Is this good value???

csmith · 22 Jan 2011 at 08:56

I've just seen this and I was wondering what people thought on it for value

They have it up for £516, it seems a very good price for the spec, I want it for my 13 year old daughter to do her school work on and to play sims 3.

If it's not good value what can I buy for the price thats better?

Technical specifications:

•Display: 17.3" HD Acer CineCrystal LED-backlit TFT LCD
•Processor: AMD Phenom II triple-core mobile processor N830 2.1GHz
•Memory: 4GB RAM
•Hard drive: 500GB
•Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 with 1024MB of dedicated DDR3 RAM
•Optical drive: 8x DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive
•Multi-in-1 card reader compatibility: SD, MMC, MS, MS Pro and xD memory cards
•Wi-Fi: Acer InviLink Nplify 802.11b/g/n
•Battery: six-cell li-ion battery
•Webcam: Acer Crystal Eye 1.3MP
•Dimensions (w x d x h): 41.5cm x 27.5cm x 2.7cm/3.4cm (16.3" x 10.8" x 1.1"/1.3")
•Weight: 3.3 kg with six-cell battery pack

Input/output

•3 x USB 2.0 ports
•HDMI port with HDCP support
•1 x VGA
•1 x headphone/speaker/line-out jack
•1 x microphone-in jack
•1 x Ethernet (RJ-45)
•1 x DC-in jack for AC adaptor

Software

•Operating system: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
•Microsoft Works
•Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 Trial
•McAfee Internet Security Suite 2010 Trial

The Running Man · 22 Jan 2011 at 17:42

Yea that's a good graphics chip for near 500 quid. The dell xps 15 and inspiring 15r with 5650 slightly more money but Intel and 15.6 inch so more portable.

Internaut · 23 Jan 2011 at 17:40

That looks like a good spec for the money. The only alternative I've seen in that price range is this 17.3" HP laptop with an Intel Core i3 processor for £490.20

http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Laptops/buy-HP-G72-B20SA-Laptop/676470

I used to think that Intel processors were better than their AMD equivalents, but is there any evidence for such an opinion? Do you guys consider the Intel and AMD components to be equal in performance, what are the main differences:?

embalse · 24 Jan 2011 at 03:48

Which Acer model is this?

csmith · 24 Jan 2011 at 09:02

Acer Aspire 7551G

olivier renault · 24 Jan 2011 at 11:10

Internaut said:
That looks like a good spec for the money. The only alternative I've seen in that price range is this 17.3" HP laptop with an Intel Core i3 processor for £490.20

http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Laptops/buy-HP-G72-B20SA-Laptop/676470

I used to think that Intel processors were better than their AMD equivalents, but is there any evidence for such an opinion? Do you guys consider the Intel and AMD components to be equal in performance, what are the main differences:?

AMD not as good as Intel on the laptop front (performance, power consumption, heat). You can head to notebookcheck to have a look at the comparative performance of various chips.

I think this particular processor is all right for your needs. The big seller here is the graphics chip. on notebookcheck, sims 3 @ 130 fps on high settings. Plenty of spare power.

Note that a lower class GPU will perform much worse (HD 5470, 14 fps on high, GT 310M, 17 fps on high).