Acer Aspire 5 (2022) review: Penny-pinching power, upgrades galore

Price When Reviewed

$799

Best Prices Today: Acer Aspire 5 (2022)

As an avowed {hardware} head, I like a laptop computer that offers you loads of choices. Whether that’s a plethora of ports, a customizable RGB keyboard, and even DIY improve alternatives — I dig all of it. Acer provides you loads of these things for not an entire lot of cash with its newest Acer Aspire 5 15-inch mannequin.
 
These huge Acers are routinely best-sellers on Amazon, and we’ve seen in previous years that the large screened 15.6-inch fashions usually take the crown. I can’t blame consumers—this can be a nice show measurement excellent for side-by-side home windows, with an HD decision superior for taking part in or enhancing video. Plus, there’s simply sufficient room so as to add just a little child numpad to the proper of the QWERTY keyboard. Although the mannequin we tried was well-equipped with loads of RAM and a spacious SSD (for the next $699 to $799 worth), the spectacular specs had been undercut by some actual downsides.

Acer Aspire 5 specs and options

The Acer Aspire 5 15-inch has a large number of trendy options, together with a zippy 12th gen Intel CPU together with loads of RAM and a spacious SSD. Unlike mid-range laptops of yore, you gained’t discover an possibility with a gradual laborious drive inside—these Acers are all flash-based.

• CPU: Intel Core i5-1235U (10 cores, 12 threads: 2 efficiency, 8 effectivity)
• Memory: 16 GB LPDDR4 (2x 8 GB SODIMMs)
• Graphics/GPU: Intel Xe Graphics
• Display: 15.6-inch 16:9 1080p IPS LCD
• Storage: 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe stable state drive, second empty M.2 slot
• Webcam: 720p 
• Connectivity:  3x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1x Thunderbolt 4, 1x Gigabit Ethernet, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5mm combo audio, 1x DC-in barrel plug
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
• Biometrics: None
• Battery capability: 50Wh
• Dimensions: 14.29 (W) x 9.36 (D) x 0.70 (H) inches
• Weight: 3.88 kilos, 4.54 lbs with charger
• Price: $599

Acer has mentioned that higher-spec variations could have discrete Nvidia graphics chips and QHD screens, however for now, the one variations available on the market within the US have Intel Xe built-in graphics. Additionally, the one similarly-spec’d model typically out there appears to have solely 8 GB RAM—half the unit we examined. The actual model we tried is, on the time of writing, is just on Acer’s on-line store.

Design and Build Quality

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

I’ve tried loads of laptops in my day, and I gotta say that on the dimensions from ‘dowdy’ to ‘darling,’ the Acer Aspire 5 15-inch falls squarely on the dowdy facet. If you’re a sticker hoarder like me, the large gray empty areas are merely begging for a beneficiant coating of selection stickers.
 
The model I sampled, manufactured from a medium-grey plastic, seems to be so…forgettable. I’m not of the opinion that each laptop must be manufactured from steel, however even then the panel of aluminum on the show’s outer shell solely serves to remind of the dearth of the fabric elsewhere. A color-matched keyboard provides it a tidy look, and the bigger show makes room for a giant touchpad and a vestigial numpad subsequent to the keyboard.
 
But plastic is usually a good factor, and I believe right here it’ll add a little bit of sturdiness. After all, aluminum can bend, magnesium can snap, whereas loads of the time plastic simply bounces again. This lends the machine a sense of sturdiness. Plastic additionally helps preserve the load right down to a sprightly 3.88 kilos, which was once the load of some 13-inch machines! At .7 inches thick at its thickest, this laptop computer is also decently svelte, so it ought to comfortably slot in a big selection of backpacks.

Keyboard and trackpad

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

Acer’s been doing mid-range laptops for some time and normally is aware of find out how to strike steadiness of keyboard high quality relative to the remainder of the laptop computer’s property. Here, although, I discovered that the backlit keyboard was overly flat and really hollow-feeling. The key switches don’t make up for the quick throw, both, giving every press far much less feeling than I’d choose. There’s just one backlight degree, too, which was disappointing.
 
The Aspire 5’s keyboard isn’t helped by the design of the entire laptop computer, which makes use of the rear fringe of the show to barely prop the pc in the direction of you. In principle, this might make for a extra snug typing expertise, however in my time with this Acer, it meant that I couldn’t assist however discover the substantial deck flex whereas typing.
 
The huge trackpad is, fortunately, higher to make use of. I can gripe in regards to the occasional unintentional enter as a result of my palms hitting the edges of the large pad, and positive it’d be good to have one thing with a clean glass panel as a substitute of plastic. But in use, scrolling, gestures, and clicking labored nice due to the Precision drivers at work underneath the hood.

Display and audio

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

Acer’s gotten loads of mileage out of the gold “Full HD 1080” sticker that comes glued to the nook of this laptop computer’s display—they’ve been utilizing that as a regular decision for years. Here, the Aspire 5 has a display that will get the job accomplished, and is normally shiny sufficient for indoor use. Colors look good to my eye, and the matte coating helps lower out annoying glare. That mentioned, if you happen to incessantly work in shiny, sunlit rooms, or wish to take your laptop computer outdoors, you would possibly discover that the display’s LED backlight just a little missing.
 
I can’t say the laptop computer’s down-firing audio system left an enormous impression however for the occasional YouTube video, they labored effectively. They have an honest quantity of bass, and don’t distort the sound a lot at max quantity. If you’re in search of a well-rounded audio expertise, the Acer Aspire 5 doesn’t ship it, however I’ve additionally heard laptop computer audio system which might be a lot worse.

Webcam and microphones

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

Zoom incessantly? The Acer Aspire 5 may not be the decide for you. Although its advertising supplies brag about some superior noise discount, the 720p webcam gained’t make you look superb. In a café, I ended up wanting like a grainy, smooth mess. Even in a shiny room, I discovered that my face was missing intimately. If you had been hoping for Windows Hello facial recognition, you gained’t discover it on this laptop computer.

Likewise, the inner twin microphone system is ok in a pinch, however if you happen to’re involved about wanting and sounding your finest, you’ll need to spend money on a headset and perhaps even a standalone webcam.

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

Connectivity and growth

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

While many different laptops are soldering down RAM—and even the SSD in some circumstances—this Acer Aspire 5 feels old-school in one of the best ways attainable. Undo a handful of Philips head screws on the underside and you may get entry to the pc’s two M.2 slots, considered one of which is unused within the inventory configuration. RAM is likewise in a socket, with two 8 GB SODIMMs letting you improve to your coronary heart’s content material.
 
While it may not be necessary to many individuals nowadays, if you happen to’re a pupil beginning a media-heavy main like filmmaking, the power so as to add extra RAM or SSD area in a while could be extraordinarily helpful. What additionally could be useful is the inclusion of a Thunderbolt 4 port, which might make docking at a desk tremendous easy and supply a bunch of high-speed I/O with the proper adapter. Moreover, Acer included three USB-A ports, all at 3.0 speeds (one gives cellphone charging energy as effectively), a full-size HDMI, and a headset jack. For charging, there’s a DC barrel plug, which matches with the included 65W energy brick, however charging over the Thunderbolt’s USB-C port can also be attainable.
 
Wireless isn’t skimped on, and the Acer Aspire 5 contains Intel Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. Internet connectivity labored as anticipated, however if you happen to’re ever in a scenario gasp with out Wi-Fi, it even has old style RJ-45 ethernet jack.

Performance

Intel’s 12th-gen chips are merely fascinating. Compared to yesteryear’s dual- or quad-core decisions, a lot of 2022’s Intel Core lineup throws a ton of cores at you. The Acer Aspire 5 I attempted got here outfitted with the mid-range Intel Core i5-1235U, one of many newest laptop computer chips. While it brags a 10-core, 12-thread design that can elevate eyebrows, in actuality this chip is a break up between two sturdy “performance” cores and 8 wimpier “efficiency” cores. Threadripper, this ain’t, however for duties that require loads of threads, it really works effectively sufficient.
 
The solely draw back right here is that as a result of the Core i5-1235U is restricted to 2 of the brawny-type cores. The Aspire 5 will get proven up by AMD Ryzen laptop computer chips, which within the case of the HP Pavilion Aero 13 featured right here, has 8 full-power cores onboard.

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

Rest assured that in day-to-day duties like video chatting, working within the browser, or loading up Office, the Acer Aspire 5 can be greater than satisfactory.
 
One check the place 12 threads works to this laptop’s profit is when working the multi-core Cinebench R15 check. It’s in a multi-core activity like this the place the 10-core design of the i5-1235U will get to work, outpacing a last-gen i7 laptop computer by a pleasant margin.

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

Recent Intel chips have additionally been given a little bit of a lift within the graphics division, and this processor options an Intel Iris Xe chip. The punishing 3DMark check is a good way to contextualize the most recent built-in GPU efficiency. Although the restricted variety of execution items places it as an obstacle, and Intel’s Xe tech hasn’t improved considerably since final 12 months, the Aspire 5 is a stable middle-of-the-road performer.

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

While the 3DMark scores aren’t unimaginable to contemplate, I had an honest time working with esports video games and older AAA titles on the Acer Aspire 5. Forza Horizon 4 performed effectively sufficient dialed right down to medium settings and 30 FPS, whereas Rocket League fortunately settled in at 60 fps maxed out. You’ll in all probability need to skip right this moment’s most demanding video games, however for indies or lingering impulse Steam purchases, the Acer Aspire 5 is nice sufficient.
 
Need to export HD video right into a bunch of various codecs? This Acer could be an honest price range selection for the aspiring content material creators on the market. Its cores go to work to essentially tackle exports, as we noticed in our Handbrake check. Crunching a full HD Blu-Ray rip right into a format for an Android pill took just a little underneath a half-hour. You can thank Intel’s well-optimized Quick Sync Video {hardware}, which quickens some video-related duties.

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

Battery life

Given the display measurement, you would possibly assume that this Acer packs an even bigger battery. After all, top-tier 15- and 17-inch fashions routinely bump up in opposition to the 99Wh mark with the intention to give as a lot runtime as attainable. Well, that is a kind of areas the place you get what you pay for. Acer put a small, 50Wh battery pack contained in the Acer Aspire 5, and though that helps preserve the load down, the penalty you pay is a shorter time away from a wall outlet.

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

In our video rundown check, the Acer Aspire 5 routinely struggled to hit the 6-hour mark. That’s merely quick, particularly contemplating the job of all of Intel’s effectivity cores is to maintain the laptop computer working, effectively, effectively. If you’re coming from an previous, drained laptop that solely lasts a few hours it’s not so dangerous however that is removed from the all-day battery life you may get in competing laptops.

Software

The Acer Aspire 5 comes with Windows 11 Home onboard, and some…uh…bonus items of software program preloaded. The worst of the included bunch is Norton Security Ultra. I knew one thing was up as quickly as I plugged in my trusty laborious drive filled with check software program–Norton instantly, unhelpfully requested to scan all 3 TB of knowledge. Uh, no thanks!
 
Other than that, except you go opening random included apps, it is best to keep away from every other obnoxious pop-ups. Digging round I discovered a hyperlink to a League of Legends teaching web site, PhotoDirector, Aura Privacy, and some others. Then once more, Windows 11 itself comes with sufficient random hyperlinks like TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram built-in, a lot in order that it’s laborious to inform what Microsoft added, and what’s Acer’s doing.

Conclusion

I believe that Acer has put loads of nice stuff into the Aspire 5. If you desire a huge display with loads of RAM and SSD area for not some huge cash, this may very well be a terrific decide. DIY upgrades may preserve your Aspire chugging down the highway, which I want extra laptop computer makers would think about when designing mass-market fashions like this. There are some clear downsides, nonetheless. The weak battery life and mediocre show and keyboard marred the expertise.

But when penning this abstract, I can’t assist however really feel that the Aspire 5 is lower than the sum of its elements. You miss out on a lot of the trendy PC expertise—from Windows Hello biometric log-in to a touchscreen to all-day battery life. These are minor additions that may really change the best way you utilize your laptop.

At the $600 worth, it’s caught between some cheaper big-screen choices (Dell’s Inspiron 3000 15 begins at $449) that, for a median consumer, would possibly provide an indistinguishable day-to-day expertise. Then if you happen to can stretch your price range, you’re practically in premium laptop computer territory (HP Envys and refurbished MacBook Air M1s can each price as little as $849). If it had been me, I’d look forward to a sale or Black Friday to get considered one of these Aspire 5 15-inchers on low cost. For $600, I believe you deserve one thing that feels much less like a throwback and extra like a pc constructed for 2022.