Laptop Review - Acer & HP

[Mr.Boss]

Divorced my old companion - Compaq CQ40-613AX
Living together with Acer Aspire 5552
Got married with HP Pavilion dm4 1050ea

Hi Friends,

Sold my 1.5 year old Compaq CQ40 and got 2 laptops last week. Short review of the latest additions.

1) Acer Aspire-5552

This is birthday gift to my fiancee.
Purpose:
Basic office use, but won't be used throughout the day. She will be using PC at office and laptop at home (sometimes in office too).
Applications: MS Office & Tally

Initially planned for a 14" laptop but came across a decent deal for acer 5552 (less than 18k INR)

Specification:
AMD Athlon Dual Core
3GB DDR3
250GB SATA HDD
128MB ATI Graphics
Win 7 Home Premium - 64 bit
Complete spec here

Pros:
15.6" HD Display
Dedicated Graphics
Dedicated Numeric keyboard (very useful for her profession)

Cons:
Battery backup (for full usage with wifi on battery last for 2.5 hours)
Heat (known issue being AMD)
Sound quality id below average (mono speakers)

Performance rating 3.5/5
VFM rating 4.5/5

2) HP Pavilion dm4 1050ea
This is my own birthday gift to myself Replacement for my 1.5 year old companion.

Purpose:
Basic home computing, Outlook, internet, minesweeper (i'm mad with this game), movies, 'Jugad' jobs with MS Paint

Quick Spec:
Core i5 (2nd gen)
3GB DDR3
320GB SATA HDD
14" LED Screen (this is my 1st requirement)
1.9kg (this made me fall in love)
Complete spec here

First impression:
When this sexy machine came in my hands, jumped in joy and fell in love for its compactness, light weight and the body graphics (ir what so ever we call it) This is my 3rd laptop and gradually getting compact for every purchase (15.6"-->14.1"-->14") Keypad looks very basic, but well spaced and easy to use. No dedicated key for wifi.

Pros:
Light weight
Battery life - 6.5 hours specified, but I'm getting around 4.5 hours (wifi always on)
Looks - She stole my heart
Dolby advanced audio

Cons:
No dedicated graphics (but I can live with that since I don't play games now a days)
No scroll function in touch pad
I don't find anything more

Overall rating 4/5

 

[Mr.Boss]

Forgot to mention, both laptops are with UK keyboard, which I got used to (not sure how my fiancee will be managing)

 

[Surfer]

both laptops are with UK keyboard,

What's the real difference here?

 

[Mr.Boss]

What's the real difference here?

Few keys (mostly the symbols) at different places.
Hope this clarifies
UK Keyboard

US keyboard

 

[jayadev]

Battery life - 6.5 hours specified, but I'm getting around 4.5 hours (wifi always on)

:-O
What kind of battery does it sport?

 

[Mr.Boss]

:-O
What kind of battery does it sport?

Regular 6 cell battery

 

[dodge_v1per]

congrats for new laptop dude! HP Pavillion rocks. can you post any pics??

 

[Mr.Boss]

congrats for new laptop dude! HP Pavillion rocks. can you post any pics??

Thanks buddy. 2 snaps here.

 

[Surfer]

Thanks got it.Now I remember I had seen 1 old think-pad with UK keyboard.Oups I forgot.

 

[cooldhaya]

Congratulations on your purchase Mr.Boss , my dad has HP Pavilion and myself Acer 5745G. Agree with all your points about the Acer and HP , i preferred Acer because i still play games!

 

[Mr.Boss]

Short term review: HP dm4

Ownership span: 4 months
Usage: 4 hours / day (minimum)
Application: Internet, email, Movies, basic office applications, photos storage

Likes:
* 4+ hours of battery back up
* Still looks new
* It is not glossy, so need not wipe the finger prints every day (bit lazy)
* Never felt it hot (previous laptop was AMD)

Dislikes:
* Speakers: Sound is not adequate for movies (agree that laptops are not meant for this application, though)
* No dedicated graphics (my fiancee is quite happy since I left gaming after getting this laptop)

 

[Mr.Boss]

Long term ownership review
Ownership span: 2.5 years
Usage: 4 hours / day (minimum)
Application: Internet, email, Movies, basic office applications, photos storage

Even after 2.5 years of regular usage battery is still good for 2.5~3 hours (managed to see a complete movie without AC power) Still it feels young and brand new

Couple of problems faced:
- OS crashed an year back, along with the recovery drive. Installed original Win7 (forgot the version)
- Cooling Fan failed 6 months back. Got it replaced and working fine now.

Overall I'm very much satisfied with the product.