Acer Aspire Ethos 8943G

Acer Aspire05 May 2011

In Acer Aspire series, this one is too much better.

Gw1ll13 July 2011

I purchased the Aspire 8943G a month ago now and am hugely impressed with it. (It is unclear which model TGS is using, mine is the 9487 model with the 2nd gen i7-2630, 750GB HDD, 6GB RAM and ATI 2GB 6850M). Having been a devoted desktop user over the years and having built a few powerful gaming rigs in my time, most recently a Quad core Q6600 4GB Ram 1GB ATI 4870 a few years ago, I am very impressed with the power to weight/size of this laptop in comparison to a desktop and other laptops at this price. As an Architect I make intensive use of multi-tasking, often running CAD and 3D rendering software simultaneously on the big screen, while running the usual suspects such as iTunes, chrome, McAfee and Steam in the background, all of which run effortlessly without slow down. It is quiet too, even when running a dual display with running a blu-ray on a flat screen via the HDMI out and using the laptop screen for CAD work and facebook etc. There is easily enough grunt to run almost anything and everything, all at the same time. Reliability is good also. I know how hot even well ventilated desktops can get when maxed out on a top end game and this thing appears rock solid. (If anything it conveniently keeps ones mug of tea warm when located next to the primary fan!). Further to this, i have to say that to describe this laptop as "more of a media laptop than an out-and-out gaming machine" is i believe a little off the mark. It comfortably runs the likes of Crysis 2 and Far Cry 2 at maximum settings and 8xAA with very smooth frame rates and short loading times and they look fantastic on the Full HD screen. The sound output from the Dolby 5.1 Cinematic Home Theatre is reasonable, though being able to adjust the base and treble is still a mystery to this day! Either way i would still opt for a good set of quality cans over almost any built in laptop speakers, regardless of what the manufacturers marketing spiel tells us! From a practical point of view one has to accept the fact that this is a 'desktop replacement', rather than a 'laptop' in all seriousness. It IS heavy and i'll be damned if i'll ever find a laptop bag big enough to carry it anywhere. But realistically, anyone buying an 18" laptop is not looking to take it on the tube or bus with them everyday or cycle it to Starbucks! That said, if you keep all your work documents and text books in a pdf format on the ample sized hard disk then sling it in a big back pack on its own and all but the most feeble of desk ridden 9 to 5ers should be able to manage it without too much trouble. Further on the subject of mobility, the battery life aint to shaby either! The 8 cell pack manages to keep me honest past the four odd hour mark when handling things like Adobe InDesign and online radio, though i'm not sure how long some Full HD gaming would last! The build quality seems very good too. The black and aluminium chassis looks and feels great, just watch out for those damned greasy finger prints on the glossy finish multi touch pad! The full qwerty keyboard layout with number pad is useful, but could be a little more spread out considering the spare area around the perimeter. The finger print reader login, auto disk backup and programmable quick access button are nice touches, however the dual multimedia and multi-touch gesture pad aren't quite up to iPhone standards for sophistication and ease of use. That said, the High res web cam, PureZone Mic and USB 3.0 more than compensate for these shortcomings. In summary, while 1600 of your hard earned beer notes is a lot to part with, by comparison to the others on test here, it seems the stand out bargain! (I incidentally bought one in Canada to use there for the equivalent of 1,100 GBP) I would easily recommend it to any hard core gamer or multi-tasker who is tired of the fuss and clutter that comes with desktop set ups. Alternatively, if you're less into your games, simply opt for the lower spec ATI model and bask in the glory of 'The Dark Knight' on the big screen in Full HD Blu-Ray......or load up Facebook really fast !