By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net
TAIWANESE computer maker Acer isn’t exactly known among gamers as a good option for the kind of activity they do, largely because of its low graphics capabilities even in its high-end models. Even the company’s high-end Ferrari series was not as well received by gamers because of its exorbitant pricing. Only the more discriminating business and budget-conscious segments of the market were more familiar with Acer’s laptop models.
In the last few years, however, Acer has been slowly enticing the gamer market with a few models. One of its latest iterations is the Gemstone series, a totally redesigned scheme that makes Acer notebooks look more like toys than notebooks. The design does work well for Acer as it gives a fresh look to an otherwise gray-and-black laptop.
As such, the Gemstone 5920G (the G might mean gamer) is one of the most powerful models from Acer and is targeted at the gamer market. This model features Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0 Ghz processor, a 2Gb memory, a DVD writer capable of HD-DVD, a 160 Gb hard drive and an Nvidia Geforce 8600M GT 256MB graphics card. The last specification is probably the more enticing feature of the 5920G since it is in GDDR2 (for the non-techie, it means it functions two times better than current generation PC graphics cards) and is already capable of high-definition gaming and video. In fact, the 5920G already has HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface), a video output that will allow a user to connect the 5920G to an HDMI-capable LCD monitor. Again, this last feature would be particularly useful when using the 5920G for either DVD/HD-DVD movie playing and playing video games. Luckily, most video games can be pushed for 720p or 1080i viewing.
Nevertheless, the 5920G’s 15-inch LCD monitor is more than enough to view games. It is also one of the best looking LCDs among laptops. It uses Acer’s CrystalBrite anti-glare screen, which reduces both the glare from the LCD as well as ambient light that bounces off the screen. One noticeable aspect of the 5920G’s LCD is the high contrast ratio when viewing images with both dark colors (black/gray) and bright colors (red/yellow). However, Acer’s LCDs still couldn’t refresh fast enough; at 8 milliseconds, it’s still as slow as LCD monitors two years ago. Most computer LCDs now can refresh between 4 and 5 milliseconds. Again, to some non-techies, the difference may not be obvious but videophiles will notice more “jaggies” when the camera pans from one side to another. Still, it’s only a small thing to notice.
In addition to the LCD Monitor is the integrated webcam, which surprisingly renders more than the usual 640×480 pixels. In most laptops the screen is usually about the size of a business card but the 5920G’s LCD can render a screen three times as large and is a welcome treat especially when doing video conferencing.
Performance-wise, the 5920G excels in both the gaming and DVD aspect. Supreme Commander, a resource-intensive game, actually runs fairly smoothly in the 5920G, even better than a desktop computer using a Pentium-powered PC with 2Gb memory and 256MB video card. When running at full resource, the 5920G’s battery can last up to one hour before a battery low warning pops up. For most laptop users, one hour is not enough, especially when watching videos through the DVD drive. But Acer included a widget application called Acer Empowering Technology, which controls all notebook the resources (it’s actually present in new Acer notebooks). It can manage the battery consumption of the 5920G by switching on and off some internal devices that consume power, such as the connections (802.11 a/b/g, Bluetooth, wired local area network and PCMCIA), as well as manage the brightness of the LCD, hard disk hibernation and even the CPU speed. While all of these can be managed through either Windows XP or Windows Vista, having it all in a clutter-free widget is much better and idiot-proof.
The 5920G’s speaker system is one of the best among laptops in its class. While it is neither 4.1 or 5.1, it has Altec Lansing stereo speakers and a down-firing subwoofer that produces descent bass. It’s even more intense when watching action movies and playing video games that have high bass sound effects. Too bad the manufactuers should have allowed the Gemstone to have front-firing speakers so that a user can just close down the LCD and play music. But, having it open and watching the visualizations either in Windows Media Player or WinAmp is still a treat.
Overall, the Acer Gemstone 5920G is a great gamer’s PC, especially for the addict who plays in LAN parties to show off his skills in Counter-Strike, Warcraft DOTA or Unreal. It does come with a cost though: at P89, 000, it is still in the “expensive” gamer’s category. Nonetheless, a full gaming PC would cost between P40,000 to P50,000, so an additional P40,000 for a mobile gamer’s laptop may be a good option, especially if there is enough money to burn.
October 22nd, 2007 at 12:10 am
[...] we reviewed the Acer 5920G. Now we play around with another Taiwanese contender and the latest iteration of their gaming [...]