Linux for your taste (sorry Naw :D) (28 Viewers)

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V

Senior Member
Jun 8, 2005
20,110
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    V

I figure this a good place to ask as any.. Has anyone here had some experience with Acer laptops? I'm looking to buy one for my firm and there's one model with great specifications I can get for a reasonable price. So in general, would you say Acer is a good manufacturer?
 

JCK

Biased
JCK
May 11, 2004
125,390
I use an Acer, one of the older models TravelMate 290E. Personally I think they are very good, one gets a value for the money and they are "heavy duty". I'd say go for it, too bad their screen resolutions are not as one wishes for but other than that they are perfect.
 

V

Senior Member
Jun 8, 2005
20,110
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    V

Well the thing that turns me off, it's the same as with most laptop manufacturers these days, is the 1 year warranty.

The laptop is a Aspire 9302, Turion 64 2x, 17" WXGA, 2G DDR2, GeForce Go3700 128MB, 120GB HDD, Vista Home Premium. Those are all VERY nice specifications and the price is tempting but the 1 year warranty is what worries me. Every now and then I read about laptops not lasting over 1.5 years, they overheat and stuff like that. That's what scares me, if I'm gonna spend a 1000 Euro on something I want it working for a few years at least.

My alternative is one TOSHIBA model with similar specs, only with 1GB ram instead of 2. I can live with that as it's gonna be a business laptop most of all. But the key point is TOSHIBA gives a 3 YEAR WARRANTY on almost all fo their models. That's something I feel you can't really put a price on.

So I'm really undecided over this.
 

JCK

Biased
JCK
May 11, 2004
125,390
I've had my laptop for 2,5 years now; only during the last days of Windows on it did I hear the fan more than I should. The moment I switched to Linux the fanstarted to behave normally again.

Aren't the Toshiba's much more expensive than Acer? And you should try Linux on laptops, they are :toast:
 

V

Senior Member
Jun 8, 2005
20,110
  • V

    V

Yes TOSHIBA is a little bit more expensive but it also has some weaker specifications than the Acer, 1GB RAM less is not a small thing and it comes with XP, not Vista, of course the 3 year warranty, so that's probably where the difference is.

That's a good life period for a laptop, 2-3 years is a must and that's why I'm leaning towards the Toshiba TBH, I don't wanna risk anything.

I think I'm gonna give it a spin when I buy this new laptop, I hate preinstalled Windows, they come with all kinds of crap installed so I always do a fresh install of Windows. Before I do that I'm gonna try out Linux on it just to see how it looks.
 

gray

Senior Member
Moderator
Apr 22, 2003
30,260
I think I'm gonna give it a spin when I buy this new laptop, I hate preinstalled Windows, they come with all kinds of crap installed so I always do a fresh install of Windows. Before I do that I'm gonna try out Linux on it just to see how it looks.
Shouldn't you install Windows first, since the Windows boot loader doesn't like to think that any other OS's are running on your system?
 

JCK

Biased
JCK
May 11, 2004
125,390
Yea, as Graham said. Install their system first, install Linux second, and I can't see any reason why can't you keep Linux on it :D
 

V

Senior Member
Jun 8, 2005
20,110
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    V

Shouldn't you install Windows first, since the Windows boot loader doesn't like to think that any other OS's are running on your system?
That's the way to go if you're planning on dual-booting, but I am not, I must have only Windows. So it's gonna be Linux, format drive, install Windblows.
Yea, as Graham said. Install their system first, install Linux second, and I can't see any reason why can't you keep Linux on it :D
Bah, it's gonna be an office laptop mainly used by my old man. Who's gonna explain to him what's that "weird menu that shows up before Windows starts" ? Too much hassle, besides I won't be using it that much, though I will be responsible for it.
 

gray

Senior Member
Moderator
Apr 22, 2003
30,260
Bah, it's gonna be an office laptop mainly used by my old man. Who's gonna explain to him what's that "weird menu that shows up before Windows starts" ? Too much hassle, besides I won't be using it that much, though I will be responsible for it.
Why don't you keep Linux on there, but hack the Grub options so that Windows is the first choice by default, and set the automatic boot timer to 1 second (or shorter if possible)? :)
 

Chxta

Onye kwe, Chi ya ekwe
Nov 1, 2004
12,088
I figure this a good place to ask as any.. Has anyone here had some experience with Acer laptops? I'm looking to buy one for my firm and there's one model with great specifications I can get for a reasonable price. So in general, would you say Acer is a good manufacturer?
Battery life is just over an hour with all devices on, otherwise, good value for money...
 
Apr 15, 2006
56,640
my college was giving out Acer laptops for sale to it's students. strangely, almost everyone who bought it faced problems with their Combo drive!

but hey, this is India and we usually get dated hardware! so i guess you'll be fine!
 

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