That processor sucks- 1.83 is needed for any kind of multi-tasking.
Asus is a better choice for that kind of money - or a low end Dell Studio. My personal favourite and choice was a Toshiba A300 Mid-Spec, which is a bit beyond your budget.
Also, having used that particular model, I found that the plastic feels cheap and made with a
production method derived from Pringles.

Don't forget the Microsoft Gospel Either-
Chapter 5 Verse 12: "Take heed, You shall not have less than 2 gigabytes if Vista will be run, for otherwise there will be suffering without relief"

You could always upgrade the RAM though to two gigabytes, should cost you about £9 from Crucial.co.uk.

Edited by cromptonenator on Saturday 23 August 21:27

is this memory upgrade lark easy. I have a compaq f500 that needs more cylinders

[coolcatmaz]

Bought an Acer last year. Never ever again, it went back several times to be repaired and they never could find the fault.

I exchanged it for a replacement in the end and got a Fujitsu Siemens.

[y2blade]

i'm very pleased with my Acer 5720z and would deffo buy another one

i've had mine a while now and its faultless

see here http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Edited by y2blade on Saturday 23 August 21:41

[VxDuncan]

I'd never buy another acer. Had a desktop - okay for a couple of years then hardware started failing (not windows installation). Laptop lasted a couple of years then the wierd HW faults started. Had to rid out the built in wireless daughter board after it starated locking up. Fixed for a couple of months, now have motherboard error on startup (not the BIOS cell, tried replacing that).

Even the Dell tripe we use at work are more reliable (docking stations aside!).

Don't forget to check the battery life - cheap consumer laptops tend to come with very poor batteries

[cromptonenator]

Simond001 said:

cromptonenator said:

I wouldn't recommend, unless you want to upgrade to XP. That processor sucks- 1.83 is needed for any kind of multi-tasking.
Asus is a better choice for that kind of money - or a low end Dell Studio. My personal favourite and choice was a Toshiba A300 Mid-Spec, which is a bit beyond your budget.
Also, having used that particular model, I found that the plastic feels cheap and made with a
production method derived from Pringles.

Don't forget the Microsoft Gospel Either-
Chapter 5 Verse 12: "Take heed, You shall not have less than 2 gigabytes if Vista will be run, for otherwise there will be suffering without relief"

You could always upgrade the RAM though to two gigabytes, should cost you about £9 from Crucial.co.uk.

Edited by cromptonenator on Saturday 23 August 21:27

is this memory upgrade lark easy. I have a compaq f500 that needs more cylinders

Extremely Easy. Just unscrew the middle "hatch" underneath, drain the static by earthing yourself, take old ones out - new ones in.

[AngryS3Owner]

I used to work for Acer and I can safely say the laptops were very well built when I worked there, yes as with all manufacturers there are models with issues however most had a very good warranty failure rate.

I probably shouldn't comment anymore as I used to be responsible for most of the warranty repairs in the UK.

[Rocket Pepper]

AngryS3Owner said:

I used to work for Acer and I can safely say the laptops were very well built when I worked there, yes as with all manufacturers there are models with issues however most had a very good warranty failure rate.

I probably shouldn't comment anymore as I used to be responsible for most of the warranty repairs in the UK.

No, you should post. I'd rather take your word than those who haven't had the inside experience and knowledge you've had. I've just been given an Acer Travel something, and it suits me perfect. In fact, I was really chuffed when I noticed Rossi's leathers at Laguna. They had an Acer logo on the front top left. I'm sure Vale loves his

[Disco_Biscuit]

y2blade said:

i'm very pleased with my Acer 5720z and would deffo buy another one

i've had mine a while now and its faultless

see here http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Edited by y2blade on Saturday 23 August 21:41

I also have a 5720z and its cracking for the money, paid £350 from asda, i did junk vista for xp and put a 160gb drive in, its fairly fast and deals with ripping dvd's etc whilst multi-tasking no problem.

Battery is a bit poor though.

[y2blade]

Disco_Biscuit said:

y2blade said:

i'm very pleased with my Acer 5720z and would deffo buy another one

i've had mine a while now and its faultless

see here http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Edited by y2blade on Saturday 23 August 21:41

I also have a 5720z and its cracking for the money, paid £350 from asda, i did junk vista for xp and put a 160gb drive in, its fairly fast and deals with ripping dvd's etc whilst multi-tasking no problem.

Battery is a bit poor though.

i got mine for £300 and i dont ever use it withough the powerlead plugged in so i cant comment on the battery life

it deals with everything very well and the screen is very clear and bright,imho its the best laptop you can get for £300

[SPR2]

Had my Acer bought for me a couple of Christmas's back only problem was a failed power supply this year £14.99 to replace. Would know what mine is just know it does what I need it do.

[simba1]

Bought my Acer Aspire 1310 in 2003 when in uni. Still going strong except the battery died a couple of years ago and had to be replaced. Ok, I've upgraded the RAM, HDD and DVDRW but by choice rather than faulty hardware. I'll gladly buy another one.

[Dogwatch]

Acer Travelmate 4002 bought a few years back. Still going strong BUT on its third HDD - The Acer one lasted only 18 months, as did the aftermarket replacement. No issues with the rest of the hardware - pretty solidly built.

[AngryS3Owner]

Rocket Pepper said:

No, you should post. I'd rather take your word than those who haven't had the inside experience and knowledge you've had.

Well from my experience which was a few years ago other than some very cheap desktops pretty much all the Acer stuff was very well built except a few models which had some common issues which were always looked after even after they would have been out of the standard warranty.

Dogwatch said:

Still going strong BUT on its third HDD - The Acer one lasted only 18 months, as did the aftermarket replacement. No issues with the rest of the hardware - pretty solidly built.

Bearing in mind that Acer don't make HDDs and it's more than likely either Fujitsu or Hitatchi (as are the replacements) as they make a vast majority of them for all companies there's not really that much they can do about that.

[Simond001]

cromptonenator said:

Simond001 said:

cromptonenator said:

I wouldn't recommend, unless you want to upgrade to XP. That processor sucks- 1.83 is needed for any kind of multi-tasking.
Asus is a better choice for that kind of money - or a low end Dell Studio. My personal favourite and choice was a Toshiba A300 Mid-Spec, which is a bit beyond your budget.
Also, having used that particular model, I found that the plastic feels cheap and made with a
production method derived from Pringles.

Don't forget the Microsoft Gospel Either-
Chapter 5 Verse 12: "Take heed, You shall not have less than 2 gigabytes if Vista will be run, for otherwise there will be suffering without relief"

You could always upgrade the RAM though to two gigabytes, should cost you about £9 from Crucial.co.uk.

Edited by cromptonenator on Saturday 23 August 21:27

is this memory upgrade lark easy. I have a compaq f500 that needs more cylinders

Extremely Easy. Just unscrew the middle "hatch" underneath, drain the static by earthing yourself, take old ones out - new ones in.

cool, I have 1gb at the moment, so do i buy 1 1gb thingy or do i need to buy 2 of them?

http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/listparts.aspx?mod...

Edited by Simond001 on Monday 25th August 20:25

[Alfahorn]

I need to make a decision today and it's between these two;

http://www.acerdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_7720Z_Lapt...

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.js...

Sorry about the long link....

[y2blade]

ACER