General Overall Review Before In Depth Review
Pros:
*Powerful graphics card at a cheap price
*Decent processor will get everything you need done fast
*Comes with a SSD over a standard HDd
*1080p resolution to watch Full HD content
*Backlit keyboard to operate in the darkness
*Not too heavy
*Has a nice exterior design
*Computer distributes heat well and fans keep it cool
*Can expand hard drive storage with HDD or SSD
Cons:
*Plastic material can make it feel cheap
*Fans get loud when playing graphic intense games
*Battery life is mediocre but if you use it as a gaming desktop alternative you'll keep the power plugged in
*250GB storage (I won't say it's a con exactly because of the price and because its a SSD. But if it was a 250GB HDD then I would list it as a con)
I paid $699 for this laptop. And for the price I paid I'm thoroughly impressed. This computer performs like that of a $800-$1000 computer. Has enough RAM to execute all your programs, 1080p screen, a decent i5 processor and a pretty powerful graphics card for the price. Everyone always worries about needing an i7 processor for gaming but in reality if your graphics card is insufficient having a powerful processor will not compensate for a mediocre graphics card. What people don't realize is an i5 is more than sufficient to game if you have a great graphics card. In comparison to my i7 Lenovo there's really not much difference in performance rather the difference lies in the graphics card. About 4 years ago I paid $1100 for my Lenovo Y50 which had a NVIDIA GTX 860M and an i7 processor. And because it broke I was looking around for a replacement. I was not really expecting much in regards to the graphics card especially because how cheap the laptop was. But surprisingly not only does it perform just as well as my previous laptop, it performs much better (new graphic card architecture and technology) at almost half the cost. At the time the 860m (the graphics card in my previous laptop the Lenovo Y50) was a mid range graphics card for laptops. But back then the laptop version of graphics card (m) was not on par with it's desktop counterpart and in most cases only performed about 40-70% of what it's counterpart could do. But now with the new architecture and technology the laptop counterpart performs at 75-90% of it's desktop counterpart.
The NVIDIA GTX 1050TI although a mid range card performs so much better than mid range cards back in the day. On a side note, if you plan on ordering this laptop make sure that it's the 1050 TI version and not just the plain 1050. The TI version packs a bit more of a punch which does make a difference. Because some people have complained and rated the laptop poorly because they received a 1050 version and not the 1050TI.
My only complaint is, the plastic material in which the chassis is made of vs the metal finish of my previous laptop. The plastic makes it feel cheap (well it is) but obviously it's more of an aesthetics issue than a performance one. Some people complained about the hard drive space being insufficient. To be honest if you're using this computer for anything but gaming the space will be more than sufficient. But if you plan on using it for gaming then the space will run out quickly, but for the price you're paying it's still a steal. Sure it's not a 1TB drive like a lot of standard laptops nowadays but because it's a SSD it will increase the overall speed and performance of your computer unlikes it's HDD counterpart. There is an extra hard drive slot so you can always expand the hard drive with a standard hdd if you're on a budget and need extra space or a 2.5 m sata II SSD if you want extra space with the continued faster performance. If you wish to add another hard drive you have to call Acer and request for an hard drive expansion kit, which they will provide to you free of charge (once you provide them with the laptop's information). Aside from that the only other con is it can be loud sometimes when playing graphic intense games but can be remedied by wearing head phones. The fans although loud does keep the laptop cool despite the plastic chassis.
Overall this laptop is a great purchase. lt packs a powerful punch for the price it goes for and looks nice as well.
| Standing screen display size | 15.6 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 Pixels |
| Processor | 2.5 GHz core_i5 |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4 |
| Memory Speed | 2400 MHz |
| Hard Drive | 256 GB SSD |
| Graphics Coprocessor | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti |
| Chipset Brand | NVIDIA |
| Card Description | Dedicated |
| Graphics Card Ram Size | 4000 GB |
| Wireless Type | 802.11ac |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 2 |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 2 |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 8.5 Hours |
