Intel recently announced its 8th gen Core CPUs for laptopsand 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.
The Aspire 5 series has gotten the refresh, and Acer has launched multiple SKUs with slight variations in terms of specifications, all priced aggressively at around Rs. 50,000. The model on test today is the Aspire 5 A515-515G-571Z, 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 you money.
Acer Aspire 5 A515-51G design and build
The Aspire 5 is designed keeping a mid-range budget in mind, so most of the body is made of plastic. The lower half, where all the components go, is well constructed and feels sturdy. The Aspire 5 is also quite slim for a 15.6-inch laptop, measuring around 20.95mm thick. On the other hand, it’s still heavy at 2.2kg, so you will feel the heft in your backpack. The lid has a striped design, which looks nice and doesn’t attract fingerprints. However, it flexes quite easily and it doesn’t offer much protection for the display, which can easily warp when you press the lid. There is also noticeable warping on the left side of the display every time you open or close the lid.
Acer has fitted a full-HD display on this particular variant (but not on all), so text, menus and everything in general looks sharp and clear. The lid can also tilt all the way back, to 180 degrees. The torsion of the hinge is good too so you can use it at multiple angles without worrying. 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.
[“Source-CNBC”]
