Acer Aspire 5738PG

Among cheap laptops, it's tough to find a better performer than the 15.6-inch Acer Aspire 5738PG. The basic component lineup is solid for the price category, including an Intel T6600 Core 2 Duo processor, 4 GB of memory and a 320 GB hard drive. In addition, where most laptops in this category rely on Intel integrated graphics, performance is enhanced via the inclusion of a discrete ATI Mobility Radeon 4570 graphics card. Serious game players might not be impressed, but that card helps the Acer Aspire 5738PG provide far better graphics performance than most other cheap laptops. It can even handle some 3-D gaming, as long as expectations are kept reasonable. The inclusion of a touch-sensitive screen is a surprising plus considering the Acer Aspire 5738PG's price. It works well, but some reviewers say the interface has some glitches.

The Acer Aspire 5739DG (*Est. $780) has identical performance, but substitutes a 3-D-capable display and stereoscopic glasses for the touch-sensitive screen. A base model, the Acer Aspire 5783 (*Est. $600) is notably less expensive, but in addition to lacking a touch screen or 3-D display, removes the graphics card in favor of Intel integrated graphics. Though the Aspire 5738PG is not overly bulky, the Asus UL30A (*Est. $775) is lighter and thinner still. The 5738PG delivers hours and hours of battery life, but is slightly less powerful than the UL30A.

The Acer Aspire 5738PG has been reviewed by ComputerShopper.com and Laptop Magazine. Both reviewers conduct extensive testing and provide plenty of details in their write-ups. PCMag.com reports on the very similar Acer Aspire 5738DG, and while some important details -- like the inclusion of a 3-D display rather than a touch-sensitive screen -- are different, conclusions about overall performance are still valid. User reviews, unfortunately, are still too limited to be of any value.