Acer Aspire 8930

Print | Close this window

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/laptops/0,39030093,49300785,00.htm

Reviewed 18 February 2009

Reviewed by Dan Ackerman

The follow-up to the 18-inch Aspire 8920, the Acer Aspire 8930 is similar in terms of its essentials, with only a handful of component upgrades. The configuration reviewed here is the AS8930G-944G64Bn, available for around £1,300.

Design
The display has the same native resolution as a 1080p HDTV. That resolution, coupled with a unique set of touch-sensitive media controls, makes it an impressive package for movie watchers. A Blu-ray drive is available on some versions of the 8390, but our model didn't have one.

The 8930 is, like the 8920, a beast of a laptop. As with other 18-inch models, the 16:9 display makes for a chassis that is wider, but shorter, than a typical 17-inch model with a 16:10 screen. The entire system is decked out in black and dark grey, with a glossy black lid and keyboard, and textured, dark grey plastic on the wrist rest and touchpad.

We first saw the unique media controls on the 8920, and this model has the same set-up, with a touch panel on the left side of the keyboard tray. They are really just the same capacitive touch controls found on other laptops, arranged in roughly the shape of a handheld remote control. It's a clever and very eye-catching idea that works fairly well, once you get used to it, with the exception of the large volume slider, which is neither sensitive nor responsive enough for our tastes. It's a common problem with touch-sensitive volume sliders, which usually only jump between preset volume points, even though they look like analogue controls.

We appreciated the 5.1 speaker system, which produced decent bass for a laptop, but not exactly room-filling sound.

The 18.4-inch widescreen LCD display is the real star here. The native resolution of our 18-inch screen was 1,920x1,080 pixels, while a high-end 17-inch laptop typically has a 1,920x1,200-pixel resolution. That means Blu-ray or other high-definition content will fit the screen better.

Performance
The 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo T9400 is close to the top of the line for Intel, and is the same CPU we found in Sony's excellent 18-inch Vaio AW125. High-end systems perform similarly in non-gaming applications, and the 8920 is a robust performer even when handling heavy multitasking duties.

Nvidia's 512MB GeForce 9700M GT is a decent mainstream gaming GPU. In Unreal Tournament 3, we managed an excellent 63 frames per second at a 1,280x800-pixel resolution, and a perfectly acceptable 35.6fps at the display's native resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels.

Unreal Tournament 3 (in fps)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

1280x800, 0X AA, 0X AF

Sony Vaio AW125

64.3 

Acer Aspire 8930

63 

Dell Studio XPS 16

57.8 

HP Pavilion dv7

44.2 

The 8930 ran for 2 hours and 51 minutes on our video-playback battery-drain test, which is especially impressive for a massive desktop replacement that isn't meant to spend much time away from a wall outlet. By way of comparison, the Vaio AW125 ran for less than 2 hours on the same test.

Conclusion
The Acer Aspire 8930 is a strong performer that won't disappoint movie fans looking for a good HD experience. The 8390's also worth considering if you're looking for a laptop that can stand up to intense multitasking duties.

Additional editing by Charles Kloet