I suspect my laptop selection opinions are not going to make me popular with most forum users, but here it goes, anyway.
First, I would stress that bigger is only better for desktops. I am assuming you want a laptop to carry around and use wherever you may happen to be, sometimes tight spaces. Small is usually better there. Since screen size is directly linked to the size of the laptop, I personally wouldn't consider anything over 14".
Unless you get something completely ridiculous (a suitcase sized laptop with a 30-minute battery life), it's not going to be a great gaming macine. You might as well not plan on that.
I wouldn't trust anything made by Acer further than I could throw it. The only laptop brands I still have a strong preference for are IBM/Lenovo (not cheap and all black
) and Apple (generally not a consideration by those looking for a laptop to run Windows), although I'd consider Dell and Toshiba above Acer.
Speaking of the "all black" issue -- I hope you realize that plastic doesn't come in silver. It is painted silver. The paint wears off and it will look like garbage in a year.
All that said, the price is right and there aren't that many options at the $800 Canadian price point.
