The Acer Aspire 5 is yet another solid offering in Acer’s solid line of budget-priced laptops. Our review unit is the Aspire A515-43-R19L, a 15-inch laptop that arrives in a beatiful casing with oncremental tweaks over last year’s model – in both design and perfromance. It is the cheapest Aspire 5 around, and for little money you’re getting an AMD Ryzen 3 processor and Vega 3 graphics; but, more money will get you an Intel Core i7 chip, GeForce MX250 graphics abd up to 512GB SSD storage.
As with every other Acer line, there are lots of configurations to choose from, but you can be assured most laptops in the Aspire 5 line aren’t very expensive. With the Aspire A515-43-R19L, expect a few drawbacks, like a not accurate touchpad and so-so build quality, meaning like every budget laptop, this Aspire 5 is a study in compromises. But it shines along the way than many.
Acer Aspire 5 (A515-43-R19L) specs
- Display size/resolution: 15.6-inch 1,920 x 1,080 display
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3200U
- PC Memory: 4GB DDR4
- Graphics: AMD Radeon Vega 3
- Storage: 218GB SSD
- Networking: 802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless; Bluetooth 5.0
- Operating system: Windows 10 S mode
Design
At just over 3.9 pounds, and 0.7 inches thin, the Acer A515-43-R19L is quite light for a budget-priced 15-inch laptop. Most laptops at this price range are often heavy pieces of equipment moulded from black plastic. In contrast, the Aspire 5’s exterior is made of silver aluminum, meaning this notebook is not only light, but sports a sleek, modern look as well. However, it’s not anywhere close to the Acer Swift 5 that weighs a paltry 2.2 pounds, but it will still not weigh you down in your backpack.
Around the display edges there’s some plastic but the keyboard deck and rest of the interior surface are made of the same material used on the exterior. Even with the improved dimension and better materials, you’ll notice that the base of the unit is slightly wobbly, even when resting on a flat tabletop. There’s some flex on the base, too, which doesn’t inspire lots of confidence in the Aspire’s durability if the body is banged around much.
Display
When you open the lid, you’re greeted by a 15.6-inch full HD (1,920-by-1,080) display, alongside the new standard LED backlight and in-plane (IPS) technology. The screen is of excellent quality, with clear and vivid colors, when the backlight is set to its optimal level. Better still, the screen achieves this quality using a matte finish that reduces glare from ambient lights.
On the downside, Acer doesn’t offer a touchscreen option, but is a remarkable improvement over last year’s model. Above the display, there is a 720p webcam with decent – but slightly grainy video quality, that lacks IR sensors that would allow you to log into your Windows 10 account using face recognition. After all, we didn’t expect such a feature on a budget laptop.
Keyboard, Touchpad & Ports
Another interesting feature on the Acer A515-43-R19L must be the backlit keyboard, just above the touchpad. It’s comfortable, sturdy and offers the flexibility you’d need during intense typing sessions. Again, it gets little give when you strike the keys forcefully. The keyboard has a dedicated number pad on the right side, but unlike the main part of the board, its keys are not full-size.
The touchpad used here doesn’t boost a built-in fingerprint reader, and it lacks dedicated left- and right-click buttons. Instead, the entire surface on the pad is clickable, although it results in a fairly mushy feel whenever you click.
Connectivity options are excellent, especially if you hate dongles but have lots of peripherals and cables to plug into your laptop. The left edge has a power connector, full-size Gigabit Ethernet and HDMI ports, and two USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports (one with power-off charging). The other edge holds a Kensington-style cable, a two USB 2.0 ports, and a 3.5mm audio output. Wireless connectivity comes via Bluetooth 4.2 and 802.11ac Wi-Fi with MU-MIMO support.
Performance
While you can’t build a custom-configured Aspire, there are many variants to choose from, ranging from the low-end model to the top-of-the-line Core i7 model. Our review unit, the Acer Aspire 5 A515-43-R19L is the base model, featuring an AMD Ryzen 3 3200U processor, 4GB DDR4 RAM, 128GB NVMe SSD, integrated AMD Vega 3 graphics card and Windows 10 in S mode.
With Windows 10 S mode, you’re limited to apps found in the Microsoft Store, the same way you would do with Chrome OS running Google Apps, but this version offers a lightweight full Windows 10 experience. It makes lots of sense to have Windows 10 on this laptop, as it gives you flexibility to do most tasks over the limitations of Chrome OS found on similarly priced Chromebooks.
As configured, the 3.5GHz AMD Ryzen processor used here is enough for web browsing, video streaming, word processing and other productivity tasks that you’d usually perform on a daily basis. That makes the Aspire A515-43-R19L a perfect candidate for college use or small home-office use, especially when a Chromebook isn’t a viable option.
That said, the 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD are a bit tight, but you can always swap them later with big capacity storage and maybe 8GB RAM if necessary. Battery life is excellent, with the notebook lasting just over 7 hours 20 minutes on a single charge.
Bottom line
With the Acer A515-43-R19L you’re getting more laptop than you’re paying for. It offers a combination of a crisp 1080p display, light-weight profile, and a palatable price that most buyers on a tight budget will appreciate. It does make a few tradeoffs like a finicky touchpad and a so-so build, but those are compromises to weigh instead of reasons not to buy.
If you need more power and storage, the Aspire 5 is available in other configurations that offer exactly that. So, the most important considerations here are how much you can spend and what you plan to use your laptop for. But if all you need is a big-screen machine for basic Windows tasks and have less $500 on the table, the Aspire 5 is the best way to spend your cash.
Is there a better alternative?
In 2024, the laptop market is filled with lots of budget laptops, most of them with the latest processors and much-better case designs. Among the top laptops we’ve reviewed in this category is the HP 14-dq5009nr, that features an Intel Core i3-1215U processor, 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD storage. Its 14-inch 720p is a little underwhelming, but beyond that it’s tremednous value for anyone looking for a perfromanct laptop for work or college.
If your budget can extend a bit, the Acer Aspire 5 (2024 model) is yet another great alternaive. It costs a few hundreds more, but you’re getting a newer premium design, Intel Core i7-1355U processor, 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD storage. It’s our Editors’ Choice for laptops under $1000.
Should you buy it?
Yes. The Acer A515-43-R19L, whether in its AMD Ryzen + Vega 3 graphics configuration or its slightly more expensive Intel Core i5 model with much better components makes it to our best laptops list.
Recommended Configuration
HP 14 inch Laptop, HD Display, 12th Generation Intel Core i3-1215U, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD
2 used from $215.98
The Review
Acer Aspire 5 A515-43-R19L
With the Acer Aspire 5 (A515-43-R19L), you’re getting more laptop than you’re paying for. It offers a combination of a crisp 1080p display, light-weight profile, and a palatable price that most buyers on a tight budget will appreciate.
PROS
- Solid productivity performance
- Very good battery life
- A better-than-budget display
CONS
- So-so build quality
- Display bezels are not small enough
Review Breakdown
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EDITORS RATING
