Acer Aspire 8940G: Best Multimedia Notebook ~ MY BLOG

A big-screen multimedia machine that packs a fast Core i7 processor, great speakers, and Blu-ray at a price that’s within reach.

If you’re looking for a high-powered multimedia notebook with all the goods, the Acer Aspire 8940G offers the best combination of performance and value we’ve seen. This 18.4-inch system delivers remarkable performance by combining a powerful Intel Core i7-720QM processor with Nvidia GeForce GTS 250M graphics. It also includes a bevy of entertainment options, including a Blu-ray drive, a rich, full HD (1920 x 1080) display, and Dolby 5.1 surround sound speakers. For $1,349, you won’t get more bang for your buck anywhere else.

Design and Ports

Measuring 17.3 x 11.6 x 1.7 inches and weighing 9.2 pounds, the all-black Aspire 8940G is a hefty desktop replacement that users won’t tote very far from their desks. Even so, it’s lighter than the 10.4-pound, 18.4-inch Toshiba Qosmio X505. The glossy lid collects a fair amount of fingerprints and smudges. This aesthetic extends to the bezel surrounding the display, as well as to the exterior edges of the system’s base. A finely textured wrist rest gives the machine a subtle elegance.

The large base affords a wide, comfortable, island-style keyboard that offers decent feedback, and it includes white backlighting. The keyboard also has large Shift keys, a full number pad, and a responsive, vertically-aligned multimedia touch-control strip on its right side, which is highlighted by illuminated keys and a button that launches the Acer Arcade Deluxe application (for accessing movies, music, photos and more). A volume wheel, positioned below, lets you quickly adjust audio. The left side of the keyboard houses another vertical strip with touch-sensitive buttons that activate the Acer Backup Manager, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. These new input methods are an improved take on the CineDash control scheme found on the Acer Aspire 8920G.

Located south of the keyboard is a large, multitouch touchpad (positioned just left of center) that allowed us to effortlessly whip the cursor about the 18.4-inch display. Acer also includes a button to the right of the touchpad that lets users lock/unlock it. A biometric fingerprint reader is nestled between two stiff and noisy mouse buttons.

You want ports for connecting accessories and peripherals? You got ‘em. Acer builds in a 5-in-1 memory card reader, five USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, VGA, DisplayPort, eSATA, an ExpressCard/54 slot, FireWire 400, and headphone, microphone, and S/PDIF jacks.

Display, Audio, Webcam

The glossy, full HD (1920 x 1080-pixel resolution) LED-backlit display provided plenty of real estate for comfortably reading Web pages or viewing photos. We saw colors pop when we popped our Blu-ray disc of Ghost Town into the 4X optical drive, courtesy of the 60-percent color gamut that brings out more brilliant visuals. The 16:9 display kicked backed reflections, particularly during dark scenes or when we moved left or right of center.

The Dolby-optimized Acer CineSurround sound system (with five built-in speakers and Acer’s Tuba CineBass booster) delivered stellar audio. Whether we were watching a movie or streaming James Brown tunes from Slacker, we were impressed with the loud volume and the fullness of the voices and music. Overall, we found the 8940G’s sound superior to the audio flowing from the Toshiba Qosmio X505’s Harman Kardon speakers, which packed better sound than your standard notebook speakers, but didn’t match the low- and mid-end richness of Acer’s machine.

Embedded in the bezel above the display is Acer’s high-definition Crystal Eye webcam, which proved to be one of the best we’ve used on a notebook. Friends reported stunningly life-like clarity; skin tones were true, colors rich, and images sharp. We were also pleased that we could snap JPEG photos at 320 x 240, 640 x 480, and 720p resolutions, and shoot 720p AVI video.