Acer has put just enough features and perks into the Aspire 8930, its high-end performance laptopRunning the show are a 2.5GHz Intel T9400 Core 2 Duo processor, an nVidia 9700M GT 512MB graphics card, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, and the 64-bit version of Windows Vista. That combo delivered a reasonable WorldBench 6 score of 94. In game tests, it struggled a little with Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and Unreal Tournament 3; running at 1680 by 1050, it notched 30 and 35 frames per second, respectively. So, technically, I can still play games on it, but I might notice the occasional slowdown.
What matters is that the Aspire 8930 looks good. The 18.4-inch display, offering a native resolution of 1920 by 1080, dazzles with terrific brightness and good color reproduction. Though the screen has a glossy finish, it manages to remain usable under reasonable levels of sunlight, whether outside or indoors with the curtains open. The bezel is a little thick, but in my tests the lower edge was elevated enough to give me a good, full view of the screen even with my meaty paws typing away at the keyboard. My only complaint is that the rubber "feet" on the left and right sides of the display are placed slightly haphazardly. While I understand the need to keep the pretty screen scuff-free, the feet don't match the overall aesthetic of the laptop's otherwise slick styling.
The hard drive is easily replaceable, and the motherboard supports a pair of DDR3 SO-DIMMs (and with a 64-bit version of Vista and the shrinking cost of 4GB SO-DIMMS, expansion is a viable option down the road).As with many laptops, sound is the Aspire 8930's sole stumbling point. The machine is billed as a home-theater substitute, and it comes with a full 5.1 setup. In stereo mode, it performs reasonably well; music is loud, and movies are clear.
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