Comments on: Acer Aspire 8920G Mini-Review http://blog.laptopmag.com/mini-review-acer-aspire-8920g News and views on today's hottest laptops, cell phones, and other mobile devices. Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:37:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Lois West http://blog.laptopmag.com/mini-review-acer-aspire-8920g/comment-page-1#comment-43656 Lois West Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:41:30 +0000 http://blog.laptopmag.com/?p=1376#comment-43656 I spent a lot of money for this Acer Aspire 8920G and have had nothing but problems. I've called Technical Suport numerous times (after a serious Web search to actually find the 800 number), reinstalled the Windows Vista Ultimate OS at least twice and the system continues to hang up. I even paid to ship it to Acer repair and they returned it saying they couldn't duplicate the problem. Not only that, but Windows didn't even start up properly after they returned it! I've been using computers for 30 years and have never had this many problems! I'm buying another Dell next time (unless they've become unreliable too)! I spent a lot of money for this Acer Aspire 8920G and have had nothing but problems. I’ve called Technical Suport numerous times (after a serious Web search to actually find the 800 number), reinstalled the Windows Vista Ultimate OS at least twice and the system continues to hang up. I even paid to ship it to Acer repair and they returned it saying they couldn’t duplicate the problem. Not only that, but Windows didn’t even start up properly after they returned it! I’ve been using computers for 30 years and have never had this many problems! I’m buying another Dell next time (unless they’ve become unreliable too)!

]]> By: Mike http://blog.laptopmag.com/mini-review-acer-aspire-8920g/comment-page-1#comment-17235 Mike Sat, 07 Feb 2009 14:07:50 +0000 http://blog.laptopmag.com/?p=1376#comment-17235 A great machine. Overall, it is a wonderful machine that is described perfectly from the users above. Yes, the support probably sucks, but how about trying support from HP! I have heard they are worse. Remember, there is very few companies that do not outsource there support overseas, so you just have to get used to it. As for performance, this machine is quite capable. I have had it for 6 months now and really do feel it is a worthy machine. It is not entirely a gaming machine such as the XPS or ASUS G70, but it can hold its own. I have played LOTRO Online and CALL of DUTY 4 on it and it played great. Of course, you have to play it on high settings with antialiasing off, but it was decent gameplay--especially running it on VERY HIGH details and 1680X1080p. There were small instances of hiccups at that level, but they were very small and still playable. The sound card is great. I mean, if you compare it to a full-fledged sound system like BOSE or Yamaha 5.1 Theater Surround for your 46" LCD Tv, then you will be disappointed. But, hey, this is a LAPTOP! IT won't have the bass output of a full theater sound system. I played the Dark Knight BLU-RAY DVD and it sounded very nice. Bass and surround filling the room. Easily it is better than those cheap laptops at Best Buy for 600-700 dollars and their 2 speakers across the top. I also just read that it is theoretically possible to upgrade the video card to a similar 9700M GT or 9800M GT because of its MXM III architecture. Of course, that is highly debatable considering that your BIOS can support the card and it doesn't over-heat your machine because of the increased watt usage. Hey, this is a great laptop. It boasts many great features and specs, with minimal upgrades. The screen itself is just beautiful! You go and look at other screens and you are just speechless. NOTE: Most 8920Gs come with Vista 32bit. I upgraded to Vista Ultimate 64 and noticed a huge difference in screen resolution and speed. IT just seemed brighter and sharper compared to the 32bit version. THe drivers must be updated to the latest version from Laptopvideo2go.com though, or you defeat the purpose of the 64bit upgrade. A great machine. Overall, it is a wonderful machine that is described perfectly from the users above. Yes, the support probably sucks, but how about trying support from HP! I have heard they are worse. Remember, there is very few companies that do not outsource there support overseas, so you just have to get used to it.

As for performance, this machine is quite capable. I have had it for 6 months now and really do feel it is a worthy machine. It is not entirely a gaming machine such as the XPS or ASUS G70, but it can hold its own. I have played LOTRO Online and CALL of DUTY 4 on it and it played great. Of course, you have to play it on high settings with antialiasing off, but it was decent gameplay–especially running it on VERY HIGH details and 1680X1080p. There were small instances of hiccups at that level, but they were very small and still playable.

The sound card is great. I mean, if you compare it to a full-fledged sound system like BOSE or Yamaha 5.1 Theater Surround for your 46″ LCD Tv, then you will be disappointed. But, hey, this is a LAPTOP! IT won’t have the bass output of a full theater sound system. I played the Dark Knight BLU-RAY DVD and it sounded very nice. Bass and surround filling the room. Easily it is better than those cheap laptops at Best Buy for 600-700 dollars and their 2 speakers across the top.

I also just read that it is theoretically possible to upgrade the video card to a similar 9700M GT or 9800M GT because of its MXM III architecture. Of course, that is highly debatable considering that your BIOS can support the card and it doesn’t over-heat your machine because of the increased watt usage.

Hey, this is a great laptop. It boasts many great features and specs, with minimal upgrades.

The screen itself is just beautiful! You go and look at other screens and you are just speechless.

NOTE: Most 8920Gs come with Vista 32bit. I upgraded to Vista Ultimate 64 and noticed a huge difference in screen resolution and speed. IT just seemed brighter and sharper compared to the 32bit version. THe drivers must be updated to the latest version from Laptopvideo2go.com though, or you defeat the purpose of the 64bit upgrade.

]]> By: vuke http://blog.laptopmag.com/mini-review-acer-aspire-8920g/comment-page-1#comment-15088 vuke Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:40:57 +0000 http://blog.laptopmag.com/?p=1376#comment-15088 hey Chad where to find drivers for Linux on this machine hey Chad where to find drivers for Linux on this machine

]]> By: johovo http://blog.laptopmag.com/mini-review-acer-aspire-8920g/comment-page-1#comment-14795 johovo Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:32:17 +0000 http://blog.laptopmag.com/?p=1376#comment-14795 i actuly have one of these got it asa present for x mas and holy *@!? its awesome:D i actuly have one of these got it asa present for x mas and holy *@!? its awesome:D

]]> By: era http://blog.laptopmag.com/mini-review-acer-aspire-8920g/comment-page-1#comment-14573 era Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:27:03 +0000 http://blog.laptopmag.com/?p=1376#comment-14573 the price now is $2299 (in my country), now i'm waiting for my order, the seller said it's will available within 3-7 days… my 1st acer is poor and unstable, it's travelmate :-( the 2nd is good and i'm happy with it, it's aspire 5920G, very stable and "smart" machine ;-) the price now is $2299 (in my country), now i’m waiting for my order, the seller said it’s will available within 3-7 days…

my 1st acer is poor and unstable, it’s travelmate :-(
the 2nd is good and i’m happy with it, it’s aspire 5920G, very stable and “smart” machine ;-)

]]> By: josh http://blog.laptopmag.com/mini-review-acer-aspire-8920g/comment-page-1#comment-13559 josh Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:16:22 +0000 http://blog.laptopmag.com/?p=1376#comment-13559 quite a few people are selling their 8920g just having it for a few months for some reason they probably getting rid of it because its too bulky theyre right and a few have gone back to acer some problemn or another hence now would be about the best time to aquire wun real cheap when they first came out they were about 2000 to 2500 odd bucks now with all these problems you could pick it up for about 800 900 bucks even stores are slashing their prices to abot 1200 to 1300 or 1400 odd bucks make sure you get a machine thats works proper nothing wrong with it and extend the warranty if you can its a great buy if you get a fully working machine quite a few people are selling their 8920g just having it for a few months for some reason they probably getting rid of it because its too bulky theyre right and a few have gone back to acer some problemn or another hence now would be about the best time to aquire wun real cheap when they first came out they were about 2000 to 2500 odd bucks now with all these problems you could pick it up for about 800 900 bucks even stores are slashing their prices to abot 1200 to 1300 or 1400 odd bucks make sure you get a machine thats works proper nothing wrong with it and extend the warranty if you can its a great buy if you get a fully working machine

]]> By: Chad http://blog.laptopmag.com/mini-review-acer-aspire-8920g/comment-page-1#comment-13311 Chad Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:17:11 +0000 http://blog.laptopmag.com/?p=1376#comment-13311 One further note, This laptop has 4GB DDR2 RAM. You certainly won't see a slowdown even while playing games such as Crysis. (Take it from me, I love my gaming, and this machine can do it all). Furthermore, Whilst having Vista Home Premium installed on my laptop, Not a single issue in terms of slowdown or viruses has been detected. I wouldn't bash vista just yet, I see good things in it. (Reason I used "whilst having vista home premium, is due to that I have upgraded to Vista Business N and am awaiting the drives on CD from Acer since their website did not work.) All in all, 8/10. Beautiful display and resolution options, very fast, No viruses/bog-down due to OS, and fairly large 320GB HDD. One further note, This laptop has 4GB DDR2 RAM. You certainly won’t see a slowdown even while playing games such as Crysis. (Take it from me, I love my gaming, and this machine can do it all). Furthermore, Whilst having Vista Home Premium installed on my laptop, Not a single issue in terms of slowdown or viruses has been detected. I wouldn’t bash vista just yet, I see good things in it. (Reason I used “whilst having vista home premium, is due to that I have upgraded to Vista Business N and am awaiting the drives on CD from Acer since their website did not work.)

All in all, 8/10. Beautiful display and resolution options, very fast, No viruses/bog-down due to OS, and fairly large 320GB HDD.

]]> By: Chad http://blog.laptopmag.com/mini-review-acer-aspire-8920g/comment-page-1#comment-13310 Chad Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:13:43 +0000 http://blog.laptopmag.com/?p=1376#comment-13310 While typing this, I am using an Acer Aspire 8920G To answer some questions I have read over: The price I paid for this machine is $1,400. (Reasonable, for what it is) Is it Linux compatible? Certainly, I am dual-booting Ubuntu 8.04 while running X86 Vista (32 bit) However the machine itself is 100% x64, for those asking, x64 means you CAN have backwards compatibility for x86 OS's. However to avoid issues with Linux, I would recommend installing an x64 Linux distro. Is the Blu-ray player a burner as well? Negative. From my tests it does not seem to have the ability to burn discs, only play them. Issues with Linux? One, when installing the sound drivers, you will need to modify the ALSA sub-list to include an update from INTEL, else you will have to switch to OSS4, and that will cause some speaker output issues. Other than that, everything works perfectly. Breaks? - Had mine since augest (it is now oct) and nothing has happened to it yet. Great stuff, Acer! Customer support? - They do their best, I can't blame them for that, however the website does host faulty drivers so make SURE to burn a backup disc once your laptop is turned on for the first time. I'm still awaiting the disc that Acer had sent me (with the appropriate drivers). All in all, I love this laptop, it's been the best one I had yet. HP would be my second choice, Also a great make. While typing this, I am using an Acer Aspire 8920G

To answer some questions I have read over:

The price I paid for this machine is $1,400. (Reasonable, for what it is)

Is it Linux compatible? Certainly, I am dual-booting Ubuntu 8.04 while running X86 Vista (32 bit)
However the machine itself is 100% x64, for those asking, x64 means you CAN have backwards compatibility for x86 OS’s. However to avoid issues with Linux, I would recommend installing an x64 Linux distro.

Is the Blu-ray player a burner as well?
Negative. From my tests it does not seem to have the ability to burn discs, only play them.

Issues with Linux? One, when installing the sound drivers, you will need to modify the ALSA sub-list to include an update from INTEL, else you will have to switch to OSS4, and that will cause some speaker output issues. Other than that, everything works perfectly.

Breaks? – Had mine since augest (it is now oct) and nothing has happened to it yet. Great stuff, Acer!

Customer support? – They do their best, I can’t blame them for that, however the website does host faulty drivers so make SURE to burn a backup disc once your laptop is turned on for the first time.
I’m still awaiting the disc that Acer had sent me (with the appropriate drivers).

All in all, I love this laptop, it’s been the best one I had yet. HP would be my second choice, Also a great make.

]]> By: Jace http://blog.laptopmag.com/mini-review-acer-aspire-8920g/comment-page-1#comment-12919 Jace Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:07:24 +0000 http://blog.laptopmag.com/?p=1376#comment-12919 I'm sold on it... now if I could get it with Windows XP instead I would be addicted.. I’m sold on it…

now if I could get it with Windows XP instead I would be addicted..

]]> By: Ivan http://blog.laptopmag.com/mini-review-acer-aspire-8920g/comment-page-1#comment-12853 Ivan Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:51:37 +0000 http://blog.laptopmag.com/?p=1376#comment-12853 It would be good notebook, can even magnificent. But Vista transforms it simply into piece of Bill's dung. I have bought it, and now I do not know as to get rid. And all because of Vista. That Bills has choked with my money! It would be good notebook, can even magnificent. But Vista transforms it simply into piece of Bill’s dung. I have bought it, and now I do not know as to get rid. And all because of Vista. That Bills has choked with my money!

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