Contrary to slim and light ultraportable laptops, Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G is a mammoth machine with an 18.4 inch screen. Just like Dell XPS 15z and Macbook Pro 17 inch, Ethos 8951G packs huge amount of power which makes it quite chunky. But then if you are searching a desktop replacement, then this should not be a worrying factor. Just like previous Ethos models, Aspire Ethos 8951G is an entertainment device which has been designed to give you a power packed performance. The machine is very much like an home theatre with full HD display, Dolby speakers and Blu-ray drive. Check out our Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G review to know if the machine is worth a purchase.
Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G Case and Design
The notebook sports an all black chassis and the case of the machine is made up of blend of plastic along with aluminum-magnesium. The brushed aluminum-magnesium lid is quite resistant to fingerprints and at 17.3×11.3×1.4 inches the notebook is huge in size. It is quite bulky too weighing 8.8 pounds which makes it significantly heavier than competitors such as Asus G73SW (8 pounds) and HP Pavilion dv7 Quad (7 pounds). So it is not very easy to carry the machine from one room to another. The chassis felt quite durable and it did not flex under pressure. The notebook is quite sturdy and kudos to Acer for giving a rugged and durable feel to Aspire Ethos 8951G.
Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G Keyboard
Aspire Ethos 8951G boasts of an island-style backlit keyboard which has large, well-spaced keys which provided a decent amount of tactile feedback. We did not face any problems while typing and the key throw was quite good. Because the keyboard is backlit in nature, there will no problems while using it in dark. The keyboard surface is quite firm and it gave adequate support to our palm rest.
Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G Features
Touchpad
The touchpad is one interesting feature of Aspire Ethos 8951G. Users can take out the touchpad completely through a sliding mechanism and one can also use the touchpad as a remote control. The touchpad is quite large and it is glossy in nature. The touchpad has multi-touch functions and it can also be linked to Kensington security preparation. There is a mode change button on the upper-right corner of the touchpad which on clicked lights up the video and music icons on the right side of the pad.
Software
Acer has equipped Aspire Ethos 8951G with several useful utilties such as
- Acer Crystal Eye Webcam
- Acer Backup
- Clear.fi
For security purpose, the machine is equipped with a fingerprint reader which protects the machine from being stolen.
Ports and Webcam
Thanks to the large size of the notebook, you will find plenty of ports in Ethos 8951G. On the left side you get three USB2.0 ports, a Blu-ray drive, Kensington lock slot and Ethernet port. On the left you get a VGA port, a HDMI port, audio in/out jacks, USB 3.0 port, Firewire400 and eSATA/USB port. On the front you get a memory card reader. The notebook is equipped with a 1.3MP webcam which gives sharp and detailed images even in low light.
Audio
The notebook is equipped with Dolby tuned speakers which provided accurate music playback which is loud enough to fill a large room. The speakers performed really well and we were able to hear dialogues of movies pretty well. Toggling the Dolby Home Theater software made a little difference in the quality of sound.
Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G Display
Aspire Ethos 8951G sports an 18.4 inches LED backlit display which displays sharp and vibrant colors. Images appeared were quite crisp, but narrow viewing angles are a bit of a letdown. However, we enjoyed watching Youtube trailers of Don 2. The videos played were quite smooth and were not grainy.
Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G Specs
Here are some of the technical specifications of Aspire Ethos 8951G
- CPU: 2GHz Intel Core i7-2630QM
- OS: MS Windows 7 Ultimate
- RAM: 8GB
- HDD: 750GB
- HDD Speed: 5400 rpm
- Display Size: 18.4 inches
- Display Resolution: 1920×1080 pixels
- Video Memory: 2GB
- Weight: 8.8 pounds
Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G Graphics
Aspire Ethos 8951G is equipped with Nvidia GeForce GT555M graphics processor which handled graphics pretty well. We enjoyed watching HD movies and playing HD games on the laptop. We appreciate the graphics performance achieved on Ethos 8951G.
Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G Battery Life
Aspire Ethos 8951G is equipped with an 8 cell battery which gave us a runtime of around 5 hours which is quite impressive. Receiving such a high battery life on a laptop equipped with such high specs is really commendable.
Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G Box Contents
The box of Aspire Ethos 8951G has the following stuffs
- Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G
- AC Adapter
- Power Cord
- User Manual
Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G Price
Price of Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G is approximately $ 1600.
Aspire Ethos 8951G is one of the solid laptops you will find in the market. It has got many things going for it and the notebook will surly give you a power packed performance.