Anyone have Aspire 2020? Give me opinions!

Hi all, I am located in Asia so the best Acer laptops i can get are Travelmate 8000 or Aspire 2020 (2024 to be exact). The specs on both are the same except for RAM, TM comes with 512. The 2020 is P-M 1.7ghz, 256 DDR (will ask to have this upgraded), 60GB 5200 HD, ATI Radeon 9700 128m.

Now, two things about the Aspire really sticks out for me. The P-M processor which emits MUCH less heat than P4's, and the awesome video card. I was just about to buy the HP zd7000 because of its "monster" P4 3.2ghz CPU and Geforce 5700 128m gfx card, but then I stumbled upon the Acer. I found a website that was dedicated to zd7000 owners and their problems were staggering: from severe overheating problems (even the keyboard is almost scalding hot), to display problems (the screen would just die, they said), to horrendous support problems (most people who send it in usually get it back worse, and the original problem still persists, and end up sending back and forth 4 times).

The great thing about Acer is taht I live about 15 minutes from the retailer and they have like 3 Acer-certified technicians and offer great support.

So, I need some of your opinions on the Aspire 2020! I would use it mainly for video editing, light travel, and gaming. Anyone had problems gaming or LAN partying over 8 hours? [ ]

 

Actually I would like opinions from any Aspire owners, but pls list your specs!

 

Hmm not many replies. I am leaning towards Centrino over HP's P4 because its cooler and quieter, but I heard some people's Centrinos shut off after about 2 hours of intensive gaming. Has anyone successfully played like 8+ hours of gaming without heating problems or freezing/shutting off?

 

I have an older model (Aspire 2000, 1.4GHz, ATI 9200, 40GB, 768MB RAM, Internal Bluetooth) and am very pleased with it. It doesn't get hot and the fan rarely turns on. I mostly use it as a desktop replacement and don't sit with it on my lap. I've since added a 512MB RAM (256MB and 512MB - came with 2 256), internal bluetooth, Soundblaster Notebook card, and use a 250GB external hard disk. I mostly use it plugged in and can play BF1942, Call of Duty, Battlefront, etc. without any problems. I really enjoy the 15.4 widescreen display, colors are good. I use a Dell D600 for work and can really see a big difference in the display with my Aspire 2000.

 

Hi!
I live in Beijing and bought an Aspire 2024 in December. I have upgraded the memory to 512. Personally, I REALLY am satisfied with this computer. It is fast and responsive. If you do a general search for reviews on Aspire 2020 the reviews are about 85-90% favorable.

The only beef I have is the resolution limit, 1280x800. I'm not a gamer so I can't speak on that regard. I'm into Web site development and all the apps I use (Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Flash, etc.) all run well.

I don't read Chinese well enough (at this point) to use the default XP Home Edition software and driver interface(s)-- so I installed my legal English version of XP Pro and reinstalled the drivers of the Aspire CD(yes, they can be installed in English) -- and all is cool!!

You may run into a problem getting the Aspire Instant-On feature to work, but simply:

a) partiton your hard drive with at least 15GB of space and(after you have loaded the OS, drivers, etc)

b)insert the Instant-On CD (it's a bootable CD) and reboot the sysytem.

c) let the CD do it's thing -- and there you go!



<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Sky