....But.... will it play Minecraft?

stet wrote:If the screen was 1920x1080 (or 1920x1200) then I would be interested.

I am in the market for a 17+" laptop with a Blu-ray drive but I want to take full advantage of the large screen. Any recomendations?

adr5 wrote:If the panel had a higher resolution I would have bought this. Why is it so hard to find a laptop with a high resolution panel?

I agree, that's why I get cranky about the resolution. I have one of these: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170562417897 but have been waiting for a newer model with the same screen. I haven't seen anything at that resolution in a 17" with a blu-ray though, those screens seem to have gone out of fashion.

The gateway is an awesome machine though, and it's made by Acer as well.

chirho wrote:I have an Aspire 5517 Laptop. Athlon II Proc that clocks UNDER 1.6 ghz....It handles multitasking like a dream. I always have 5 or more programs running at the same time. Between word processing, web surfing, photo editing, and games, this little guy handles em like a dream.

The problem is that the apps you're using don't really require much multitasking power, except perhaps photo editing, if you're doing major transformations on a large photo. Otherwise, those apps are sitting idle in the background while you're working on the main app. And even as main apps, word processing and websurfing don't really tax the CPU. You can check by looking at the Task Manager. If you really want to see how well your computer multitasks, do video conversions concurrently with large model statistical analysis (i.e. SPSS).

Staples has basically the same machine(Acer 17.3") but with Intel chip, 500gb hdd, and no blu ray for $479.

Got my little refurbed acer here and now the battery doesn't work after only a couple months!

xbagger wrote:Staples has basically the same machine(Acer 17.3") but with Intel chip, 500gb hdd, and no blu ray for $479.

And free s/h if you spend more than $50! Plus if you get one of their paper catalogs, there's always a freebie coupon for spending more than $75, $100 or $150. We got a very decent free 3 piece luggage set that way.

46and2 wrote:

Subpar deal, I miss when I first joined Woot Had amazing tech deals and now I still check everyday but have yet to impulse buy a half-priced hard drive or even see a video card for a very long time.

Woot sold items at cost when they first started that's why the prices were so much better than anywhere else. Plus they catered to the techie a little bit more. Those days are long past and aren't coming back. And yes I miss those days too.

46and2 wrote:Says Not that RAM speed matters for actual performance, especially in an AMD based laptop.

Care to elaborate? I can't think of any reason why RAM speed WOULDN'T matter when it comes to performance. Also... why wouldn't it for AMD but would for Intel?

It's got 802.11b/g/n wireless, 1 GB/s ethernet, but stuck with USB 2.0. Why not USB 3.0??

buggsy2 wrote:It's got 802.11b/g/n wireless, 1 GB/s ethernet, but stuck with USB 2.0. Why not USB 3.0??

USB 3.0 standards are pretty new in comparison to the other two. For example there's still no standard for internal USB 3.0 leads for front-panel ports in desktop systems (as of the last time I checked). Gigabit ethernet has been around a while, and wifi is usually contained on a separate internal card, even in laptops, so it would've been easy to update to N. Whereas USB 3.0 requires a motherboard that supports it (at least when you're talking about a laptop's existing integrated ports) -- the very latest motherboard technology, at that.

Assuming this is an overstock old-model laptop that has been upgraded with some new parts and re-labeled, as seems to be the consensus here, USB 3.0 wouldn't have been one of the things they could just add on that way.

azoric wrote:When will people get it... Democracy just DOESN'T WORK!

That's why we have a "reperentative republic."

It is not a democracy, it is a deomocratic form of govenrment.

radi0j0hn wrote:Heck, I've been photoshopping on an Acer Netbook!

I've tried it. Works, but very frustrating, owing to both speed and screen size.

Can anyone actually find this laptop? I checked out Acer's website and I can't. I can find laptops with the right RAM but wrong processor and vice versa. Also, does this one even have a model number? The closest I could find was the Aspire 7540 but even it has the wrong RAM.

ircmaxell wrote:You do realize that the processor speed in ghz has very little to do with the overall performance of the computer, right? All it's good for is distinguishing between the performance of processors in the same line.

Not to mention that the lower the clock speed --generally speaking-- the lower the power usage. So in a laptop, for most purposes, the lower clock speed is favorable...

sdc100 already responded to your second paragraph.

There were a couple of posts about how increased RAM speed may be unimportant. As far as processor speed, you may be right, depending on your definition of "very little" effect on performance.

There are several factors that impact overall performance. Hard drive speed is a big one, and CPU speed is pretty important too. But CPU speed alone means very little (as you said), since you also must consider number of cores, cache specs, and bus speed.

However, with the same class of processors (again, as you said), CPU speed will directly affect performance.

In a way, CPU speed has become the megapixels of the computer world. At one time, CPU speed meant a lot more (as megapixels did to digital cameras), since all processors were single core, bus speeds were the same for each generation, and their caches didn't vary much.

So I agree that these days, people should look at the class of processor more than the speed.

rwheeler wrote:....But.... will it play Minecraft?

*Predicted* system reqirements for Minecraft:

Intel Processor - Celeron 430 1.8GHz
AMD Processor - Athlon 64 3500+
Nvidia Graphics Card - GeForce 9400 GT
ATI Graphics Card - Radeon HD 3470
RAM Memory - 1 GB
Hard Disk Space - 1 GB
Direct X - 9

Or, as it said on another site, "Minecraft will run on a toaster."

Anyone have a Woot outage for about an hour or so? I was getting 503 errors and then it came back, but VERY slow.

Let's do Laptop Reliability by Brand again.

Sorry - computer zombie here: can someone
please recommend a lap top only needed
for surfing, email, word docs? No gaming
or other stuff. Just really basics, with
a good resolution? Thanks!!

ChristanEff wrote:Unless you're really into BluRay, take a pass on this. Laptops with better specs (processor, DDR3, etc.) are readily available online for $50+ cheaper, save that they'd usually have DVD-RWs instead of BluRays. You can actually probably find BluRay with, say, an i3 chip and other specs similar for about the same price or a little less even.

I don't know anyone with BluRay... I'd rather have a faster processor, personally.

Dear ChristanEff,

Do you know of any websites that have such deals?

Thank you,

Harry

chumleywonderbar wrote:Anyone have a Woot outage for about an hour or so? I was getting 503 errors and then it came back, but VERY slow.

yes

bop13 wrote:http://www.pacificgeek.com/showcategory.asp?c=213&s=2071 I know its not exact, but check it out.

This one?

Dell Inspiron M5010 Athlon II Dual-Core P320 2.1GHz 3GB 320GB DVD±RW 15.6"" Win7 Home Premium w/Webcam & 6-Cell (Green)

Retail Price: $939.99
Our Price: $605.99

I don't know dude, It's a refurbished Dell and it's $50 more. I don't see this as being a real step up.

turbobuick86 wrote:yes

Yeah and the world was closing in fast . Thank God WineWoot delivery showed up at that very minute .

buggsy2 wrote:It's got 802.11b/g/n wireless, 1 GB/s ethernet, but stuck with USB 2.0. Why not USB 3.0??

As I had mentioned in another post, this seems to be an old laptop that Acer stuck a BluRay drive in to look modern. The slow Athlon II is a giveaway. Switching a drive is easy, but adding a USB 3.0 connection involves modifications to the motherboard. Furthermore, USB 3.0 is so new that not many peripherals use it. In fact, the only real popular use right now is the transferring of data to an external drive. Still, more external drives have Firewire or eSATA than USB 3.0. In fact, I'm so satisfied with eSATA's speed that I have no plans to upgrade to USB 3.0.

Hmmmmm... I just noticed that this doesn't even have eSATA, which all 17" HPs have. Wow, it really is old.

icis907 wrote:Can anyone actually find this laptop? I checked out Acer's website and I can't. I can find laptops with the right RAM but wrong processor and vice versa. Also, does this one even have a model number? The closest I could find was the Aspire 7540 but even it has the wrong RAM.

This was probably made for a specific store. For example, BestBuy often sells models that are only available through them. Sometimes this means more features or a lower price, or perhaps built-in promotional software. Other times, it's just a different model number. A generally-available model with identical features would be labeled under a different number.

haresh78RN wrote:Dear ChristanEff,

Do you know of any websites that have such deals?

Thank you,

Harry

Please look through the old posts. Several people have posted alternatives to this Acer. My suggestion was a $499 17.3" Intel i3-based HP from eCost.

cinderella1 wrote:Sorry - computer zombie here: can someone
please recommend a lap top only needed
for surfing, email, word docs? No gaming
or other stuff. Just really basics, with
a good resolution? Thanks!!

It sounds like your CPU requirements are very low. If your budget is small, I'd even go as far as to recommend a $199 netbook -- except you want good resolution. I assume that you'd also want a large display. Here are some questions:

1) What is your budget?
2) Is portability and battery life important, or will it mostly stay in one place, plugged in?
3) What do you mean by good resolution? What size screen do you want?
4) Do you plan on doing anything else besides those 3 thing, i.e. edit videos?
5) Do you have a problem with refurbed products? (I don't)

This is my favorite product description so far. Thanks for the laugh, wootles.

As for the size of the thing, I want to chime in as being a member of the target audience. I have a similarly-sized Toshiba. I am 6'4" and I weigh 220 lbs. On my wife's netbook my sausage fingers hit 3-5 keys at once. The 17-inch range is where I can reliably hit one key at a time. Plenty of screen real estate. The weight and lack of battery life are no big deal to me. If I need to fly somewhere or something, I'll just take the wife's netbook and tyrpe loike rthizs.

I dig the red & blue thing, but I think it really should have been blue & red to allow for the correct left/right alignment.

If I want to use this to play blu-ray movies on an HDTV, will the resolution still be limited to 1600x900?

ssd1984 wrote:If I want to use this to play blu-ray movies on an HDTV, will the resolution still be limited to 1600x900?

No - that limitation applies to your screen only.

This info page at scribd says:

"You'll also be able to output Blu-ray content to
an external HDTV in full 1080p resolution thanks to the included HDMI port."

sdc100 wrote:This was probably made for a specific store. For example, BestBuy often sells models that are only available through them. Sometimes this means more features or a lower price, or perhaps built-in promotional software. Other times, it's just a different model number. A generally-available model with identical features would be labeled under a different number.

A store-specific model number also means you can't find it for a lower price somewhere else and come back to take advantage of the so-called "low price guarantee."

mesostinky wrote:Woot sold items at cost when they first started that's why the prices were so much better than anywhere else. Plus they catered to the techie a little bit more. Those days are long past and aren't coming back. And yes I miss those days too.

You want nostalgia? Here is my first Bucket of Candy with shirt, no logo monkey, HP laptop bag, and priority puck (the calender of the era).

I still use 2 sets of "mystery speakers". Back in the day, those would sell out as fast as a Bucket of Candy.

sdc100 wrote:I'm not sure what you mean by "complete OS re-install disks." If you mean disks that you can use to re-install Windows FOR THIS COMPUTER, those need to be created once you set up the computer. The disks are then stored away for emergencies. Don't even think of using the disks to install Windows 7 on another computer though because it's not going to work.

In other words, you can create complete OS re-install disks, but not install disks.

Thank you SDC100. I stand correct. I meant re-install disks. All the computers i bought from Dell and Toshiba came with them. I know you can create these so call Emergency disks but I rather have them come from the manufacturer of the computer.
At any rate, it appears that this particular model is no longer available in the market place. It gets me to wonder if it is a problem model that Acer is now unloading through Woot.

NightGhost wrote:No - that limitation applies to your screen only.

This info page at scribd says:

"You'll also be able to output Blu-ray content to
an external HDTV in full 1080p resolution thanks to the included HDMI port."

Thanks!

Does anyone have any thoughts about whether the extended warranty from SquareTrade is worth getting or a waste of money?

ssd1984 wrote:Thanks!

Does anyone have any thoughts about whether the extended warranty from SquareTrade is worth getting or a waste of money?

That's a question only you can answer. If you apply cold math to the question, then answer is almost invariably no. In the long run, someone is going to make money off of extended warranties - either the customers or the company offering them. Guess who?

So the question is whether the expense is worth your peace of mind, and/or whether you'll bust a vein in the event that your purchase does carp out in a few months. If those psychological factors are important to you, you may want the warranty.

Also, if money is tight enough that you can't afford to replace your purchase soon, the warranty may be for you.

I have been declining extended warranties for many years. I can't remember an item breaking early enough so that it would have made a difference, and in any case, I'd still be way ahead even if I lost an item costing several thousand bux.

Yet another factor - how geeky are you, or do you have a friend who is geeky? If one of my desktops breaks, I know I can fix it for a lot less than I paid for it. That might or might not be true for my laptops (e.g. dead screen - not worth repairing).

Finally, some extended warranties are pure rip-offs. But from everything I've read, SquareTrade extended warranties are some of the best deals available.

stet wrote:If the screen was 1920x1080 (or 1920x1200) then I would be interested.

I am in the market for a 17+" laptop with a Blu-ray drive but I want to take full advantage of the large screen. Any recomendations?

Hook it up to your HD TV via HDMI.

NightGhost wrote:I have been declining extended warranties for many years. I can't remember an item breaking early enough so that it would have made a difference, and in any case, I'd still be way ahead even if I lost an item costing several thousand bux.

I ended up doing some research, and it looks like consumer reports agrees:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/money/news/november-2006/why-you-dont-need-an-extended-warranty-11-06/overview/extended-warranty-11-06.htm

Even though laptops have some of the highest repair rates of any appliances or electronics, they still recommend against extended warranties, since many repairs are needed after the extended warranty period ends. That, and some credit cards will extend your warranty by a year if you put the entire purchase on the card. I checked, and one of my cards offers this protection.

Also, I found another source with a repair rate breakdown according to brand (since the rates posted earlier were from SquareTrade, who could have a conflict of interest, and a clear motivation to over-report buttafuocoure rates). Here's what I found:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/156197-7/product_reliability_and_aftersale_service_2008.html

The information is a couple years old, but a survey by PCWorld found that Acer laptops were average or above average when it came to needing repairs. They don't give exact rates for each brand, but they say that 1/3 of laptops had some significant problem overall. So one could speculate that Acers require repair less than 1/3 of the time (over an unspecified time period).

So, after all of that, it looks like the risk of not getting an extended warranty is an acceptable one.

EDIT: fixed hyperlinks

ssd1984 wrote:I ended up doing some research, and it looks like consumer reports agrees:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/money/news/november-2006/why-you-dont-need-an-extended-warranty-11-06/overview/extended-warranty-11-06.htm

Even though laptops have some of the highest repair rates of any appliances or electronics, they still recommend against extended warranties, since many repairs are needed after the extended warranty period ends. That, and some credit cards will extend your warranty by a year if you put the entire purchase on the card. I checked, and one of my cards offers this protection.

Also, I found another source with a repair rate breakdown according to brand (since the rates posted earlier were from SquareTrade, who could have a conflict of interest, and a clear motivation to over-report buttafuocoure rates). Here's what I found:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/156197-7/product_reliability_and_aftersale_service_2008.html

The information is a couple years old, but a survey by PCWorld found that Acer laptops were average or above average when it came to needing repairs. They don't give exact rates for each brand, but they say that 1/3 of laptops had some significant problem overall. So one could speculate that Acers require repair less than 1/3 of the time (over an unspecified time period).

So, after all of that, it looks like the risk of not getting an extended warranty is an acceptable one.

EDIT: fixed hyperlinks

Glad you reminded me:

Both of those charts have been posted on earlier forums, and one astute Wooter (sorry - can't remember who it was) pointed out that a lot of Acer's recent problems were with their netbooks (particularly the early 8.9" models). That would explain the different ratings in the 2 charts.

And...once again, I asked a question and my post was deleted! Anyone care to explain why this happens? I'm not feeling any love here lately, and it gives me little reason to visit.

Best post/description about a product by woot.com EVER!