The Acer Aspire 1802WSMi isn’t so much of a replacement for the Aspire 1700 Series, rather a complete rethink in terms of design and execution. Gone is the hulking 7kg chassis, replaced by a more modest 4.1kg unit that follows Acer’s new “folio” look that it is introducing across it range.
At the heart of the Aspire 1802WSMi is a bright 17-inch panel that is set to impress. We found it any extremely clear screen, ideal for business and pleasure. However, it is the graphics sub-system that will be the main selling point of this unit, as it is the first laptop we have seen capable of running the ATi Mobility Radeon X600 PCI Express adapter.
The Mobility Radeon X600 has 64MB of memory built into the card and supports x16 lanes PCI Express design specifications - the new standard for laptops, allowing for data to be sent at twice the current speed of AGP 8X solutions. We were hoping for great results from this adapter, however, with a 3DMark 2001 score of 10395, it trails someway behind ATi’s leading card the Mobility Radeon 9800.
FOR THE FULL REVIEW OF THIS LAPTOP, PLEASE SEE THE DECEMBER ISSUE OF WL – on sale 10th November 2004
