Entry level laptops have come a very long way in the past couple of years. While in 2014 the norm would place an entry level model with roughly 500 GB of storage, 3 hours of battery life and give or take 2 GB of RAM, nowadays things have really improved and an entry level notebook is no longer another way of saying "bad laptop".
Proof and point is Acer's latest launch and subject of today's review, the Acer Aspire E5-532-P4H0. This laptop comes equipped with the latest Celeron processor, 1 TB of storage and 4GB of RAM, amongst many other pros (aside from its budget friendly price). Care to know more? Here we go!
Acer Aspire E5-532-P4H0 Review of the new "entry level"
A stylish look to set the tone
Upon first glance, the Acer Aspire E5-532-P4H0 comes out looking different than your average entry level notebook. This particular model has a sleek design with purple as its predominant color and a very curious top cover which boasts a textile pattern which not only gives it a unique design but also serves as a way to prevent scratches and improve overall grip.
The display at hand has a standard 15.6 inch diagonal with an HD resolution and LED-Backlit technology. It's far from the Full HD displays we're starting to see over at the mid range market but it's still well within the standard for the market.
Weight and size are also within what we've come to expect for a mid range model, 5.3 pounds and 1.1 inch respectively. So clearly, aside from the textile pattern on the back and below the laptop, these are not the distinctive features we were talking about early on.
Acer Aspire E5-532-P4H0 Performance and multitasking
The overall performance on this notebook is on par with what we've seen in the last year for a mid range laptop. However, it does improve on the processor, where we've got an Intel Celeron N3700.
This is Intel's latest entry level model so there have been some improvements over the previous generation. Case and point, it's a quad core processor that clocks in at 1.6 GHz and can stretch its processing speed all the way to 2.4 GHz when we require more power.
RAM, as we mentioned, is a 4 GB DDR3L module which will work well with Windows 10 for some basic multitasking. We wouldn't recommend this set of specs for a hardcore user who needs to run several programs (by several we mean 4 or more at a time) on a regular basis but for basic browsing, chatting, editing and image storage you should be covered.
One of the places this laptop really stands out and makes a splash is storage, which in this case is a 1TB Hard drive working at 5400 rpm. We say it stands out because if you take a look around at other entry level models you'll see that currently the standard is well within the 500 GB mark so Acer really stepped up when they opted to double the capacity on this model.
It goes without saying but this is not anywhere near what you should buy if you're into gaming. Sure, you can edit pics and HD videos on its Intel HD graphics card but it would be really painful to see someone try to play a graphically demanding game on this laptop. It's quite simply, not up to the task.
Super fast WiFi and a rather good battery life
It's not very common to find a laptop in the mid range that has WiFi ac, it's extremely uncommon to find one that supports this technology in the entry-level segment. However, that's precisely what Acer has done with the Acer Aspire E5-532-P4H0 which supports super fast WiFi a/b/g/n/ac with MU-MIMO technology.
What does this mean? Well, it means that if you have a compatible router (an ac Router) you'll be able to surf the web up to three times faster than you would with the standard b/g/n connectivity.
When it comes down to battery life, things aren't looking so bad either with a 4 cell battery of 2500 mAh that can deliver up to 5 hours of battery life. Sure, this may well be the region where most mid range laptops move but for an entry level model it's not the most common trait.
What's left?
Finally, this wouldn't be a complete review of the Acer Aspire E5-532-P4H0 if we didn't take a moment to mention other stuff you might care about such as ports. In this terrain we've got three USB ports, one of which is of the 2.0 variety, a DVD burner, HD webcam, ethernet port, SD card reader, HDMI out, as well as a VGA port which is quickly growing extinct amongst this price bracket.
So what's the verdict?
No, this is not the best laptop in the market. I believe our Acer Aspire E5-532-P4H0 review has made that clear. However, not everyone NEEDS the best laptop with the highest horsepower. Some people just need a laptop to surf the web, watch movies, talk to friends and store the pictures they took on their holidays. This laptop is perfectly suited for that kind of usage, especially if you want to surf the web fast (remember the WiFi ac support).
Students, workers on the go, or simply people who don't give a hardcore usage to their computers are the perfect match for this laptop. Whether because you're on a tight budget or simply because you don't need anything more then what this laptop offers, for all that this model is a great choice at a great price.
That said, if you do believe you'll end up needing more power and you don't mind stretching your budget just a bit more the we would be more inclined to gear you in the direction of the Asus F555LA-AB31, take a look and you'll see why, there's a reason it's a bestseller.