Summary
Acer Aspire 5 review.. Are you considering purchasing a Windows laptop? Wish to avoid spending more than $500? Then, a laptop from Acer Aspire is probably at the top of your list. Aspire laptops are consistently the best-selling laptops on Amazon, with some models priced as little as $369.99. This review’s model combines the best aspects of both approaches. It performs quite well and is fairly cheaply priced.
Acer Aspire 5 review
Introducing the Acer Aspire 5. This laptop, which is among the priciest in the Aspire series, has an Intel Core i5 CPU and 8GB of RAM. That being said, it isn’t pricey. It occasionally retails for as cheap as $479.99, however its recommended MSRP is $499.99. It may seem too good to be true that a Windows laptop with a current Core i5 CPU can be purchased for less than $499.99. Acer undoubtedly gives up something to get it. Nevertheless, the Aspire 5 is a capable and entertaining laptop.
Acer Aspire 5 A514-54-501Z specs and features
An Intel Core i5-1135G7 CPU with 8GB of RAM and a PCIe solid state drive are paired with an Acer Aspire 5. Customers who are interested in graphics performance should be aware that Intel’s Iris Xe graphics, with 80 execution units and a maximum clock speed of 1.3GHz, are packed within the Core i5-1135G7. The majority of 10th-generation Intel Core processors has Intel UHD graphics, which is a significant step down from the fastest integrated graphics option offered by Intel.
- CPU: Intel Core i5-1135G7
- Memory: 8GB
- Graphics/GPU: Intel Iris Xe
- Display: 14-inch 1080p LCD
- Storage: 256GB PCIe solid state drive
- Webcam: 720p
- Connectivity: 2x USB 3.2 Type-A, 1x USB 2.0 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C (data only), 1x Ethernet, 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x 3.5mm combo audio, 1x DC-in barrel plug
- Networking: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5
- Biometrics: None
- Battery capacity: 53watt-hour
- Dimensions: 0.71 x 8.88 x 12.9 inches
Weight: 3.75 pounds.
As previously said, Acer offers the hardware at very low prices. Upon cursory examination of Amazon, it can be seen that HP, Lenovo, and Dell alternatives are often more costly, with the majority of entry-level versions costing between $499 and $599. Acer has a leg up when it comes to bargain hunters, but is it really the case?.
Acer Aspire 5 review: Design and build quality
When you purchase a 14-inch laptop from Jo-Anne Fabrics, you will get the Acer Aspire 5. It will be rolled out, sliced, and then rolled back up before being given to you in a tall paper bag. You are responsible for resolving any creases when you get it home.
The laptop’s sturdy, robust feel makes up for its lack of style. I’ll even grant that the laptop and a potential suitor on The Bachelorette have a few things in common: both are undoubtedly generic but yet rather attractive. The black keycaps are stylish and the silver-and-black trim has a professional appearance.
Yes, there is one peculiarity. The laptop’s display lid has a slightly darker shade of golden than the rest of it. In person, it’s not that evident, but in pictures, it’s obvious.
The laptop weighs 3.75 pounds and is.71 inches thick. Although it is not very light, it can fit into the majority of laptop bags with ease and is sufficiently light that you won’t even notice you’re carrying it. Because of its tiny size, the power adapter may fit into a handbag, messenger bag, or backpack pocket.
Keyboard and trackpad
Great keyboard found on the Acer Aspire 5. There is enough space for keys, and each key has a substantial amount of travel. Although a little hazy at first, the key feel doesn’t ruin the experience. I typed for hours on end and discovered that it was comfortable, fast, and accurate. assuming, that is, that the lights are on.
The keyboard’s backlight is absent. Even while this is typical for laptops under $500, it’s still important to note since it makes using the device in the dark challenging.
Though it is small in comparison to more costly laptops with bigger touchpads, the touchpad surface, at around 4.25 inches wide and 2.5 inches deep, is normal for laptops in this price range. The shortage of space in Windows multi-touch gestures may make them difficult to utilize, such as the five-finger pinch motion that minimizes all open windows. My fingers often had to search for the surface since it felt just like the nearby palm rest.
The best way to use the Acer Aspire 5 is on a desk with an external mouse connected. By doing this, you can overlook the mediocre touchpad and appreciate the sturdy keyboard.
Acer Aspire 5 review: Display, audio
The Acer Aspire 5 has a 14-inch matte-coated 1080p display. It’s simple yet noteworthy nevertheless since it surprises you in both positive and negative ways.
Begin with the negative. With just 64 percent of the sRGB scale covered, the display offers a narrow color range. Although not terrible, color accuracy is nevertheless a little below average. Vibrance is diminished on the display by the limited color range and poor accuracy.
A powerful contrast ratio of up to 1300:1, which is decent for a low-cost laptop, is contrasted with the mediocre color performance. Up to 290 nits of brightness is considered excellent. The matte display may be used in almost all indoor lighting conditions since it is high enough.
Remember the 1080p resolution of the monitor. While aficionados may find this simple, budget customers sometimes have to deal with subpar 1366-by-768 displays on their computers. Selecting 1080p guarantees clear, sharp text and facilitates ease of use for the Aspire 5.
The laptop’s audio is produced by two downward-firing speakers. When turned up to their highest level, they provide a clean, crisp mid-range sound. Since the speech in the speakers is consistently noteworthy, they work well with podcasts, YouTube, and some streaming. The maximum level may compete with mild background noise from air conditioners or big fans in offices.
Webcam, microphone
A single microphone and a simple 720p webcam are features of the Acer Aspire 5. While they seldom wow, they both function well enough for the majority of Zoom calls. One should set aside money for a good external webcam if they want to seem professional during a video conference.
The favorable tidings? Because the top bezel of the Aspire 5 is thick, most external cameras may sit on top of it without getting in the way. Additionally, when a hefty camera, such the Dell Ultrasharp 4K, is installed, the laptop won’t topple over.
Connectivity
The Acer Aspire 5’s large body allows for a ton of retro-style connections. Full-sized HDMI, Ethernet, a 3.5mm combination audio jack, two USB 3.2 and one USB 2.0 port, one USB 3.2 Type-C connector with up to 5Gbps of speed, and three USB Type-A ports in total are present.
For most customers, the connection will be perfect. People shopping for a cheap laptop probably utilize equipment that need to be connected to USB-A and HDMI.
Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth are the standard wireless connection options, and MediaTek’s MT7921 wireless LAN card provides both. My home’s Wi-Fi performance was consistently good. I had no trouble pairing headphones and a Bluetooth mouse.
Performance
The Intel Core i5-1135G7 CPU in the Acer Aspire 5 is priced reasonably and offers reasonable performance. It has Intel’s Iris Xe graphics with 80 execution units, four cores, and eight threads. Additionally, Acer didn’t skimp on RAM—the laptop boasts a robust 8GB of RAM.
Do the specs result in performance that is reasonable then?
With a poor score of 3,902, PCMark 10, a general productivity test, gets the Aspire 5 off to a bad start. It is hardly surprising that this performs worse than faster Intel Core CPUs. The AMD Ryzen 5 CPUs, which are included in mid-range laptops like the HP Envy x360 15, are the true source of the issue, however.
However, it’s important to consider the cost. The majority of laptops with Ryzen 5 pricing start at $499. AMD’s Ryzen 3 is increasingly often available at $499 and less. Given that the Acer Aspire 5 is by far the most affordable Windows laptop we’ve evaluated in recent months, its score may be forgiven.
Similar to PCMark 10, Cinebench R15 yields a quite poor performance, which is mostly attributable to the Core i5-1135G7’s quad-core architecture. It is unable to compete with AMD processors that have higher CPU core counts. The Aspire 5’s findings need to be considered, just as the PCMark 10 ones. Price-range laptops for the Aspire 5 often include AMD Ryzen 3 and Intel Core i3 CPUs with as little as two cores. These will provide considerably less noteworthy outcomes.
We use two distinct approaches to test Handbrake on Intel CPUs. The first, which is seen above, transcodes a 4K file of the short film Tears of Steel using nothing but pure CPU power. This results in an encoded time that is nearly 1.5 hours long, which is absurd. Thankfully, there is now a much superior method for encoding video on laptops.
The same encode is done on the same file in this second test, but performance is improved by using AMD’s Video Coding Engine and Intel’s Quick Sync.
Whoa. Isn’t it a significant jump?
With an encode time of little over four minutes, the Acer Aspire 5 performs well. Its rating is somewhat lower than that of the 14-inch Windows laptop with a Core i7 CPU, the MSI Prestige 14 Evo. Even while its encode is still more than four times faster than previously, the AMD laptop, which is utilizing VCE, lags behind the two Intel computers.
The Acer Aspire 5 achieves a score of 1,226 in 3DMark’s Time Spy test thanks to Intel’s Iris Xe graphics. This is not far behind the AMD APU-equipped Radeon Vega 8 HP Envy x360 15 that we evaluated. Players will discover that the Aspire has no trouble running more traditional and less demanding games like League of Legends and Counter-Strike. Even at low detail, demanding games like Control won’t run smoothly at 1080p and 30 frames per second.
Battery life
Acer included a 53 watt-hour battery with the Aspire 5. For a low-cost laptop, this is a reasonable size. Still, our battery test, which runs a local video clip continuously until the battery dies, indicated a battery life of just six hours and thirty-five minutes. That’s not an excellent outcome.
Our test was supported by real-world outcomes. Over a few days, I put a lot of usage into the Acer Aspire 5, and I estimated my daily endurance at six to seven hours. I used Microsoft Word for writing, Photoshop for editing, and the internet for surfing. For a low-cost Windows laptop, the battery life is adequate. Although it’s not sufficient for an eight-hour workday, it’s more than enough for most domestic flights and a local coffee shop. Chromebooks such as the HP Chromebook x2 11 and Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5 are a good option for consumers on a budget who want more mobility.
Programs
Many applications are pre-installed on the Acer Aspire 5. This contains Firefox, Dropbox, Norton Antivirus, and a taskbar shortcut to Amazon’s home page that only launches the installed Firefox web browser rather than the company’s Edge browser. The Windows Start menu has more online connections, such Booking.com. Although a little bothersome, these accessories don’t pose an issue. They don’t produce unsolicited pop-ups or impair functionality. The most bothersome program is definitely Norton Antivirus, but it’s simple to remove.
In conclusion
The Acer Aspire 5 stays clear of common problems with low-cost laptops. Windows laptops with prices this low or lower often have considerable cost reductions. They could feature a little 128GB hard drive, just 4GB of RAM, or a dual-core CPU. All of this is not done by this laptop. Just a few hundred dollars more costly than less powerful options (such as other Aspire models), it provides the bare minimum need for a satisfying Windows 11 experience. For $499, it’s difficult to top that.
