Dell Inspiron 8600 vs. Acer Aspire 1501

[GuruX]

OK -- I'm now within a week of picking up a system, and need some last-minute advice. I'm down to two choices -- both costing about the same amount.

1) Dell Inspiron 8600

- 15.4" WSXGA+ display
- Pentium-M 1.4GHz
- 512MB memory
- 40GB HDD (I'm guessing Dell uses 5400rpm drives)
- ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 Pro Turbo (128MB)
- 1-yr Return-to-Depot Warranty w/CompleteCare (Onsite isn't too important -- I've got my desktop should things go wrong)

2) Acer Aspire 1501

- 15" SXGA+ display
- Athlon64 3000+ processor
- 512MB memory
- 40GB HDD (not sure rotational speed)
- ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 Pro (64MB)
- 12-cell Lithium Ion battery
- 1-year warranty (not sure how Acer does warranty coverage.

The Inspiron has the advantage of a widescreen display, and a low-power CPU. The Acer has the advantage of a 64-bit processor, and the fact I can see it before I buy (not sure how much to trust a Dell since I've never really looked at an Inspiron 8600 in person).

As for questions, here goes:

1) What's the battery-life for Athlon64-based laptops?

2) How's Acer's track record for reliability?

3) How "Complete" is CompleteCare? (In other words, would it cover the LCD if I accidentally dropped it?

Suggestions / recommendations would be helpful -- as stated, I'm now going to be buying this pretty quick. I do know that Dell has the problems with the WSXGA+ screen, but from what I've read here, I could always get them to replace it with a Samsung display if there's a problem.

[Bjorn]

Where did you get this info on the ACER 1500? It is not on their web site.
I checked both USA and global.

[acurarsx]

I've handled Dell's 5150, which is the same type of construction as the 8600 as far as I know.. some guy brought it to where I work (RadioShack) to ask questions about why his bluetooth mouse wasn't working.. what a moron. Regardless, as far as construction, it isn't a Powerbook, but it's decent. Kind of flimsy upon opening it, and again, some slight flex in the keyboard, but for the price and power, is still a serious contender. The Pentium M has some serious power on it, despite the weak-looking clock speed, and battery life can hover around the 5-hour mark. Battery life on the AMD 64 chips is anywhere from 2-3.25 hours.

[GuruX]

Where did you get this info on the ACER 1500? It is not on their web site.
I checked both USA and global.

A local Vendor here in Canada (Compusmart) carries it. http://www.compusmart.com/product.asp?CatalogID=0&SupplierPartID=328040&CurrentSegment=Computers%7CNotebooksHere's their page[/URL] regarding the Acer.

[Bjorn]

A local Vendor here in Canada (Compusmart) carries it. http://www.compusmart.com/product.asp?CatalogID=0&SupplierPartID=328040&CurrentSegment=Computers%7CNotebooksHere's their page[/URL] regarding the Acer.
It seems like a nice machine. But since it costs makes me wonder why you aren't looking at a nearly identical EMachine for more then 500.00 less (US $ = 1299 v. 1808)

[Magicmasta]

the aspire 1501 is a european model only.. go t the dutch site and you'll seeit in the models list ;)

[GuruX]

It seems like a nice machine. But since it costs makes me wonder why you aren't looking at a nearly identical EMachine for more then 500.00 less (US $ = 1299 v. 1808)

I haven't found a vendor here in Canada who carries the eMachines -- not even Future Shop (Future Shop is owned by Best Buy if memory serves me correctly).

[mammyrammer]

Why not go for the Acer Aspire 2003? This is far closer to the 8600 in terms of spec and is cheaper :)