The Acer TravelMate 8200 is one of the first Intel Core Duo laptops out of the gate. In addition to its bleeding-edge Core Duo processor, the midsize portable features a great case design and top-of-the-line components, such as a 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics chip, a mammoth 120GB hard drive, and a double-layer DVD burner. Though this sweet system delivers on the Core Duo's promise of extremely fast multimedia performance, its performance gain was less pronounced on our productivity benchmarks, making its $2,499 price too expensive for users who just want fast performance for office work. Still, the TravelMate 8200 is worth the price premium if you're looking for a well-outfitted laptop for graphic design, video editing, or heavy-duty multitasking.
