New computers from Acer

As a part of its CES offerings, Acer has announced new upgrades to its notebooks and small form-factor PCs. On the desktop are the AcerPower 1000 and 2000, which are reputedly one-tenth the size of a conventional PC at less than eight inches tall and 2.5 inches wide. The systems are also said to be extremely quiet, producing less than 26 decibels of noise. The new 1000 runs an Athlon 64 CPU, up to 2GB of RAM, and a GeForce 6150 videocard; storage consists of a Dual-DVD optical drive and an 80GB hard disk, but the machine does have built-in Ethernet and 802.11b/g wireless. The 2000 improves on these specifications with a Core 2 Duo, a 160GB hard disk, and a Super-Multi (DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RAM) optical drive. The 2000 will come preloaded with Windows Vista Business as well, compared to the default of XP Pro on the 1000. Both models have a substantial eight USB ports to facilitate expansion. The computers should be on sale for $579 and $649.

The new notebooks are the TravelMate 8210 and the Aspire 9810, which now have Blu-ray and HD DVD drives, respectively. Such support for HD formats is still uncommon in PCs. Both computers run Core 2 Duo processors, but otherwise differ due to the TravelMate business focus an the Aspire emphasis on entertainment. The 9810 for instance has a larger, 240GB hard drive, and 20.1-inch LCD screen. The 9810 further includes a built-in subwoofer and the ability to decode Dolby Digital sound. Prices for the 8210 start at $1,999, and the 9810 starts at $2,899.

By Electronista Staff