OA's possible new notebook+gadgets: Have your say..

[Oleander Ardens]

I'm on the verge of buying a new notebook, trying to get a good compromise between portability, battery life and performance in a good quality package.

Here is my first choice:

Acer Aspire 5920G-302G16MN, GeForce 8600M 512MB (LX.AKS0X.013)

Core 2 Duo T7300 2x 2.00GHz • 2048MB (2x 1024MB) • 160GB • DVD+/-RW DL • NVidia GeForce 8600M GT 512MB max.768MB shared memory • USB 2.0/FireWire/Modem/GB LAN/WLAN 802.11abgn • HDMI • 5in1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS Pro/xD) • Web-/Videokamera (1.3 Megapixel) • 15.4" WXGA TFT (1280x800), 3,00 kg

Price: 1170€

Seems to be a far more solid and sturdy built than usual with a interesting (or terrible) design. A bit heavy it offers (depending on the review) poor to good battery life for a 15,4" "gamer" notebook. It's gaming performance is good, but suffers according slightly from the GDDR2 chip. The 200GB SATA is a slow 4200, I have yet to find out the specs of the 160GB one. Good/Very good but not excellent display. Intels Turbo Memory won't be included as it's benefits are doubtful and it's cost elevated.

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/laptops/0,...90611-1,00.htm


PS: I'm going to buy also a Sennheiser PC166 headset with USB and portable soundcard for 125€, or the standard 161 one for 80€. The 166 seems to be matchless when it comes to sound, comfort and quality, with the 161 being very close. Very important for VoIP, music and gaming.

PSS: I'm will also use Ubuntu on this Notebook, right now I'm checking if everything should work fine.


So what to do you guys think? What is important for you in such a notebook?

[Ramses II CP]

I have a gaming laptop and the best advice I can give you is to buy a second battery, preferrably a 12 cell (Even if they only come with the 'lump' for your model). I see mentioned prominently in reviews of your machine that battery life is 'so-so' (PC World: http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,13...s/article.html) or 'short' which means gaming on 8 cell battery power is probably going to run you around 90 minutes at the most.

Also get an upgrade to that drive. 4200 rpm is simply not acceptable.

And don't talk to me about heavy. I have the notorious (...ly unreliable and overweight) Alienware 7700 from 2+ years ago. A good gaming laptop is gonna be fairly heavy, just remember it's lighter than carrying your desktop rig. If possible I'd strongly recommend getting an up close and personal look at the display. What one person rates as acceptable for a gaming display another may find annoying to the point of unuseability. My AW 17" is, IMHO, dark and ugly with poor options, but acceptable on performance grounds.

As a further FYI, I recommend against Alienware (Now owned by Dell). There's a class action lawsuit in progress over the machine I have now, and over a hundred complaints with the BBB.

GL, other than the battery and the HD it looks like a sweet ride.

[Oleander Ardens]

I have a gaming laptop and the best advice I can give you is to buy a second battery, preferrably a 12 cell (Even if they only come with the 'lump' for your model). I see mentioned prominently in reviews of your machine that battery life is 'so-so' (PC World: http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,13...s/article.html) or 'short' which means gaming on 8 cell battery power is probably going to run you around 90 minutes at the most.

Thanks for that advice. I was thinking about a second battery, but an 8 cell one.

Also get an upgrade to that drive. 4200 rpm is simply not acceptable.

Is it hard to upgrade the drive? I confess that my knowledge of modding a notebook is limited. Does it conflict with the warranty?

And don't talk to me about heavy. I have the notorious (...ly unreliable and overweight) Alienware 7700 from 2+ years ago. A good gaming laptop is gonna be fairly heavy, just remember it's lighter than carrying your desktop rig.

I marched over a fair share of 4000+ m passes in the Himalaya with a 15-20kg ruck so I should be able to bring it to the Uni. But yes 3,00 is not much heavier that the lightest 14" ones (2,2 kg IIRC)

If possible I'd strongly recommend getting an up close and personal look at the display. What one person rates as acceptable for a gaming display another may find annoying to the point of unuseability. My AW 17" is, IMHO
, dark and ugly with poor options, but acceptable on performance grounds.

I will also buy a new 19" or 22" LCD screen for homegaming and surfing. Therefor it will have to take a closer look at the connections and capability of the GPU

UPDATE: The Toshiba 160GB runs at 5400rpm, unlike the 200GB one. Strange that they use the better T7500 Core 2 Duo with such a slow 2,5 hdd. Guess that most people just look at the space...

Thanks for your kind advice.

[Ramses II CP]

My pleasure. :-)

On 90% of laptops changing the hard drive is quite simple (On my box I take out 8 tiny screws and just gently pull the HD cables free). I couldn't find any information on it for your specific model, however, so I can't guarantee anything there. I can't imagine that it would violate your warranty, but there's no way to be sure without asking the issuer of the warranty. I did find a good user review:

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3897

It's very true that most people, especially non-gamers, ignore the HD speed, but it can impact performance and it's such a cheap component to upgrade that there's no reason to risk a performance bottleneck there. If the 5400rpm 160gig drive is your fastest option it will have to do, it's certainly a step up from the 4200.

Your GPU should comfortably drive a 22" at max resolution.

Enjoy it!

[Oleander Ardens]

I hope I will

[DukeofSerbia]

Oleander Ardens
First of all, forget what is written in CNET reviews. They are poor (do not ask why, but for notebooks they are poor).

This Acer Aspire 5920G-302G16MN is not bad at all. I read good review (in one Serbian forum http://www.benchmark.co.yu/forum/sho...d.php?t=136794 – you can see at least real life pictures + various screenshots from test programs).

Just stick with faster 5400rpm 160GB and later buy extended warranty as I think it comes with just 1 year.

The good (from review):
- screen, performances, solid battery’s life
The bad:
- touchpad, design is average (like usb port close to dvd tray wich blocks usage of dvd if you use that usb port)

And this Acer (as many) has problem with heat in left side (buying cooler pad is must).

P.S.
I prefer Toshiba.