This is my first Acer and my third laptop. The AMD Turion 64x2 dual processor (1.6GHz) easily supports my multitasking habits, 17" WXGA widescreen is great for watching DVDs, and 120gb HDD space is more than enough to keep me happy for a long time. The webcam produces a top-quality image and can rotate 225 degrees under, for a view in the opposite direction. How cool is that?! Plenty of easily accessed USB 2.0 ports for all your toys (three on the side, 1 in the back). No need to carry around a mic; the built-in microphone is handy in a pinch, but for best sound quality, I'll be keeping my external mic. Loaded with XP Media Center, a nice but unnecessary feature, unless you plan on watching television on it - yes, it has that capability too, with AV-out ports. Optional antenna purchase for watching TV, haven't tried it. Haven't yet tried the burner (DVD+/-RW) either. This laptop is also slightly on the heavy side, at just over 8 pounds. This sweet machine is Vista-ready whenever you are.

Some things I wish I could change: Sound quality, and speaker location - these are the biggest negatives. The speakers are located on the front edge and tend to be covered by your wrists when typing, further muddying the sound. I prefer to use external speakers or a headset when I'm watching movies or listening to music. Another thing - there is no external volume control; you have to be logged into Windows and volume is controlled with the Fn (function) + arrow keys, don't like that much.


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 899.99
Operating System: Windows
Processor: AMD K-2
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: Greater than 15 inches
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50