Acer Gemstone or Dell Vostro

Villain

I'm in the hunt for a new laptop and I've been looking at the Vostro and the new Acer Gemstone.

Vostro config something like:
BASE Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7300 Processor (2.0GHz,800MHz,4MB L2 cache) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® XP Professional - English
HARDWARE SUPPORT Base Warranty - 1 Year Business Hardware Support
LCD 15.4" Wide Screen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display with TrueLife™
INTEGRATED WEBCAM Matte Jet Black without Camera
MEMORY 2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM (2x1024)
HARD DRIVE 160GB (5400RPM) SATA Hard Drive
GRAPHICS CARD 256MB nVidia® GeForce® 8600M GT
OPTICAL DRIVE Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Drive
PRIMARY BATTERY Primary 9-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (85 WHr)

Cost is €955 Inc Vat

There is 3 different model's of the Acer, the 4900, 5900 & 7700 they all have different configs.

One is:
5900
Processor: Powerful Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 2GHz (x2), 800MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache
RAM: 2GB Fast DDR2 RAM! (2 x 1024Mb)
1GB Turbo Memory
Up to 2x faster performance when loading frequently used applications!
Up to 20% faster Windows Vista boot time!
Hard Drive: 250GB Hard Disk
Screen: 15.4" Widescreen TFT (1280x800 - 16:10) with CrystalBrite Technology
Optical Drive: HD DVD Drive with DVDRW (plays High Definition films, writes normal DVDs / CDs)
Graphics: 256MB dedicated RAM - NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS with 1GB of TurboCache memory - superb for playing the latest games!
Wireless LAN: 802.11a/b/g - Wireless Internet Connection
Battery Life (depending on Use): 3.5 hours 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Weight: 3kg
Warranty: 1 Year Collect and Return (Europe-wide)- Upgradeable to 3 Years for only £49 - Call for details!
Operating System: New Windows Vista Home Premium
1GB of Intel Turbo Memory
Camera: Built-in 0.3Mp CrystalEye Webcam
Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000
HDMI port with HDCP (for connecting to a HD TV)
5-in-1 card reader

Cost is €1218 Inc Vat

Another one is http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Acer_Aspire_7720_-_Core_2_Duo_T7100_-_17_Inch_TFT_LX.AHL0X.015/version-1.asp

Finally the http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Acer_Aspire_7720_-_Core_2_Duo_T7100_-_17_Inch_TFT_LX.AHL0X.015/version-1.asp looks best value its the same spec as above but with a 14" screen.

I'll be using this laptop for every and anything, games, movies the odd time when travelling, AutoCad, installing Virtual PC etc.

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated, cheers.

Cunny-Funt

The vostro gives you the same performence for cheaper. If your willing to wait for it. I got mine in two weeks but you could be waiting a good bit longer.

Btw I think you could go for the t7500 CPU on the vostro and it'll still work out cheaper.

silvine

The vostro only comes with Vista business. Would you be able to game with the business edition? What would you be missing out on?

Nephew

Not true, the 1700 comes with Vista Business but I ordered a Vostro 1500 online last night and I upgraded to Vista Ultimate for an extra e50. Apparently if you ring up and order through a salesperson they'll give you whatever OS version you want, regardless of what options are available on the online configuartion screen.

According to the guys on notebookreview.com they'll also give you certain upgrades for free if you push them, stuff like more ram, better screen or a 7200rpm harddrive rather than the standard 5200rpm. I just happened to read the thread after I ordered so I cant verify if they do this in Ireland.