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ToolsFor around $ 550 ( or $ 700 for a Core i7-powered model ), you ‘ll be treated to substantially better-than-average performance, a boatload of onboard memory, a flash-based solid department of state drive standard, stellar battery life, and a host of upgrade opportunities ensure a positive retort on investing .
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unfortunately, a couple of its flaws are hard to ignore ; a bleached display stares you in the face and a plasticky, think build nags you every time you transport it. But if you ‘re strong-willed—and just strong adequate to carry a nearly-5.3-pound laptop—the Aspire E 15 will serve you well.
Acer may have cut some corners with the Aspire E 15, but it was certain to bolster areas that distinctive mid-range computers neglect. I ‘ll touch on the E 15 ‘s absolute sum of value curtly, but for now, let ‘s take a count at what we ‘re working with .
• Intel Core i5-6200U dual-core processor
• 8GB DDR4 SDRAM
• 15.6-inch 1920×1080 LED display
• Nvidia GeForce 940MX graphics processor with 2 GB GDDR5 RAM
• 256GB M.2 SATA SSD
• WiFi AC/Bluetooth
• CD/DVD Multidrive ( Reads/Burns DVDs and CDs )
• 2,500mAh lithium-ion battery with up to 64W of might
Our review unit is the $ 550 model with the above specsheet, but Acer besides offers a interpretation of the E 15 with a Core i7 processor. Given that every single translation is equipped with an SSD, 8 GB RAM, discrete graphics, and even an ocular drive, it ‘s no wonder that this exemplar frequently tops the Amazon charts .
credit : Reviewed.com / Brendan Nystedt
For its price, its performance is stellar.
You wo n’t be peeling out and burning arctic ( so to speak ) with the Acer Aspire E 15, but given its asking price, the performance it ‘s adequate to of is nothing short of impressive .
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The E 15 is powered by Intel ‘s Core i5 central processing unit, this Acer will offer you batch of performance. This finical i5 processor is the standard across the diligence for mid-range laptops, found in everything from Dell’s Inspiron 7000 2-in-1 batting order to Samsung’s Notebook 13 series. You could conceivably spring for the Core i7-powered model of the E 15, but for $ 150 more, I personally deem the money to be better spent elsewhere. Your mileage, as the say goes, may vary .
credit : Reviewed.com / Brendan Nystedt The E 15 does n’t have a deficit of ports, even including USB-C and ethernet .
For daily multitasking, video recording stream, and even memory-hogging app-usage ( your Adobe Premieres and Photoshops, for example ), the Acer E 15 is a amazingly capable rival. And if gambling is a precedence for you, I ‘ve got good news and bad news. The good news is the E 15 is well-equipped to handle centrist gambling, or flush very demanding games ( though you ‘ll have to tick down the graphics a few notches ) .
The inclusion body of Nvidia graphics is an excellent bonus in a notebook that ‘s this cheap .
The laptop ‘s GeForce 940MX card—which is backed up by 2GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory—can handle a carnival amount of stress, meaning even newer games like Overwatch. It ‘s not unheard of to find a laptop of this class with a decent graphics poster, but it ‘s not particularly coarse, either, specially when you ‘re in adenine depleted of a price crop as the E 15 .
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You needn’t worry about paltry battery life.
What good would a huge laptop be if it did n’t at least have huge battery life to back up its heft ? The E 15 ‘s 2,500mAh-sized battery may seem small, but thanks to a beneficial amount of electrical power, the it put up huge numbers in our intensive PCMark8 Home battery test, averaging just under five hours of test time .
Since personal computer Mark 8 ‘s battery test drains the battery faster than usual, everyday tasks, this does n’t mean you can expect lone five hours of actual habit per charge, but if you compare it to the three-hour result put away by the 13-inch Samsung Notebook 9 ( a laptop with a much higher price tag with the lapp basic Intel check inwardly ), you ‘ll start to see how ahead-of-the-curve the E 15 actually resides .
accredit : Reviewed.com / Brendan Nystedt This backlit keyboard was a joy to type on for retentive periods of time .
A spacious keyboard with feel-good keys
I ‘m a lollipop for a good keyboard, so my time clacking off on the E 15 has been a pleasant one. The key themselves are adequately spaced ( not a surprise for such a wide laptop ) and there ‘s a number launching pad on the right-hand side, which is always a welcome summation. The E 15 ‘s keyboard besides passes my day-long screen ; its keys answer with the right field amount of pressure for hours of comfortable type .
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Backlighting—another feature of speech that, across the market, is missing in action more than it ought to be—is accounted for, excessively, so there ‘s no necessitate to worry about fumbling about in the black for the right key .
Flexibility in ports, flexibility in upgrades
There ‘s plenty of actual estate of the realm on the away of the E 15 for connectivity options, and Acer did n’t waste any of it. Between three standard USB ports, a USB Type-C port, an HDMI port, you ‘re good to go for pretty much everything. There ‘s even an Ethernet port for pumped-up ‘net access, should you feel so incline. Along front there ‘s even a SD slot, which is bang-up if you want to easily get photos from your DSLR. The real standout, obviously, is the inclusion of USB Type-C, which ‘ll make for a nice cushion as the standard slowly becomes omnipresent in the following few years .
credit : Reviewed.com / Brendan Nystedt You can easily double the E 15 ‘s RAM, or flush add in a second difficult drive for even more memory .
Speaking of future-proofing … Let ‘s talk about RAM. The einsteinium 15 has two DDR4 memory slots, meaning its already-competitive 8GB of RAM can be upgraded all the manner up to 32GB. Loosen three simple Philips-head screws, and you get access to those RAM slots, the standard M.2 SSD, and you ‘ll even find a spot for a second SATA hard drive to live. It ‘s this kind of upgradeability that has fallen out of favor in the era of seamless, undifferentiated design and razer-thin construct, and it ‘s precisely what gives the E 15 a leg-up on some of the more expensive, higher-end laptops out there.
Graceful, it is not.
While I dig the look and feel of the E 15 ( the fictile along the outside of the laptop features a hatched, woven-linen-type finish ), the E 15 is an absolute animal of a calculator .
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I know, I know—when it comes to 15-inch displays, anything is a animal. But at 1.2 inches tall, the E 15 is particularly chunky, and at 5.3 pounds, your shoulder will decidedly be getting to know the strap on your messenger bag a fiddling better in the coming years .
If you see yourself traveling to-and-from work with your calculator and you ‘re even a fiddling worry about the price it might take on your back, you might want to get your hands on the E 15 in person before committing to it. The accuracy is, the E 15 is better suited to live on your desk most of the time—if you were hoping to tote this with you to and from Starbucks to work on your following bang-up screenplay, there are other, better options .
credit : Reviewed.com / Brendan Nystedt Its blur screen means the Acer Aspire E 15 is a no-go for use out of doors .
A lackluster display
possibly it ‘s because I spend my days staring at glowing rectangles, but one of the first observations I made about the Aspire E 15 is its black, bleached display, which has a habit of sucking the life out of photos, streaming video, and games. I might be better-equipped at picking up on these issues with my naked eye than everyday consumers, but the numbers do n’t lie—in our lab, the E 15 ‘s full-HD LED display maxed out at around 210 nits, which is below-average, flush for its class .
The colors, besides, lack the saturation needed for a sharp, bright viewing experience. As a solution, streaming Netflix, for example, is best leave for dimly-lit rooms ; another reason to leave the E 15 on a desk at family.
Ask yourself two questions : Can you find it in your heart to tolerate a relatively dim, bleached display and a laptop whose size and weight are downright cumbersome at times ? If you think you can put up with these two true boring drawbacks, the Aspire E 15 is ready to surpass your expectations without lightening your wallet besides much .
credit rating : Reviewed.com / Brendan Nystedt Though it ‘s bulky, this Acer Aspire is a great respect if you want big features and future-proofed performance .
It ‘d be one thing if the E 15 was just a solid performer. More importantly, it ‘s a solid performer for a phenomenal price, and one that ‘ll evening prove authentic for some gamers ( or at least the ones who are n’t looking to run current-generation titles at silky-smooth framerates ) .
And we have n’t even begun to factor in its impressive upgradeability, bountiful ports, and leading battery life, which tip the scales even further. Honestly, I know I ‘ve already advised against splurging on the $ 150 Core i7 mannequin, but the truth is you could go for it and hush wind up on the winning end of the deal .
Bargains like this are few and far between .
For a little drug of position, consider the bestselling 13-inch MacBook Air, which besides uses Intel ‘s dual-core mobile Core-i chips. If you opt for the Core i7 MacBook Air ( which besides comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storehouse ), you can expect to pay around $ 1,349. That ‘s a little less than double the monetary value of the Core i7 Aspire E 15, which can besides be upgraded to 32GB of RAM, unlike the Mac. so, by my mathematics, you ‘re looking about $ 700 in Apple Design Tax left on the table. On top of that, the Acer gets a boost from the juiced-up performance of the Nvidia 940MX graphics chip. still worried about the Acer E 15 ‘s size ?
It ‘s big, bulky, and a real pain-in-the-neck to lug around, but lets face it—bargains like this are few and far between. If you ‘re looking for some peace of judgment to go with a $ 550 credit rating poster transaction, look no further than the Acer Aspire E 15.
Meet the tester
Michael Desjardin
aged Staff Writer
@Reviewed
Michael Desjardin graduated from Emerson College after having study media output and screenwriting. He specializes in technical school for Reviewed, but besides loves film criticism, eldritch ambient music, cook, and food in cosmopolitan .
See all of Michael Desjardin’s reviews
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