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    18.4" Acer 8930 vs. others, help!

    Discussion in 'Acer' started by NoteBooks4Ever, Oct 25, 2008.

  1. NoteBooks4Ever

    NoteBooks4Ever Notebook Consultant

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    Okay, I am in the market for an 18.4" screen laptop. Brands I have found so far are Acer, HP, Sony, and Toshiba.

    I just wanted to know if buying an 18.4" laptop from Acer is safe and reliable considering they can be cheaper than the competition. The Toshiba seems underpowered to me and resolution stinks; Sony looks promising with a great screen and design, but costs too much; HP I will never buy because of the gloss coating everywhere and feels cheap; and the Acer I haven't even seen in person yet, but looks good and gives the bang for the buck factor.

    How much worth is it for me to get an Acer over a Sony? Both brands seem to have great screens from looking at other Acer and Sony models. Is Acer reliability pretty darn good?

    If I can get some help here, links to all the new 8930 laptops would be killer! So far I found TigerDirect.com and Newegg.com, both offer good selections but TigerDirect.com offers the laptops in Blu-ray but lower screen resolution and cheaper processor. Newegg.com offers only in dvd-drive, high screen resolution, and better processors.

    Any other places? Also, is the 5.1 sound as good as it is advertised?
     
    NoteBooks4Ever, Oct 25, 2008
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  2. Andy

    Andy Notebook Prophet

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    Acer warranty is good. Warranty is good enough, in the sense that if you have a small H/W problem, Acer will replace the whole motherboard/LCD. :D

    I would go for the Acer over the Sony, mainly because Acer spare parts are relatively cheaper, driver/manual support is good and upgrading H/W doesn't void your warranty. Try to get an extended warranty, irrespective of whichever brand you go for.
     
    Andy, Oct 25, 2008
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  3. Bartlett

    Bartlett The Prophet

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    $1200 Acer: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115507

    $1600 Acer: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115475

    $1700 Acer: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115503

    $1600 Sony: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834117831

    $1600 HP: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834147785

    I'd choose one of those, any of them look good. Personally, I would recommend the HP or one of the Acer's.

    Also, this Toshiba is great despite you not liking it:

    http://explore.toshiba.com/laptops/qosmio/G50/G55-Q802

    It is $1550. It also has the Quad Core HD Processor.
     
    Bartlett, Oct 25, 2008
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  4. sirzrx

    sirzrx Notebook Enthusiast

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    dude i did some research 2 moths ago and u wont find a better offer.
     
    sirzrx, Oct 25, 2008
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  5. laptodd5

    laptodd5 Notebook Consultant

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    Beware (if you do not already know) the cheapest 8930 do not have WUXGA LCDs but are XGA like the Toshibas.
     
    laptodd5, Oct 26, 2008
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  6. plasma.

    plasma. herpyderpy

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    The quad core HD is pure marketing BS. All it can do is use the webcam to see your hand as a mouse, speed up HD converting in only ONE program that Toshiba supplies and other little stuff. It doesnt mean it has 6 cores.
     
    plasma., Oct 26, 2008
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  7. Jsebastien

    Jsebastien Notebook Enthusiast

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    The $1300 8930 is a 1680 x 945 aspect ratio. Its on the laptop itself and Ive seen it physically. Once I get my new laptop (first was defective) from newegg, I will confirm
     
    Jsebastien, Oct 27, 2008
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  8. plasma.

    plasma. herpyderpy

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    well, my new laptop says it has "Tube Subwoofer, 90% Color gamut screen (!!!!!! thats awesome !!!!!), 1080p screen and 5.1 speaker setup.
     
    plasma., Oct 27, 2008
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  9. cirifax

    cirifax Notebook Enthusiast

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    Waiting for your review!!!!! :D

    Are the tv-tuner and the usb/sata there?
     
    cirifax, Oct 27, 2008
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  10. plasma.

    plasma. herpyderpy

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    Yep. Everything is here.
     
    plasma., Oct 27, 2008
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  11. kevcher1212

    kevcher1212 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hey guys, to be exactly i dont know what is different between 8920 and 8930 do they change anything such as : case design or even Case Material...someone say those Plastic feel cheap with 8920 version ! Good day guys
     
    kevcher1212, Nov 2, 2008
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  12. plasma.

    plasma. herpyderpy

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    plasma., Nov 2, 2008
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  13. kevcher1212

    kevcher1212 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I dont have much option here in Newzealand which they only sell 8920 (T8300 2.4GHz 3GB 320GB BluRay ) for 2500nzdollars and 8930 ( T9400 4GB 640GB - V Ultimate 9700GT gfx ) for 3500nzdollars. Its 1k different and i dont know which one i should go for....
     
    kevcher1212, Nov 2, 2008
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  14. plasma.

    plasma. herpyderpy

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    depends. If you need gaming muscle, get the $3500 one.

    If you still need to game, but not that much and want to save money, get the $2500 one.

    EDIT: 3500 is really expensive, i bought the same model in australia for 2700!
     
    plasma., Nov 2, 2008
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  15. kevcher1212

    kevcher1212 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Yeah, as you can see NZ dollars dropping very bad at the moment, I need laptop for WoW hardcore and I am really wanna try out Bluray Movie with 1080p screen laptop.
     
    kevcher1212, Nov 2, 2008
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  16. schenky

    schenky Notebook Enthusiast

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    How does the acer compare to the hp hdx18t?
     
    schenky, Nov 30, 2008
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  17. plasma.

    plasma. herpyderpy

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    Same in everything (components) except the GPU in the Acer is about 15% more powerful.
     
    plasma., Dec 1, 2008
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  18. VistaFan

    VistaFan Newbie

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    I cannot speak for the others, but the ACER does not have a way to turn on virtualization technology in the Bios. That means you will not be able to use xp mode in Windows 7, or WindowsVirtualMachine 2007 (free) in Vista.

    This may not seem like much, but when you are showing someone your nice new machine and cannot run xp mode, it might be a little embarrassing!

    If you ever need to run some old software in a virtual window, you are out of luck with the ACER. You can check around the internet to see how unhappy this has made many users.
     
    VistaFan, Jul 20, 2009
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  19. chriscatt

    chriscatt Notebook Evangelist

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    Hi, as does many other manufacturers laptops as well, hardly a reason not to purchase for most user needs..
    Chris
     
    chriscatt, Jul 21, 2009
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  20. kohinoor

    kohinoor Notebook Enthusiast

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    Guys, should'nt Acer 8935 be considered ? Its the latest from Acer :

    Intel® Core™2 Quad processor Q9000 (2.0GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 6MB L2 cache) , ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 4670 (1024MB of dedicated DDR3 VRAM), 4GB DDR3 RAM, 1TB HDD (2X 500GB HDD), 18.4” Full HD 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, Acer CineCrystal™ LED-backlit TFT LCD, Blu-ray Disc™ Writer/DVD-Super Multi Double-Layer Combo, Integrated Acer CrystalEye high-def webcam, Integrated Digital TV-tuner, Acer Tuba CineBass booster supporting low-frequency effects, Dolby Home Theatre® audio enhancement

    and top that with backlit keyboard. How's that ?

    Check it at http://www.acer.com.sg/acer/product...ct&changedAlts=&CRC=600100215#wrAjaxHistory=0
     
    kohinoor, Jul 21, 2009
    #20