Acer TravelMate 8204WLMi Napabook reviewed

Trusted Reviews has gone gaga over Acer's new TravelMate 8204WLMi 6.6-pound notebook (and with good reason). Sporting the 2.0GHz T2500 Core Duo CPU from Intel (on the Napa platform), the 8204 inched past the Rock Xtreme as the highest scorer ever seen by TR on SYSmark 2002. Not only do you get blazing speed here, there's plenty of room for running multiple apps with 2GB of RAM, and video ain't too shabby either with an ATI X1600 chipset (256MB) pushing the 1680 x 1050, 15.4-inch display. For communications you get 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth, and Gigabit Ethernet, plus a clever PCMCIA card-shaped Bluetooth handset for untethered VoIP calls. Other goodies include a built in 1.3 megapixel digicam/webcam, Smartcard ID verification, DVI, S-video, and VGA outs, four USB 2.0 ports, DVD-burner, and SD/MMC/MemoryStick slots. Not surprisingly, TR gives this bad boy a 99% (out of 100, we assume), but near-perfection will cost you almost $3100.

[frumin @ Jan 13th 2006 12:29AM]

1.83 GHz Macbook Pro

AirPort Extreme Card & Bluetooth

2GB 667 DDR2 - 2x1GB SO-DIMMs

SuperDrive (DVD�RW/CD-RW)

100GB Serial ATA drive @ 5400 rpm

Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English

ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 - 256MB GDDR3

$2,799.00 Add that fancy $29 ExpressCard http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/laptops/the-first-expresscard-memory-card-readers-148241.php for card readin' and $300

[im_an_aussie @ Jan 13th 2006 1:12AM]

I have the earlier model, the Travelmate 8104, and by what I have read, it surpasses my model, which itself is the perfect desktop replacement, so i can not imagine how awesome this new model is!

[Valentino @ Jan 13th 2006 1:22AM]

This truly is a powerful computer. It has a very nice look to it and good battery life.

[Ivo Marjanovic @ Jan 13th 2006 1:45AM]

"but near-perfection will cost you almost $3100."



You ruined it. :'(

[crescentdave @ Jan 13th 2006 1:49AM]

TravelMate 8204WLMi - Intel Core Duo Processor T2500 (2MB L2 cache, 2.0GHz, 667MHz FSB), 2GB (1/1) DDR2 667 SDRAM, 120GB SATA Hard Drive; Modular Super-Multi Drive (DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RAM); 5-In-1 Card Reader For Optional MultiMediaCard, Secure Digital Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO Or xD-Picture Card TFT Display: 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050), ATI Mobility Radeon X1600, 802.11a/b/g WLAN, Bluetooth, Gigabit LAN, V.92 Modem, Microsoft Windows XP Professional



This can be bought at Chumbo .com for 2,389.99

[rektide @ Jan 13th 2006 4:05AM]

What the hell is up with these displays? My friend got a Compaq 3 years ago with a 15.4 inch 1920x1200 display. My sisters 800mhz Dell laptop has a 14.1 inch 1400x1050. I havent seen a single laptop advertised in the past month that can match these sort of DPI's. I hyperbolize on that last part, but only slightly. What gives?

[Andrea @ Jan 13th 2006 5:05AM]

Uhee, mine was the Travelmate 800, 2 years of life and they have quadruplicated the RAM and Video Card, insert the DVD burner, the camera, the card readerd......



Sosob..

And i spent more than 1000 euros in buying a new LCD, spending more than 12 months of nightmare..



Very good components.. BUT don't buy acer, the worst assistance EVER!!!



Andrea

[Michael @ Jan 13th 2006 5:20PM]

Guess I don't see what the big fuss is. Acer's finally caught up with the rest of the power players and built a DTR (DeskTop Replacement)? I've owned a Sager 8790 for almost 2 yrs now; Are those of us that already have loaded machines supposed to be impressed? The Dell I bought for work last year has pretty much the same specs (except mine has a 17" WUXGA screen and only has an SD card reader). So even Dell is ahead of Acer. This article only tells me that Acer's playing catch-up. In other words, what's the point?

[benyman @ Jan 13th 2006 6:17PM]

Somebody got the pricequote wrong:



TM8204WLMI INTEL CORE DUO 120GB DVD+R 15.4IN WSXGA 1680X1050 SATA

$2,332 at PCNation.com



http://www.pcnation.com/web/details.asp?item=J26613



Im either gonna get this, an M400 if its good and ever is released, or a MacBook Pro, if it supports XP

[Slaven @ Jan 13th 2006 8:12PM]

"The Dell I bought for work last year has pretty much the same specs (except mine has a 17" WUXGA screen and only has an SD card reader)."



Wow, Dell had Core Duo notebooks a year before Intel's anouncement? I knew their supply chain was good, but that's awesome!!!

[Joey Geraci @ Jan 14th 2006 1:40AM]

It is absolutely laughable anybody saying that Dell is ahead of anyone. Wow, I didn't know either that Dell offerred a notebook under 7 pounds with decent discrete graphics. Point that out to me will you.



As far as the Macbook, it is slower, smaller hard drive, less ram, less usb ports, lower res display, no svideo, slower burner, for the same street price? Sign me up for the Crapbook Pro!

[Joey Geraci @ Jan 14th 2006 1:41AM]

Don't even get me started about Sager!! The heaviest notebooks in the world, with not enough features to counter for it.



Next!!!

[kev @ Jan 15th 2006 7:21AM]

Well, Dell doesn't have a

[kev @ Jan 15th 2006 7:27AM]

Bah, it screwed up--Dell doesn't have laptops with this performance in a 15.4 inch package, only 17 inch. That should explain the weight.

[kev @ Jan 15th 2006 7:56AM]

Joey...it's also a pound lighter, has that new magnetic AC adapter system (which is a potential lifesaver), and a hell of a lot less power consuming like this is.



I'm still on the bandwagon for an 8200, but I want to see Acer do something about that 9-cell going bye-bye in less than 4 hours.

[SdGuy @ Jan 15th 2006 7:16PM]

TravelMate 8204 WLMi - Yet in the world is this new highend machine not offered with the AMD Athlon 64x2 4800?

[VL-Tone @ Jan 16th 2006 12:40AM]

The MacBook Pro has digital audio in and out, a backlit keyboard, presumably a much brighter screen than the Acer. The 8204WLMi has only 2 USB ports, not 4. Putting 4 USB ports on a laptop is ridiculous anyway, ever heard of a thing called a USB hub?



The Acer doesn't come with a remote, and let's not talk about software...



As for the CPU, 1.83Ghz vs 2.0Ghz is really close in my mind. And like it or not, anti-viruses and anti-spyware programs do use many CPU cycles, and memory. The Acer probably operates like a 1.83Ghz when running an AV program.



The real shootout will be when Vista and Leopard (OS X 10.5) are released about the same time. OS X will be faster than ever (in each release it has been faster), while Vista will be slower than XP.

[thomas_h @ Jan 19th 2006 6:31AM]

cant wait to get this lappie's little brother, the 8202.. its over 700$ cheaper... i currently have a dell i6000 with an ati X300 64mb, it sucks for gaming.. while this nice laptop has a way better graphics card, looks better, better cpu, bigger hd, and better battery time..


:D =D

[E4 @ Jan 28th 2006 5:26PM]

I ordered it. eNuff said.

[Roneng @ Jan 31st 2006 2:59PM]

What to buy????????

[Vlad @ Mar 31st 2006 9:50AM]

I have just bought the new TM8204WLMi with the T2500, X1600 and all that... It is by far one of the best laptops. There ais more technology in this computer than there is in the whole of zimbabwe

[gigatech @ Apr 10th 2006 2:24PM]

good laptop very well build quality ,some nice extra's to

[Alex @ May 1st 2006 2:12PM]

i 've owned it for two months now: you can read my review here: http://www.pixeline.be/blog/2006/acer-travelmate-8204wlmi/

[Mel @ May 22nd 2006 11:47PM]

Bang for the buck!

-intel Core Duo running at 2.0 Ghz. Surely better than any Dell I know (Xcept the XPS's which would cost you far more).

-ATI X1600 - You could play most of today's games at medium to high settings. (WOW,BF2,HL2 etc works fine here).

-Nice looks.

-120GB SATA HDD. although its just 5400 rpm, its the best deal out there for the price

-2GB of RAM - much like its 5672 counter part, its the best value

-other pluses - nice WLAN Coverage. various connection options: IRda, BlueTooth. Express and PC Card slots (Which no dell system sold today has). Intgtd Webcam and Mic. FOUR (4), yes FOUR USB PORTS. Good port layout too. DVD Super Multi DL (Although I wish they could include lightscribe). DVI,1394,S-Video,RJ-11,Gigabit LAN,and VGA Ports. VOIP Phone. 2 Smart Cards included. Card Reader.

CONS:

-speakers are weak. speaker jacks are on the front (connecting 5.1's)
-exhaust is on the right side, blowing hot air to your hands (if you are right handed and using a mouse).
-Battery drains quickly (expected from Dual core processors).
-Heat

[Anita @ Apr 4th 2007 3:41PM]

Hi, I am a long time Acer fan. Acer is not for the timid! (Virtually no tech support.) But having had two generations of Acer's and traveling all over the MidEast, and also being a gamer, I am a fan of the quality components Acer has used. All my Acer laptops are still being used by my friends who I have passed them on to. I currently have a HP Compaq 9420 which I got mainly because at the time it had the best gaming video for the price. I also prefer to stay on the side of business laptops vs heavy gaming machines. Now, I have found my 3rd generation Acer, where can I buy it?