Looking for new laptop - is this a good buy?

altyfc

I'm looking to buy a new laptop and have come across the Acer Aspire 5920G at £699.97 inc VAT.

Spec is as follows:

Tailored to meet the needs of the advanced home entertainment user it comes packed with all the latest features on the market today and is powered by the Intel Core 2 Duo processor. It is the perfect multimedia-mate sporting a 15.4” wide Acer CrystalBrite display managed by the powerful NVidia GeForce 8600M GS graphics card. The new Aspire 5920 comes with Dolby Home Theatre Virtual Surround sound which offers a superior audio experience and combined with the HD DVD drive it will provide an unsurpassable entertainment experience.
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 - 2GHz (x2), 800MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache
RAM: 2GB DDR2 Low cost double memory offer, call for details!
Hard Drive: 250GB Serial ATA 5400rpm
Screen: 15.4" Widescreen TFT (1280x800) with CrystalBrite Technology
Optical Drive: DVD±RW / HD DVD-ROM Super Multi Double Layer
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS
Wireless LAN: 802.11a/b/g/n
Bluetooth: No
Battery Life (Depending on Use): Upto 3.5 Hours
Weight: 3.0Kg
Warranty: 1 Year Collect and Return
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium
Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000
HDMI Output
S-Video Output
Firewire Port
Card Reader (MMC, MS, MS-pro, SD, XD)
Built-In 0.3 MegaPixel Camera

Does this sound like a good buy to you?

[Deleted User]

Seesm reasonable. It depends what you want to use it for.

Do you play games on it? If not, and you're not gonna use the HDMI output to connect to a Hi-def display for watching HD-DVDs/Blue-ray discs, then its overkill.

If you only want to watch DVDs, surf internet, write letters etc then you need not spend more than £350/400 I'd say.
Windows Vista is bloaty and you need a decent laptop to run all you want. Otherwise, buy one with XP pre-installed instead as it runs quicker.

altyfc

Thanks for the reply.

No, I don't really play games.

I would sooner have Win XP but all the machines I see for sale seem to come with Vista.

I do web design (so use Dreamweaver/Photoshop), online marketing, browse the web, use forums and email a lot. I suppose my kids might also want to watch a DVD on it occasionally if we were away travelling or something. I shall probably use the machine a lot around the house on a wireless network (at the moment, I'm confined to working from a desktop in the study but would like to be more portable within the house).

I would like something that's probably a spec a little beyond what I need, just so it might last for a while to come.

With all this in mind, would anyone care to make alternative suggestions that might be better suited?

Thanks a lot... I really appreciate the help. Although I work in IT, I don't really have much clue when it comes to specs of machines, and what's a good price. I don't want to go down the ultra-cheap route (as I believe you get a false economy with the quality of the machine) so am prepared to pay a bit for extra for quality/reliability.

Thanks again.

altyfc

Oh one other thing I maybe should have mentioned... I would like to be able to run Skype/have a webcam so I can speak to/see friends and relatives in other locations. I am not necessarily worried about the laptop having a camera built in to do this... I just want to be sure that the machine is capable of doing it at a reasonable quality. I guess any in my price bracket probably can, but I'm not sure.

Dingdangdoforme

Have you had a look at Dell website recently, wouldn't know a good spec from a bad one, but there appears to be some very good deals on at present, particularly if you can order whilst the free delivery offer is on and can also locate the 10% off code for a spend of £599 or over (think it's only valid until 9/1).

altyfc

I did look at Dell, yes, but I was rather confused as to which of their machines would suit me best. And when I did select one, and then started adding the extras to make up the spec... well, it then seemed to add up in cost.

altyfc

Any more thoughts anyone?

Thanks

[Deleted User]

I'll ask my husband when he comes home, watch this space. :beer:

17Dave

I have an Acer laptop for business (on recommendation) and have had no problems - battery time accurate for mine - in fact i am happy to recommend Acer as a brand.

Depending on where you buy the laptop from you may be able to ask for XP in place of the dreaded Vista.

ronaldo175

I've had an Acer Ferrari for over 2 years, typing on it now.

Had virtually no problems at all, I'm really happy with it. The battery was dieing a bit last year so I got a replacement battery, so I now get at least 2 hours from it which is nice.

Having a look at your requirements from a laptop I think this Acer would suit you well, very reliable brand from what I have experienced.

altyfc

Thanks everyone... I ordered it today and will be getting it next week. :j