When it comes to value for money, Acer seem to take a lot of beating. I had never owned an Acer laptop before buying the 5750G and had always bought products from the bigger names in computing such as Sony or HP, but when the screen on my HP 17" desktop replacement laptop failed I took a chance as the deal seemed to offer very high spec for the money.

I opted for an upgrade in the processor to the i7-2630 and separate graphics chip to boost performance and the price was still less than the standard spec models from HP.

Other than the normal home pc uses, I do a fair amount of digital photography and website work so I wanted a computer that would cope easily with the Adobe range of software such as Lightroom, Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Fireworks. With the extra speed of the i7 this Acer has more than enough power to handle big images with no slow down even when several programs are in use.

Unboxing the laptop reveals a nicely designed unit with a matt black textured top and the Acer logo in silver. Opening the screen up shows the chiclet style keyboard which I find very comfortable to type on and although the spaces between the keys does allow any dirt, hairs and general crud to slip down between them, a quick blow will clear it all out and after over 6 months of daily use mine still looks pretty much like new. The keyboard also has another plus point for Acer over the competition, a separate numeric keypad. If you're ever doing any data entry this is an absolute godsend and really speeds up typing in a list of numbers.

3 USB slots, built-in webcam, HDMI out and a card reader that handles most major formats are positioned on the sides of the machine and are easily accessed, the only thing I would like is for the USB ports to be positioned further back on the sides as they can get in the way of a wired mouse but that is just me being fussy.

As with all new computers there is a fair amount of bloatware and pre-installed trial programs that clog up the harddrive and desktop. I routinely run PCDecrapifier on any new machine or after a system restore and you can reclaim a surprising amount of space which would otherwise not be available.

The 15.4" screen has a gloss finish which will put some people off. Gloss screens reflect what is infront of them so in a bright sunny room it can be hard to see what's going on from some angles. The benefit is that the gloss coating allows for better colour representation and when working with photos this is a big plus. As for reflections, I've only really had issues with it when using the laptop outside, but find a shady spot and you can happily watch a film or browse online without having to struggle to see.

Battery life is fairly average, but with a relatively powerful machine that is only to be expected. Playing games does suck to power out of the supplied battery in under a couple of hours, but normal usage for word processing and web surfing allows a more respectable 4 hours. Not great but not bad.

So far the only other real downside has been the heat generated when playing games. The back left corner does get uncomfortably hot if you have it on your lap so a book underneath it to allow more air circulation is always a good idea. Other than that the Acer 5750G has performed brilliantly for me with bags of power, a good size hard drive and a screen which reproduces colours accurately.

If your after a fast, powerful computer that offers great spec without a bank busting price tag, then the Acer 5750G is certainly a look. A highly recommended product.