Labs

The Acer isn't the only laptop here to go for a textured silver plastic finish, but its curved edges do a lot to soften the form, making it one of the better-looking PCs on test. It's well put together inside and out, with a core specification that's among the best: a 1.86GHz T2350 Core Duo processor backed by 1GB of DDR2 RAM. That's the same

ADVERTISEMENT

as the Mesh, and as you'd expect it finished almost neck-and-neck in our tests, with a creditable 125% in the 2D benchmark. Not bad, since it's £200 less.

Where it didn't fare so well was in our 3D games test, which it failed to complete. That's down to the integrated Intel 945 graphics. This is no gaming machine, but you wouldn't expect it to be.

The 15.4-inch 1,280 x 800 widescreen display was among the brighest and most colourful.A slightly narrower viewing angle than the Gateway and Zoostorm means you get the greatest benefit when sitting head-on. Typing is a pleasure, with a spacious keyboard layout that's as close to standard as you're likely to get on a laptop. It's also the only one with a Euro key. The wrist rest is nice and deep, giving you somewhere to plant your hands while typing. With a dual-layer DVD writer and a full complement of connections, the Acer fully deserves its Recommended award.