Layman’s Review – Is Acer’s E725 Laptop Capable of Power Computing?
While browsing at Wal-Mart one spring morning, I ran across an eMachine, E725 laptop on sale for $299.00. Knowing that the Acer eMachine is considered a lesser brand by many, I still had to consider that incredibly affordable price. Hey. A brand new, state-of-the-art laptop with a 17″ screen and a $550.00 daily price tag for less than $300.00 is quite frankly an amazing deal in my book. Without further ado I swiped the ole MasterCard and purchased this cheap laptop grinning from ear to ear. When I took this puppy home, I first experienced warm feelings of joy, but then all misery broke loose.
The Technological Ingredients
First the specs, but without all the excess technical babble:
Windows 7 Home Premium OS
Intel Pentium Dual Core T3400 processor
16.9, 1366*768 pixel display screen
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500M
3 GB DDR2 RAM
220 GB Hard drive
Touch Pad
Integrated Components: Wireless LAN, Audio adapter, 8X DVD/CD-RW combo, 5-in-1 Card reader, external NEC connection, external audio jacks, external video connector, and 2 USB slots.
My First Early Impressions
The lightweight E725 looks slick, and the keyboard feels great to the touch. The processing speed is excellent. Previously sluggish software now leaps with life. Even Open Office, though typically slow in getting started on my old laptop, seems to snap, crackle, and pop on the Acer E725 eMachine.
Oh, But I Mentioned Misery
Being a writer, a programmer, and a systems repair expert, I pack my laptops gut-full with all manner of specialized software, including the following: MS Office, Open Office, SiteSpinner, NetObjects Fusion, Ashelper, Article Marketing Robot, FileZilla, Infran View, WORDsearch, TrafficSeeker, Adobe Writer, WampServer, and a great list more. Therein lies the misery. The Acer E725 eMachine is just too touchy to handle power computing. The crash ratio is nearly twice a month.
How much of the problem belongs to Windows 7, I do not know. The independent hardware components check stable. Yet when coupled with my teething problems using Windows 7, and the overload or power computing, in my opinion the E725 as a unit plays a weak hand.
I find that the free version of AVG creates havoc with this system. Switching to Microsoft Security Essentials has helped lots and I am considering using Avast another free antivirus program. Still, if you do purchase an Acer eMachine E725 unit, keep an up-to-date system image handy.
However if you are just looking for a laptop for basic internet browsing, catching up on emails etc the E725 should be right up your computer alley and for the price I paid for it there are no lasting complaints from me.
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