Acer is one of the world’s biggest PC builders, even if it is in the shadows of Dell and HP, you can’t deny that the Acer Aspire series has been a huge success, especially in the lower segments where Acer has been offering a lot of bang-for-the-buck models. The Aspire 6920 and 8920 are new though, all new. These two models are the first of the two respective series and also the first to sport the new Gemstone Blue design. The first Gemstone design was launched nine months ago, but this blue version “is a naturally cool, calming and [a] universal color. It is often associated with intelligence, stability, unity and control.”
The new Aspire 8920G series sports Intel Centrino Technology featuring the latest Core 2 Duo processors, the mobile Intel PM965 Express Chipset and the equivalent module for wireless connectivity. It has an 18.4″ Full HD CineCrystal LCD panel with 1920×1080 pixels resolution, 8ms response time and native 16:9 aspect ratio.
You can choose between two graphics chips; NVIDIA GeForce 9650M GS or NVIDIA GeForce 9500M GS. Both of them sports 512 MB GDDR3 , and can share up to 768MB of the system memory, support NVIDIA PureVideo HD, Shader Model 4.0 and DirectX 10. HDMI output with HDCP and 5.1 surround sound also makes it quite a media center. There’s also a TV tuner if you want to watch some TV between movies.
In fact, the laptop has built-in 5.1 speakers and an all new CineDash media console, which is a touch-sensitive interface that let you manage your entertainment and launch Acer Arcade in mere seconds, navigate menus, adjust volume and control your media on the fly. Two 320GB harddrives should supply enough storage, and if not, you can always use the Blu-Ray Discs or DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive, or the 6-in-1 card reader.
Aspire 6920, click to enlarge
The Aspire 6920 sports a smaller 16″ display, either a Full HD CineCrystal LCD panel with 1920×1080 resolution or a HD CineCrystal LCD screen at 1366×768 pixel resolution and 8ms response time. And you can only have the GeForce 9500M GS for graphics and one 320GB drive. Other than that, they’re quite similar.
The Aspire 6920 begins at about $900, while the Aspire 8920 starts at $1,700. They should start shipping next month.
