I have owned a Mac for 6 years. It was a tube E (educational) iMac. Because of that, after 6 years, the tube was having issues. If it entered sleep mode, it wouldn’t wake up. If I tried to switch from one account user to another, I’d get a blue screen of death. Yes, they exist on Macs too.

So after a week of unplugging my Mac from the source and rebooting twice a day, I decided to get a new computer. I knew I was going to get a laptop, but it would have to be a good desktop replacement. That meant iMacs were out. So the decision was basically a Macbook or a PC laptop.

I went to the Apple store last month and jumped on a Macbook to look up something on the internet and found it to be disgustingly difficult to use the pad. Sheesh. So that about sealed the deal on getting a PC.

But where to look and test out a PC laptop?

I’ve heard and read horror stories about Best Buy’s preconfigured computers. So luckily in North Carolina, we have CompUSAs, and they are extremely more service friendly.

After doing some initial research online and enjoying my wife’s Acer netbook, I decided to look at the Acer Aspire AS5740-5255. The CompUSA guy said they sold a lot of them, as the laptop was on sale last week for $560. I gotta say that anything I would look at would be better than my 6 year old Mac, but overall I liked what I was hearing and seeing on the AS5740-5255. I bought it.

Here is my mini-review after a week of use.

The Acer Aspire AS5740-5255 uses the Intel Core I-3 dual-core processor. That means I can multi-task. That means multiple tabs in my browser and multiple programs up at the same time. This is exactly what I needed.

The Acer also has a 320 GB harddrive and 4GB of RAM.

This computer has a 15.6” screen, and it is a little heavy, so this definitely is a nice desktop replacement. It also supports HD widescreen for DVD movies and has an HDMI port should I want to connect to my HDTV.  The screen is crisp, but I had to adjust the brightness/contrast upon setup (as the screen was too bright).

The AS5740-5255 also has 4 usb ports. This is a nice feature. I bought a wireless mouse and hooked it up to one of the USBs. Viola. I have a great desktop computer with an option of portability with my wi-fi connectivity. This computer also has blue-tooth technology (whatever that means).

Sound quality is always an issue with Acer products (so I have read). The AS5740-5255 is unique in that the speakers run the entire length of the laptop allowing Dolby Home Theater surround sound. But the reality is the sound still isn’t that great, because the sound is shooting up in the air and not forward like normal speakers. I think I’m going to invest in some external speakers at some point.

Battery life isn’t totally awesome. You are looking at around 4 hours (which is decent for a larger laptop), but 4 hours goes fast when your wife steals the laptop and plays Acer Mahjong Tiles for 2 of those hours.

The overall appearance of the laptop is nice and sleek. Fingerprints show up very well, so wipe it down often. As for colors, I only found the computer in Duke-Blue (which is nice except for the fact I’m a UNC fan). I’m sure to catch hell for that.

Overall, after deleting the bloatware (which was not as bloaty as my wife’s netbook), I am very happy I made the switch from Mac to PC. I also saved about $300-$400 bucks.

I say it is an excellent buy, if you want to replace your desktop computer. Just create a wi-fi spot in your house, invest in a wi-fi printer, and you will love being able to roam around the house doing email, surfing, real office work and more.