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With the desktop replacement sector continuing to dominate laptop sales, it comes as little surprise that Acer has released a range of cost-effective machines that fall into this category. The combination of power and price is an attractive one and the Acer Aspire 1502LMi’s (£1199 inc. VAT) specification sheet is more than satisfactory.
Rather than basing the system around an Intel processor, Acer has opted for a cost-effective solution from AMD in the form of the Athlon 64 3200+ chip. AMD was the first company to move away from classifying its chips by the speed of the processor – since then Intel has followed suit. For those who still require raw power and speed for comparison purposes, the 3200+ chip has a clock speed of 2.2GHz. However, the main difference is that it supports 64-bit applications – while there are currently none in the mobile arena to support this, it does mean that standard 32-bit programs run with improved performance.
The processor is supported by 512MB DDR SDRAM and a 60GB hard drive that work together to produce a MobileMark 2002 benchmark of 226. Such a score can be matched by the latest Pentium M processors, but as these chips are currently at a price premium, an AMD Athlon 64 based system makes an ideal cost alternative with no performance compromise. We were impressed with the overall performance of the system, as in day-to-day use there was no evidence of it stalling or programs hanging – even when running multiple Windows.
FLEXIBLE DESIGN
The chassis of the Aspire 1502LMi is a plain dark-grey box that’s constructed of toughened plastic that feels more than sturdy to the touch. The panel behind the screen is made of magnesium-alloy. We were, however, disappointed by its lack of strength, as there was a visible flex in the TFT screen when pressed from behind.
The 15-inch display supports a standard screen resolution of 1400 x 1050 pixels. Although it had no visible defects, we felt that images on the panel had a washed-out feel to them, with the screen having a very shallow degree of contrast. Therefore, we would not recommend this machine to anyone who will be using their laptop to manipulate digital images or similar art tasks.
The keyboard is of a good size and is highly responsive – the keys have a reasonable amount of travel. The touchpad and mouse buttons are, however, rather small and we found them awkward to manipulate, which was due in part to their sluggish response. Weighing 3.8kg, the three-spindle machine is better suited to life on a desktop than as a mobile machine. However, with a battery life, under test, of 214 minutes, it’s possible to use the Aspire 1502LMi for lengthy periods away from mains power.
When it comes to choosing a machine designed for life on a desk, communication can be shared either by a wired network or wireless. Connectivity is to the fore with the Aspire due to the inclusion of 802.11g for use in WLAN areas and also the addition of Gigabit Ethernet for use in wired offices that support the faster cable connection. If your office or home is fitted with standard 10/100 BaseT Ethernet, Gigabit is readily backwards compatible at the slower speed. The Acer Aspire 1502LMi is a sturdy laptop that offers adequate usability for the deskbound worker. While it offers a degree of usability away from mains power, we felt that this machine would be best suited to the home or office worker looking to run multiple tasks simultaneously with no obvious slowdown in performance.
RATING 8
PRICE £1020/£1199 (EX/INC. VAT)
PROCESSOR AMD Athlon 64 3200+
MEMORY 512MB DDR SDRAM
HARD DRIVE Hitachi 60GB
SCREEN SIZE AND TYPE 15-inch TFT
DISPLAY RESOLUTION 1400 x 1050 pixels
GRAPHICS CARD ATi Mobility Radeon 9600
DIMENSIONS 325 x 285 x 40mm
WEIGHT 3.8kg
PC CARDS (TYPE II/III) 2/1
WIRELESS LAN 802.11g
ETHERNET Gigabit
MODEM Yes
USB PORTS 4
FIREWIRE 1
STANDARD WARRANTY 1 yr C&R
WARRANTY UPGRADE Not Stated
CONTACT
0870 900 2237
www.acer.co.uk
VALUE FOR MONEY 8
PERFORMANCE 8
FEATURES 6
MOBILITY 5
BUILD QUALITY 7
OVERALL 8
BATTERY LIFE 214 mins
MOBILEMARK 2002 226
3DMARK 2001 9812
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