Advantage
- Anti- glare screen with Full HD resolution
- Intel Core i5 quad-core processor
- Backlit QWERTY keyboard
- Connectivity Wi-Fi in June and Bluetooth 5.0
Drawbacks
- No SD card slot
- 256GB storage
And in this review of the highly acclaimed Acer Aspire 5 A515-55-56VK, we delve into exploring the features of this mid-range laptop, whose competitive price point, fast Core i5 processor, high-quality Full HD display, and comfortable typing ergonomics have managed to make it one of the best value propositions available at the moment, as several customers have been quick to point out.
Index
- For whom is it?
- Technical specifications
- Design and Panel
- Processor and RAM
- Storage and Graphics
- Autonomy and Connectivity
- Conclusion, opinions and where we can buy it cheaper
Who's it for?
The Acer Aspire 5 A515-55-56VK is most suitable for you if you are looking for an affordable computer to work, do school assignments, watch multimedia content, chat up with friends, and surf the web, among other daily tasks. Overall, it's the everyman laptop, one that will manage to satisfy the computational needs of most users.
Thanks to its weight of just 3.9 pounds (lightweight for a 15-inch laptop), you will not have any inconvenience whilst commuting with it. What's more, for a truly portable experience, Acer's new Aspire 5 also comes with a massive battery life, making it the perfect go-to-laptop for students who need a potent device that can handle processor-intensive tasks whilst also managing to avoid turning you into a wall hugger.
Technical specifications
| Model | Acer Aspire 5 A515-55-56VK |
| Dimensions | 36.34 x 25.05 x 1.79 cm |
| Weight | 3.9 Pounds |
| Panel | IPS LED (15.6-inch) |
| Resolution | Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-1035G1 (4 cores 3.60 GHz) |
| RAM | 8GB (DDR4) |
| Graphic Controller | Intel UHD Graphics |
| Storage | 256 GB (SSD) |
| Drums | 3 cells (Lithium) |
| Operating system | Windows 10 Home |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.0 RJ-45 USB 2.0 USB 3.1 (x2) USB-C HDMI Audio combo connector HD webcam Digital microphone |
The definition of a stylish and compact notebook
Designed to accompany you wherever you go
Without being a high-end laptop, the truth is that this Acer model boasts a robust and very elegant construction, defined by a chassis with a silver finish on the cover and work area.
In addition, it's a super-compact device, since its profile remains at just 0.7 inches and its weight does not reach the 4-pound mark. The keyboard is full-sized with a white backlight and a separate numeric pad to simplify document editing.
The trackpad available within this model is ample with a solid response, though we're partial towards mouses if we're honest about things. That said, it also features a fingerprint reader located on the top-left side of the trackpad, not the most intuitive place but alright.
For distraction-free work and viewing, the 15.6-inch panel features very narrow side bezels, as well as a native Full HD resolution that delivers a crisp image with an anti-glare finish to allow for use outdoors (though we would not recommend that in general terms).
A multimedia experience like no other
For distraction-free work and viewing, the 15.6-inch panel features very narrow side bezels, as well as a native Full HD resolution that delivers a crisp image with an anti-glare finish to allow for use outdoors (though we would not recommend that in general terms).
Sure enough, it can't be compared to the display you'll find on a high-end laptop such as the MacBook Air but within its price point, it does manage to offer up a solid experience as numerous people have attested to.
The Acer Aspire 5 A515-55-56VK packs an energy efficient 10th generation Intel Core i5-1035G1, powered by 4 real cores -operating at a maximum 3.60 GHz -, 8 virtual cores -via HyperThreading- and a 6 MB SmartCache memory. It's a 10nm CPU who's base speed is 1 GHz but should deliver enough processing power for most use cases.
As far as the memory is concerned, we've got 8 GB of DDR4 RAM. That should be enough for most users but if you're a very intensive multitasker who's looking forward to also working with several demanding programs at a time then you should know that you may also upgrade the RAM on this model up to an additional 8 GB.
In practice, this laptop allows you to perform tasks as varied as: non-professional photo and video editing, running virtual machines, programming (front and back-end), light music production, streaming movies, typical office tasks, web browsing, as well as listening to music.
A hardware well suited for multitasking
What components does the laptop incorporate?
The Acer Aspire 5 A515-55-56VK packs an energy efficient 10th generation Intel Core i5-1035G1, powered by 4 real cores -operating at a maximum 3.60 GHz -, 8 virtual cores -via HyperThreading- and a 6 MB SmartCache memory. It's a 10nm CPU who's base speed is 1 GHz but should deliver enough processing power for most use cases.
As far as the memory is concerned, we've got 8 GB of DDR4 RAM. That should be enough for most users but if you're a very intensive multitasker who's looking forward to also working with several demanding programs at a time then you should know that you may also upgrade the RAM on this model up to an additional 8 GB.
A laptop that meets the requirements
In practice, this laptop allows you to perform tasks as varied as: non-professional photo and video editing, running virtual machines, programming (front and back-end), light music production, streaming movies, typical office tasks, web browsing, as well as listening to music.
A speedy SSD and a decent GPU
This unit has a capacity of 256 GB, perfect for storing multimedia content and not very heavy applications. And if you need more storage, you can connect an external disk or replace the integrated disk.
In case you come from a laptop that features a Hard Drive then you should know that once you switch over to a PC that features an SSD storage unit you'll never be able to go back. Specifically, an SSD unit offers speeds up to 10 times faster when doing just about anything on your laptop which makes sense since just about everything is hosted on the storage unit.
And we're not talking benchmarks that only nerds such as us would notice, we're talking real, tangible, speedy performance upgrades on anything from turning the laptop on to downloading a file all the way to rendering a video.
To enable 4K video playback, through external monitors, this device incorporates the graphics controller, Intel UHD Graphics, responsible for running popular games such as FIFA 20, Roblox, Minecraft, Rocket League, and Overwatch.
An ideal graphic for the average user
To enable 4K video playback, through external monitors, this device incorporates the graphics controller, Intel UHD Graphics, responsible for running popular games such as FIFA 20, Roblox, Minecraft, Rocket League, and Overwatch.
That said, this is far from a gaming laptop, if that's your end-game (pun intended) then you should really consider a laptop with a dedicated graphics card such as the recently reviewed Acer Predator Helios 300, it's slightly more expensive but it's a vastly superior laptop.
Ideally, the GPU at hand is best suited for the aforementioned video streaming, editing pictures, and maybe even doing some light video editing on the side, for something more professional we'd definitely recommend a dedicated GPU.
When it comes down to it, one of the most important features on a laptop is battery life and Acer has been working hard at delivering big on this front. Case and point, the A515-55-56VK offers us up to 9.5 hours of battery life -according to them-.
Great performance in terms of autonomy and connectivity
Early reviews have pointed out battery life to be good and in our experience, with a 3 cell battery and a low-consumption Core i5 CPU such as this one, you should typically expect a solid 6-7 hours on average usage, which is still pretty good for most users.
The connectivity that your day was missing
The connections section has both varied and modern solutions, starting with the latest generation Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 technologies, and the USB-C input with its reversible connection.
It also features an RJ-45 port, an HDMI output , 3 conventional USB inputs, a headphone / microphone jack (combo), an HD webcam with a built-in digital microphone, and a pair of discreet-quality speakers.
Conclusion, opinions and where we can buy it cheaper
In short, we're not surprised by the popularity that the A515-55-56VK reviewed today has managed to garner over the past few months. This laptop delivers top-notch hardware at a very compelling price. It even goes as far as to integrate a few bonus features such as the fingerprint sensor and a good enough battery life making it a clear-cut option for those looking to get the best bang for their buck when looking for an affordable mid-range laptop.