I was flipping through some gaming mags yesterday and I came across a couple of ads that made me rethink my decision with the Acer notebook. In particular, check out this model from ibuypower.com.

Same processor, same video card, same RAM. Not as many frills and no installed software, not even an OS. Also it is unclear whether the wireless is built-in or in the form of a PCMCIA card. But the price is $1550 including shipping.

I can get XP Pro for $30 from microsoft employee friends… Plus equivalent software, etc. and I’d say the total cost would be like $1650. $750 difference!

Looks like I’ll definitely be returning the Acer notebook.

What’s even sweeter is that by the time I return it, it will probably be mid-May and the new mobile processors from Intel will be out. It’s basically the same speed as their current ones but uses less power. It might even cost the same, so I could just get one of the new guys. But even if it costs more, it’s sure to make the existing guys drop in price.