I got my Acer 4520 for P38,300 from Premium Logic Park Square, Makati. I came with a nasty looking bag.

It was advertised as 39,900 as part of Acer’s tie up with The Dark Knight movie run last July.

Here are my take on its technical specifications:

Processor: AMD Mobile Turion™ 64 X2 TL-60
(2.0 GHz, 533 Mhz FSB, 2×512K L2 Cache)

The primary reason I got it over other same-price models with the Intel Pentium Dual Core counterpart of 1.86 GHz. Only time will tell if its a better choice.

Chipset: NVIDIA nForce® 610M (MCP67-MV)

The Vista Gaming and Business Graphics Performance rating forthis type of graphics hardware is 3.0. It means its good for some casual gaming.

Memory: 1 GB DDR2 Memory (533 Mhz)

It had me upgrading the RAM to 3 gig two weeks out of the box that brought its Desktop Performance for Windows Aero from 3.0 to 3.3. It means it can now handle the Vista environment pretty well.

Video Type: GeForce 7000M with up to 896 MB of TurboCache

One of the reasons I got this model over other models with the standard Intel GMA 3100 GPU. It turns out, it is in the same class as its Intel counterpart.

Display Screen: 14.1″ WXGA TFT LCD “CrystalBrite” (1280 x 800 pixel resolution)

Great for movies albeit with too limited viewing angle in my opinion. Not to mention too much glare because of its intended gloosy finish.

Hard Disk: 120 GB SATA HDD

Could have been nice if it were the 160 gig variety. Especially since I got it running with just 100 gig available disc space. I called Acer tech support and said that it was due to the Empowering Technology and crash back-up data or whatever. The guy sounded like he has that standard answer for anyone that complains about it.

Optical Drive: Built-in DVD-RW Dual Layer Drive

Good performance so far. THat includes burning on DVDs.

Weight: 2.5 kg

It’s something that a medium built man like me can carry.

Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic

I like Vista even if the Windows Media Player has some audio issues with some DVD playback.

Network Interface: Built in 56k Modem
Built in Gigabit LAN

Bluetooth: Yes

Wireless LAN: Acer InviLink 802.11b/g Wi-Fi CERTIFIED network connection

Good enough sensitivity even if you have to wait a bit longer for it to connect.

Card Reader: 5-in-1 card reader

Did you know that Vista has a feature that can utilize the memory card even some flash drives as an additional RAM?

WebCam: Integrated Acer Crystal Eye
supporting Acer PrimaLite technology

Camera is good and even takes DVD quality video through Cyberlink’s DVD Producer. But it took me 6 weeks to figure that out. I sought the feature after seeing its price-counterpart Dell Inspiron 1420 do the same although on a much lower resolution but on a simpler operation.

Battery: 6-Cell Li-ion (2.48 Hours battery life)

I still have to see it last for more than two hours though. Even f the Acer site has a disclaimer that battery life is dependent on the applications used, it should at least hit the 2 hour mark in general.

Speakers: Dolby certified surround sound systems with 2
built-in stereo speakers

The audio is good although on the low side during some DVD playback.

I/O Ports: Four USB 2.0 ports
ExpressCard/54 slot
IEEE 1394 port
Consumer infrared (CIR) port1
VGA port
S-video/TV-out (NTSC/PAL) port
Headphone/speaker/line-out jack with S/PDIF
support
Microphone-in jack
Line-in jack
Ethernet (RJ-45) port
Modem (RJ-11) port
DC-in jack for AC Adapter

Nice in/out provisions.

Overall I would rate it according to my need and use for it at 8 with 10 being the highest. It would have been nice if I’ve gotten it for a lower price though. I think Premium Logic hasone of the more premium prices around.

Got this for P27,900.00 at Festival Mall, with 1 year warranty, Acer laptop Bag, headset, mouse, and 1 Gb flash drive…

First impression: LCD is very nice.

For the performance, I tried running some games like Warcraft. No problem encountered… Not bad. Not much heat generated. Normal operation will only reach 50-57C. I used NHC software to monitor the temp. Speakers are also better, compared to my Lenovo V200 and Dell 5150. And of course, disk space is great. I had it partitioned. Aside from that, Built-in webcam is awesome. Battery life, 2 hours max.

Overall, for ~28K, this is surely a Value-for-Money Laptop… =)

Just watch out for those offering XP versions. I believe the drivers that comes with this laptop are certified only on Vista. You might need to download drivers from the web if you want to change OS to XP…

do you know where to buy an extra battery for this model that that would last 3 hours or more.

also where do i get to buy the 3.5 G module for this laptop

thanks

If you are in the market for a laptop, the presario is a good option.

I made a review at my blog (http://lylesantos.i.ph). I’d be happy to answer questions about it.

For those who are still planning to buy nice laptop that is fit for your budget, I suggest you visit the ff: websites:

http://www.bestbuy.com
http://www.circuitcity.com

The units are GUARANTEED BRAND NEW and has a 1 yr warranty. This is what I did when I was in a state of “dilemma” on what laptop brand to buy.

BUT, it would be a BIG ADVANTAGE if you have relatives in the US who could help you out in keeping an eye on the prices of the laptop because prices could either GO UP or DOWN…depending on the availability and demand of the laptop. There’s a 5% tax on top of the laptop price.

Then, ANOTHER BIG ADVANTAGE is kung may uuwi na relative nyo from the US, you may ask her/him to bring the purchased laptop…para makalibre ka sa shipping & handling…Hehehe…It’s up to you how you would “repay” your relative’s kindness in bringing the laptop safely in the Philippines.

Hope my TIPS helped u a bit in deciding the right laptop suit for your needs and budget.

I saw a lot of negative feedback about neo laptops. I myself bought 3 already and even upgraded the memory of the 2 m54se, the 1st one was a qnote. I must say I am very much satisfied with it (the reason why I have 3). I think some of the problems with it is how it is being used. Anyway I hopeidont