Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G July 2011

What are the key features?

The Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G is a sleek-looking machine that's powered by an Intel quad core processor and is all about multimedia.

Its solid metal chassis gives the laptop a meaty and substantial feel, and the scratch-resistant 'Gorilla' glass screen adds to its rugged character.

The standard 8GB of RAM can be expanded to 16GB and there's a hefty battery to match the hefty frame. We'll reserve full judgement on the battery life, however, for when we have the Ethos in our controlled lab environment.

It's available with 18.4- and 15.6-inch screens, with the larger one offering Full HD 1,920 x 1,080 resolution and the smaller offering HD resolution at 1366 x 768. It's kitted out with five USB ports, one of which is a USB 3.0 port, which can transfer data up to 10x faster than USB 2.0. Mobile phones can be charged over USB even when the Aspire Ethos is switched off, and there are the other regular connectivity options, such as HDMI, VGA and Ethernet.

What is USB 3.0? Find out in our USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt advice guide

The Acer Aspire Ethos has a removable touchpad that can be used as a remote control

Why should I buy an Acer Aspire Ethos laptop?

If you're a home entertainment enthusiast and looking for a slightly more portable solution to a desktop PC, then the Aspire Ethos might be the laptop for you. It has impressive graphics processing, Dolby Home Theatre audio and a sub-woofer. It can output a true 5.1 surround sound, but even without being plugged into a home cinema kit, the sound from the integrated speakers can easily fill a decent-sized room with good audio.

A DVD drive comes as standard with the option of upgrading to a Blu-ray drive, and the touchpad can be removed from the base and used as a remote control from a distance. If you want to boot up the Acer Aspire Ethos simply to watch a film, then the InstantOn Arcade key will allow you to watch films and play music quicker than its full start up time.

The Ethos is attractively designed and its matte finish is quite resistant to fingerprint smudges. With its large footprint, there's plenty of space for a well-laid out keyboard and a dedicated number pad.

Why should I not buy an Acer Aspire Ethos laptop?

The Acer Aspire, with its 16:9 display, is a bit of a beast - and starting at £999 it isn't cheap either - so if you're only interested in a little word processing and web-browsing then you won't be pushing this powerhouse to its potential and there'll be a lot of weight and cost that goes unused.

If the Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G is a little too powerful for your needs, then read our laptop reviews where there are models starting at around £320

In the full review…

We haven't tested the Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G yet, but when we do you'll get the definitive verdict on the following:

• Wi-fi signal quality – unlike other review websites, we test the range, quality and reliability of every laptop's wi-fi connection.
• Real-world battery life – we don't use synthetic tests to estimate battery life, we perform real-world tests that measure battery life when using wi-fi and when watching films on DVD.
• Screen quality – we compare every laptop we test for screen quality using professional measuring equipment and a panel of expert testers that view laptops side-by-side to see which is best. We also test how easy it is to view in bright light.

See our how we test laptops page for more on our testing, or try Which? today for just £1 to see the Best Buys in our laptop reviews section.