Need a Great Laptop for Work or Gaming? Is laptop performance a major issue for You? Acer Aspire 5 with Intel core i5 8th gen Processor is all You Need…
Intel recently announced its 8th gen Core CPUs for laptops and desktops, which were highlighted in new launches at IFA 2017. Laptops based on these new CPUs have already started trickling into the market, and Acer is one of the first companies to start selling them in India.
Acer produces a variety of combinations in these ASPIRE series of laptops, all priced between 40k to 50k. The model on test today is the Aspire 5 A515-515G-52ZR, which has the best configuration of the lot. Along with Intel’s new CPU, the laptop also boasts of Nvidia’s new budget-minded MX150 GPU, which makes this a very interesting multimedia solution at this price. Let’s see what you get for your money…
HIGHLIGHTS
- It boasts of an Intel Core i5-8250U CPU
- Nvidia MX150 GPU with 2GB of VRAM
- CPU performance is very good with the 8GB of RAM
- The Aspire 5 A515-515G-52ZR is backed with 1TB of HDD.
Design and Build
The Aspire 5 is designed keeping a mid-range budget in mind, so most of the body is made of premium plastic. The laptop has an overall premium look due to its very fine design. The Aspire 5 is also quite slim for a 15.6-inch laptop, measuring around 20.95mm thick. The lid can also tilt all the way back, to 180 degrees. The torsion of the hinge is good enough so you can use it at multiple angles without worrying much.
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Ports and Connectivity
The Aspire 5 has a good selection of ports. You get a total of three full-sized USB ports (two 2.0 ports, one 3.0 port), a Type-C port (USB 3.1, Gen1), Ethernet, HDMI, an SD card slot, and a headphone and microphone combo socket. The keys in the keyboard are well spaced out and are comfortable for typing.
We also found the trackpad to be generously proportioned. On the bottom of the laptop, we have a lot of vents to maintain good air circulation. There are also two hatches for accessing the hard drive and RAM. This is very useful as it lets owners easily access these components without needing to go to a service center. The laptop ships with a 60W power adapter and user manuals.
Display
The display on this laptop is not that great as it has weak viewing angles. Colour reproduction is decent, but the worst part is the viewing angles, which are quite weak. Horizontal viewing angles are not that bad but there’s a very narrow sweet spot for the vertical angles. But at this range, it gives a decent experience with a full HD screen. This display should not have any issues with normal usage or gaming.
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Performance & Gaming
The Aspire 5 performs well in benchmarks, and in some multi-threaded tests, it manages to outperform Intel’s higher-end 7th gen CPUs.
The hard drive also performed well in SiSoft Sandra’s physical disk tests, where we got a driving score of 200MB/s. The Aspire 5 does a decent job when gaming at high resolutions or playing full HD videos.
One can nearly run all kinds of high graphics games with ease due to its powerful CPU and GPU. The MX150 also supports Nvidia’s Optimus technology, which means it powers off when not in use. The Aspire 5 easily handles 4K video without any trouble. Acer also has a dynamic contrast adjustment system called Colour Intelligence, which is useful for animated movies but otherwise is best left switched off. The keyboard has good travel for typing and the keys aren’t too noisy. We like how the trackpad is generously proportioned, and button presses don’t require too much effort.
Sound and Battery Life
The stereo speakers are placed on either side, on the bottom. They get fairly loud at full volume and sound best when the laptop is placed on a solid surface so that sound can reflect off it. The sound quality is decent in maintaining the audio details and does not produce sound distortion even at full volume.
The webcam also supports 720p video and picture quality is quite clear even indoors. Acer promises up to seven hours of battery life from the 4-cell battery but we managed to get about 8 to 9 hours, with moderate usage.
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Pros:
- Intel Core i5-8250U 1.6GHz with turbo boost up to 3.4GHz
- NVIDIA GeForce MX150 with 2GB VRAM
- Great performance due to the processor and 8GB DDR4 RAM
- Good and strong built at the price range
- Long battery life of 8-9 hours
- Good sound quality with a decent webcam
Cons:
- Viewing angles could have been better
- No DVD RW
- Windows was not pre-installed on this laptop
Verdict
Acer offers a solid foundation for a mid-range multimedia laptop in the Aspire 5. The capable CPU and GPU, comfortable keyboard, and user-upgradable RAM and storage all make it good value.
However, you’ll need to be careful when shopping as there are many variants of the Aspire 5, all priced in the range with very slight variations in their configurations.
So if u are planning for a mid-range laptop, there’s not a better option than this.
Buy Acer Aspire from this link : https://amzn.to/2LC6jGP
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