Acer 8003 Centrino+9700

I have a TM800 series laptop and love it. I went to the US acer site and found that they had 8000 series now. On the German site they don't have them yet. That new stuff rocks! Can't believe they have Bluetooth though, as the TM800 series still doesn't have Bluetooth even though it's been promised as an option for half a year now.
Looks like some killer machines though,

Hellblast

OMG! this is the perfect laptop I've been waiting for a while. Now where can I get it and how much is it in US? hopefully not more then 2 grand

I can't find a reseller who carries it yet, but it does look quite nice. Now that I have received my nc8000 I am sure all sorts of centrino/ATI9700 rigs will show up on the market.

how do you like that HP one? is it solidly build?

Yeah, the build quality is top notch, but I am having a problem with the rig installing games. I have some games that it refuses to install. And most of the others actually do a complete freeze of the system. I have no idea what the problem is at this point, but for that much cash it is quite frustrating to say the least.

^^^ I should add that I haven't had the time to entirely test the whole system yet (have been extremely busy of late). I haven't even used the DVD burner yet. More than likely, with the help from the good folks on this site, I will get this laptop running correctly. I will say that besides the problems with game installs/freezing that it has been very nice so far. I have gotten 8 hours of battery life with about 23% left on the battery icon. I would guess under regular usage that would mean 10+ hours of battery life, which is absolutely NOTHING to scoff at. Of course I do have the multibay battery installed to achieve this. But still damm nice IMO.

Have you done a clean install? I had no problems installing or playing any games on my nc8000.

I haven't had the time to do a clean install yet. Actually I have never done a clean install period on any of my comuters - I have never needed to. That will be the next course of action for me (probably sometime Sunday). Hopefully that fixes the problem. I'll probably be back tommorrow for some *advice* from the collective minds of this site.

Actually, I don't think I did a clean install on the nc8000 either. HP did a good job of shipping it clean. The only other thing I can think of is to make sure that speedstep is disabled while playing and installing your games. If the cpu is not running at full speed that could explain your problems. Install SpeedswitchXP to manage it if you haven't already.

I already have speedswitchXP installed (hey, at least IT installed correctly). I have both the ac and dc settings for max performance. I thought about uninstalling speedwitchxp, but I don't see how that could be the problem. Hopefully by this time tommorrrow night I will have done the clean install and I can report the outcome. BTW Flashram - I was impressed that HP didn't load this up with a bunch of crap from the factory.

Not to change subjects, but revert to the original subject: anyone find any US resellers with the Acer 8003 and/or prices? This looks like exactly the machine I've been looking for, although I'm unfamiliar with Acer support and build quality ...

I currently own a Travelmate 800, and I love it. It's got its own little flaws, as with most things..but they are minor. Trackpad buttons are a little sticky, the wireless button is a little too easy to push accidentally, VGA out is a little blurry. That's about it.

Very, very stable system, battery time is great, it's pretty fast for a 1.3 centrino, wireless works great, screen is nice, and it's the thinnest and lightest laptop I could find at the time that had a Radeon 9000 64MB. One of myt favorite features is the 4 USB2 ports on the left side. It's very nice to have that many ports, and since they are side mounted I have never wasted any time standing up over my laptop to find the right way to plug a USB device behind the screen.

My only compaint about this laptop is that it creaks a little when lifted from a corner or edge, and the screen doesn't seem to be too well protected on the outside. But there are no keyboard footprints on the screen after a year of heavy use. BTW, this keyboard is the best I have used on a laptop, personally.

The new 8003 is the same hardware design, this time upgraded with a 1.6 Centrino and my favorite part, a 128MB 9700... drool. An integrated DVD-RW+RW, bluetooth, 4-in-1 reader add to this already great package.

I am told by PC Connection that they expect to have it in stock by April 5th, but who knows. I already placed an order for an AOpen laptop, but I am thinking of returning it and getting this instead.

either that or powerbook...

can you tell me what kind of casing does it have?

Does anyone know if the 60 gig HD is 7200 rpm? Also, can you shut off the WiFi?

I wonder if CDW has them in stock. Thinking about getting this laptop. Decided against the CX6 becuase I just saw a WSXGA screen and I don't think I'll like the WXGA. I like the price of the Chembook 2056 but the form factor is not appealing.

I have a powerbook already. Great toy but completely useless for any high performance needs: gaming, 3D applications, heavy processing of anything.
Basically, the powerbook G4 is just about the slowest computer you can get for the price, but it sire is beatiful and works great if you do things like writing, web browising, dvd watching, etc.

I think the drive on the travelmate is 5400 but I could be wrong.
I am sure you can turn the wifi off and on with the hardware button, similar to my travelmate 800. CDW does not have them in stock yet, but I am going to check again on Monday.
In terms of form factor I would highly recommend the travelmate series.

I am sorry I meant PowerPro M 5:6 www.powernotebooks.com, it has similar specs and about $700 less, but I don't care much for looks, as a matter of fact I hate the looks, but I love the specs. Acer on the other hand looks nicer but a lot more expensive.

Can you tell us about the build quality? what type of casing does it have? What about noise? Thank you