Acer Aspire 5 A515-51 review – an excellent and affordable mid-range 15-inch laptop

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Specs Sheet
Design and exterior
Keyboard and trackpad
Screen
Hardware and performance
Noise, heat and speakers
Battery life
Price and availability
Final thoughts
Comments

By Andrei GirbeaAcer Aspire 5 A515-51, last updated on October 17, 2022

Acer Aspire 5 A515-51

Summary: The Acer Aspire 5 is one of the best budget full-size laptops you can find in stores today. It checks most of the right boxes: well built, slim and fairly light, gets a decent keyboard, an IPS screen and modern hardware, performs well, runs cool and quiet and lasts for a long while on a charge. It's not without a couple of flaws, but none are real deal-breakers or surprises for a under $500 device, that's why this notebook gets a good rating and our recommendation. Read on for the whole story.

Our score: 4 / 5
Price when reviewed: $399 - $649

THE GOOD

well made, thin and light
decent keyboard and excellent trackpad
gets an IPS screen that leans back to 180 degrees
runs cool and mostly quiet
pretty good speakers
affordable price tag

THE BAD

rather dim and color deficient panel
non-backlit keyboard
sharp edges can get uncomfortable
keep an eye on performance, had some issues with our sample
slow wi-fi, especially at range

Table of Contents

Specs as reviewed
Design and first look
Keyboard and trackpad
Screen
Hardware and performance
Emissions (noise, heat), Connectivity and speakers
Battery life
Price and availability
Final thoughts

While this has somewhat changed recently, Acer laptops have been historically known for their affordable price tags and overall solid value for the money, albeit with a few cut corners here and there, perfectly normal for budget laptops.

This article is about one such device, the Aspire 5 A515-51 series that Acer released around mid-2017 and from what I can tell, is an update of their popular Aspire E15-575 series.

That means the Aspire 5 is a 15-inch laptop that sells for between $400 and $600, runs on Intel Core U hardware platforms and offers good-enough screens, keyboards, IO and battery life. As for those cut corners aforementioned, I can list the lack of a backlit keyboard, a mostly plastic construction, and a rather slow Wi-fi connection, but none are actually deal-breakers in this price class if you ask me.

We got to test the higher-end model of the Aspire 5 A515-51 in the last few weeks, with a Core i7 CPU, matte IPS screen and hybrid storage, and we’ll tell you all about it in the article below.

Specs as reviewed

	Acer Aspire 5 A515-51
Screen	15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 px, IPS, non-touch, matte
Processor	Intel Kaby Lake Core i7-7500U CPU
Video	Intel HD 620 (Nvidia MX150 available on some models)
Memory	20 GB DDR4 (4 GB soldered, one DIMMs, up to 20 GB)
Storage	256 GB SSD (M.2 SATA) + 1 TB 5400 rpm HDD (2.5″)
Connectivity	Gigabit LAN, Intel AC 3168 Wireless AC , Bluetooth 4.1
Ports	1x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.1 gen 1, HDMI, mic/earphone, SD card reader, LAN, Kensington Lock
Battery	48 Wh, 90 Wh charger
Operating system	Windows 10
Size	383 mm or 15.07” (w) x 264 mm or 10.39” (d) x 22 mm or 0.86” (h)
Weight	4.62 lbs (2.1 kg)
Extras	non-backlit keyboard, webcam, stereo speakers

The Aspire 5 is available in a multitude of configurations, with KabyLake dual-core and quad-core processors, as well as with or without dedicated graphics. You should follow this link for updated configurations and prices, as well as this link for more details on what the Nvidia MX150 configuration is capable of.

Update: A detailed review of the more recent Acer Aspire 5 AN515-57 series is also available on the site.

Design and first look

Both design and build wise this Aspire 5 is a step-up from the Aspire E15 series.

For starters, it’s thinner and lighter, weighing in about 4.6 lbs with a HDD and SSD included, while the older models weigh around 5.3 lbs. Second, while the construction is still mostly plastic, the interior (palm-rest and area around the keyboard) is made from a sheet of aluminum with beveled edge, which feels more premium when touched or looked at. Third, thanks to the drop in height this notebook is also a lot sturdier. There’s very little flex or give in the main body, the keyboard deck and even the hood. In fact, I can say this laptop is better built than the Aspire 7 we tested a while ago and most other mid-range computers we’ve seen in a while, including those with fully-metallic constructions.

There is however something I have to add about that metallic interior. It’s black, at least on our version, which means it shows smudges and fingerprints easily, like you can expect from such dark brushed aluminum surfaces. On top of that, the machine cut edges are very sharp and although the front-lip has a lower profile than the Aspire 7, those of you with larger hands will still find out the hard-way that they can bite into your wrists or forearms when using the laptop on a desk. This might not sound like a big deal, but it is and I’d recommend checking it out yourself in a store if possible. You’ve been warned!

That aside though, there’s very little I can complain of. The lid has a nice texture and comes in gray on our version, which hides smudges well, there are absolutely no lights inside, as even the status LEDs are discrete and placed on the side, the bottom is made from solid hard plastic and the hinges work smoothly all the time. They might seem small, but actually keep the screen well in place and allow users to actually lift it with a single hand, as well as flip it all the way flat to 180 degrees. This laptop also sits nicely on a desk, thanks to the large and grippy rubber feet on the belly.

Speaking of that, down here you’ll also notice some large air intake cuts that allow peaking at the cooling inside, as well as the speakers and two bays for easy access to the RAM and the 2.5″ storage bay. Hot air goes out through the back, just as it should.

As far as IO goes, all the ports are lined on the right and left edges. Even the arrangement is pretty good, with the PSU, two USB Type A 2.0 slots and the audio jack on the left, while all the others are on the right: Kensington Lock, LAN, HDMI, USB 3.0 Type A and USB 3.1 Type C gen 1, as well as the card-reader. In other words, if you plan to use this with a mouse you’ll have plenty of space to maneuver it on the right side. Tough luck if you’re a lefty, but you guys have more options anyway, as most OEMs actually put the IO on the right.

Keyboard and trackpad

The keyboard hasn’t suffered any changes from the ones on the Aspire E15 lines as far as I can tell, so you’ll find plenty of opinions about it online and you should also be able to give it a test in stores on those models.

That means it gets a decent layout, with 15 x 15 mm main keys, but a narrower NumPad section, half-size Up and Down arrow keys, as well as the Power button integrated as the top-right key.

After typing a few thousands words on it I can say it’s not bad. The stroke is pretty short and the response perhaps a little shallow, but this keyboard actually felt somewhat more accurate than the one on the Aspire 7, which might seem identical, but in my opinion is not. In other words, I’m confident most of you will find this keyboard good enough for daily use.

What you should keep in mind is that the keys are not backlit, which I’d say it’s pretty normal for the class, albeit there are some exceptions out there. With the Aspires you’ll have to step up to the 7 series to get illuminated keys, albeit that’s also built on a different hardware platform. I can’t tell whether Acer has a new line with Core U hardware and backlit keys, some sort of a follow up for the Aspire F15 F5-573G model, but I’d reckon they’ll have one at some point in the near future.

The trackpad sits beneath the keyboard, centered on the Space key. It’s a large plastic surface made by Synaptics, without dedicated drivers on this test unit, but I didn’t feel the need to tweak anything, as this trackpad actually works very well out of the box.

In fact I can say it’s one of the better trackpads I’ve seen on a Windows laptop in a while, regardless of price. I don’t have anything to complain about its speed and response, whether it comes to swipes, taps or gestures, with or without a finger on the click areas. The click buttons are also fairly smooth and quiet, and even if this is made out of plastic, it’s rigid enough so its doesn’t sound hollow when taped firmer, like with most other plastic trackpads.

If you’ve read some of my other reviews you know I’m usually harsh on trackpads, but this one somehow managed to sweep me of my feet.

Screen

There will be two screen options available for the Aspire 5 series from what I can tell so far, a 1366 x 768 px TN panel and a 1920 x 1080 px IPS panel. We got to test the latter, and although I haven’t’ seen the HD option in action, the fact that it’s a TN panel is enough to tell you to stay away from it. Albeit the FHD option is more expensive, it is worth every penny. On the other hand, you’ll probably not find the IPS panel on the entry level Core i3 configurations, so if you’re aiming at the $400 variants of this laptop you’ll just have to accept the TN screen. But be aware it’s crap by today’s standards.

The FHD IPS panel isn’t the best IPS option you could find on a 15-inch laptop for sure, but it’s good enough for a budget laptop, with up to 250 nits of brightness, great contrast and good viewing angles, but rather lacking in terms of color coverage. Blues, greens and especially reds are off by quite a few orders of magnitude, but with the help of our calibrated profile you’ll get them to look at least decent for everyday use. More details below.

Panel HardwareID: BOE BOE06c6 (NV156FHM-N42);
Coverage: 67% sRGB, 49% NTSC, 51% AdobeRGB;
Measured gamma: 2.3;
Max brightness in the middle of the screen: 245 cd/m2 on power;
Contrast at max brightness: 760:1;
White point: 7100 K;
Black on max brightness: 0.32 cd/m2;
Average DeltaE: 1.49 uncalibrated, 0.98 calibrated.

I will also add here that I noticed some light bleeding on our test unit, with the bezel pinching the screen in several points on the top and bottom edges, but that’s not uncommon with budget notebooks with matte screens. Whether you’ll end up with a unit with little or severe bleeding is unfortunately just a matter of luck these days, so my advice is to always buy from places that accept returns, just in case you draw a short stick.

The same panel is actually used on a bunch of other more expensive notebooks, like the Aspire 7, Aspire VX15 or the Lenovo IdeaPad 510. I gave those a hard time because of the panel, but the Aspire 5 is a budget option and thus the fact that Acer went for this particular panel is actually acceptable here.

Hardware and performance

Specs wise the Aspire 5 A515 is built on Intel Core U hardware, DDR4 RAM and dual-storage, and we got to test the top-tier configuration available at launch, with a Core i7-7500U processor, 20 GB of RAM, a 256 GB SSD and a 1 TB HDD.

The Core i7 CPU is not necessary for daily use, for browsing, movies, music, editing texts and so on. The Core i5 option is cheaper and will do perfectly fine in those activities as well. In fact, even the Core i3 is an option to consider if you don’t plan to push your unit much and keep multitasking at bay. Graphics wise, there are no dedicated chips on this series, so you’ll have to rely on the integrated Intel HD solutions, which do fine for pretty much everything except gaming. They can run simpler or older titles with lower details on the screen’s native FHD resolution though.

When it comes to the amount of RAM, I’d go for at least 8 GB on such a laptop, preferably 12 GB for the i5 and i7 options. The platform comes with 4 GB of memory soldered on the motherboard and a spare DIMM that can take an up to 16 GB stick, for a total of up to 20 GB of RAM.

For storage most configurations sold in stores come with a 2.5″ HDD, yet the top ones also include an M.2 80 mm SSD limited to SATA 3 speeds. That’s a good way to mix the performance of an SSD with the speeds of a HDD, but if you don’t need a lot of storage space you can always just get a basic versions and replace the HDD with a 2.5″ SSD. Those are cheap and this way you cut out the main noise source you’ll hear in daily use.

The RAM slot and the HDD are easily accessible through dedicated bays on the back, yet in order to get to the Wi-Fi chip, battery or M.2 SSD you’ll have to pry-open the entire back panel, which is hold in place by a handful of screws and plastic clips. Aside from the screws that are visible, you also need to unscrew the four screws that keep the HDD’s cage in place and disconnect the HDD. Keep in mind that once your perform the upgrades and put everything back together you might need to reset the battery as explained in here.

With all the upgrades away, you’ll want to know how this laptop performs in daily use and I can say it does so very well. The CPU runs at low speeds with basic activities and then spikes up when required, this way remaining economic and ensuring a smooth experience. There is however a fair amount of bloatware preinstalled that you should get rid of, which otherwise takes a toll on performance, especially on the entry level Core i3 models.

I’ve added some benchmark results below, as well as pics showing the CPU’s frequencies and temperatures with various uses:

3DMark 11: P1772;
3DMark 13: Sky Driver – 3740, Fire Strike – 822;
PCMark 08: Home Conventional – 3036;
Geekbench 3 32-bit: Single-Core: 3367, Multi-core: 7400;
Geekbench 4 64-bit: Single-Core: 4107, Multi-core: 7913;
CineBench 11.5: OpenGL 39.69 fps, CPU 3.93 pts, CPU Single Core 1.35 pts;
CineBench R15: OpenGL 43.62 fps, CPU 351 cb, CPU Single Core 111 cb;
x264 HD Benchmark 4.0 32-bit: Pass 1 – 122.58 fps, Pass 2 – 23.19 fps.

Those numbers are solid, but you will notice some strange behavior with the CPU in the pics above, which rarely goes past 2.7 GHz in daily use or in tests, so is not utilizing the full potential of Turbo Boost. It also throttles in games to as low as 1.7 GHz.

I reckon that’s because we had a pre-production sample for our tests with some immature drivers, and I expect the final retail versions to work as intended and be able to squeeze top performance from the Core U processors inside.

Acer also offers the Aspire 5 with dedicated graphics, both with the Nvidia 940MX and the updated Nvidia MX150 chips.

Emissions (noise, heat), Connectivity and speakers

The hardware on this laptop doesn’t require a fancy cooling solution, and as a result Acer went with something basic and efficient: a heatpipe that connects the CPU to a radiator, cooled by a fan.

The fan doesn’t spin with most basic tasks, yet it kicks in with multitasking, but even then you’ll barely hear it in a quiet room. The mechanical HDD is a noise source if active, so those of you looking for a completely quiet experience should dump it for an SSD.

With gaming the fan spins faster and noise levels jump to about 40-41 dB at head-level. But the CPU throttles in games on this sample, that’s why I think the noise readings measured during benchmarks, of about 44 dB at head level, are what you should expect from demanding loads. That’s pretty standard for a Core i7 configuration, especially one that rests cool both internally and at the case level.

*Daily Use – 1080p Youtube clip in EDGE for 30 minutes
*Load – playing FarCry 4 for 30 minutes

Final retail units should run a little hotter (1-2 degrees C) at high loads, given our sample did not run to the best of its abilities. Of course, you should expect your unit to run warmer if you opt for a configuration with dedicated Nvidia graphics, but even those shouldn’t go past 45 degrees Celsius on the back.

Connectivity wise there’s Gigabit Lan, Wireless AC and Bluetooth 4.1 here. I mostly used the laptop on wireless and Acer went for a rather slow Intel AC 3168 module that only supports throughputs of up to 72 Mbps.

As a result, download speeds are mediocre when next to the router and drop to barely usable levels (10 Mbps and under) at 30 feet with 2 walls in between. Whether that’s enough for daily use or not is up to you, personally I find these speeds too low, especially if your place doesn’t have stellar wireless reception and you’re further away from the router. If that’s the case, I’d suggest replacing the Intel 3168 module for something better.

As far as speakers go, there’s a set of stereo ones on this laptop, placed on the belly and bouncing sound from the table. Due to where they’re placed, they are easy to muffle when using the laptop on the lap, but that aside, they don’t sound bad for a laptop of this class.

We measured volumes of up to 80 dB at head level, and the audio coming out of them is alright, not very rich or deep, but definitely not awful either. I did notice some distortions and vibrations at volumes above 80%, so you’ll probably want to keep them below that.

The webcam is placed on top of the screen and it’s pretty standard for an entry level laptop, which means it’s washed out and lacks in details. Will do for occasional Skype calls and hangouts, and the mics do a decent job at catching voices and even cancelling out key strokes.

Battery life

There’s a 48 Wh battery on this laptop, but also a Core U processor, and as a result this Aspire 5 offers good battery life. See the numbers below for more details (screen set at 50% brightness, which is roughly 120 nits):

7.2 W (~6 h 40 min of use) – very light browsing and text editing in Google Drive, Balanced Mode, screen at 50%, Wi-Fi ON;
5.4 W (~8 h 50 min of use) – 1080p fullscreen video on Youtube in Internet Explorer, Balanced Mode, screen at 50%, Wi-Fi ON;
4.3 W (~11 h of use) – 1080p fullscreen .mkv video in the Movie app, Balanced Mode, screen at 50%, Wi-Fi ON;
5.2 W (~9 h of use) – 4K fullscreen .mkv video in the Movie app, Balanced Mode, screen at 50%, Wi-Fi ON;
8.3 W (~5 h 40 min of use) – heavy browsing in Edge, Balanced Mode, screen at 50%, Wi-Fi ON.

Our model came with a 90 Wh power brick and a full charge took about 2 hours.

Price and availability

The Aspire 7 is listed on Acer’s US website with prices ranging between $399 and $639. The base model gets a Core i3 processor, 8 GB of RAM, a 1 TB HDD and the 1366 x 768 px TN screen, while the top models get the Core i7 processors, 12 GB of RAM, a 128 GB SSD, a 1 TB HDD and the 1920 x 1080 px IPS screen.

My advice would be to aim for a Core i5 configuration with the FHD screen, which are available for around $450-$500, and then upgrade the RAM and add and an SSD yourselves, or just replace the included HDD with a 2.5″ SSD.

Those interested in gaming should also consider the Core i7 KabyLake-R configuration with Nvidia MX150 graphics that sells for around $600 in the US.

Follow this link for updated info on the available configurations and the latest prices.

Final thoughts

I’m pretty stoked by what you can get these days for around $500 and I believe the Aspire 5 A515 has what it takes to be very popular in the months and even years to come.

This one is portable, well built and fairly good looking, offers a matte IPS screen, a decent keyboard and excellent trackpad, good IO, as well as performs smoothly, cool and lasts many hours on a charge.

The drawbacks you’ll have to accept are the lack of a backlit keyboard, the fact that the screen is rather color inaccurate and too dim to use outdoors or in bright light, and the slow Wi-Fi chip included by default, but that can be replaced. Normally, I’d give the reviewed unit a hard time for at least some of these, but in this case I will not, because the Aspire 5 A515 is after all a budget laptop.

If you can look past these aspects you’ll probably be very happy with this computer. As a word of caution though, quality control is usually lacking with cheap laptops, so make sure you get yours from a reputable source that handles returns and warranty claims well, in case you end up with a flawed unit.

All in all, while you can find better full-size laptops out there, I doubt there are many offering better value for the money, that’s why the Aspire 5 gets a good score in this review and our recommendation. You should however check out this article for a list of potential alternatives, just in case.

That wraps up our review of the Acer Aspire 5 A515-51 series, but the comments section is open, so get in touch if you have anything to add or any questions, we’re around to give a helping hand.

Disclaimer: Our content is reader-supported. If you buy through some of the links on our site, we may earn a commission. Terms.

Review by: Andrei Girbea
Andrei Girbea is a Writer and Editor-in-Chief here at Ultrabookreview.com. I write about mobile technology, laptops and computers in general. I've been doing it for more than 15 years now. I'm a techie with a Bachelor's in Computer Engineering. I mostly write reviews and thorough guides here on the site, with some occasional columns and first-impression articles.

61 Comments

Zaid

July 20, 2017 at 10:50 pm

can I have your opinion between Acer Aspire 5 A515-51 with Asus VivoBook S15 S510UQ, which will you prefer as your daily laptop and to do some work.

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  July 21, 2017 at 2:31 am
  
  They're not really the same, the A515 is a more affordable option and Asus's alternative is the X556 line. The Vivobook S15 is a thinner, more compact and lighter unit, but with a small battery. IF you don't care about portability all that much, the Aspire 5 is probably the more practical choice.
  
  Reply
  - Zaid
    
    July 21, 2017 at 3:08 am
    
    Thank you for your reply.. really help a lot now..
    BTW love your review.. keep it up!!
George

August 2, 2017 at 3:05 pm

Hi there if you are able to, can you provide links to purchase this ? (multiple websites if possible)

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  August 2, 2017 at 4:49 pm
  
  It's not widely available for now, you'll have to give it a few more weeks if you can
  
  Reply
- StepOne
  
  August 2, 2017 at 6:03 pm
  
  This is the official link provided by Acer for purchase. This model is $600 with mx150.
  
  microcenter.com/product/481303/Aspire_5_A515-51G-52R1_156_Laptop_Computer_-_Black
  
  Reply
Eli

September 3, 2017 at 3:51 am

Hey, I wanted to know which one is better overall if I wanted to buy a new laptop:
This aspire a5 or the Acer Aspire E 15 (E5-575G-57D4) ?

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  September 3, 2017 at 4:43 am
  
  Are they similarly configured? OR do they get different parts?
  
  Reply
Jack

September 16, 2017 at 2:58 am

I purchased this laptop a couple weeks ago. The problem that I'm having is that it says upgradable to 20gb ram but I can't find where this spare slot is to upgrade it. Any help would be awesome. I called acer…. wasn't helpful at all and their knowledge of their own product was embarrassing.

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  September 16, 2017 at 8:41 am
  
  There's a single DIMM that can take an up to 16 GB stick, and there's also 4 GB soldered on the motherboard. Yours probably comes with a smaller DIMM, you'd have to replace it with a 16 GB one
  
  Reply
  - Jack
    
    September 16, 2017 at 2:06 pm
    
    Thank you I found it. Your awesome!
Rishabh Soni

September 19, 2017 at 7:25 am

Is it good laptop for programming purpose
In c, c++, java,Python etc..
I m beginner and I m confuse is this laptop good for me

Reply
Jess

September 21, 2017 at 3:07 am

I just bought this computer with 12 GB and I'm finding that it's rather slow when I boot it – you talk about pre-installed bloatware to uninstall, could you be more specific? For example, can I uninstall the acer collection/acer config manager/acer portal/acer care center etc… without running into major issues later?
Thanks

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  September 21, 2017 at 3:37 am
  
  Check the Hardware section, in the first gallery there are pics with the installed programs, before and after. The After I what I keep. BTW, do you have an SSD on your unit?
  
  Reply
Ivan

September 23, 2017 at 12:22 pm

Hi, do you have any plans to look at the model updated with Kaby Lake R?
Do you think the switch to an i5-8250U would make this laptop a more compelling choice?

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  September 24, 2017 at 5:26 am
  
  Depends on what you want it for. the i5-8250U is a solid processor and it's about the same price as the i5-7200U, but the dula-cores will probably be available discounted. Bottom point, think whether you'll need those quad-cores or not, and if you're willing to wait and pay extra for them.
  
  PS: Not sure if I'll review the updates model.
  
  Reply
Tracy Lee Reed

December 16, 2017 at 12:12 pm

I need to look at the Hardware gallery at the "before and afters'" to determine the bloatware that can be deleted without affecting its performance….right?

Reply
Purshotham

December 23, 2017 at 3:01 pm

I purchased this laptop 5 days back,I managed to completely setup today. What I wanted to ask is, I measured the CPU temperature with CoreTemp software, and the temp seems to be at an average of 38-42 Degrees. And what I could notice is the fan doesn't run always(most of the time), is this normal? I have set up with my SSD and and I have to admit its really superfast but I am concerned about the temperature.

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  December 24, 2017 at 5:24 am
  
  Yes, it's normal for the fan to only kick on when required.
  
  Reply
william

December 27, 2017 at 1:18 am

i bought the acer i5 8gb ram with 1td hdd.no ssd is the ssd easy and cheap to upgrade? should i replace it once i open the box. thanks

Acer Aspire 5 A515-51-563W, 15.6" Full HD (1920 x 1080), 7th Gen Intel Core i5-7200U, 8GB DDR4, 1TB HDD, Windows 10 Home

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  December 27, 2017 at 5:28 am
  
  Very easy, there's a dedicated bay on the back: https://www.ultrabookreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/back-hdd-ram.jpg . As far as prices go, large SSDs are expensive, but personally I'd rather sacrifice the space for the massive performance gain when upgrading the HDD to and SSD.
  
  Reply
  - William
    
    December 27, 2017 at 8:55 am
    
    thank you Andrei
    
    i don't understand the last part you said. very new to cp stuff. so do y mean i get a less ssd storage for upgrade? or keep the hdd ,leave it alone?
    
    thank you
  - William
    
    December 27, 2017 at 8:58 am
    
    i'm contemplating on getting the one with hdd for 449.00 or the one with 256 gb ssd for 519.00? both i5
  - Andrei Girbea
    
    December 27, 2017 at 4:07 pm
    
    The SSD version.
  - Andrei Girbea
    
    December 27, 2017 at 4:07 pm
    
    Get an SSD, as large as you can afford, but preferably at least 250 GB
  - william
    
    January 26, 2018 at 8:20 am
    
    I found out that it's best to get the ones without ssd. and better to install one yourself because the factory install the cheapest ones in to save money.
  - Andrei Girbea
    
    January 30, 2018 at 4:44 am
    
    Yeah, that's the better option imo as well, but some people would rather not go through eh hassle of installing an SSD and WIndows, etc.
Milky

January 4, 2018 at 6:26 am

Do I need to disconnect the battery before RAM upgrade? If yes – how to do it?

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  January 4, 2018 at 1:16 pm
  
  No, no need.
  
  Reply
Jd

January 14, 2018 at 5:15 pm

Hi can i ask if it is good for gaming or you need to buy a cooler fan so it will not heat to much

Reply
Chris

January 18, 2018 at 3:26 pm

Hi,
On the website I am browsing the model only comes with an SSD(256) as standard. Does the unit have an empty internal bay that supports dual storage? Not sure if it comes standard on all unit types.

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  January 19, 2018 at 12:59 pm
  
  I can't tell for sure. Normally it should come with an M.2 SSD and have the 2.5" bay empty, but there are two more possibilities:
  
  1. It comes with a 2.5" SSD, which is cheaper, and has an empty M.2 slot
  2. It comes with an M.2 SSD, but the 2.5" bay lacks the connector to put an extra drive. This is the case with some of these lower end laptops.
  
  Perhaps the seller can help, or maybe you can ask previous buyers about that. Some shops allow questions, like Amazon for instance.
  
  Reply
Mirna

January 21, 2018 at 2:49 pm

Hello everyone! I bought mine acer aspire 5, A515-51G-56XI with I5 processor a month ago at author.dealer,brand new. Guess what? It turns off. Just like that. Battery full. Says,for example,85% battery left and suddenly….it just goes off.no warnings. I'm taking it back tomorrow. And will ask for brand new one. I mean….hello….it's happening from the very first moment. And it's not about windows or something,altough it is installed-bought installed. I don' t care if it is battery or something. Not feeling comfortable having brand new lap with an issue. Any advices?

Reply
Mirna

January 22, 2018 at 3:11 am

My laptop,this acer that you are writting about is turning off. Just like that. Brand new . Battery full,says for example 95% battery left and in the middle of work it goes off. Just like that. Taking it back to dealers' today. Anyone with same issue? Andrei,I'd like your opinion about it. Thank you

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  January 23, 2018 at 1:34 pm
  
  Send it back and ask for a replacement, that sort of behavior is hard to explain and should not be accepted on a new laptop
  
  Reply
Verginio

February 10, 2018 at 6:34 pm

Very good your evaluation. I have this notebook, i can replace this his original screen (BOE NV156FHM-N42), for this: m.pt.aliexpress.com/item/32755027044.html?pid=808_0006_0109&spm=a2g0n. search-amp.list.32755027044.
Can it be incompatible?

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  February 16, 2018 at 4:03 am
  
  I can't tell, that's a bit out of my area of comfort
  
  Reply
Marika

March 5, 2018 at 7:17 pm

I bought this model as a cheap temporary computer until I get get a better one. I'd like to use it for graphic design but I know the color is more than a little off. I tried downloading the color calibration profile you've posted on this review, but when I go to set it as my default profile, I don't get any confirmation and I don't see any change in the color on the screen.. First of all do you know what's happening here and if I can fix it? And second.. maybe this just isn't the laptop to go with for graphic design, esp. since color is so important? Any other budget ($800is) suggestions?

Thank you for your extensive reviews!

Reply
Sal

April 27, 2018 at 2:40 pm

How thick hdd its bay accepts? 9mm, 12.5 or 15mm?

Reply
kerry

June 12, 2018 at 12:05 am

does the acer 515-51 51nz come with c/d, dvd?

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  June 12, 2018 at 12:51 pm
  
  No
  
  Reply
Jason Ellingsworth

July 6, 2018 at 11:14 pm

I don't understand. Everywhere else says the E15 gets the IPS, but the 5 has a terrible screen. Performance tests from both models with i5's and the mx150 graphics also show the E15 winning in performance tests. So how did you manage to get an Aspire 5 with an IPS display, and get it to perform faster than the E15?

Reply
darren

July 21, 2018 at 6:56 am

So I am very torn between this laptop and the Acer Swift 3. A main factor for me is the ability to play fortnite at at least 40fps on medium to high settings. But they both have the same specs: 8gb ddr4 ram, 8th gen intel core i5, 256gb ssd, nvidia geforce mx150 gpu, and same price tag at $600US. I read your reviews on each of these respective laptops and I still have trouble deciding. Apparently the aspire has slightly better temperature control, which you would think would go to the swift 3 with the aluminum chassis. However, the swift 3 has better battery life. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you and please have a nice day.

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  July 23, 2018 at 10:17 pm
  
  Tough call. Battery life should be about the same, as both get 48W batteries and similar hardware/screens. The cooling is a little more complex on the Swift 3, and this aspect, corroborated with the performance issues we had on our sample of the Aspire 5, would probably push me towards the Swift among the two.
  
  Reply
Jen Sing

November 22, 2018 at 10:30 pm

Does this system support OpenGL 3.2 compatible graphics? One of the applications that I'm needing to run on it Blender, blender.org/download/requirements/, has this as a recommended requirement. Thanks!

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  November 22, 2018 at 11:34 pm
  
  You didn't mention which configuration you're interested in, but that OpenGL version is old and supported by all the laptops launched in the past years, including all the Core variants of this one.
  
  Reply
  - Jen Sing
    
    November 22, 2018 at 11:40 pm
    
    Thanks! I'm aiming for the 'recommended' requirements, as am looking for an affordable first laptop for my daughter. I'm guessing that I'd have to pay >$1000 for a machine that can handle the 'optimal' requirements.
  - Andrei Girbea
    
    November 22, 2018 at 11:53 pm
    
    I don't think you'd have to pay 1G+ for that. What's your budget?
  - Jen Sing
    
    November 23, 2018 at 12:00 am
    
    Since it's my daughter's first laptop that she'll be taking to school, I'm guessing it'll get bumped around a bit so I don't want to invest too much. I'm thinking no more than $800 (CAD…we're up north!). Much appreciated if you have a better suggestion!
  - Andrei Girbea
    
    November 23, 2018 at 12:37 am
    
    You didn't give any link to the configuration you were planning to get. If possible, I'd aim for a computer with a Core i5-8300H/ Core i5-7700HQ / Core i5-7300HQ (in this order) CPU, 16 GB of RAM and SSD storage, I'm not sure you can find anything like this within budget with the existing deals. The CPU and RAM are the most important with that kind of loads, graphics not as much. You'll also be fine with 8 GB for starters and can be further upgraded if required.
Jen Sing

November 23, 2018 at 1:17 am

This is the one that I'm looking at

bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/acer-aspire-15-6-laptop-black-ci5-8250u-1tb-hdd-8gb-ram-windows-10/12602484.aspx?#feedback-wrapper

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  November 23, 2018 at 1:51 am
  
  Looks fine for that kind of money. Could also consider this: bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/hp-14-laptop-natural-silver-ash-silver-intel-core-i5-8250u-256gb-ssd-8gb-ram-windows-10-only-at-best-buy/12620842.aspx , smaller and at least it gets an SSD, will be snappier with daily use.
  
  Reply
  - Jen Sing
    
    November 23, 2018 at 10:18 am
    
    Thank you so much! I've ordered it
David

July 19, 2019 at 5:29 am

I just purchased the Acer Aspire 5 15.6 inch 515-54-51DJ and I can't seem to find a hard shell case for it. I've been looking all over the internet. Is this not yet available? There is a warning not to use the hard shell cases for the Acer Aspire 5 15.6 inch E series, so I guess I need a hard shell case for this specific computer. Help.

Reply
Lee Bass

August 2, 2019 at 3:27 am

OK… lots of articles out there but i want to help my fiancee with the best choice for her nursing school…
Best battery life and weight and good screen without touchpad issues…. performance aint a big deal as long as the wifi is strong and it can handle the MS Office suites.
A few suggestions if possible ? Trying to stay 6-800 $ This one came up on some sites but still seemed lacking…
Thanks !

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  August 2, 2019 at 10:36 am
  
  That's a good option in its class, but doesn't look that great imo and it's mostly plastic. I'd rather go with something like the Acer Swift 3 or the Huawei Matebook D or the Asus VivoBook S14/S15. Not sure where you're living, but in the US they should be within your budget.
  
  Aim for a Core i5 processor (preferably i5-8265U), 8 GB of RAM and SSD storage. No need for the i7. These should get pretty fair screens with IPS panels, decent colors and good viewing angles. However, the brightness is going to be fairly low, so the laptop won't do well in very bright conditions or outside, during the daytime.
  
  Reply
  - Roy Bass
    
    August 2, 2019 at 2:11 pm
    
    Thanks Andrei !
1 Bad Daddy.QT

August 26, 2019 at 2:56 am

I bought the ACER ASPIRE 5 515-51-58HD laptop and I thought it said it came with a BACKLIT KEYBOARD and it DID NOT ! ! ! I was so very mad, after it was delivered to me 2 days later than it was suppose to get here.
And , no where in any of the instructions that came with it, is a LAYOUT of the PORTS onboard, such as where the USB inputs are located on this pc???
I know what they look like, but 2 USBs are 2.0 & 1 USB is a 3.0 & 1 is a 3.1 port, BUT!!! I do not which is which here…
I still need help or pictures…
I CAN READ PICTURES, REALLY GOOD !!!
Remember, I am a dude, ladies…

Reply
sana

September 11, 2019 at 11:46 am

hey, i was wondering if i can use tablet mode on the Acer A5 laptop! like does it have a touch screen? can i enable it somehow? Thanks :)

Reply
Alex M

January 21, 2020 at 8:24 am

It appears that there are few different versions of A515-51. Have just bought A515-51-LZ. Display is 1366×768 and it's not IPS. None of this was disclosed by the seller. I would NOT buy it, had I known this. Amazon doesn't accept returns of a working laptop. Going after the seller – not sure, shipping won't be cheap. It does have both 128GB SSD and 1TB HDD.

Reply
caude barbe

January 9, 2021 at 1:33 am

produit acheté en janvier 2018,je viens de m'apercevoir que la caméra et son défectueux,je viens de prover que a l'intérieur du haut de l'écran,en bougeant le couvert je perds le son et image,je suggeres de ne pas acheter ce produit…tres cheap…garantie surement échu…si je regarde sur you tube…faut etre futé pour réparer ce produit,a peine deux ans et défectueux…tres décu et ne suggere pas achat de ce produit..

Reply

Acer Aspire 5 A515-51 review – an excellent and affordable mid-range 15-inch laptop

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