Things are changing very fast in the PC market. What was once standard for the high end has now become a staple of the mid range laptops. Proof of this is the latest Acer E5-575G-53VG, a laptop that brags about a 256GB SSD storage unit, dedicated Nvidia graphics chip and a Full HD display all for a mid level price. Intrigued? Then keep reading to find out everything there is to know in our review of the Acer E5-575G-53VG.
Key Specs:
- 256GB SSD
- Intel Core i5-6200U (Skylake)
- 12 hour battery life
- Nvidia GeForce 940M 2 GB
- 8GB of DDR4 SDRAM (upgradable to 32GB).
- Full HD display
- USB Type-C port (as well as USB 3.0 and 2.0)
- DVD drive
Pros: SSD storage, Skylake i5 CPU, 8GB DDR4 RAM, dedicated graphics chip, Full HD display, competitive price point.
Cons: "Normal design", not for hardcore gamers.
Acer E5-575G-53VG Review of a new chapter in the Mid Range
Full HD display on an average design
When we first glance this notebook it doesn't quite make an impression. As a matter of fact it's actually a very discreet model that doesn't really stand out in terms of design.
That said, once we stop and check out it's display everything changes as we notice it's an LED-Backlit Full HD display with a 15.6 inch diagonal and a 16:9 aspect ratio. Sure, Full HD displays aren't that rare these days. However, a Full HD laptop with the set of specs placed on this model are a true unicorn in the notebook market, which is one of the reasons why customer reviews of this laptop are simply amazing.
Weight and thickness aren't particularly special with 5.27 pounds and 1.2 inches of thickness. Again, Acer didn't really kill itself with this design. However, it's still very commendable that the company managed to keep standard proportions even whilst placing a 6 cell battery on the inside.
Finally, before we move onto the performance of the Acer E5-575G-53VG, its important to note that this laptop also offers a backlit keyboard, something that's not all that usual within its price range and therefore caught our attention quite quickly. Then again, pretty much every spec on this laptop is well above its price range so I guess the backlit keyboard will have to get in line.
Finally, before we move onto the performance of the Acer E5-575G-53VG, its important to note that this laptop also offers a backlit keyboard, something that's not all that usual within its price range and therefore caught our attention quite quickly. Then again, pretty much every spec on this laptop is well above its price range so I guess the backlit keyboard will have to get in line.
Skylake CPU, latest generation RAM and more
Performance on Acer's latest flagship is fluid and fast thanks to its integration of a 6th generation Intel Core i5-6200U dual core processor. This CPU clocks in at 2.3 GHz and can reach a maximum frequency of 2.8 GHz when using turbo boost. It's a pretty good processor that also works over 4 threads and has a nice 4MB of Intel's smart cache.
It's the "jack of all trades" in the notebook CPU market, being a great processor for pretty much anything you set out to do. Be it streaming Full HD movies or editing Full HD video, this processor has your back either way. It's also a pretty good processor for stuff like programing, working with virtual machines or even some light gaming.
RAM is particularly special on this notebook, not only because it features 8 GB of RAM but because it's of the DDR4 SDRAM variety, one step further from the standard DDR3 RAM that most laptops have in place.
What does this actually mean for the end user? Well it means that multitasking will be even faster than you ever thought possible and if in a few years you find yourself running short on system memory it's always good to know that you can upgrade its capacity to 32 GB.
What does this actually mean for the end user? Well it means that multitasking will be even faster than you ever thought possible and if in a few years you find yourself running short on system memory it's always good to know that you can upgrade its capacity to 32 GB.
Overall, this combo of specs (including the storage we mention down the line) is the perfect fit for everything from editing video to doing some light document typing. Couple it with the fact that it boasts a dedicated graphics chip and you've got yourself a laptop that's up and ready to deliver a grade A performance on every front.
How does it perform with games?
We wouldn't call the Acer E5-575G-53VG a gaming laptop. However, it does boast a very good graphics card; an Nvidia GeForce 940M with 2 GB of vRAM. This means that you'll be able to play most 2015-2016 games at low settings with a decent frame rate. However, it will never be as good as a 950M.
That said, it's worth pointing out that, according to notebookcheck, you'll get a pretty good frame rate (on medium settings) on games such as the latest Titanfall 2, Call of Duty Infinite Warfare and Battlefield 1 amongst many others.
Again, this isn't the best graphics chip for a hardcore gaming laptop but it's significantly better than what you'd get with an integrated graphics chip such as the Intel HD 520, for example.
All in all, this is a pretty good graphics chip and whilst not being the best for hardcore gamers who'll certainly miss being able to play at a high frame rate on Full HD, its definitely good enough for casual gamers as well as graphical designers looking for an affordable and reliable machine to get some work done.
A massive battery life and incredible storage
Acer has been doing a pretty good job as of late at perfecting the art of having a lengthy battery life and it seems that the E5-575G-53VG won't be an exception to this. With a 2800 mAh 6 cell battery, the company has assured us roughly 12 hours of battery life.
Even if this number where to go down with time and an intensive usage, we can rest assured that it would rarely go below the 7 hours after a few hundred charges and that, in and of itself, is still plenty of juice to get most of us through the day.
Battery life aside, one of the biggest selling points on this laptop is its solid state drive storage. Specifically, we've got 256GB of blazing fast SSD storage. That's more than enough to satisfy both the users who want plenty of space and those who want an SSD unit for the speed. All in all, it's the perfect balance of both worlds at a very convenient price.
It's also worth noting that most laptops that pack an SSD unit within this price range do so with a 128GB unit or, if they do opt to go down the 256GB road they tend to mitigate the cost by delivering a more modest processor or place an integrated graphics instead of a dedicated graphics chip.
Available ports
As we approach the end of the line in this review of the Acer E5-575G-53VG we couldn't leave without giving a special mention to the connectivity options on this machine. Overall, we're pretty impressed.
Not only has Acer managed to include a USB Type-C port but it also implemented the latest WiFi ac standard (which delivers a faster connection), a USB 2.0 port, a couple of USB 3.0 ports as well as an HDMI and ethernet port. Oh yeah, there's also a DVD drive so, as we said, there's not much room to complain over here.
Final thoughts : Is it worth it?
When we look at our Acer E5-575G-53VG review, it seems pretty clear that the laptop landscape isn't what it was just one year ago. Things have changed and evolved at a very quick pace. Perhaps because manufacturers noticed that users weren't that keen on updating their laptops to get the same set of specs the paid for a few years ago. Now, things are different and buying a new laptop means buying a new experience, especially with the Acer E5-575G-53VG.
Though it was unthinkable at the beginning of 2015, today we've got a laptop with a 256GB SSD, 12 hours of battery life, a full HD display, 8GB of DDR4 RAM and a top notch CPU for a very tight price.
Would we recommend this laptop? Absolutely. Unless you're a hardcore gamer of course, in which case we would lead you in the direction of an Nvidia GeForce 950M graphics card, other than that, it's hard to imagine anybody could be disappointed with this purchase.