Urgent help needed: Asus M6N vs. Acer 2012

Hi all, apologies in advance if this post is a bit long.

I live in the UK, but I'm currently on vacation in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and I'm planning to buy a laptop over here.

There are not many choices at the high end of the market, but I've managed to find an Asus model and an Acer model that suit my needs (gaming and university use):

I need some advice, particularly since I've not read too much here about the Acer 2012 model.

Please note that these two models aren't very upgradeable spec-wise (cpu/hd) before I purchase:

Asus M6N
1.5 Pentium M
15.4" widescreen WXGA (might be WSXGA but I'm not too sure)
256mb RAM
2 year International warranty + carry case
CDRW/DVD combo (available with 4x plus and minus DVDRW drive)
60gb hd
64mb Radeon 9600
XP Home

Acer 2012LMi
1.5 Pentium M
15.4" widescreen WXGA
512mb RAM (256 x 2)
1 year international warranty
64mb Radeon 9700
60 gb hd
DVDRW (supposedly 2x plus and minus)
B and G wireless (not sure if the Asus is B only or B+G)

Now, here is my situation:

I will be getting the RAM in either machine upgraded to 1 Gb (2x 512mb sticks) probably Kingston or Simpletech branded.

On to the questions:

Which do you think is the better machine? I've only been able to see the Acer model actually running. Build quality of both machines seems reasonable.

I've been told that both machines have a 4200rpm hd. It's unlikely that I'll be upgrading the hd to avoid warranty issues (I might buy a 7200rpm Hitachi 60gb hd later on down the line in the UK). I've read in some specs that the Asus 60gb might actually be 5400rpm (these were UK and US specs online so I'll have to double-check)

Ok, so with the 1Gb ram upgrade, both models come to around the same price-range (comparing the Asus combo model vs. the Acer dvdrw model) - the asus dvdrw model comes in a bit more expensive. So comparing those two, the Asus has the extra year's warranty and a carrying case and mouse included in the price, while the Acer has a shorter warranty but the 9700 and a DVDRW (I don't *really* need one in the laptop since I can just stick my desktop's drive in an external housing and use it whenever I need to do an occasional backup)

The other problem I have is with the warranty. Over here the shop staff will tell you anything to sell the laptop, but I'm pretty sure the Asus comes with the standard 2 years international warranty and the Acer comes with a 1 year international warranty (I'm not sure how the ram upgrade affects the warranty)

Am I correct in thinking that if buy kingston or Simpletech as the ram upgrade and they are retail packaged, then they would have a decent international warranty?

If anyone can advise me, I would really appreciate it. I know that I've needed to make sacrifices already in narrowing it down to these two models (I would have preferred a slightly faster processor but it's not possible if I want a decent graphics card)

Basically I need to know:

Is the 64mb 9700 much faster/better than the 64mb 9600 (I'm pretty sure that I've read that Acer and Asus run the cards at relatively low gpu and mem speeds compared to other manufacturers). I'll be more than happy with 9000+ 3dMark2001 scores and 2500+ 3dMark2003 scores.

Which one has the better build quality? (just by looking at them, they seem to be reasonable, and both seem to be mostly plastic casing)

Which would you recommend?

Any other interesting info you may have about either laptop (customer service quality from the manufacturer, component quality, screen quality)

Thanks in advance

- Odie

 

I'm leaning towards the Acer because it has the 9700 Radeon and it's the only one that I've actually been able to use (weird way of selling computers over here in the UAE)

Anyone know if there's a difference in the travelling weight of these two models?

Also, I'm planning to get laptop insurance when I get back to the U.K. Does anyone know if this should cover me for out-of-warranty repair costs? (if this is the case, then it's an extra tick for the Acer)

If anyone knows about the long term quality of the two systems please also let me know.

Thanks again
- Odie

 

I would proably go with the ACER, mainly for the slightly better specs. ACER do offer extended warranty plans for extra cash. I think that both machines are going to be great value and their isn't to much to separte them.
I'm personally about to get an M6Ne model, and also considered the ACER models v.seriously.
But in your case I would go the ACER, in the end I think it will give slightly better game performace.
a
Underpantman

 

Hi Odie, you did not mention what OS the Acer system had.
The reason I ask is that if the notebook will be used at college, to get onto a large computer network like are at universities, then you will need XP pro as XP home only has the most basic networking capability like for a small home network. It may be worth looking inot as most schools give their new students a list of notebook requirements and software to connect to their network.

Jack

 

Thanks for the replies.

Both come with XP Home. It's not a problem because the only real difference between home and pro is the built-in firewall in Pro. My University is part of the Microsoft Academic Alliance which means they give out free XP Pro and home license keys to students. So I can install XP Pro later on down the line if I need/want to. The Asus can be purchased without an OS, but I would need one so that I can test the laptop while I'm still here in Dubai until the end of the month. The Acer does not have the option of no-OS. It's not a big problem either way.

I finally managed to see an M6N working, the screen brightness *seems* to me to be similar to the Acer (I didn't have them side-by-side to compare but I am pretty sure). To be honest I actually expected them to be a little bit brighter on their maximum brightness settings, but they're still pretty reasonable. I can get the M6N with a 4x plus and minus DVDRW drive and it is removable (weight saver provided) but the optical drive on the Acer (2.4x + and 2x - I believe) is fixed. Also not a huge problem because the M6n's drive is probably only around 300-400 grams. As long as the general quality of the Acer's optical drive is good, I'll be happy. Also, the M6N model is WXGA, just like the Acer, so *not* WSXGA as some shop owners were telling me (liars! ). WXGA seems a pretty reasonable resolution to me (1280 x something)

The extended warranties offered here are only valid regionally (ie not valid in the UK), but I've come to the conclusion that if I take out laptop insurance when I get back to the UK, that should cover me for theft, accidental damage and out-of-warranty repair costs. So in other words, the Acer and Asus are probably on a level playing field for me as far as the warranty is concerned.

My opinion is that the Acer's build quality is ever so slightly better than the Asus. Also the touchpad on the Acer is bigger than the one on the M6N and the Asus one didn't seem to have a 'scroll' feature (ie if you use the right-edge of the touchpad, you can use it to scroll) while the Acer does.

Acer is also a 'bigger' laptop brand (due in part to Asus being relatively new to the market as far as their own branded laptops) so I'm hoping that the customer service will be reasonable.

Add to that the fact that the Acer has b/g wireless while the Asus only had B (not a big problem at the moment since most hotspots are B-only but better to have both for a little bit of future-proofing) and the Acer also has the 9700 vs the 9600 of the Asus (although I think there's probably not too much in it as far as performance goes, maybe a few percent)

So, to summarise (sorry my posts are a little long-winded, this is going to be my first laptop and I want to make sure I don't make the wrong decision) I'm leaning towards the Acer and it's also very slightly cheaper than the Asus over here taking into account an optical mouse, carry case (both come with the Asus, but at least with the Acer I can choose exactly what mouse and bag I want) and ram upgrade (I think I'll go for a single 512mb upgrade taking one 256mb out of the Acer, giving a total of 768mb)

Thanks again for the replies. I might sart hanging around here a little bit when I finally get the laptop.

- Odie

 

oh, and just to clarify, I'm only referring to the particular M6N model that is availible here. I know that in the US and UK, the configs are a lot more customisable (WSXGA res screen, B+G wifi card, 9700 radeon in the Ne model, etc.)