I-3? $200 bucks? Wow what a …Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
- Intel Core 3 N355: The best of the “Twin Lake” series of low-end Intel CPUs. It’s no performance machine, but it’s no slouch either, with 8 cores and 8 threads. Single-core performance is meh, but the ample number of cores should make multitasking less of a pain point.
- 1080p display: Hooray for bare adequacy!
- 128GB UFS Storage: I mean, it’s better than eMMC, but that’s about it.
- 8GB RAM: Hooray for bare adequacy (and I mean bare – for most people, I’m starting to recommend 16GB).
- Windows 11 Home in S Mode: Boo, hiss. You can disable S mode to turn it into a normal Windows installation, or you can try installing some flavor of Linux.
- USB-C Charging: Cool.
- Overall: For $200, this is a basic Windows machine that ticks all of the boxes for bare minimums. I have reservations about upgradability – namely, with UFS storage, I don’t know if there’s an internal M.2 or other SSD connector, and the RAM is likely soldered – so it’s entirely possible that if the drive or RAM fails, you’re looking at a $200 doorstop (or, best-case, a warranty repair). But if you need a cheap Windows laptop, this will do the job for now. Are there better options at this price point? I’m too tired to check, but the answer is almost always “yes” if you’re willing to shop around. Would I buy it in a pinch? Yeah. I wouldn’t be thrilled about it, but I wouldn’t hate myself for it.
https://www.acer.com/us-en/laptops/aspire/aspire-go-intel/pdp/NX.J73AA.001
Official MSRP is 299.99, not 349.99, so at 199.99 at Woot it’s a fair deal, but not that much of a discount.
It’s nice that this has 4x USB3 ports, and USB-C ports are Gen 2 10Gbps, but USB-A are still only Gen 1 at 5Gbps.
This most definitely supports more monitors than Apple Silicon! A bar not difficult to exceed!
Note that unlike the 6W N100, N150, N250 and the 7W N350, the 15W N355 is NOT fanless. If this was N350 and $150, I’d get this for sure. After you go fanless, you don’t really want to go back. Still a fair deal and good specs if you want the extra 20% performance for 214% power use and less battery life, and don’t mind the fan.
Would this be a good computer for a beginning college student?
Does anyone know how much this weighs?
Beware this is Windows S Mode model
@bascombe2 This model weighs 3.81 lb. We’ll get that info added!
Cheap laptop with no chance to upgrade so they advertise AI to do what? Don’t fall for this.
They advertise AI to please investors. Basic-task computer users haven’t asked for any of this AI nonsense.
Some content creators might be using it legitimately (background fill objects, etc), but they aren’t looking at this type of device. The only reason someone with this type of computer would use AI is to cheat on their homework.
This puppy does have an M.2 PCI slot, but the 8GB of memory is soldered in. The weight is understandable considering the 15 inch screen - we are not talking about an 11 inch screen folks. Also, based on what I gleened from a few YouTube reviews, the AI is useful in regulating power consumption. Supposedly the 16 GB version, which uses a Ryzen processor, gets a full day of use without plugging in. I would assume an Intel Core 3 would get similar performance.
Look at the sales map, someone in Delaware is buying up 10x the rest of all the states, even though the deal has a quantity limit of 1 per account!
Delaware is now solid green, the rest of the states are light grey!
Is that officially allowed by Woot, to have multiple accounts to bypass the quantity limits? Especially if the quantity limit is set at 1?
Honestly, at $199.99 the deal isn’t even that good when this thing is $298.50 straight on Amazon, and even the MSRP is only $299.99. I’ve gotten similar machines for less.
Not seeing how this is “AI ready” with those specs
What are they studying? It would be adequate for anyone majoring in humanities, journalism, social sciences and most business degrees. At least if they are just looking for a school only computer. Definitely a no go for a physical sciences, engineering or computer science. Most colleges even community ones have technology departments that can help determine what the student needs and will be able to get you an account with a preferred provider that will get them special prices that the general public doesn’t have access to.
Specs are fine for 80% of the general population. Especially for ones looking at 199 dollar computers on Woot. My only hesitation is the 8GBs of soldered on memory. That’s the only area where most people will notice it’s limitations. Besides that it more than you would expect from a 199 dollar NEW computer. FHD screen, decent processor, USBc charging with display port support.
AI is a tool. Like a set of Metric Star Drivers. About as Useful as those as well. Problem is Everyone wants to sell you a set because it’s SHINY, and honestly, you got no use for it, there are better tools to do the job, and you’re going to end up looking like a moron when you use it for any other job.
With 8G RAM soldered on the board, will it even be able to handle a non-HOME S version of WIN 11?
Tell me how you feel about this to just get admin work and website surfing done compared to a 7 year old. Ore i7 laptop purchased back in the day for gaming.
Yes, my surface laptop is only 8gb ram and runs non s 11 with no problem
The lifestyle extension manual on Acer website shows how to upgrade the ram stick and NVME.