Acer Aspire 5 review: An affordable laptop that’s fun to use | Techy Kings

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Are you in the market for a Windows laptop? Don’t want to spend more than $500? Then the Acer Aspire laptop might be near the top of your list. Aspire laptops take the top spot on Amazon’s best-selling laptop list, and some models cost as low as $369.99. The model we tested for this review is the best of both worlds. It offers reasonable price and good performance.

Enter the Acer Aspire 5. This laptop features an Intel Core i5 processor and 8GB of RAM and is one of the most expensive in the Aspire line. But that doesn’t mean it’s expensive. It has a suggested MSRP of $499.99 and sometimes retails as low as $479.99. A Windows laptop with a Core i5 processor for less than $499.99 might sound too good to be true. Acer certainly makes sacrifices to achieve this. Still, the Aspire 5 is a capable and fun laptop.

Acer Aspire 5 A514-54-501Z specifications and features

The Acer Aspire 5 combines an Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor with 8GB of RAM and a PCIe solid state drive. Buyers looking for graphics performance should note that the Core i5-1135G7 packs Intel’s Iris Xe graphics with 80 execution units and a maximum clock of 1.3GHz. This isn’t Intel’s fastest integrated graphics option, but it’s a big jump from the Intel UHD graphics found in most 10th-generation Intel Core hardware.

• CPUIntel Core i5-1135G7
• Memory: 8 GB
• Graphics/GPU: Intel Iris Xe
• Display: 14-inch 1080p LCD
• Storage: 256GB PCIe solid state drive
• Web camera: 720p
• relationship: 2x USB 3.2 Type-A, 1 x USB 2.0 Type-A, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C (data only), 1 x Ethernet, 1 x HDMI 1.4, 1x 3.5mm combo audio, 1x DC-in barrel plug
• network: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5
• Biometrics: No
• Battery capacity: 53 watt-hours
• Sizes: 0.71 x 8.88 x 12.9 inches
• Weight: 3.75 pounds £

As mentioned, Acer offers the hardware at a rock-bottom price. A quick tour of Amazon shows that they’re more expensive than the HP, Lenovo, and Dell options, with most entry-level models hovering between $499 and $599. Acer has an advantage with budget consumers, but does that hold up in close control?

Design and build quality

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Acer Aspire 5 is what you get if you order a 14-inch laptop at Jo-Anne’s. They roll it, cut it, roll it back up and give it to you in a long paper bag. Once you get home, it’s up to you to iron out any wrinkles.

What the laptop lacks in efficiency it makes up for in its solid and sturdy feel. I’ll admit that the laptop has something in common with the suitor on The Bachelorette: generic, yes, but cute. The silver-and-black trim is business-like and the black keycaps look attractive.

Well, there is a puzzle. The display lid is slightly more bronze than the rest of the laptop. Although the difference is obvious in photos, it’s not that noticeable in real life.

The laptop is .71 inches thick and comes in at 3.75 pounds. It’s no featherweight, but it slips easily into most laptop bags and is so light you might forget you have it. The power adapter is small and fits into a small pocket on a purse, messenger bag, or purse.

Keyboard and trackpad

The Acer Aspire 5 has an excellent keyboard. The key layout is spacious and the individual key travel is useful. Key feel is a bit vague but not so bad as to spoil the experience. I spent hours typing and found it fast, accurate and convenient. As long as the lights are on, at least.

The keyboard lacks backlight. This is not unusual in the $500 price bracket, but it is still worth noting, as it makes the laptop difficult to use in a dark room.

At about 4.25 inches wide and 2.5 inches deep, the touchpad is typical for laptops in this price range, but it’s narrow next to machines with more expensive touchpads. Windows’ multi-touch gestures, such as the five-finger pinch to minimize all open windows, can be difficult to use due to space constraints. The surface is similar to the surrounding palm rest, so my fingers often had to hunt it down.

Acer Aspire 5 will be very happy when it is on the desk equipped with an external mouse. This lets you enjoy the solid keyboard and ignore the missing touchpad.

display, sound

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Acer Aspire 5 sports a 14-inch, 1080p display with a matte finish. It is basic, but not spectacular, because it is at once better and worse than expected.

Let’s start with the worst. The display has a limited color gamut that only comes in at 64 percent of the sRGB gamut. Color accuracy is slightly worse than average, although not terrible. The narrow color gamut and medium accuracy give the display a sense of vibrancy.

Disappointing color performance is combined with a strong contrast ratio of up to 1300:1, which is respectable for a budget laptop. Brightness is good, measuring up to 290 nits. This is enough to allow the matte display to be used in all indoor lighting.

Don’t forget the 1080p resolution of the display. This may seem basic to fans, but budget buyers are often faced with laptops with low-end 1366-by-768 displays. Going with 1080p makes the Aspire 5 easy to use and ensures crisp and clear text.

A pair of downward-firing speakers deliver the laptop’s audio. They are loud at high volume and tuned to a clear, crisp midrange. The speakers are a good match for podcasts, YouTube and some streaming, as speech always stands out. Maximum volume from a large fan or office HVAC. CM

Webcam, microphone

The Acer Aspire 5 has a basic 720p webcam and a microphone. Both work well enough for most zoom calls but never wow. Those hoping to look sharp in a video conference should budget for an external webcam.

Good news? The Aspire 5’s top bezel is thick, so most external webcams can be placed on it without obstruction. The laptop doesn’t end up with a heavy-duty webcam like the Dell Ultrasharp 4K.

relationship

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Acer Aspire 5 uses its thicker frame to make room for more old-school connectivity. There are a total of three USB Type-A ports (two USB 3.2 and one USB 2.0), one USB 3.2 Type-C that supports up to 5Gbps bandwidth, full-size HDMI, Ethernet and a 3.5mm combo audio jack.

The connection will be suitable for most buyers. A budget laptop can use devices that require USB-A and HDMI connections.

Wireless connectivity is the usual combination of Wi-Fi 6 with Bluetooth, both provided by the MediaTek MT7921 wireless LAN card. Wi-Fi performance was reliable throughout my home. I had no problem connecting a bluetooth mouse and headphones.

Performance

The Acer Aspire 5’s Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor promises respectable performance at a low price. It has four cores, eight threads, and Intel Iris X graphics with 80 execution units. Acer didn’t skimp on the RAM either, as the laptop packs a healthy 8GB.

So, do the specifications lead to respectable performance?

IDG / Matthew Smith

PCMark 10, a general productivity benchmark, starts the Aspirin 5 off on the wrong foot with a disappointing score of 3,902. It’s no surprise that it’s finished behind a fast Intel Core processor. However, the real problem is AMD. Ryzen 5 processors found in mid-range laptops like the HP Envy x360 15.

On the other hand, it is worth considering the price. Most Ryzen 5 laptops cost more than $499. AMD’s Ryzen 3 is commonly available for $499 and under. The Acer Aspire 5’s score could be forgiven for being the most expensive Windows laptop we’ve tested in recent months.

IDG / Matthew Smith

Cinebench R15, like PCMark 10, produces fairly anemic results, largely due to the Core i5-1135G7’s quad-core design. It is not compatible with AMD processors that pack more processor cores. As with PCMark 10 scores, the Aspire 5s should be considered. Laptops in the Aspire 5 price range usually have Intel Core i3 and AMD Ryzen 3 processors with up to two cores. These give even less impressive results.

IDG / Matthew Smith

We test Handbrake on Intel processors in two different ways. The first one, shown above, is entirely on raw CPU grunt to convert a 4K file of the short film. Tear of steel. This leads to an extremely long coded time of over an hour and a half. Fortunately, there is a much better way to encode video on modern laptops.

IDG / Matthew Smith

This second test performs the same encoding on the same file, but instead uses Intel’s Quick Sync and AMD’s Video Coding Engine to improve performance.

Wow. It’s a big leap, isn’t it?

The Acer Aspire 5 performs well, performing the encode in just over four minutes. The result comes in the form of the MSI Prestige 14 Evo, a 14-inch Windows laptop with a Core i7 processor. AMD’s laptop slips behind both Intel machines using VCE, although the encoder is still four times faster than before.

IDG / Matthew Smith

Intel’s Iris Xe graphics beats the Acer Aspire 5 to 1,226 points in 3DMark’s Time Spy benchmark. That’s not too far off from the HP Envy x360 15 we reviewed with an AMD APU packing Radeon Vega 8 graphics. Gamers will find that the Aspire can handle older and less demanding games. counter strike And league of legends with difficulty. Required topics such as control It’s not playable at 1080p and 30 frames per second, even at low specs.

Battery life

Acer ships the Aspire 5 with a 53 watt-hour battery. This is a respectable amount for a budget laptop. But our battery test, which plays a local video file until the battery runs out, reports an endurance of six hours and 35 minutes. That is not a good result.

IDG / Matthew Smith

Real-world results back up our test. I used the Acer Aspire 5 extensively for several days and topped out at around six to seven hours each day. My workflow includes web browsing, writing in Microsoft Word, and photo editing. Battery life is good for a Windows laptop. It can’t handle a full eight-hour workday, but it’s good enough for most cross-country flights and more than enough to use at the local coffee shop. Budget buyers looking for enhanced portability should turn their attention to Chromebooks like the Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5 or the HP Chromebook x2 11.

Software

Acer Aspire 5 comes with various software pre-installed. This includes Norton Antivirus, Dropbox, Firefox, and a taskbar shortcut that simply opens the Amazon home page in your default web browser (even if Firefox is still installed). Additional web links, such as Booking.com, can be found in the Windows Start menu. While annoying, these extras aren’t a problem. They do not hinder performance or generate unwanted pop-ups. Norton Antivirus is by far the most annoying piece of software, but it’s easy to uninstall.

Summary

The Acer Aspire 5 avoids the usual pitfalls of budget laptops. Windows laptops that sell for this price or below are often heavily discounted. They may have a dual-core processor, only 4GB of RAM, or a smaller 128GB hard drive. This laptop does nothing. It offers the bare minimum for an enjoyable Windows 11 experience, and it does so at a price that’s tens of dollars more expensive than less capable options (including other Aspire models). That makes it hard to beat at $499.