Acer Aspire 5: An affordable laptop that's enjoyable to use

Looking for value? The Acer Aspire 5's got it.

- MATT SMITH

Are you in the market for Windows laptop? Don't want to spend more than $500? Then an Acer Aspire laptop is likely near the top of your list. Aspire laptops routinely take the top slot in Amazon's list of best-selling laptops with some models dipping as low as $369.99. The model we tested for this review is the best of both worlds. It's reasonably priced and it delivers pretty good performance.

Enter the Acer Aspire 5. This laptop packs an Intel Core i5 processor and 8GB of RAM, and is among the most expensive in the Aspire line. But that doesn't mean it's expensive. It has a suggested MSRP of $499.99 and sometimes retails for as little as $479.99. A Windows laptop with a recent Core i5 processor for less than $499.99 might seem too good to be true. Acer certainly makes sacrifices to achieve it. Still, the Aspire 5 is a competent and enjoyable laptop.

SPECS AND FEATURES

The Acer Aspire 5 pairs an Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor with 8GB of RAM and a PCle solid state drive. Buyers interested in graphics performance should note the Core i5-1135G7 packs Intel's Iris Xe graphics with 80 execution units and a maximum clock of 1.3GHz. This isn't Intel's fastest integrated graphics option, but it's a big leap up from the Intel UHD graphics found in most 10th-generation Intel Core hardware.

CPU: Intel Core i5-1135G7

Memory: 8GB

Graphics/GPU: Intel Iris Xe

Display: 14-inch 1080p LCD

Storage: 256GB PCle solid state drive

Webcam: 720p

Connectivity: 2x USB 3.2 Type-A, 1X USB 2.0 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C (data only), 1x Ethernet, 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x 3.5mm combo audio, 1x DC-in barrel plug

Networking: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5

Biometrics: None