The Acer Extensa EX5620-4020 15.4-inch laptop has all the inner-workings of the higher priced models, but costs less than $550. I was knocked over by the 2GB RAM with a 250 GB hard drive loaded with Vista. I cross compared the various features between this Acer model and HP, Lenovo, and Sony models. Forget about it, the Acer Extensa EX5620-4020 beats them all for quality and price.

Some of the outstanding features of the Acer Extensa model include an Intel Pentium Dual Core processor, a built-in webcam and 802.11b/g wireless capability. These features are the core reasons for buying the Acer Extensa. I will list other features and reasons to buy the Acer Extensa below.

Big Deal Features:

The Acer Extensa EX5620-4020 has an Acer CrystalBright technology 15.4-inch widescreen HD TFT LCD display. It will display resolutions up to 1280 x 800 pixels. The picture and document display is crisp and dynamic in color with near prefect brightness. Seeing is believing, the Acer delivers a great display of written words, diagrams, spreadsheets and easily switches over to full HD video, on-line TV programming without skipping a beat.

The Intel Pentium Duo Core processor has 1.73 GHz processor speed that work in tandem. This feature delivers super fast processing speed that is much better than a single 1.73 GHz processor. It is capable of pushing the giant Vista OS that is installed in the Acer Extensa EX5610. Coupled with the the 2 GB RAM, 533 MHz frontside bus and 1 MB L2 cache, any gamer, home office worker or strictly entertainment user will be satisfied.

The DVD super multi drive is state of the art. A user can burn CDS, DVDs and with the included software can create data archives and more. It will even burn DVD-RAM discs. I am totally satisfied with the DVD drive.

The wireless network was easy to set up using the 802.11b/g LAN connections. I was virtually wireless with a few minutes after calling my broadband provider. It was a total gas to have connectivity all over my house and on the patio. Another surprise with the Acer Extensa model was the advanced Express Card slot. I am ready for virtually everything that comes my way.

As I mentioned the Acer Extensa EX5620 comes installed with Vista Home Edition OS. Additionally, Acer includes a trial version of Office 2007, Symantec Norton Internet Security 2007. The Acer comes loaded with some Acer software, like Acer Empowering technology softwares. The applications are for burning CDs, setting up the webcam, editing photos and more. I found the Microsoft Office 2007 very useful and bought it on-line after the trial ran out. I deleted the Symantec Norton security software because it bogged down my system. I installed another security, anti-virus, anti-spyware software.

In sum, you can pay over a thousand George Washington's for a comparable model. Why, anyone would is a mystery to me. I say, buy the inner-works and pass on the fancy titles. The Acer Extensa EX5620-4020 priced at less than $550 is a buy now and forget about the rest.