Is this a good laptop for college?

matthias00

Hey, I'm tired of hauling my 7 year old desktop up to school and back down for breaks. I also don't have much money to spend on a laptop. I'm looking at an Acer Aspire AS5535, and all the reviews sound really positive. I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with this laptop, Acer as a brand, ordering from circuit city, anything like that.

Specs copied from website:

Display Type: WXGA CineCrystalâ„¢ TFT LCD

Screen Size: 15.6"

Maximum Resolution: 1366 x 768

Memory Type: DDR2

Memory Size: 3GB

Memory Slots (Total): 2

Memory Slots (Filled): 2

Memory Slots (Available): 0

Maximum Memory Supported: 4GB (Up to 1 GB may not be available due to 32-bit operating system resource requirements)

Capacity: 320GB

HDD/SSD Drives Included: 1x 320GB

Drive Types: Hard Drive

Hard Drive Speed: 5400 RPM

Lifestyle: Home & Student

Condition: New

Operating Systems: Windows Vista Home Premium

Startup Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® Vista Home Premium

Optional Operating Systems: Microsoft® Windows® Vista Family (available separately)

Operating System Licenses Included: Microsoft® Windows® Vista Home Premium

Platform: Notebook PC

Expansion Ports: 1 - Express Card Slot/54

Processor Brand: AMD

Processor Class: Athlon 64 X2

Processor Type: Dual-Core

Processor Speed: 2.10GHz

Processor Number: QL-64

Processor FSB: 667MHz

Processor Cache: 1MB L2 Cache

Graphics Description: Dedicated Graphics

GPU/VPU: ATI Radeonâ„¢ HD 3200

Video Memory: 256MB Dedicated + Up to 1792MB of shared memory

Video Interface: VGA

Optical Drive Type: DVD Super-Multi Dual Layer

Supplemental Drive Type: Media Reader

Capacity: 5-in-1

Media Types: SecureDigital
Memory Stick
xD-Picture Card
Memory Stick PRO
Multi Media Card

Audio Description: Integrated Audio

Audio Chipset: Hi-Definition (HD) Audio Support

Audio Channels: Built-in Stereo Speakers

Audio Input: 1- Microphone input port

Audio Output: 1 - Headphone output port

PS/2 Mouse Connectors: N/A

PS/2 Keyboard Connectors: N/A

Serial Communication Ports: N/A

Parallel Ports: N/A

USB Ports: 3

FireWire Ports: N/A

Fast Infrared Ports (FIR): N/A

LAN Ports: 1

Modem Ports: 1

Audio Out Jacks: 1

Line In Jacks: N/A

Microphone Jacks: 1

VGA Ports: 1

S-Video Connectors: N/A

DVI Video: N/A

HDMI Ports: N/A

Port Replicator/Connector: N/A

eSATA Ports: N/A

Communications Description: Integrated LAN
Integrated Modem
Integrated Wireless LAN

Interface Type: RJ-11 Phone Connector
RJ-45 Ethernet Connector
802.11b/g/n Wireless Networking

Data Transfer Rate: 56Kbps Modem
10/100/1000Mbps Network
Up to 300 Mbps

Protocols: V.92
WIFI
802.11b
802.11g
802.11n

Width: 15.1"

Height: 0.6" - 1.5"

Depth: 9.9"

Weight: 5.94 lbs

Mouse Type: Touch Pad

Buttons: 2

Battery Type: 6-Cell Lithium-ion

Battery Life: Up to 3 hours

Integrated Webcam: Yes

Webcam Resolution: 0.3MP

From the reviews I've read, the video card is enough to run some games at low settings, but overall isn't very good. Just how bad is it exactly? The most detailed review implied that it could do most things besides FPSes fine, but that doesn't really give me much info.

Also, since I've never owned a webcam before, I have no idea how good/bad 0.3MP is. I want to get into the whole skyping thing so I can talk to my friends from home and stuff, so if I have that webcam, will I be able to do that well at all?

Jasconius

You could probably do better for that price at the Dell Outlet.


outlet.dell.com


It's not terrible, but it's not going to run any cutting edge games made in the last few years well at all.

Mike Danger

With regards to the webcam, the "iSight" camera on the MacBook is 0.3 MP, and I think the picture is sufficiently clear for videochattin'.

ronya

Doesn't look like it comes with a Windows 7 upgrade, so waiting until Windows 7 hits the streets is probably better.

Games: you need to specify exactly what games you have in mind. Crysis? :rotate:

Your anticipated college usage scenario would also beuseful... some students like dragging their notebook into every lecture to take notes (and surf the internet, but such as it is). Some students leave theirs in their room 24/7. Game-capable laptops tend to be larger and heavier and such. This particular Acer doesn't seem to focus on anything in particular (three hour battery life, on those specs? Huh).

Don't think too much about the built-in webcam, anyway - you can get an external one cheap, and you can aim those... it's not really a priority.

Dark Shroud

For the price that's pretty decent.

Gaming and Laptops rarely go together, especially in that price range.

matthias00

I don't plan on gaming much at all in college. My freshman year consisted of zero actual computer game playing, so it's not a big concern, but it would be nice to be able to play something like Civ 4 or TF2. That said, as long as it can do flash games I'm probably good regardless. The only time I would really need gaming capabilities would be on breaks when my friends LAN, really, and then I could just use my old computer for that since it would be at home.

I plan on bringing my laptop into classes where I need to take notes, and taking it to friend's rooms to hang out. A 3 hour battery life is cool with me because the longest I would need the battery wouldn't be more than 2 hours at any time.

Jasconius

That one will probably play Civ 4 but with no more than 8 nations at a time... TF2 will probably work but it will struggle and be largely un-enjoyable.


The best you could hope for on a machine like that is a decent HL2 experience.

mrcheesypants

From previous experiences and from what I've read from some websites, acers have a tendency to break. If you plan on getting one, I would suggest getting an extended warrenty. Actually, get an extended warrenty on any laptop you buy. Laptops are hard/expensive to repair. You might also want to look into getting a netbook if all you need is something portable to browse the internet/edit some word documents.

Yellowhammer

mrcheesypants wrote: »

From previous experiences and from what I've read from some websites, acers have a tendency to break. If you plan on getting one, I would suggest getting an extended warrenty. Actually, get an extended warrenty on any laptop you buy. Laptops are hard/expensive to repair. You might also want to look into getting a netbook if all you need is something portable to browse the internet/edit some word documents.

This. They're nice laptops, flimsy as shit. I've gone through three acers in the past, and everytime it's always the little power outlet prong.

TheSonicRetard

I've got an Acer Aspire One, and I love it. Size is a big factor - even the thinnest big laptop is cumbersome to carry. I like my 8" Aspire One because I can throw it in my bag on the way to the office along with my lunch. It makes bringing my netbook with me as easy as bringing a book.

Basticle

always the little power outlet prong.

In my experience this is def. not limited to Acers.

freakish light

Mine had a couple of other problems. For some reason the fuckwits at the factory taped the USB bus for the ports on the left side to the bottom of the god damned HDD, so when I pulled it out to replace it I also pulled out the USB bus. It didn't go back in.

Also just from general transporting it around town the stereo ports on the front became misaligned and eventually useless.

by the way it's an Acer Travelmate 4670 series

ronya

There are good Acers, but it's hard to tell them from the crappy ones when shopping for a new one :P

Problem is the numerous, numerous form factors, so stick with a series that is widely-used (like the Aspire One and such) and generally most problems can be avoided.

Frem

Note that getting a discrete graphics card instead of an integrated one is really going to cut into your battery life, which could be rather annoying if you're planning on taking it to class every day (though I hear discrete cards are better about that than they used to be. Anyone know by how much?). On the downside, getting an integrated would really cut into your non-flash and not-released-five-years-ago gaming.

I don't know much about Acers. One of my previous roommates had one, and the hard drive died within six months of purchase. Yay for backups and warranty? On the plus side, Acer fixed it up and mailed it back within some crazy short amount of time; I think it was three or four days after roommate shipped it to them.