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Follow UsThe main attraction of this notebook is its price. At Rs
79,990 this was the second cheapest notebook in the shootout. It’s good for
those who are on a budget, but still need a notebook.
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In terms of price and features this notebook was similar to
the Acer TravelMate 506 DX.
However, it scored better in performance, making its way as
the winner in this category.
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ACI Performer II |
| Notebook. Rs 79,990 Specs: PII/400 MHz; 32 MB RAM; 12.1” HPA; 4.8 GB HDD; 24x CD-ROM drive. Pros: Good buy for its price. Cons: Comes with only 32 MB RAM. Bundled software: Notebook driver CD, modem drivers, utility disk. Source: ACI 71B, Mittal Court Nariman Point Mumbai 400021. Tel: 22-2814359 |
To give this price advantage, the notebook sacrifices on
certain components. It was the only notebook in the shootout to come with a PII
processor. Similarly, it only has 32 MB of RAM, and 2 MB of VRAM for its
NeoMagic graphics card. It uses an older 12.1" HPA type of screen as
against the TFT ones in most notebooks today. Therefore, the display wasn’t as
sharp as the others in the shootout. Similarly, it comes with NiMH batteries,
whereas most others are shipped with Lithium ion. The FDD and CD drive are both
built-in the notebook.
The notebook’s performance is suitable for running most
productivity applications. It gives a maximum screen resolution of 1,024x768 at
16-bit color depth, which is good. It lacks a built-in modem but has two PCMCIA
slots. We received an Apollo Fax/Modem card with it for Internet connectivity.
It also has a USB port. An IR port is provided for infra-printing or doing data
transfers with other IR devices like PDAs. Interestingly, this notebook shipped
with Win 95 preinstalled, while most others came with either Win 98 or Windows
2000.
The Performer gave an average score of 11.4 Winmarks in
Business Winstone 99, which will increase significantly by adding another 32 MB
of RAM. It has an expansion slot to add more RAM. The notebook gave ample backup
time of 2:53 hours and took about two hours to recharge completely, which is
good. It has onboard sound, and an external volume-control dial for convenience.
The sound quality is fine, and doesn’t get distorted at full volume.
The notebook weighs around 5.5 kgs with the bag and other accessories, which
is the same as most other notebooks. It comes with a one-year warranty for the
notebook and six months for the battery. The bundled drivers’ CD contains the
requisite drivers for various operating systems. The drivers for the modem card
are on a separate CD.