Acer Aspire 8930 Review

The new Acer Aspire 8930 notebook from Acer is the successor to the Acer Aspire 8920, the first 18 inch notebook by Acer which was launched some months back. While the Aspire 8920 didn’t win much of a fan following and didn’t get much popular, it was able to wow consumers with its new flashy Gemstone Blue design. The Aspire 8930 sports the same Gemstone Blue design, with different improved hardware specifications. It is a superb multimedia machine and provides decent value for money at $1,600. It’s 18.4 inch widescreen HD display is one of the best you will find in notebooks, coupled with a superb 5.1 speaker system built in and stylish Cinedash media controls make it a great deal with superb features at a decent price.

Acer Aspire 8930 Specs:

• Size: 17.4 x 11.8 x 1.5 inches
• Weight: 8.8 pounds
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 clocked at 2.5 GHz
• RAM: 4 GB DDR 2 RAM
• Hard Drive: 320 GB SATA HDD, 7,200 RPM
• Optical Drive: 8X DVD ± RW
• Display: 18.4 inch TFT display, 1920 x 1080 pixels
• Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce 9700M GT 512 MB VRAM
• Wireless: Wi-Fi – 802.11 a/g/draft-n, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
• Operating System: MS Windows Vista Ultimate
• Ports: 4 USB 2.0, DisplayPort, Ethernet, HDMI, Headphone and Microphone jack, Modem jack, VGA out, eSATA, 6 in 1 card reader, ExpressCard slot

Design and Build Quality:

The Acer Aspire 8930 sports a superb, ultra stylish design which is a far shot from Acer’s usual dull notebook designs. The design of the Aspire 8930 is very similar to that of the Acer Aspire 8920. The metallic look and feel makes the Aspire 8930 look perceivably sturdy and strong. At dimensions of 17.4 x 11.8 x 1.5 inches, it isn’t really portable, but what else do you expect when you buy a multimedia performance centric 18.4 inch mammoth. It weighs about 8.8 pounds which is way above what most normal notebooks weigh. It can easily outweigh about 4 netbooks. The Gemstone Blue design is very sleek and sexy. Despite all the power packed in, the Aspire 8930 is only 1.5 inches thick. The finishing of the notebook is great and only adds to its oodles of style. The shiny glossy lid and the tough body gel in well and give the notebook a superb look. If it’s style and performance you are looking for, with nice durable build quality, the Acer Aspire 8930 is your best bet.

Display and Speakers:

The Acer Aspire 8930 sports a superb 18.4 inch display and supports full HD resolutions of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The glossy display is nice and has great brightness and contrast levels. The image reproduction is flawless and the colors, vibrant and lively. It is a pleasure to watch HD movies and videos on the Aspire 8930. The viewing angles are great too, both horizontal and vertical and the legibility under direct sunlight is also good, despite it being a glossy display. Just above the display, you will find Acer’s 1 MP Crystal Eye webcam. The webcam image capture quality is superb with nice bright pictures, the images and videos are completely natural and have accurate color reproduction. It is one of the better webcams on the market currently.

The speakers of the Acer Aspire 8930 are in their own league altogether – it sports a Dolby 5.1 speaker system with 5 speakers and a subwoofer. The speakers are one of the best you will find in notebooks, the sound quality is amazing and the sound volume very high. It can manage highs and lows equally well, and does excellently when it comes to Bass. It comes with some Dolby technologies which enhance the sound completely. It is the perfect display / speakers combo and can form your own portable mini home theater.

Keyboard and Touchpad:

The Acer Aspire 8930 sports a nice black keyboard with adequate key spacing and travel. It feels nice to type on and the keys provide nice feedback. It is a standard sized ergonomic keyboard with a nice feel. Just below the keyboard, you find the recessed touchpad. The touchpad is nice and responsive and has good sensitivity. It also provides a good grip which enhances navigational capabilities. Below the touchpad, there are two mouse buttons and between them, a biometric fingerprint reader. The mouse buttons are nice and provide a distinct click.

Just to the left of the keyboard lies Acer’s Cine Dash console. It is touch sensitive and canbe used to perform basic multimedia functions. It is LED backlit so you can also use it at night. All in all, a very nice addition.

Performance:

The Acer Aspire 8930 sports the latest specs – a Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 processor clocked at 2.5 GHz, 4 GB DDR 2 RAM, a 320 GB SATA HDD at 7200 RPM, an 8X DVD ± RW Optical Drive. It also has a huge 18.4 inch TFT display with a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and a Nvidia GeForce 9700M GT 512 MB VRAM to handle the graphics department. This combo is very capable and can run any application you want. It can also handle most games easily, atleast at low to medium settings. The 320 GB SATA HDD is clocked at 7200 RPM which gives increased data transfer speed. It comes with a 8X DVD ± RW drive which can be optionally replaced with a Blu Ray drive in the near future. It runs the infamous Windows Vista quite well without any lags or delays.

The Aspire 8930 sports a range of expansion ports using which you can add more functionality. It has 4 USB 2.0 ports, a DisplayPort, an Ethernet slot, HDMI, Headphone and Microphone jack, Modem jack, VGA out, eSATA, a 6 in 1 card reader and an ExpressCard slot. The built in Wi-Fi adapter offers good speeds and a nice range. The battery life is also quite nice and lasts about 2 hrs 40 mins with moderate usage. This is quite good considering that it has a mammoth 18.4 inch display at a HD resolution, discrete graphics and a powerful processor and a HDD at 7200 RPM.

Pros:

• Superb HD Display
• Great 5.1 Dolby Speakers
• Fast Performance

Cons:

• A bit bulky

Final Words:

The Acer Aspire 8930 is a very superb buy at $1600 and provides good value for money with superb specs and a HD display in a semi portable form factor. If you want performance, enhanced multimedia capabilities, and a huge HD display, this is one of your best bets.

Our Rating: 4 / 5.