ACER TRAVELMATE 8481G

Generally there are few grades of tools and stuff we usually find all around us. Starting from the crap grade then followed by the normal grade, then the high end grade. After that, there is also the sick grade. The new Acer Travelmate 8481G is no doubt a sick notebook. It is basically because it is an i7 notebook that weight only at 1.5kg. Plus this sick notebook is equipped with nVidia GT250Mobile further enhancing its ability to excel in wider scope. The Acer is also boasts to have up to 9 hours of battery life. That is one sick of a notebook at RM4k range. Let’s see what inside…

Out of the box, the Travelmate is kind of elegantly thin and slender with pretty boring of a design. It reminds me of the old Macbook Pro type of design, but with that un-cool Signal. The sick thin case is of magnesium based therefore Acer manages to skim its weight to a measly 1.5kg. The 14.1” LCD display is beautiful and crisp, leaving the panel holding it with only slight centimeters to spare on each sides and top. Even on the bright sunlight, the screen is viewable since the LCD is protected with a matte cover. The keyboard is pretty comfortable, but eventually it is the type of keyboard layout that is easy to trap dust and dirt. It is similar with the Aspire model. The palm rest is wide and generous where the touch screen is placed. The fingerprint reader is located between the buttons.

I do not know what has the engineers at Acer are eating, but equipping the already sick notebook with NVIDIA’s GT520M, is making the notebook into a beast. The notebook is also utilizing the Optimus technology where discreet graphics card will be turned on only when needed. Therefore reducing heat and reducing power consumption. This is the specification of the Acer Travelmate 8481G that is being reviewed here;

Processor: Intel Core i7 2637M with 4MB L2 Cache; Turbo Boost up to 2.80GHz. This is one of the fastest 17W TDP processor.

RAM: 4GB DDR3

Graphics Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M with dedicated 1GB DDR3 VRAM

Display: 14.1 inch, 16:9, 1366x768 pixels,

HDD: 320GB 7200RPM Anti-shock Protected

Magnesium Aluminium Body Casing and Carbon Top LCD Panel

Integrated Bluetooth 3.0, Webcam, WiFi, USB2.0, E-SATA, VGA Output, Ethernet Jack 

The verdict; Acer’s TravelMate8481G is one of the sickest laptop around available at less than RM4k. I have to agree, that this sicko will play a contributing role in the demise of desktop industry. Now, who wants to buy an i7 desktop at the same specification around the same price? Secondly, who wants to buy a desktop that usually will last around 3-4 years, about the same age of any offered notebook in the market? Thirdly, who wants to buy a desktop that churns on your money on electric bills? Fourth, who on earth wants to buy a desktop that produces more heat? This Acer Travelmate can play Call of Duty Balck Ops and Starcraft 2 at reasonably good settings, and who on earth does not content for that, plus the additional bonus of mobility, cooler and more energy efficient system.

Now where do I start to save?
Picture taken from: Acer