Acer Aspire E 15 E5-576G-81GD Review

The mid-ranged budget section of the laptops is one of the most sought after laptop sections in the market. Today we’re gonna look at such a notebook from Acer, Aspire E 15 E5-576G-81GD. But that ‘under the thousand bucks’ section is not a very comfortable place at all as you have to compete against contenders like Acer Swift 3 and  Asus VivoBook S510. So let’s get into the review to know how Aspire E 15 performed in that battle.

 
Check out the latest price for the Acer Aspire E 15 E5-576G-81GD
 

Specs:

 

  • CPU – Intel Core i7 Quad-Core (8th Gen), 1.8 GHz
  • GPU – 2 GB DDR5, NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  • Memory – 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR3, extendable upto 16 GB
  • Screen – 15.6-inch Full HD IPS (1,920 x 1,080)
  • Storage – 256 GB SSD
  • OS – Windows 10 Home edition

 

Benefits:

 

  • Performance – A latest 8th generation Intel Core i7 processor to handle even the most gruesome task, 8 GB of low powered DDR3 RAM which can be expanded up to 16 GB and a fast 256 GB SSD for zippy interaction- it includes everything that you might need for your everyday chores. The SSD that it includes, a SATA variation to be precise, is somewhat slower than some of the laptops that come with a PCIe SSD (which is much faster). But it surely is snappy enough for your regular needs like media consumption or normal office works. And for the graphical aspect, it does include a discrete NVIDIA GeForce MX150 GPU. The Pascal based MX150 (mobile GT 1030) is much stronger and faster than the relatively older Maxwell architecture-centric GTX 940MX. It was able to run some of the lesser demanding titles like Dirt 3 (~70 fps in 1080p High) and Overwatch (40 fps in 1080p High) pretty seamlessly. In short in spite of its limited power you can trust it for some casual gaming once in a while.
  • Battery – An extended battery life is one of the key priorities of a lightweight productivity laptop like this. And the battery life is really great here. It lasted for nearly 8 and a half hour before going out while doing some light web surfing in low brightness. But even in non-ideal situations where you obviously won’t be doing net surfing solely and a degree of multitasking won’t be unusual, the battery would surely last for a good long 6 hours I guess. That’s enough battery backup for a 15-inch notebook.

 

Downsides:

 

  • Display – Acer had to cut some corners to provide the laptop at such a low price. And it’s the display that they decided to save some money from. First of all, the panel is significantly dim in comparison to the others. The average brightness can be found around 180 nits which is much lower than the category average of 250 nits. While Swift 3 was nearly as bright as Aspire E 15 the VivoBook S510 was much brighter at 240 nits. So you might need to carry a spare candle or two with you if you plan on working with it. The lower brightness level also suggests potential problem working outdoors under sunlight. Secondly, the sRGB coverage of the panel is not anything exceptional either at only 79%. While the number is not bad by any chance it certainly lagged behind the average of 100%. In short, while the display is not very bad it certainly could be better.
  • Portability – Aspire E 15 is not the most lightweight laptop in the world. Looking at the dimension (15.02 x 10.2 x 1.19 inch) you’d see that it’s much thicker at 1.19 inch (30.23 mm) than Swift 3 (0.7 inches) and VivoBook S510 (0.7 inches). Aspire is a tad bit bigger than both of them as well. Also Aspire (5.3 lb) is fairly heavier than Swift 3 (4.4 lb) and VivoBook (3.6 lb) as well. So it might not be most portable laptop in the holy earth.

 

Verdict:

 

Acer Aspire E 15 came out pretty strongly. While it showed some great overall performance it also lasted for an ample amount of time. But the dim display can be a deal breaker if you’re not really a fan of a poor screen. Other than that it’s a great deal if you ask me. A strong processor, an ample amount of RAM and a discreet GPU- good value for all your spent money.

 
Check out the latest price for the Acer Aspire E 15 E5-576G-81GD