How does Acer rank in terms of its competitors??

I'm thinking about getting the Acer 8730-6314 18.4" notebook for my fiance who would be using it as a desktop replacement. She swears by Toshiba, but this Acer with its huge screen, and sound system plus the bluray seems like an unbelievable package. I haven't own an Acer before so I'm wondering how they fair in terms of quality, performance, reliability and customer service.

 

I've owned two Acers so far (my current 6920, and my old 3252).
The build quality on the new models are much improved from the old ones.
Performance is on-par with similar configurations, nothing either better or worse. I would recommend a clean install of Vista if the pre-loaded crap gets annoying.
My old 3252 had no problems (that I didn't cause) during the two years I had it, and my current 6920 has had only one or two minor issues (again, things I can fix).
Customer service is inconsistent. Their phone service is great (though not 24-hour), but their email/online support can be frustrating. Call if you have any problems.

Oh, and always play safe - make your recovery discs as soon as you get your system, and keep a rolling backup just in case things go kaputt.