Acer TravelMate 8200
The notebook reviewed is one of the most popular laptops of the season -- Acer TravelMate 8204WLMi. This business desktop replacement houses the latest components -- from Intel's new Core Duo processor to ATi's Mobility Radeon X1600 GPU -- in a sleek and sexy case
The Acer TravelMate 8200 is one of the first Intel Core Duo laptops out of the gate. In addition to its bleeding-edge Core Duo processor, the midsize portable features a great case design and top-of-the-line components, such as a 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics chip, a mammoth 120GB hard drive, and a double-layer DVD burner. Though this sweet system delivers on the Core Duo's promise of extremely fast multimedia performance, its performance gain was less pronounced on our productivity benchmarks, making its $2,499 price too expensive for users who just want fast performance for office work. Still, the TravelMate 8200 is worth the price premium if you're looking for a well-outfitted laptop for graphic design, video editing, or heavy-duty multitasking; otherwise, you can likely meet your needs by purchasing a less expensive laptop with a single-core Pentium M processor, such as the Acer TravelMate 4650 or the ThinkPad Z60t.
In terms of design, the TravelMate 8200 is a logo-free, all-black version of the Acer Ferrari 4000. The TravelMate 8200's tough carbon-fiber case lid has a cool kaleidoscopic lattice pattern; the rest of the case consists of sturdy magnesium alloy. The laptop measures a reasonable 15.6 inches wide, 11 inches deep, and 1 inch thick. Its 6.6-pound weight is identical to that of the Dell Inspiron 6000 and about average for a midsize system--the Acer TravelMate 4650, for instance, weighs 6.4 pounds.
If you was looking for a notebook under $3000 with the following qualities: good design and build quality, good gaming performance, WSXGA+ resolution screen, and something that would be able to run the upcoming Vista. And also wanted something that looked professional rather than a laptop with a car paint finish in lime green.
Costing US $2.200, more info about the Acer TravelMate 8200 is available from Acer's website. This laptop also just won the 2006 iF (International Forum) Award.
Specs for Acer TravelMate 8200 as purchased
| | |
| Screen Size | 15.4" widescreen TFT |
| Processor Type | Intel Core™ Duo Processor T2500 (2MB L2 cache, 2.0GHz, 667MHz FSB) |
| Processor Speed | 2.0GHz, |
| Bus Speed | 667MHz FSB |
| Cache Memory | 2 MB L2 cache |
| Hard Drive Capacity | 120GB SATA hard drive, 5400RPM, with Acer DASP+ (Disk Anti-Shock Protection+) |
| Installed Memory | 2GB DDR2 667 SDRAM |
| Maximum RAM | 2 GB |
| RAM Type | DDR2 SDRAM |
| Resolution | 1680x1050 pixel resolution |
| Video Card Type | ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON X1600 graphics, 256MB DDR memory |
| Bundled Os | Windows XP Professional SP2 |
| Weight | 6.2 lbs |
| Motherboard Chipset | Mobile Intel 945PM Express |
| Networking Connection | Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, Gigabit LAN, Acer Video Conference, V.92 56Kbps* data/fax modem, PTT |
| Average Battery Life | 9-cell removable battery 3.3 hour(s) |
| Price | About $2.100 - $2500 |
| | |
The TravelMate 8200 offers a full complement of ports, jacks, and slots. The left edge includes a 56Kbps-modem jack, two USB 2.0 ports, a PC Card slot, a smart-card slot, and a double-layer DVD burner. A Gigabit Ethernet jack, a VGA port, two more USB 2.0 ports, and an ExpressCard/34 slot are on the right edge. The front edge features S/PDIF, headphone, microphone, and audio-in jacks, four-pin FireWire and Fast IR ports, and a five-in-one flash media slot. Last but not least, the back edge integrates docking, S-Video-out, and DVI ports.
With speeds up to 2.16GHz and a 677MHz FSB, the base RAM plugged in is 2GB, and you can max out to 2GB. Wireless is the way, thanks to the included Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG. When it comes to graphics, the Acer TravelMate 8200 uses ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1600 graphics card with 512MB Hypermemory (pity 256MB of that is shared with system memory).
Other goodies, rather necessities, include: 5-in-1 card-reader, 4 USB 2.0 ports, 1 PC Card slot, IEEE 1394 port, External VGA port, RJ-45 (Ethernet) and S-Video/TV-Out among other
Key Features of TravelMate 8200 Review
- Intel Core Duo 2.0GHz
- 15.4" WSXGA+ LCD (1680x1050, non-glossy)
- ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 256MB GDDR3 (512MB Hypermemory)
- 2GB PC4200 533DDR2 RAM
- 120GB 5400RPM SATA HD
- Security Features, User and administrator BIOS passwords, Kensington lock slot
- Acer DASP+ (Disk Anti-Shock Protection+) for hard drive
- Acer Video Conference: VVoIP (voice and video over IP) via Acer OrbiCam integrated 1.3 megapixel CMOS camera and Bluetooth VoIP phone
- 5-in-1 card reader for optional MultiMediaCard™, Secure Digital card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO™ or xD-Picture Card™
- 8x Combo with DVD+R DL
- Windows XP Professional SP2
- Lithium Ion 9-Cell battery
- Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG network connection
- Built-in Bluetooth
- 1 Year Acer Warranty
| Lenovo ThinkPad T60 Specifications | |
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows XP Professional |
| Average Battery Life | Nine-cell - up to 3.5 hours life depending on configuration and usage |
| Processor | |
| Processor Type | Intel Core™ Duo Processor T2500 (2MB L2 cache, 2.0GHz, 667MHz FSB) |
| Processor Speed | 2.0GHz |
| Bus Speed | 667MHz FSB |
| Cache Memory | L2 cache 2 MB |
| Storage Drives | |
| Hard Drive Capacity | 120GB SATA hard drive, 5400RPM, with Acer DASP+ (Disk Anti-Shock Protection+) |
| Ram | |
| Installed Memory | 2GB (1GB installed in each of two memory slots) DDR2 667 SDRAM |
| RAM Type | DDR2 SDRAM |
| Maximum Supported RAM | 2GB |
| Motherboard | |
| Motherboard Chipset | Mobile Intel 945PM Express |
| Display | |
| Diagonal Screen Size | 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) TFT LCD, up to 16.7 million colors |
| Screen Type | TFT LCD |
| Maximum Resolution | WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) |
| Video Card | |
| Video Card Type | ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON X1600 graphics, 256MB GDDR3 VRAM |
| Video Memory | 256MB GDDR3 VRAM (512 Hpypermemory) |
| ++ | Acer Video Conference: VVoIP (voice and video over IP) via Acer OrbiCam integrated 1.3 megapixel CMOS camera with 225° rotation and Bluetooth VoIP phone |
| ++ | VGA, DVI and S-video TV-out ports, Support for simultaneous display on notebook LCD and external monitor |
| Networking | |
| Networking Connection Type | Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, Gigabit LAN, Acer Video Conference, V.92 56Kbps* data/fax modem, PTT |
| Dimensions | |
| Dimensions | 14.3" (364.0mm) W x 10.7" (271.0mm) D x 1.0" (26.3mm) H |
| Weight | 6.6 lb. (3.0kg) with optical drive installed |
The TravelMate 8200
In terms of design, the TravelMate 8200 is a logo-free, all-black version of the Acer Ferrari 4000. The TravelMate 8200's tough carbon-fiber case lid has a cool kaleidoscopic lattice pattern; the rest of the case consists of sturdy magnesium alloy. The laptop measures a reasonable 14.3 inches wide, 11 inches deep, and 1 inch thick. Its 6.6-pound weight is identical to that of the Dell Inspiron 6000 and about average for a midsize system--the Acer TravelMate 4650, for instance, weighs 6.4 pounds.
The marquee feature of the TravelMate 8200 is its dual-core processor, the 2-GHz Intel Core Duo. Paired with a whopping 2GB of memory, this notebook turned in a remarkable MobileMark 2005 score of 270, the highest we’ve seen yet from a dual-core system. Battery life was a respectable 3 hours and 13 minutes, which is about average for this type of notebook.
Processor and Performance
The T2500 2.0Ghz Core-Duo processor is the latest in Intel's line of mobile processors. It is nice and fast. On my first day I created a 6 CD backup set of the notebook while continuing to work on the laptop, there was no lag while simultaneously burning and working. I usually have issues burning CDs and doing anything else at the same time so I was very impressed with the performance. I continued to do virus scans, spyware scans and work on the system -- again no lag. I just thought that was so cool! When I told co-workers I was getting the notebook one said how often do you do two things at once and my response was "all the time". If you really pay attention to what you are doing, I personally multi-task constantly. As I write this review I have eight windows along with all the programs running in the background that you don't even think of (and unfortunately, can often be unaware of). If I want to switch to different programs and continue to work I won't miss a beat.
I played Civilization II and Star Wars Empire at War so far at full 1680x1050 resolution; again no lag. I don't play any First Person Shooters (FPS) such as Doom 3 with my notebook, so I can't test that.
I did not change my video drivers so everything right now is stock, and so the results below for Super Pi and 3DMark05 should represent the true out of the box experience.
| Notebook | Time |
| Acer TravelMate 8204WLMi (2.0GHz Core Duo) | 1m 14s |
| Dell Inspiron e1705 (2.0GHz Core Duo) | 1m 16s |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (2.0GHz Core Duo) | 1m 18s |
| IBM ThinkPad T43 (1.86 GHz Pentium M) | 1m 45s |
| IBM ThinkPad Z60m (2.0 GHz Pentium M) | 1m 36s |
| Fujitsu LifeBook N3510 (1.73 GHz Pentium M) | 1m 48s |
| Dell Inspiron 600M (1.6 GHz Pentium M) | 2m 10s |
| HP Pavilion dv4000 (1.86 GHz Pentium M) | 1m 39s |
| Sony VAIO S380 (1.86 GHz Pentium M) | 1m 45s |
3DMark05 results for Acer 8204 WLMi compared to other notebooks:
| Notebook | 3DMark 05 Results |
| Acer TravelMate 8204 (2.0GHz Core Duo, ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 256MB) | 4236 3DMarks / NA |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (2.0GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400 128MB | 2092 3D Marks / 4462 CPUMarks |
| ThinkPad T43 (1.86GHz, ATI X300 64MB graphics) | 727 3DMarks / 3414 CPUMarks |
| Asus V6Va (2.13 GHz Pentium M, ATI Radeon Mobility x700 128 MB) | 2530 3D Marks / 3749 CPU Marks |
| Quanta KN1 (1.86 GHz Pentium M, NVIDIA GeForce Go 6600 128mb) | 2,486 3DMarks / 4106 CPUMarks |
| HP dv4000 (1.86GHz Pentium M, ATI X700 128MB) | 2536 3D Marks / 3557 CPU Marks |
| Acer TravelMate 8204WLMi (2.0GHz Core Duo, ATI X1600 256MB) | 4157 3DMarks / 4812 CPU Marks |
VGA & Screen
The 15.4-inch WSXGA+ screen offers a maximum resolution of 1680 x 1050 pixels, ideal for viewing widescreen DVDs and editing photos; however, the icons on the desktop look tiny. Some may not like the matte finish, as opposed to the glossy coating found on most systems in this category. Since this notebook was designed primarily for business use, we don’t think the target audience will mind.
Gamers will appreciate that this is one of the first notebooks to feature ATI’s Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics processor. The 8200’s 3DMark03 score of 8,144 is about as good as it gets for a 15.4-incher, beating the Alienware Area 51-m5500 . The 8200 also fared well in our F.E.A.R. test, scoring 70 fps on autodetect settings, albeit at a relatively low 640 x 480 pixels
Heat and Noise
The notebook generally runs cool. There is little to no heat in the keyboard and palm rest areas, and there are no side vents to pump hot air onto your mousing hand. The heat comes out from a single vent in the rear. The bottom of the notebook gets a bit warm, but not uncomfortably so.
The system isn't as quiet as I'd like it to be. The fan is audible and on quite often. However, it can be made quieter using either a shortcut button using the Power Management program (which lets you set the fan speed lower or make it adaptive to changing loads).
The two other sources of noise are the keyboard (which is very "clicky" compared to most notebook keyboards) and the DVD drive (which sounds like a blender when in use). I didn't mind the noise all that much, but if you demand absolute silence from your notebook, this won't fit the bill.
Peak performance
- Genuine Windows® XP Professional (Service Pack 2)
- Carbon-fiber reinforced cover guarantees protection from daily wear and tear -- and shines with sophistication
- Latest Intel® Centrino® Duo mobile technology -- Intel® Core™ Duo processor, Intel® 945PM Express chipset, Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG network solution -- delivers superior on-the-go performance to run both today's and tomorrow's most intensive business applications
- ATI Mobility® Radeon™ X1600 512 MB HyperMemory™ with 256 MB of dedicated GDDR3 VRAM presents stunningly clear graphics for the ultimate visual experience
- High-capacity Serial ATA 120GB, 5,400rpm hard disk drive gives you efficient and dependable data storage
Battery
The TravelMate 8200 came with a 9-cell removable battery. The low-consumption CPU and video card will allow you to get up to 3.5 hours on the battery.
Acer QuicCharge™ technology charges the battery up to 80% full in just an hour to sustain your active computing lifestyle, Nine-cell - up to 3.5 hours life depending on configuration and usage, Optional secondary six-cell - up to 2.0 hours life depending on configuration and usage. Both batteries - 80% charge in 1.0 hour, 2.0 hours recharge time with power off, 2.5 hours with power on
Conclusion
It’s pricey at $2,200, but the TravelMate 8200 is an outstanding choice if you’re looking for an attractive notebook with powerful components. You’ll sacrifice prepurchase customization and additional support channels if you commit to the 8200, but this laptop is near the top of its class. I would only recommend this notebook if you are looking for a light, business-like notebook that will support your games. If gaming is your main concern, go for the Sager 5720 you will more satisfay