Acer Aspire 9802WKMi review

Acer's Aspire 9802WKMi is a desktop replacement that, judging by its epic proportions, could probably replace your entire desk. Its size is due to the 20.1" LCD, which is the biggest we've ever seen on a notebook.

Not only is it huge, it also weighs a back-breaking 7.8kg. You could probably move it from the dining room table to the study, but any further than that is out of the question.

We suspect Acer has used a desktop LCD screen, which would explain why the lid is actually deeper than the base of the notebook. It has a high resolution of 1,680x1,050, which provides enough space for even the most complex applications. Image quality is good, and the screen passed all our tests with ease. It also has a gloss finish to improve contrast and colour saturation.

A built-in TV tuner makes further good use of the display. It's a hybrid model that picks up both analogue and digital signals, and it's easy to control using the Acer-branded version of CyberLink's excellent PowerCinema software. The tuner can capture S-video and composite video through the supplied cable. A remote control is also provided, but we found it hard to use as it worked only when we pointed it precisely at the IR sensor.

An Nvidia GeForce Go 7600 chipset handles the graphics. It ran our Doom 3 benchmark acceptably and will manage any modern game, although not at the highest detail settings. Nevertheless, games looked excellent on the huge gloss display.

Below the screen is a keyboard with a number pad. It's spacious and the keys have good feedback. Handy short-cut keys down the side control media playback and volume. The track pad is big and accurate, but you may as well buy a mouse, as you're unlikely ever to use this notebook on the move. Loads of ports are distributed around the chassis, including four USB2 ports, DVI and D-sub video outputs and a memory card reader.

Inside it's rather more standard, with a 1.66GHz Intel Core Duo T2300 processor and a healthy 1GB of RAM. This enabled it to stroll through our benchmarks and only the very toughest tasks will trouble it. It has a big 100GB hard disk and a DVD writer, too.

At £1,300 including VAT this desktop replacement costs around £300 more than a similarly equipped desktop PC system. However, this notebook is more convenient to move around the house and much easier to hide away when not in use. If you want a large display but don't want the leads and mess that come with a desktop PC, this could be the answer.

Author: Seth Barton