Notebook with Huge 20 Inch Screen Reviewed

An anonymous reader writes "Trusted reviews has a look at the Acer Aspire 9800. This massive machine has a 20.1" screen, two 120GB hard drives in a RAID 0 array, super-multi DVD burner, analogue and digital TV tuners and an Intel Core Duo dual core CPU. And at over 17lb you can even use it for weight training!"

Only 1680 x 1050 resolution

[peterdaly]

It may have a 20.1" screen, but it's a little light on the pixel density side of things.

"So let's start with that huge screen. With a widescreen aspect ratio, you're getting a native resolution of 1,680 x 1,050, which to be honest is pretty low considering the physical size. Considering that many 17in notebook screens have a resolution of 1,920 x 1,200, I can't help but find the resolution on this 20.1in display somewhat disappointing. Closer inspection gives some clue as to why the resolution is limited - quite simply, Acer has bolted one of its desktop monitors onto a notebook. Whereas most notebook screens and consequently lids are getting slimmer and slimmer, the lid on the Aspire 9800 is 30mm thick - it's therefore a safe bet that it's exactly the same panel that Acer sells in it's 20.1in desktop monitors."

Personally I have an older Dell C800 (I or something like that) with a 15" 1600x1200 screen. I value pixels more than size, so for me it's great.

1680x1050 is horrible resolution for 20" of screen space, but I guess if you value size more than pixels, then this is the laptop for you. I would guess that for some users, particularly gamers, raw pixel resolution may not be your highest priority. There's also the "mine's bigger than yours" aspect.

Frankly, I'm surprised it took this long for a company to bolt a 20" desktop screen onto a laptop base.

Oh yeah...don't forget the Holy 17 Pounds Batman! I'd be willing to bet that doesn't count the power brick. Does it come with wheels and a pull handle?

Anyway, if I had the cash burning a hole in my pocket, I'd pass this one by.

Half-assed effort

[word munger]

This is such a slapdash attempt at a laptop it's pointless. There's a one-inch margin around the edge of the keyboard, yet the keyboard itself doesn't even have full-sized cursor keys. You've got a full-sized monitor, why not a full-sized keyboard? Obviously it's meant to be lugged around as a gaming machine for LAN parties and the like, but if you're going all-out, why not actually make the thing useable?

Re:Not only that,

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

It almost gets to the windows loading screen before the battery dies.
hehehhe - so true, but everyone I know who has one of the Acer (or Asus) monster laptops falls into that (quite large) 'other' category of laptop users - those who occasionally lug a laptop between work & home & rarely (if ever) have a need to use a laptop away from AC (that outweighs the need for a cheap laptop with big hdd & screen).

For those users, I guess this laptop will be good, but I bet it will still suffer from the 'goddamn thats one noisy ~0@#\/|3r' problem of having waaaaaaaaay to many fans....

This is an Eierlegende Wollmilchsau

[Zweideutig]

This is what is referred to in German as Eierlegende Wollmilchsau. This essentially means "egg laying sow." The reason I say this is because it is a laptop trying to be a workstation. This would be better in Apple II C form. I personally don't like anything larger than my 12" iBook (which runs Linux well). I wouldn't want anything larger than my 14" Compaq Evo laptop. There are two types of people that will buy this from Acer: (1) those that like high tech lifting weights (2) those who won't remove their laptop from their desk.

Quality

[phorm]

What I've found with Acer in general is that they throw a lot of quantity (in terms fancy features) with not a lot of quality. Fragile frames, dying screens, and various other problems have been a plague to Acer machines for years. Moreover, I've seen the same type of power issues occur in their notebooks from my old 233MMX (T310 I think) notebook all the way to the last Acer machines we bought (about a year ago).

Having a notebook with features is great, but not when you can't use the thing or have to keep sending it in for repair due to poor design. I'm not sure that this laptop would be any more or less reliable than previous models, but I'd be careful that all those great "features" don't cause one to overlook the issues of reliability.

stop dissing it.

[nblender]

You're all dissing this thing because it won't fit in your front pocket or run for a week without going to a power outlet. It is what it is. It's a desktop computer that can easily be pitched in your vehicle, driven to a destination, unpacked and used within seconds. Sometimes when you're working, and need to concentrate on a particularly nasty problem or are architecting a really nasty piece of code, you just want to take your computer and go _somewhere_else_. I don't want to pack up all my monitors, keyboard, mouse, cpu, cables, etc. I want to flip the lid down and go to the library or the cabin or wherever.

My employer bought a Dell D810 for me to use. This thing is so far from being portable it's not even funny. It's huge, heavy, a little flimsy, etc. But it's fast, has a big screen, lots of pixels, and does everything I need (except run OS X). However, when I travel, I still bring my 12" PBG4.

Mobility

[Umbral Blot]

Most people own laptops because they can go places with them, which for the most part means fitting them in a backpack or other bag. (weight is less of an issue, students carry loads of textbooks arround all the time on their backs, so what is a few more pounds?) However with a 20 inch screen I have problems imagining the kind of bag it would fit.

Re:lb?

[BrianTung]

I'm sure you're not entirely serious, but "archaic" and "obsolete" are obviously incorrect, since they are in current usage in the U.S. The U.S. system cannot be wrong (except from a technical elegance point of view), and it's not primitive in any meaningful sense. That leaves "irregular," which it certainly is.

Sorry. If it were up to me, we'd have standardized on metric a long time ago, but we're too busy legislating morality. So we'll have to get back to you on that.

Re:stop dissing it.

[joe 155]

well you just kind of disproved your own point there because, as you say, you always take the smaller one with you. If people want to have a powerful computer and a portable one; get two seperate computers - a desktop and a 12" laptop. If you want to connect them then use a cross over cable.

The only way this could be useful if for LAN parties (as you mentioned) - which are pretty rare anyway - and not enough of a reason not to buy a desktop which you can upgrade

Re:Insecure?

[Anonymous Coward]

Like poor eyesight, perhaps?

Why all the negative comments about size and batt

[Cartack]

This a notebook that was designed specifically for one task. That task is to be a high performance luxury desktop notebook replacement. The choice to use 2 harddrives in performance mode (obvious power drainer) should further cement what market they were targetting with it. Sure there will be some people who try to use this as a mobile notebook, just like there are people who will drive a hummer cross country.


--------- http://http//akurl.com/5a9cba/ [http] - Unlike The department of health, Akurl has a solution for Fattties

Re:Only 1680 x 1050 resolution

[drew]

Oh yeah...don't forget the Holy 17 Pounds Batman! I'd be willing to bet that doesn't count the power brick. Does it come with wheels and a pull handle?

How about (if my conversions are correct) holy 19"x15" (x2"). That's ridiculous- not only will this thing not fit in most any laptop bag or backpack, it will barely fit in airline standard carry on luggage.

Re:Excellent Large-Screen Portable Television

[G-funk]

Look, when will you pansies learn? Just admit to the damned porn! If you like it, you won't be able to live a porn-free life for very long, nor should you. And if you're watching it on the down-low, she will find it. I assure you, she will find it eventually. And then not only are you a porn-guy(tm), but you're a lying bastard as well. Just man up and tell her "I like porn. I don't care if you agree with it." if she's a normal (anti porn) woman, she'll say, "Aren't I enough for you?", to which you respond "Yes you are, which is why I'm not sleeping with anybody else. But I like to watch people fuck". If she's a manipulative bitch she'll say, "If you loved me you'd quit". The answer to that is of course, "If you loved me you're accept my porn habits".

The short of it is this: you can't hide the porn, and you can't give it up for long. Seriously. She will find it. Be honest. Perhaps your girl needs to look within herself to see why she's threatened by a Jenna Jameson DVD.

Re:Excellent Large-Screen Portable Television

[Anonymous Coward]

As an, er, girl, one might make the observation that there are several reasons to take up porn. One of them is the good old maintenance of the libido. Another one is that girls on video are a whole lot easier to deal with than an actual human being; they don't nag, they don't make demands on your time and there's a convenient fast-forward, pause and rewind.

The first is just fine with me (and probably, as you say, with most reasonably horny girls). The second one is fair enough, but it's kind of easy to overdo it that way and wind up girlfriendless and bitter. Watching porn is a laugh and there should be more of it around. However, having your boyfriend come home shagged-out on a porn overdose and getting no sex out of it is no fun at all. So yeah, share the porn. ;-)