Acer Aspire AS9800

Acer's latest desktop replacement system, the Aspire AS9800 fits much more into the luggable category than the traditional definitions. It definitely could quality as a desktop computer with its specifications and it can be carried around, although I doubt many would want to carry it for very long. Let's take a closer look at what it has to offer...

Processor: The Aspire AS9800 from Acer is powered by the high end Intel Core Duo T2600. This is one of the most powerful of Intel's mobile processors currently available on the market. It is a dual core processor that allows the system to perform very well with multiple applications on the desktop at the same time. It is very much a desktop equivalent processor in a mobile platform. About the only drawback with it is the lack of the 64-bit extensions to support the Windows Vitsa 64-bit edition.

Memory: Most notebook computer system come standard with 1GB of ram that is sufficient to run most applications. Acer loads the Aspire AS9800 with a full 2GB of memory that allows it to run smoothly in memory intensive applications. Acer also uses the faster PC2-5300 DDR2 memory to better match up with the bus speed of the Core Duo processor.

Hard Drives: Due to the large size of the Aspire AS9800 notebook, Acer is able to easily fit in two notebook drives into the case. Two 120GB SATA hard drives provide a total of 240GB of potential storage space. They spin at a very reasonable 5,400rpm giving them good overall performance. This is important as the system does have multimedia functions such as a TV tuner that provides space for digital recordings of TV that take up a lot of space.

CD/DVD Drives: One of the unique features of the Aspire AS9800 is the inclusion of a HD-DVD compatible optical drive. This allows playback of HD-DVD discs, but there still are no proper software decoders for the new format so it doesn't have much use. It does have the ability to record and playback standard DVD and CD disc including the dual layer media, but it does so at slower speeds then dedicated DVD burners.

Graphics and Display: While most desktop replacement notebooks feature 17” LCD screens, the Aspire 9800 instead features a very large 20.1” wide screen with a 1680x1050 resolution. Driving the graphics is a NVIDIA GeForce 7300 Go processor. While this is a dedicated processor, it does lack the performance for playing PC games at high resolutions that the monitor provides. This makes it less than ideal for gaming. Also features are a TV tuner, remote and DVD-D output with HDCP support.

Networking: Networking has become fairly standardized on most notebook computers. The Aspire AS9800 features a standard v.92 56Kbps software modem for dial-up networking. Wired networking is taken care of by a gigabit ethernet port. Wireless networking supports both the 2.4GHz 802.11b and 802.11g standards as well as the 5GHz 802.11a standard. This allows the AS9800 to use pretty much any wireless network. A Bluetooth 2.0 wireless interface is also included for wireless peripherals.

Ports: For such a large notebook computer system, one would expect the Aspire AS9800 to feature a large number of expansion ports. It does support four USB 2.0 ports and a single FireWire port, not much different from smaller notebook computers. What it does feature are lesser used ports such as a parallel and serial port used by older peripherals such as printers. There also are all the video in and out connectors for use with the TV tuner and media functions.
Software: While the Acer Aspire AS9800 is not a low cost machine, one would expect it to come with a fairly complete software suite. The system does lack a number of basic applications however. It uses the Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 that compliments the included TV tuner and remote for multimedia functions. Norton Anti-Virus is included to handle security. Other applications include CyberLink PowerProducer and NTI CD-Maker. No productivity software is included.

Overall Impressions: This system truly is a replacement in terms of its overall performance and features. The large LCD display, full sized keyboard, copious storage space and solid processor means it will compete well with desktop computer system. What it lacks is the portability of a notebook. At an incredible 17.2 pounds in weight, very few people will be able to carry such a computer around easily. Then there is the whole question of whether you can even find a computer bag to carry such a system.

What the Aspire AS9800 would perform well at is being a home theater replacement for a small apartment or dorm room. The large 20.1” screen is the equivalent of a small HDTV screen. This combined with the included TV tuner, remote and Media Center operating system makes it very strong for this task.

Those looking for a mobile gaming platform will probably want to look elsewhere. While it features a large screen, fast processor and lots of memory, it is hampered by the lower end graphics processor. Sure, it is not an integrated processor, but the GeForce Go 7300 will be hard pressed to provide high resolution 3D performance with any form of decent frame rates.

The other real drawback is the software package. It would be nice to see the system come with some productivity software such as MS Works or Office Basic. The lack of this means that people needing these will have to spend more on top of an already pricey notebook computer system.