Question:
Is This a good laptop ?
kevin.mccowen
2008-03-13 12:51:37 UTC
ACER - TM5320-101G12Mi, Intel CelM 540 (1.86GHz), Vista Home Premium, 15.4" WXGA, GMA X3100, 1GB (2x512Mb) RAM, 120Gb HDD DASP, DVD-SuperMulti,802.11BG, 5in1 card reader, 6 Cell Battery, 0.3MP Camera


Main Specifications

Product Description Acer TravelMate 5320-101G12Mi - Celeron M 540 1.86 GHz - 15.4" TFT
Dimensions (WxDxH) 36 cm x 26.7 cm x 4.3 cm
Weight 2.9 kg
Localisation United Kingdom
System Type Notebook
Built-in Devices Stereo speakers, wireless LAN aerial
Processor Intel Celeron M 540 / 1.86 GHz
Cache Memory 1 MB - L2 Cache
RAM 1 GB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR II SDRAM ( 2 x 512 MB )
Card Reader 5 in 1
Hard Drive 120 GB - Serial ATA-150
Optical Storage DVD±RW (+R double layer) / DVD-RAM - integrated
Display 15.4" TFT 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ) - 24-bit (16.7 million colours)
Graphics Controller Intel GMA X3100
Memory Allocation Technology Dynamic Video Memory Technology 4.0
Audio Output Sound card
Telecom Fax / modem - 56 Kbps
Networking
Seven answers:
kramtu
2008-03-13 13:37:43 UTC
Kevin,

Acer is an ok generic computer. This Celeron cpu (processor)is a better Celeron then previous ones. As long as your not doing much multitasking & not wanting to do much but general basic stuff it will be fine? But Your better off using Windows XPPro or Home. You'll get better performance & battery life! Vista requires at least 2gigs memory to work properly and it's really meant for use with a duel core cpu (processor). Preferably Intel duel core or Intel duel core2. Although AMD Duel Core is ok? Just my opinion tho? Remember that more memory is always better which ever way you go.

K
2008-03-13 20:27:27 UTC
While I do not know much about your model - do yourself a favor and don't purchase the comparable Toshiba Satellite A215 model. It is not worth the money.



The following is text from a review I wrote for Wal*Mart.com that I am now stuck with:



I bought this product in January of 2008. I regretted my purchase within 2 weeks, but missed the deadline to return it by one day. Unfortunately, I was not as lucky as the Connecticut buyer who was able to return her product. The local Wal*Mart would not work with me at all.

I had the "black screen of death" issue within two days, before I ever installed/uploaded/downloaded any data to the laptop. At random intervals with every use, the screen would simply go black. It was not a problem with the power-save option on the laptop. The only way to resolve the issue was to lose whatever data I had been working on and restart the machine. Once back to the normal screen, the laptop did not pick up on the problem. It only ever acknowledged that there was an improper shutdown.

After about one month of using the laptop, I finally got an error message about a problem with the ATI Radeon X1200 Series integrated graphics card. While it is working properly, it is apparently substandard and incompatible with Vista.

I downloaded all applicable drivers, registered the product, etc, but could find no suitable solution to the black screen problem.

Because I am stuck with a (insert expletive here) laptop, I have put it in the shop with one of Toshiba's local service providers (they are all independent contractors). They are rude, have very slow turn-around time, and seem as if they could really care less about the problem.

If you purchase this laptop, you should definitely purchase the additional warranty, as you will need it in the near future, perhaps one day after your warranty expires.

So far, the only good thing about my laptop has been the fact that it has a standard 1-yr limited warranty, so I can at least have it diagnosed.

Not worth the money. This was my first Toshiba purchase. It is highly unlikely that I will ever purchase any electronics from either Toshiba or Wal*Mart in the near future or ever.

P.S. If you are looking to purchase this laptop to play The Sims 2, don't bother. The game does not support the graphics card, is not planning to support it or provide a suitable fix for the graphics problems you will have. I am a member of the EA Sims 2 site and am frequently on the forums. Everyone who has either a pc or laptop with the graphic card that is installed on our Toshiba machine has had the same problem. Many are also experiencing the black screen issue.

Again, please do not waste your time or money on this machine.
cajunspike1959
2008-03-13 20:19:34 UTC
Good is relative. Depends on what you need it for. If all you want is basic computing, then just about anything will work. But since its got a Celeron processor(crippled pentium 4 cpu), it won't run as fast as a non-celeron processor. Also with that intel video system, normal stuff would be ok, but trying to play serious games may be a problem, because most of them work best on nvidia or ati video systems. So is it good? Depends on what you want to do with it. Rest of specs are fine, but vista can really use more than 1 gig of ram.
Patrick J
2008-03-13 19:55:38 UTC
It's an Acer computer... think about it. Although it has a GB of RAM and a 120 GB hard drive that is not a good computer because of who makes it. Go for top brand names like Apple, Sony, HP and even Toshiba.
2008-03-13 20:05:19 UTC
It's not really that great. You want to get something with a Core 2 Duo Processor, and you'll be a lot happier with 2 GB of RAM. This all depends on how much money you plan on spending though. You might want to try looking at



Something like either this: http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DNDWJA2&s=dhs



Or one of these: http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&node=home/shop_mac/family/macbook
Eric F
2008-03-13 20:56:05 UTC
vista will eat up that pc with a celeron processor and 1 gig. id say spend a few more dollars and something more suitable. what were you looking to spend on that? i have seen lappys around 500 that would work for you
tystonge
2008-03-13 20:00:26 UTC
As long as your not doing something to hard on it. But just using a word processor or surfing the net would be fine. Games would be out of the question.


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