Question 1

This says 1TB HDD in the bullets, but in the comparison chart no HDD is listed, only the SSD.

Does this actually have a 1TB HDD in it?

Accepted Answer

Yes it does. The operating system comes preinstalled on the 256GB SSD (OMG the speed!!!), and there is also the 1 TB HDD for storage. Be careful as you're installing applications, moving files, etc, as everything will want to default to the C (SSD) drive, so you'll have to make your own paths to the D (HDD) Drive for most of your storage.

Question 2

Is this screen matte or glossy?

Accepted Answer

It is a matte screen - not glossy at all like the touch screens.

The screen overall seems pretty nice. As they say about the IPS screens, the brightness level does not change much at all when you look at the screen from different angles, both horizontally and vertically.

The only thing that bugs me slightly is that when the laptop turns on, when the backlight is turned on but the screen is a blank, black screen, there is considerable light bleed from a spot on the bottom edge, close to the bottom right corner. However, once Windows comes up, and you are working with an app, or doing photo editing, it is not noticeable. Hope this helps.

Question 3

You can of course turn off the backlight on the keyboard, right?

Accepted Answer

Yes, FN+F9 shuts off the backlit keys. But while in regular use with them on they will time out so they aren't always on.

Question 4

Can you remove the Battery?

Accepted Answer

No, not easily anyway. It's a smooth, one-piece cover on the bottom that's not designed to be accessed by the user. (You could use tools if you're brave, of course). I imagine the battery is nestled in with the main board to save space. Any maintenance really should be done by ACER.

That being said, it is significantly thinner than other laptop models I've seen that have an easily accessible battery, hard drive, and RAM.

Question 5

For those that bought this laptop, I know that the V17 is supposed to come with a BluRay player on it (as the images show it with it) but newegg is marketing it as a 8X DVD player.

Is this just a mistype of sorts or?

Accepted Answer

There are various versions of the V17. The VN7-791G-73AW definitely does not have Blu Ray capability of any kind. There may however be other models of the V17 that do. FYI - the drive on this model is Matshita UJ8E2Q.

Question 6

How hot does it get when playing games?

Accepted Answer

I am not a big game player.  I bought this for it's power and capacity.  I have noticed no heat building up at all.  It has dual fans which come on infrequently at this point.  Hope this helps.

Question 7

Can I whipe the drive and install windows 7 on this?

Accepted Answer

From what I have read online, their is no "official" support for this.  But the Win8/8.1 drivers listed on Acer's, Intel's, and Snaptics' etc. websites have been reported by some users to work fine on Win7.  (I have not done this myself.)

Long story short, the general rule is that drivers will generally work, but don't expect programs to cross over.  (Though they may, as well.)

Question 8

is this an aluminum or plastic case?

Accepted Answer

it's an aluminum covered by plastic on the outside for reducing fingerprint.

Question 9

Can this machine be custom configured as dual boot Win 8 and Win 7 Pro, or with Win 7 Pro only?
Why bother with Win 8 at all if this does not have a touch screen?

Accepted Answer

@ David40. This system cannot be custom configured for dual boot with either Windows 8 Home or Windows 7 Pro at this time. It is pre-configured with Windows 8.1 Home which is a solid improvement over the poorly received Windows 8. The Win 8.1 OS is loaded on the 256GB SSD (the system's primary drive).

The best reasons to bother with Windows 8.1 at this time IMHO are: 
(1) It's a superior OS to its predecessors & it's been relatively well received by the market. 
(2) In a few months' time  Microsoft will release its next generation Windows 10 OS series with the IE 12 browser. Upgrades will be free to all users of Windows 8.1. Mainstream support for Windows XP SP3 & Vista SP2 has already ended & mainstream support for Windows 7 SP1 is scheduled to end on 15 January 2015. Please see the Microsoft dot com page "Windows lifecycle fact sheet" for details.

(3) Touch panels are a personal thing - I don't like touch for monitors larger than 10" & I sure don't want to poke at 17"+ monitors like this Acer system's with my fingers - the touch capability represents a minor cost add-on for Microsoft but a significant cost add-on for the panel manufacturers. This added cost is passed along to consumers in terms of monitor quality with the touch panels significantly poorer in visual appearance. I prefer the money invested in better quality non-touch 17"+ monitors like the one on this Acer.

If you prefer touch on a similar system / cost to this Acer system / cost, why not take a look at New Egg's Lenovo Y50 & Y70 systems?

Question 10

Does this have a backlit keyboard? Acer[dot]com doesn't say either way. The Specs tab says no. The reviewers say it does.

Accepted Answer

yes it does have back lit key board

Questions & Answers