For you folks knowledgeable on Laptop computers. Help please.

[the ringo kid]

OK,im trying to buy a new compute but never tried a certain brand before. Im looking at getting an Acre from Walmart. Here are the specs:

Acer E1 510-P-2671.
Has Windows 8.1,
Intel Celeron'
15 inch screen,
8GB of memory,
4 hour battery life,
500 HDD (whatevertheheckthatis?)
Quad Core N2920,
Model Nr. is: NX.MH1 AA.003

Price was: $448, and is now $350.00. The WM im shopping at has one in back somewhere, but cant be found. So Im HOPING itcan be found as I want to try to buy it Tuesday this coming week.
The electronics guy says the model may be discontinued??? but not sure-has a red price reduction sticker on it.

Anyway, I dont want a Dell--unless I have to--I dont want an HP-not that im against those either.

My other questions are: What do you think on this lap top? Ive heard nothing bad on them, but know nothing else about em. Also, before i even get on the internet, what all safety type programs will I need? One of my main things with this computer--is I want the ability to play a few older disc games on it that I have-such as: Sid Meiers Civil War, Talonsofts: Eastern Front, and Age of Empires II.

I dont want to do anything fancy with this lap top, such as using it to pan on buildinga home--spaceship--yadda. I just want to be on thenet--be able towatch movies from a site-like youtube or Westerns on the Web etc--and play those few disc games I bought years ago.

 

[rwsmith]

Acer is good

I'd be concerned about backward compatibility with the games you want to use.

Win 8 is VERY different from any operating system put out by Microsoft, but it can be made to present itself like Win7 and before. I think win8 is great for tablets and stuff, not so much laptops/desktops. There will be a learning curve

The processor is probably faster than any one you've had

8 meg ram is very good

The screen is big enough and price is right.

500 mb hard drive is standard

You will need an anti virus program. Some can be had for free and others usually cost about $40/year

Dell and HP are good brands, probably a little pricier.

As far as graphics are concerned, I'd bet that the capabilities of a newer computer are fine for what you want.

My MIL bought a win8 computer, she doesn't like it. i'm going to mail order her a Win 7 computer.

 

[Cdog]

I agree with Mr. Smith. If you aren't computer savvy or curious to learn, Winders 8 ain't likely going to be your cup of tea.

It works great, just different enough to be frustrating to many. As for anti-virus I use AVAST free edition on a couple of 8.1's and have been very pleased.

The hardware should be fine with most home users.

 

[Llando88]

Kid - Good advice above. ^^^

Have you checked out Costco? That price ($400+) is more than I would think a base model Windows Laptop would go for these days?

We bought an Acer Aspire at Costco for $299 a year or two ago. Works great, has Windows 7.1.

I needed "Office" but didn't want to pay a lot. So I downloaded the Apache project OpenOffice solution for free. I bought an external USB DVD drive for $20 if I need to read or write disks.

We use it for TurboTax, etc., but I'd say we use the iPad or Samsung Tablet for most anything else.

 

[Llando88]

$269?

http://www.costco.com/Acer-Aspire-E1-Laptop-|-Intel-Celeron-N2920.product.100101007.html

Still Windoze 8.1 tho.

 

[Gunslinger808]

The Acers have weak graphic cards, along with low capacity batteries that mean minimal run times.
Also, depending on how old the games, they probably won't work.
I wouldn't recommend one especially of you want to game on it.

 

[cowart]

I just want to be on thenet--be able towatch movies from a site-like youtube or Westerns on the Web etc--and play those few disc games I bought years ago.

You would be better off with a good used Windows 7 machine, or even a Windows XP machine. Check with all your friends, coworkers, and relatives. Chances are that you know someone who has to have "the latest and greatest" and has a used, working older laptop that they would sell to you very cheap, or even for free.

Take it for a test drive with the software you actually plan to use.

 

[zonker5]

I have had an Acer for a few years now. Works great with Windoze 7.

 

[medxam]

Find a laptop with Windows 7. You don't want to go anywhere near Windows 8. My Acer works fine for my use! My old XP, which I loved died. Time to move on!

medxam

 

[SW_shooter]

Years ago we had an Acer and it was a piece of junk. Poor everything. I equate Acer to Yugo, bottom of the barrel quality and pricing. Go for better quality, like most everything you get what you pay for. I've had the best luck with Toshiba and HP.

Best of luck which ever way you go.

 

[bhayles]

Look through these. I buyt all my computer stuff, for me and for clients, from here. I have already sorted their Laptop/Notebooks by operating system and price for you. This URL is to everything they have that is Windows 7 Professional 64 bit in the $200-499 price raqnge.

You DON'T want Windows 8.

Laptops & Notebooks between $200.00 and $499.99 Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit Operating Systems at TigerDirect.com

 

[Kanewpadle]

The Celeron processor is Intel's least expensive and slowest. I steer clear of them.

 

[bhayles]

The Celeron processor is Intel's least expensive and slowest. I steer clear of them.

I steer clear of Intel, period. AMD is a far better bang for the buck, in my opinion...but that's just me...

 

[TOM BECKWITH]

Thought Windows 8.1 was similar to Windows 7 - different animal from Windows 8 ?????????????

 

[walkin jack]

I'm on my first lap top so I'm no expert. But mine is a Toshiba Satallite and it is awesome. Came with Windows 7 and Firefox. Even an old coot like me does alright with it. Miss Pam got one too and they are both very satisfactory.

 

[hyrulejedi86]

Personally, I prefer windows 7 but I had to buy a new laptop recently and was stuck with windows 8. I've gotten it setup to function just like windows 7 for 99% of what I do. If you get a windows 8 computer install a program called "classic shell" it will bring back the start menu that windows 8 took away. I kind of agree with staying away from Acer. They are a low end computer, and personally I wouldn't settle for less than a 4th generation Intel i3 or i5 processor. They are the latest and I'm very impressed with my i5. I've seen a good looking Toshiba for 399 at best buy recently that would take care of almost all basic computer needs for the average user. Take a look there and see what you can find. I'd post it bit I'm on my phone and it's hard to navigate that in a quick manner.

As for the specs of the computer the hdd stands for "hard drive disc" it is how much memory your computer has to install programs and files. 500GB is plenty for the average user. The RAM stands for "Random access memory" it is a space where programs are loaded to either allow them to be run by the processor or keep them running so they launch quicker when you run them. Generally, the more the better. 8GB. Again is more than enough for the average user. Hole that helps some.


Sent from a Droid Maxx on Tapatalk

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

For $350 I don't know where you would find more computer for much less. Below is a decent review. It will do just fine on the Net. As far as your old games I don't know about win8 compatibility but at least it has a CD/DVD drive so you can load your CD games/music and watch DVD movies. The Costco laptop linked earlier in the thread doesn't have an optical drive so beware.

Acer Aspire E1-510P-2671 Review & Rating | PCMag.com

 

[quneur]

I never understood why anyone would use Celeron processors in a quad core system. Speed is okay but internal ROM is low. A quad core system (using four potential threads simultaneously or doing 4 computations) but sharing the same low memory available seems counter intuitive.

But for home computer it should be fine. It would be good for light production work - word processing, bookkeeping, etc. even CAD (computer aided design) for smaller projects. Larger projects will probably bog down with 3D lighting work.

For older games, you would need a program to slow down the computer like a WMWare virtual machine.

My linux laptop died recently so I converted my Windows 7 laptop to linux. It was a HP and would take eons to load. HP uses another layer of software on top of the operating system.

 

[speedyquad]

'd stay away from any computer bought at walmart...i have only had dell's for quite a few years now..ones purchased from dell. although they are more cookie cutter now than they used to be, the walmart dell that my dad bought was a low level, p.o.s. as you can get in a laptop. it was so much slower than my older laptop with similar components and i could never find the processes that were slowing it down. the junk antivirus, et all, protections that came installed on it were horrid, hard to set up, and not easily removed or disabled. i can use my dell laptop for hours, if i need to do something for mom on that one, i'm frustrated after 5 minutes.

 

[ChuckS1]

Well, it's all a matter of perspective, I guess. Any laptop today has more computing power than the Apollo spacecraft.

Seriously, if someone doesn't want Windows 8, you can still buy a copy of Windows 7 and install that on your laptop. Not that hard to do.