Order Acer AS5517-1643 15.6-Inch Black Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium)

This is a solid budget priced entry from Acer. This 1.6gz AMD "Vision", Athlon based system won't win any speed test races but it is a surprisingly snappy performer for common office tasks and internet usage. I recommend this PC for those looking for a solid, entry level computer or as a secondary PC for convenience use (i.e. a portable to supplement a desktop). It is not a good choice for strenous tasks like heavy Photoshop usage, multimedia encoding, or gaming.

PLUSES:
- Cost. At full price its a great value, but I have also seen it on sale at various stores including Amazon.com for under 400. That is phenomenal for the level of components you receive.
- 64bit Windows 7 Premium with 3GB of RAM helps keep things quick and responsive. If you buy it elsewhere do check the amount of RAM though. There are apparently slight variations of this model depending on retailer and some have 2gb instead of 3.
- A bright, clear screen with HD resolution for a very nice movie viewing experience.
- Seperate numberpad area is rarely found on laptops of this size.
- Adequate hard drive space. You should get a good external drive if you want to bring a huge library of movies or music along with you. Suggestion: Seagate FreeAgent Go 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive ST905003FGA2E1-RK (Silver)

MINUSES:
- Battery life is unimpressive. Depending on what you are doing with it you can probably get more than the listed rating but if you need long battery operation time look for a different model.
- No webcam.
- Only 2 USB ports.
- Keys are a tad smaller than I'm used to even for a laptop (probably due to squeezing in the otherwise welcome numberpad).
- Not anywhere near as glutted as some of the bigger name brands out there but Acer still jams some trailware bloat onto it.

SPECIAL NOTE:
Processor is actually a 1.6 GHz AMD TK-42, not the older 1.2gz L310 shown on the description. I have seen this exact same discrepancy on many websites. I would guess that Acer changed their mind at the last second and shipped the better processor but failed to update the boilerplate text retailers cut and paste onto their listings. Bottom line is what you get is an upgrade over what is listed!Get more detail about Acer AS5517-1643 15.6-Inch Black Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium).