My Acer Aspire 8930 User Review

By qaz333



The 8930 is the successor to the Acer Aspire 8920, one of the first 18.4in laptops to hit the market.True to its "Gemstone Blue" name, the laptop offers Blu-Ray, Bluetooth, a Blue/Black holographic lid and Blue lights all over the notebook. with a 16:9 screen (Something becoming more and more common), a Blu-Ray Drive and a HMDI port, this laptop is perfect for multimedia enthusiasts. The design has basically remained the same from the 8920 but the internal components have been changed. The Acer 8930 brings Intel Centrino 2 support, DDR3 RAM and other new features. The laptop is purely a Desktop Replacement, although the 4KG weight is bearable for some trips.



I ordered my laptop from bestdeal4u.com.au
The specifications:

[AS8930G-944G64Bn]
18.4" WUXGA+FULL-HD 1920x1080p *CSV-Glossy* Wide-Screen
Core 2 Duo T9400 2.53GHz - 1066MHz-FSB
4GB/4096MB DDR3
640GB HDD Set: 2x 320GB @ 5400RPM
BD BluRay Combo Drive with DVD-Burner D/L DVD+|-R/W
Built-In Hybrid HD Digital TV-Tuner & Remote
NVIDIA GeForce Go 9700M GT (512MB - DDR3)
Windows Vista Ultimate 32 bit



Reasons for Buying:
I wanted a true desktop replacement (larger than 17in), that could double as a media centre. I also bought this notebook for its power, not to mention its very good gaming performance. The 8930 has everything I want in a notebook and more.

Where and How Purchased:
As I said earlier, I purchased this notebook from Bestdeal4u.com.au. It was a very good deal in my opinion, far cheaper than any other Australian (or even European vendor) vendor I could find, selling it for only $2795. Their support was decent, with the reps answering all of my questions.

Build & Design:
The Acer 8930 is huge. No not just huge, ENORMOUS. Although that might be because I’ve only used 14in and 15in laptops in my life, the laptop would still seem very large to any person. The lid is a holographic blue/black colour, with the colour shifting when viewed from different angles.
I have to applaud Acer for the design of the 8930. It looks out of this world with its black glossy finish, CineDash Media Controls and various blue lights.
The screen wobbles a tiny bit when pushed slightly, but not enough to become annoying. The build quality is above average, opposite to what some people have been claiming of the 8930’s predecessor, the 8920.





The laptop feels very solid even though it looks quite fragile. The chassis is around 1.67in thick at the thickest (excluding the Blue backlit “Barrel) and is quite thin for such a large laptop.
The Whole Laptop is covered with LED Back Lighting (Except the keyboard, bad move Acer). The CineDash controls and the Acer logo on the back is illuminated White and the Power button, indicator lights and the “barrels” on the hinge of the laptop are illuminated blue. These lights make the laptop look very slick at night, though I wish there was an option to turn it off, as i fell it eats away my battery life.



Screen:



The Screen is awesome, to say the least. There are absolutely no dead pixels, no ripple when pressure is applied and is very bright. The screen at 20% brightness is brighter than my old Toshiba’s max brightness! Viewing angles are excellent, with no shift in color viewed from a horizontal. Vertical viewing angles aren't as spectacular though. Note the screen can only be pushed back to a 45 degree angle.



The glossy screen has very rich colour, with deep blacks and very white whites, but there is a slight reflection, although that can be expected from a glossy screen. One bad thing is that there is a slight backlight leak on the bottom, noticeable on black screens (such as the boot up vista screen). Fortunately, this is not very prominent in movies, and will not disturb the viewing experience at all.



Speakers:

The 5.1 Dolby Home Theatre “CineSurround” Speaker set-up on this laptop lives up to expectations. They are perfect for a Blu-ray movie or the odd You-Tube Video, although they will never rival my external 5.1 speaker setup. The sound lacks bass, a problem with nearly all notebook speakers out there. The speakers are fine for everyday use, but for the enthusiast, external speakers would do a far better job.

Processor and Performance:

My 8930 model is equipped with the almost top-of-the-line T9400, a very powerful processor that can handle anything you throw at it. The laptop boots up in 50 seconds, not bad for a Vista notebook. All the applications run very well, and the overall performance is blazing fast. The T9400 is a great CPU, and a huge HUGE jump from previous setup, a single core 1.73 GHz notebook.

Benchmarks: (Im sorry about white spaces, im stuck with paint, i really need photoshop)

wPrime: 31.73 seconds



3DMark06: 5700 (default drivers)

HDTUNE: (Temperature a tad worrying, same with the random drops in speed, anyone know whats wrong? BTW, I was downloading UT3DEMO in the background, a 700MB file throughout this, could that be it?)



Call of Duty 5 Beta: WXGA++, 2xAA, High = 45fps average.
WUXGA+, 0xAA, High = 28 fps average

HEAT AND NOISE:

The laptop is whisper quiet when viewing web pages or typing up a word document, but can get a louder (although not unbearable) when put under stress, eg. Benchmarks or Gaming. The left Palm rests can get quite warm.

KEYBOARD & TOUCHPAD:



The keyboard is easily one of the highlights of the laptop. Packing both a full size keyboard, a 4 ROW NUMPAD (that’s right, 4, not 3) and a CineDash Media Controller, showing just how large the 8930 is. The Keyboard is a glossy black finish, although it doesn’t attract fingerprints. There is a nice click sound when a key is pressed down, and there is a tiny bit of flex when the Numpad or the “G” key is pressed down (with a lot of pressure). The Touchpad is fine, although it gets annoying as it is the same finish as the lower third of the notebook, a nice gunmetal grey. It has dedicated scroll zones and the keys are responsive, though not responsive enough in my opinion. Your finger can get accidentally scroll of the touchpad, as there is only a tiny height elevation between the touchpad and the palm rests.



INPUT AND OUTPUT PORTS:

The Acer Aspire 8930 has almost all the ports you need except for the strange omission of Firewire.

Ports:

HDMI OUT
4 x USB Ports, one doubling as eSATA
Ethernet
VGA Port
An Expresscard Slot
Headphone/speaker/line-out jack with S/PDIF support
The Acer also has a 2MP Webcam.



There are 2 USB ports on the right, and two on the left. Surprisingly, the back has no ports at all.



WIRELESS:

The Acer Aspire 8930 is equipped with the (According to Acer.com)
Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (dual-band quad-mode 802.11a/g/N) network connection, supporting Acer SignalUp™ with InviLink™ Nplify™ wireless technology.

The 8930, true to its “Gemstone Blue” name, comes with Bluetooth and works fine with my phone. There is a dedicated switch next to the keyboard.

BATTERY:
The Battery lasts around 2 hours on Power Saver mode with brightness on 50%. This result could be better if Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and the brightness was turned down. I am happy with the result, it was way better than what I expected out of a 18.4in Powerhouse.


CONCLUSION:
The Acer Aspire 8930 is a wonderful laptop for those multimedia enthusiasts. It packs a wonderful screen with a full keyboard but still manages to get decent battery life. I would definitely recommend this laptop to anyone.

• PROS:
• Wonderful Screen
• Good Battery Life for a DTR
• Awesome Keyboard
• Very powerful
• Relative Portability
• Brilliant Design (not to mention the lights!).
CONS:
• Runs quite Hot
• Noisy (only a bit, but still noisy)
• Touchpad could have been better
• HDD speed was quite poor in HDTUNE.

by qaz333

 

My camera is broken, i will post a lot of pictures tomorow, i promise! (DONE)

SOON TO COME:
UT3
COD4
CINEDASH REVIEW
MORE COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW (this ones a bit short)

 

nice review.. how much does it cost?

 

sorry..missed it, saw it just now..

 

Anyone here know of any vendor in the US selling an Acer 8930-xxxx model configured like the one qaz333 bought "down under" - e.g. an Acer Aspire 8930-xxxx with each of the following four specs:

1. the full HD 1920x1080p resolution screen;

2. the Blue-Ray optical drive; and

3. the NVIDIA GeForce Go 9700M GT w/512MB graphics?

4. 2.53GHz or better processor speed

Sadly, so far, the only 18.4" Acer Aspire 8930-xxx models I've seen available here in the US have been missing one or more of (and most have been missing more than one of) the four above-referenced specs...


r-gordon-7

 

i think the P8600 would be fine for normal work. It wouldnt differ that much from the T9400. Just get that.

 

OK, added photos. Sorry about the blurriness, i suck at keeping my hand still.

 

Hey!

Nice review.

Got mine 8930today.

This thing is big - and, as I was looking for large scale desktop replacement due to my work in design, I am very happy. About that light from bottom of the screen - true, but as gazz mentioned, it's noticable only on the all black. That means, that for final check people should move them works upwards. But we all know, that on screen colors ar not true anyways. Aside from that - you will not notice it.

Keypad is large. it's so large, i do not even see sides of it [yeah, stooopid joke]. It takes some time to used to it - I had continuous trouble on hitting the Tab key for about an hour.

Funny note: first time I started IE, I immediately went to firefox.com and IE closed due to an error.

Not funny note: My Ligitech VX Nano installation screamed, that it is in conflict with Touchpad soft - but I haven't noticed noting unusual so far [but, I downloaded VLC right away, so can't comment on players as well].

So far so good.

In about one week will go for 64bit, though.

 

osinsh, how is your 8930 configured, what is its full model number (eg. 8980 -???), where did you buy it, and where are you located (e.g., "down under", Europe, the States, etc...)

Thanks,
r-gordon-7

 

Nice,I am going to review my HP hdx 18t when it arrives from US!btw,what is your 3dmark 06 score?

 

Thanks for the review, this thing looks like the control panel for a space ships, lol!

 

Coming soon, COD5 and UT3.

 

Oh now I found it... was looking for it in the "Notebook Reviews".

Thx

Is the e-sata/usb port on the right or on the left?Could you post a pic of it?

Thx again

 

Its on the left. Ill post pics when i come home.

 

what res are you using for 3d mark?

 

um, 1280*1024. Default one.

and also, i accidentally forgot the plug my laptop in today and the laptop lasted 2:45 mins before 10% left! That is really good!

edit: xirurg, i changed drivers and now my score went down to 5500! shouldnt new ones (from laptopvideo2go) be better performers than stock?

 

not necessary,they might lower you score,but improve real life performance.can't wait to get my hdx

 

Wow they tottally copied Sony with where the AC adapter goes.
Nice laptop though

 

Is the 8930 upgradable? What can be improved?

How about firewire??

How is it for editing HiDef video? Can the CineDash Media Controls be used for jogging video forward and back (frame by frame)?

 

1. It is upgaradable, CPU, RAM and HDD all are, dunno if its MXM.
2. What can be improved? BACKLIT KEYBOARD. and the screen requires a bit of force to open.
3. No firewire, doesnt matter to me but might matter to those photographers out there.
4. CineDash can be used for fast forwarding and rewinding but definately not frame by frame. I dont even know any media player that can do that.

EDIT: Is that the HDX18? Good luck on that xirurg

double EDIT: OK, i tested COD5, im getting around 45 fps on 1600 * 900 with 2xAA and evrything on High. On 1920 * 1080, with 0xAA and everything on High im getting around 28fps.

 

yeah,I got mine it is great,screen is stunning,sound is awesome,get around 4.5K in 3d mark with default drivers

 

Very nice. Care to post a review?

 

No problems. Im really loving WUXGA+, you can fit so much more.

 

yeap,but next week(exams)

 

Oh Good! Can't wait to see it..and the pictures!

Cin

 

Hey, nice review!
Do you mind if I put your review in my blog?
I'll put a link to this thread and put your nick as the reviewer. And if you have website, feel free to tell me, I'll put the link to your site too.
I just love see notebook reviews, especially Acer Aspire Gemstone series since I have Acer Aspire 5920G.

 

sure! whats the name of the blog?

 

MysteryE Blog. hehehe, silly name. you can visit there by click in my signature.
The blog itself isn't really about notebook reviews, it's about mixed things and I just love read notebook reviews.

I just hope that you can get better image, not blurred out.
Oh btw, I haven't put your review.
I'm kinda busy in the office. I'll inform you later as soon as I've put it.

 

Yes the drops are caused by background processes, like downloading but also indexing, virus scanners and other services.

The WD3200BEVT can get quite hot at times. If it stays at 50C it's not a problem though, you may want to do something about it when it comes close to 60C. Try lifting the notebook 0.5-1 cm of the surface and see if that helps.

 

Thanks for that Phil. Ill try it again without anything in the background. Btw, would dreamscene and rocketdock affect HDD speeds?

If it doesnt void my warranty, ill be aiming for a nice SSD next year when going to the US. The intel ssd wont do, already filled 130GB..

 

Great review.

Yes your HDtune results are fine. The dips in the graph are caused by a process using the HD's bandwidth.

Disable Indexing, auto defrag, superfetch also every other program if you want a clear result.

Heres the thing, you have dual HD bays. Im guessing the 130gb you have includes documents, movies and music.

If you buy a SSD you really only need to put 2 things on it. The OS and your Software/Programs. Your system will load up faster and more responsive with a SSD.

The rest can go on your secondary 320gb HD (like movies and music) for storage. It wont make a difference if you play your music and movies on a regular HD or a SSD. (okay maybe a split second difference)

With this setup you get fast SSD speeds plus capacity.

 

I am glad that after a while you are happy with your purchase

 

Hi!

I already post you review at my blog! Feel free to check it out!

I'm looking forward to see another review!
Or perhaps... better image resolution?

 

will do, when i get my camera back.

 

Please inform me after updating the photo.
8930G has a very cool design, I just luv it!

 

BTW,how much does it weight?

 

Without AC Adapter (according to cnet): 9lbs
Without AC Adapter (according to my scale): 8.35

The charger is fairly light, i just brought my laptop to school today, with accesories and charger. Didnt trouble me at all.

 

about the same as mine I oc'ed mine a little ang got ~4900 3d marks,but i know that i can get ~5500 ...still,I play Crysis on ~all "gamer" >30 fps,so I am happy

 

What are the resolution that 8930G can handle?
A visitor asked me this in my blog and I can't answer it well since I don't own the stuffs.

 

^1920x1080 or 1080p

 

Do you if the 8930 comes from factory with only one HDD can I later on add the second one? I know that there are laptops that if you don't order them with the second hdd you can not add it later on due to the fact that the conectors have been removed.

 

I have no idea as mine came with Dual HDDs. I am assuming you can, as Acer wouldn't go to the trouble to remove the connectors just to **** customers off.

 

Qaz333,

Have you found any dislikes with the 8930?
I'm thinking of purchasing one possibly this week.I had a look at one today.The specs
are great but the build quality eg.Keyboard flex seemed a little cheap.
Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

666

 

I got to see this at my local MicroCenter last evening, it is a BEHEMOTH, especially compared to my 11" Vaio TZ.

I do wish that with its enormous size, that dual video-cards were offered as an option.

 

^well,he is more lucky then me-I only have 9600gt

 

Hello, just wondering if you knew if its possible to run dual screens off this laptop? I have a dual screens at home and would like to use the laptop as a desktop while at home.

 

Yes, you can use it with another monitor connected to the vga or hdmi port, with the Acer Grid Vista utility, using it as an extension, or clone.

Is it all going ok with the notebook?
I'm still waiting to buy it, seems that here in Italy all the stores went out of the p8600 with the 2x HDD

One question... did the lappie come with the 2 HDDs in some sort of RAID or were they just 2 separate hard disks?

'Cause if they're not in raid, I could simply buy the p8600 version with just one HDD and buy another one, trying to find something similar to that one, and just plug it in by myself.

 

qaz,do you OC?I got 5.2k with OC'ing it a little!

 

I do, I get around 5900 now.

Stupid ATITool doesn't let me overclock too much.

 

use rivatuner-but remember,watch your temps!