Geek talk
I got myself a gift: a 2 GB DDR2-667 RAM for my notebook. For just 1,800 Baht (2K pesos)! I'm telling you, tech stuff are pretty cheap in Thailand.
For many weeks I had been salivating for that cool technology called Windows Vista that pretty much lights up a notebook display with transparency and 3D effects also known as Aero but I couldn't have it unless I upgrade my lowly 512MB RAM.
My system is an Acer Aspire 4310 notebook which I bought at Paragon mall here in Bangkok. It's one of the inexpensive notebooks around at just 17K Baht (21K pesos), would you believe? Acer introduced this model as entry-level, but methinks nu-uh. Tell me if you consider these features "entry-level":
- Built-in 1.3 megapixel Crystal Eye videocamera
- 1.73 GHz Intel Celeron M processor (okay, this one's entry-level)
- 512MB DDR2 533 MHz memory, upgradeable to 4GB using two soDIMM modules (dual-channel support)
- Mobile Intel 943 GML Express Chipset
- 14.1" widescreen WXGA TFT LCD screen with Acer CrystalBrite technology
- Intel graphics media accelerator 950
- 120GB SATA hard drive
- 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi (WLAN)
- 5 in 1 built-in card reader for SD, MMC, xD, Memory Stick and Memory Stick PRO
- Dolby digital surround sound
- Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
- 8X DVD-Super Multi double layer drive (DVD/CD writer)
- 4 USB 2.0 ports
- S-video port
- 6-cell battery with Acer chargeboost (80% complete in 1 hour)
Impressive, don't you think? The only thing entry-level in its specifications is the Intel Celeron 512MB processor! But even that is okay, I mean, you're only gonna need dual-core processors if you're going to run extremely resource-hungry graphics and visualization apps. (I did a wee bit of a research on the net and I realized that different countries may offer different specifications. In the Philippines, for example, the 4310's got no Bluetooth device and features a 1.6 GHz processor only.)
Now here's an interesting tidbit. Acer introduced this baby to the market in August of 2007, but after just some few months, it stopped the sale of the 4310s and replaced it instead with Aspire 4315. Now you would think it's an upgrade but it's actually not. The Aspire 4315 has only 80 GB of hard drive, no Bluetooth, only 3 USB ports and no Dolby sound feature. And to add salt to injury, even its casing doesn't look as good as the 4310's; it looks too... plastic. The 4310 is plastic-based too but it just looks and feels better. In Thailand, the 4315 is sold also at 17K Baht.
Now I have a theory on what happened. I think that Acer realized that they had sold the 4310 for a very cheap price (considering its very good specs) which might cause a setback in the sales of its more expensive line of notebooks, so they had to "undo" their mistake and offer a downgraded version for the same price. When I bought my 4310 at Paragon Mall during a computer fair, it sold like hotcakes. I'm not kidding. That was one of the times when I didn't regret my impulse purchases. ;-)
So anyways, going back to my original story. Yes, I am now enjoying Windows Vista on my system, and with the 2GB RAM, performance is very good. To date I haven't experienced any errors or freezes or anything of that sort. My system boots as fast as XP too, ready to use in about a minute - even with 3 anti-virus applications set to start automatically. I've installed all the Vista updates and hotfixes that Microsoft offers in its website, even the Service Pack 1 RC Refresh, to make sure my system runs like a king. I hope though that the service pack isn't gonna cause problems because it's technically still in beta. I really like the Vista interface, it's so intuitive and looks really cool. And I switch between windows every chance I get if only to use the cool 3D flip feature, hehe.
Of course, Vista is not perfect but let's say that as of now I don't regret upgrading.
Tips before you install Vista:
- It's a no-brainer: upgrage your RAM
- Do a clean install (don't "upgrade" your OS, replace it completely)
- Choose to format (and erase) your drive to minimize any problem
- You might like to create a partition in your hard drive to store permanent files
- For Acer users, there's usually no need to install additional drivers since Vista pretty much provides all. But should you need to, check out the Acer website
- Dont fret if your camera won't initially work with Yahoo Messenger. Just download and install Acer Bison camera driver and ta-dah, problem solved.
Monggolink:
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