Acer Aspire
Acer Aspire — A Brief Evaluation
I recently found myself in will need of a new laptop. With a tight budget and moderate needs, I knew it wasn’t going to be simple to locate a product that would do what I wanted and nonetheless be in my price range.
As a Network Technician along with a Web Designer, I needed a machine that would have sufficient storage to store all my software program, projects for my customers, and nonetheless be able to handle an occasional temporary operating system backup from a client’s machine. The qualifying candidate also had to have a decent amount of RAM and a reasonably fast processor to maintain up with the demands of multitasking and utilizing Studio MX ’04 on a everyday basis.
At initial, I checked the auction sites, the refurbished outlets, as well as the wholesale warehouses. I observed a number of great offers for below $500, but nothing that would deal with the processing load that Studio MX 2004 would spot on it. The typical machine had 256MB of PC133 RAM, a 20GB HDD, and also a 1.0GHz Pentium processor. Not too shabby for a student machine, but for every day service inside the fields I work in, not almost sufficient space or power to maintain up with my demands.
I quickly realized that a brand new laptop could be needed so that you can meet my needs. Realizing that most decent laptops are priced at over $1,000, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot when I began shopping around. Nevertheless, to my surprise, a local retail chain had a unique running on the Acer Aspire 3004WLCi for $600 right after a $150 rebate. This was the top finish of my budget, but the specs had been far more than what I believed I would come across in this cost range.
Fast Specs:
AMD Mobile Sempron 3100+ (1.8GHz) w/ 256K L2 cache
512MB DDR333 SODIM RAM (expandable to 2GB)
60GB 4200rpm Hard Disk Drive
15.4 Wide Screen WXGA Monitor
CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo Drive
three USB 2.0 Ports (1 front / 2 side)
Front Audio / Microphone jacks
Integrated Microphone / Speakers
Integrated Audio Controller
Integrated Video Controller (up to 128MB shared)
Integrated 56Kbps Data/Fax Modem
Integrated 802.3 10/100 Ethernet NIC
Integrated 802.11b/g WiFi
Maximum display resolution: 1280 x 800
External monitor maximum resolution: 2048 x 1536
1 sort II PCMCIA Slot
AC Power Adapter / 4-cell lithium-ion battery
1.5″Hx14.3″Wx11″D / 6.2lb. w/ Battery
Microsoft Windows XP Home SP2
OK, just before I go into the Pros and Cons of this program, let me initial say this… As a Network technician, I’m a bit of a stranger to Acer goods. I’ve seen them prior to, but I’ve in no way employed them. In an industry dominated by Dells and HPs, Acer seemed much more of an “off-brand” to me. With that in thoughts, I wasn’t expecting a entire lot for my cash. Fortunately, I was not disappointed, but neither was I entirely incorrect.
Also, it truly is worthy to note that before I utilized this machine, XP Residence was trashed in favor of XP Professional SP2 and I went by means of the system and performed many minor software performance tweaks on the operating program; all of which might be performed utilizing the native Windows XP Pro utilities.
Pros:
The Acer Aspire 3004 WLCi is often a reasonably powerful method for $600. Even at the original $750, this system is tough to beat in the efficiency department. The Sempron 3100+ processor is surprisingly quick and capable. It handled running Dreamweaver MX 2004, Fireworks MX 2004, Microsoft Word 2003, Microsoft OneNote 2003, Firefox 1.5, World wide web Explorer 6.0, Opera 8.5, Resize Browser, CPick, Java JRE, NOD32 Anti-Virus, Hotmail Popper, and a number of method services and minor utilities running within the background simultaneously and didn’t complain or create any unacceptable sustained CPU usage spikes. This is partly due to the generous and rapidly 512MB of DDR333 RAM, but even so, the processor shocked this long-time AMD user.
The 60GB hard drive offers an ample amount of storage for typical users. It is on the lower end of my requirements, but sufficiently significant enough to manage all my installed computer software, over 12GB of service computer software needed for service calls, all my client projects, and it nonetheless has sufficient space left over to quickly accommodate a 20GB client program backup.
Additionally, this method has a really great Broadcom WiFi controller. In my three story townhouse, which has superb insulation, this method might be utilized anyplace in my home having a signal strength of “Very Good” to “Excellent”.
The system is ergonomically laid out. I’ve rather large hands, and most contemporary laptops are entirely too little for me to realistically use for any extended time period. Normally, within 20 or 30 minutes, my wrists and hands begin to ache from attempting to maintain a really unnatural position in order to form the documents I’m working on. Not so using the Aspire 3000 series. These laptops have a reasonably huge chassis having a keypad which is almost best for someone with massive hands. I’ve really identified that I can type almost as quick (roughly 35wpm) on this laptop as I can on my desktop program that has an ergonomic split keyboard (40wpm).
Cons:
If you are searching for a Multimedia method, or in case you strategy to do any graphics intensive gaming, preserve on looking; this program is not for you. Even with the widescreen WXGA display, this machine will not be nicely suited for watching DVDs. The integrated video controller is only acceptable and the monitor needs loads of “fiddling” with so that you can locate the “just right” position for viewing. Furthermore, the glare on the display of this unit is terrible. I’ve found that in most brightly lit rooms I’m spending additional time straining my eyes to see past my own reflection. Also, the viewing angle is unimpressive. If you try to view the display from something better than 15 degrees in any direction, you are either searching at a washed out or negative variation of the original. I’ve never been a huge fan of LCD. I’ve generally felt that a high quality CRT constantly looks far better, but this display is far more reminiscent of a LCD of three years ago than a brand new item.
The integrated audio and video controllers are a definite sore spot at the same time. I’ve often preferred expansion controllers over integrated controllers, but in this price range, I knew I would be stuck using the so-so top quality of an integrated controller. No surprise here. As usual, the good quality and efficiency is sub-par with these controllers, but for my needs, they do the job. Even so, if you plan on listening to any audio playback on this machine, you had greater pack a quality set of headphones. The tiny speakers on this machine are terrible sounding. Once more, no huge surprise.
Now, about battery life. I do not know who was in charge of defining this aspect of this machine, but they want a checkup from the neck up. Battery performance on this machine is certainly unacceptable. Unless you tune the method down drastically, it truly is extremely difficult to squeeze more than an hour of genuine usable time out of this system’s battery life. The manufacturer states that it is going to run for 1.five hours on the battery. I’ve never been able to obtain much more than an hour out of the unit. In this day and age, this is just not acceptable. Fortunately, you will discover extremely couple of occasions when I have to use this system exactly where I’m not close to a power outlet.
My only other significant complaint will be the lack of expandability of this program. You get two SODIM memory card slots (filled with 256MBx2 sticks from the factory), three USB 2.0 ports as well as a Form II PCMCIA slot on this machine, and that’s it. No internal expansion capabilities, no firewire, no serial or parallel connections, and you cannot swap out the combo drive easily. Given the cost range of this program, I’m really not surprised, but I’m a bit disappointed. Fortunately, there are an abundance of USB adapters available that allow me to do whatever is needed.
Summary:
Should you just will need a basic system for work or school related tasks the Acer Aspire 3004WLCi is a solid performer that could deal with common use with ease. I would absolutely recommend this unit to college college students or traveling experts who require an affordable, user-friendly laptop, but who do not plan on making use of their laptop on batteries really generally, or who don’t intend on playing several games or movies. For the cost conscious buyers available, this method is certainly worth the dollars. In my humble opinion, you get far more than what you pay for, but not by much.
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