Acer 5672WLMi

I originally bought the 5672WLMi model that only had XP Pro, 1GB RAM and 100GB hard drive, turned around and sold it for what I paid for it and bought the model that has XP Pro, 2GB RAM and 120GB SATA hard drive.

Although quite happy with the notebook, some things to keep in mind.

As soon as practical, download the Windows Media Player 11 or download the latest video codecs from Microsoft's download site and install them. Due to a bug in a Windows update, streaming video (like from eagle web-cams) do not work - displaying wierd and odd colors and making it impossible to see.

Get a notebook cooling pad with two fans, I bought one for less than $30, and it keeps the notebook noticeably cooler. Without it, the notebook runs very hot especially when running the CPU at full speed and with the screen display turned all the way up.

I used PartionMagic to change the partitions from Fat32 to NTFS, and the recovery DVD worked like a charm when I needed to use it.

The Microphone pretty much sucks, but what do you expect the quality to be located so far back on the notebook....

If I had my druthers, I'd rather have a matte screen. It's hard to see this one when a light source is behind you.

I recommend the $110 Acer warranty (you must buy it within 15 days of purchase) to upgrade the warranty to 3 years. Undoubtably everyone will need to use it at sometime.

Sound quality is poor, but it is a pretty thin notebook.

The notebook is QUIET. Totally unlike Toshiba, Compaq and Sony notebooks which in my opinion have very loud fans. REALLY LOUD.

The case finish can be marred very easily. My suggestion is to outfit the top of the notebook case with something (8x10") re-stickable photo. Mine works great and prevents the case from getting scratches.

The notebook is quite decent for $1500 Canadian, but many people will make do with a $700 notebook just as well, unles$s they like playing 3D games, then they should consider the 5670 model series.

P.S. I've owned a computer business for the past 18 years. This is one of the nicer notebooks (Value priced) that I have ever owned.

 

Have you had heat issues? And is your 5672 the x1400 or the newer x1600?

 

How did you buy the Acer warranty? I'd like to get one for mine. And does it come with on-site service?

 

It is the x1400 with 256mb of dedicated video memory.

Yes, I've had heat issues, solved through the use of the cooling notebook pad (with two silent fans).

 

There are two basic Acer warranties. $110 and $210. The $110 gives you a 2 year warranty extention. The $210 gives you that plus what we call "stupidity insurance". If you do something stupid, like drop the notebook, crack the screen, drop it in water, they will repair or replace it over the course of the three years.

You only have 15 days from the date of purchase to get it. If you have owned the notebook longer you can't get it unless someone provides you with a newer dated invoice.

 

As an alternative, you could save money and purchase the laptop with a credit card that features an extended warranty which effectively doubles the warranty. And perhaps more importantly, the 1-year extension runs through the credit card company (Visa, MasterCard, etc.). As long as you have the documentation that you purchased the product (in full) using the card, and you get a repair estimate, they will pay you the cost of the repair.

Of course, it's not 3 years....