Acer laptops cheaper than the rest, why?
Discussion
Ive had 4 over the years and admit Im pretty hard on them, they get dragged to work and back each day and are on all day every day.
The first from around 2002 is retired but still going well minus the battery, second 2 died just out of warranty and Acer didnt want to know. The third I bought just last January to replace a cracking Asus that lasted over 3 years ( a record for me ) but its a hateful thing to use. Its a 7xxx series that had a great spec for the price but has a cheap nasty feel to it. Awful keyboard and trackpad, flimsy build, nasty screen and after less than a year the battery life is down to about 45min.
Overall Id say for light use theyre probably ok as the things that wind me up using it 8 hours a day probably woulnt if I only got it out for an hour in the evening, but they are chap for a reason.
The first from around 2002 is retired but still going well minus the battery, second 2 died just out of warranty and Acer didnt want to know. The third I bought just last January to replace a cracking Asus that lasted over 3 years ( a record for me ) but its a hateful thing to use. Its a 7xxx series that had a great spec for the price but has a cheap nasty feel to it. Awful keyboard and trackpad, flimsy build, nasty screen and after less than a year the battery life is down to about 45min.
Overall Id say for light use theyre probably ok as the things that wind me up using it 8 hours a day probably woulnt if I only got it out for an hour in the evening, but they are chap for a reason.
I used to work for them (for quite a while), from what I saw whilst working there they are no better or worse than other makes, yes some models were s
t but as a whole they're good.
The more expensive series were / are very good IMO I've still got a laptop from when I left and it's brilliant to this day and that's from a good few years ago.
I can't think of a reason why I wouldn't buy one that was the spec I was after, I just wish they did some of the 'ferrari' range in less bling cases.
PS. Most of the 'bits' are actually made by the same people whoever you buy your laptop from.
t but as a whole they're good.The more expensive series were / are very good IMO I've still got a laptop from when I left and it's brilliant to this day and that's from a good few years ago.
I can't think of a reason why I wouldn't buy one that was the spec I was after, I just wish they did some of the 'ferrari' range in less bling cases.
PS. Most of the 'bits' are actually made by the same people whoever you buy your laptop from.
got a 2003 acer notebook (high end AMD), still runs OK (is my spare PC).... treat em well & they'll last ages ... mess them around & you'll shorten their life
Can matter very little what brand you buy as chances are they're all put together by the same company ... same company assembles HP, Sony & Macbooks etc etc
Can matter very little what brand you buy as chances are they're all put together by the same company ... same company assembles HP, Sony & Macbooks etc etc
Edited by barky on Friday 31st December 16:38
Another vote for Acers - I've had a Travelmate for 5.5 years - only problems are a battery that now lasts about 15 mins tops (!) and the dvd tray door hanging off. Its starting to take ages to wake up sometimes now but its been faultless - never needed a rebuild, rarely crashed.
I recommended "budget" sub 500 quid ones for 2 girlfriends (at separate times in my life!
) and they've been faultless too.
I recommended "budget" sub 500 quid ones for 2 girlfriends (at separate times in my life!
) and they've been faultless too.Another vote in the Acer camp here. I needed a cheap machine when my HP carked it the day before going away on holiday so bought a cheapie Acer Aspire. It's been running beautifully for 18 months now, not needed anything doing to it. I DID rip Vista off and put W7 on when it launched, that's all. I'd buy another one without hesitation. I'm not a heavy user of mine, but it still works perfectly and looks brand new.
I wouldn't buy another HP, and my experience of Dell laptops at work has put me off them too. I would, however, have another ThinkPad in a heartbeat (which we used to use at work and were almost indestructible).
I wouldn't buy another HP, and my experience of Dell laptops at work has put me off them too. I would, however, have another ThinkPad in a heartbeat (which we used to use at work and were almost indestructible).
Unless you need a laptop for 'all day, every day' business use, I would absolutely recommend Acer. Better spec at every price point and very good lifespan. Comments regarding battery life are somewhat misplaced IMO, as most desktop replacement sized laptops rarely fare well away from a dedicated/continuous mains supply.
I'm in the acer camp as well. Bought one a few years ago for my computer course at college (£391 IIRC). Took it everywhere with me in a rucksack. It got used for everything including playing games it wasn't designed to run (integrated chipset) so the CPU was running at full capacity most of the time. Basically it got treated like I hated it.
Just under a year after purchase there was a problem with the BIOS meaning that it wouldn't boot up. Rang customer support helpline who were very helpful (Just make sure you keep all orignal packaging, reciept etc.) They arranged to pick it up next day by courier. Got it back just over a week later - they had replaced the motherboard, CPU and quite a few other bits, all free of charge as it was still under the 1 year warranty (barely). So thumbs up for their customer service, something my mate can't say when his 6 week old XPS packed in. a
I continued to use it until I sold it last month for £220 on Ebay (completed the course so now have a desktop). The only problem I had regarding build quality TBH was that the left click button on the touchpad didn't sit flush, but as I used it on a table with a proper mouse it never really bothered me.
Both my parents and my sister have an Acer laptop each which are just used for Facebook/general internet surfing type duties and no problems yet. So a definite thumbs up from me.
Just under a year after purchase there was a problem with the BIOS meaning that it wouldn't boot up. Rang customer support helpline who were very helpful (Just make sure you keep all orignal packaging, reciept etc.) They arranged to pick it up next day by courier. Got it back just over a week later - they had replaced the motherboard, CPU and quite a few other bits, all free of charge as it was still under the 1 year warranty (barely). So thumbs up for their customer service, something my mate can't say when his 6 week old XPS packed in. a
I continued to use it until I sold it last month for £220 on Ebay (completed the course so now have a desktop). The only problem I had regarding build quality TBH was that the left click button on the touchpad didn't sit flush, but as I used it on a table with a proper mouse it never really bothered me.
Both my parents and my sister have an Acer laptop each which are just used for Facebook/general internet surfing type duties and no problems yet. So a definite thumbs up from me.
At work we have 5 old Acer laptops (these are now 5 years old).
The only problems we've had, are.. ermm wait - we haven't had any problems!
Add to this a CTO who put his into his laptop bag whilst still switched on! It survived.
Only complaints from users are that they run too hot - but perhaps that's resolved with later models.
The Acer laptops did have a very bad rep back about 6 - 7 years ago, but of those folk I've known to have them as personal (as against business) laptops, have had no complaints whatsoever.
I would go as far as to say they are probably more reliable than Sony laptops, but then the Vaio models tend to be form over function.
Our CTO is on his 2nd Vaio (the very small one, model number escapes me right now) but they are REALLY slow.
For business I'll choose HP every time, although I think the more recent offerings have dropped a peg or two in quality.
Dell are ok as well, I use a 17" Studio at home (along with my MacBook) and that has been good.
IMHO the ones to avoid are eMachines, Packard Bell and the like.
The only problems we've had, are.. ermm wait - we haven't had any problems!
Add to this a CTO who put his into his laptop bag whilst still switched on! It survived.
Only complaints from users are that they run too hot - but perhaps that's resolved with later models.
The Acer laptops did have a very bad rep back about 6 - 7 years ago, but of those folk I've known to have them as personal (as against business) laptops, have had no complaints whatsoever.
I would go as far as to say they are probably more reliable than Sony laptops, but then the Vaio models tend to be form over function.
Our CTO is on his 2nd Vaio (the very small one, model number escapes me right now) but they are REALLY slow.
For business I'll choose HP every time, although I think the more recent offerings have dropped a peg or two in quality.
Dell are ok as well, I use a 17" Studio at home (along with my MacBook) and that has been good.
IMHO the ones to avoid are eMachines, Packard Bell and the like.
Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff