Starting with its thin and light construction and decent performance on basic mainstream computer activities, the cheap Acer A515-46-R3UB has a lot going for it. There’s also the bonus of a backlit keyboard and fingerprint reader, which make it even more compelling.
As if it weren’t already obvious, this new Acer Aspire 5 A515-46-R3UB is a direct descendant of the previous best-selling Acer Aspire 5 A515-46-R14K. Because it’s so obvious. AMD Ryzen 3-powered Acer Aspire five features a full HD 15.6-inch screen, a slim chassis, and Windows 11 Home operating system for a reasonable price compared to its competitors (but in S Mode). As a result, general-purpose computer operations go smoothly.
We didn’t anticipate a fingerprint reader or a lighted keyboard on a laptop that costs less than $400. Acer felt the need to provide more than you paid for. At this price point, it’s rare to get a Full HD (1920×1080) resolution screen. This laptop has many great features that make it an excellent choice for the home office or student.
Acer A515-46-R3UB Key Features
- Laptop Class: Multimedia, Personal, Student
- Processor: Quad-Core AMD Ryzen 3 3350U (2.10 GHz – 3.50 GHz)
- Display: 15.6-inch, 1,920 x 1,080 (1080p)
- Graphics: Integrated AMD Radeon Vega 6
- RAM: 4GB DDR4 (Expandable)
- Storage: 128GB SSD (Expandable)
- Operating System: Windows 10 Home (S Mode)
- Extras: Fingerprint reader, Backlit Keyboard
Pros
- Low price tag
- Solid productivity performance
- Slim and relatively light design
- It can be upgraded to windows 11
Cons
- Not a gaming Laptop
- Minimal Storage & RAM
In terms of pricing and configuration options
The new Acer Aspire 5 Ryzen model comes in as many as six different configurations, ranging from $350 for the entry-level model we’re testing to $750 for the top-of-the-line Octa-core Ryzen 7 model with enough RAM and storage (a 512GB SSD) and AMD Radeon graphics.
These Aspire five models include at least one of the following specifications: a 15.6-inch HD display, a 1080p HD display, or both.
Acer A515-46-R3UB
Key Features
- Quad-Core AMD Ryzen 3 3350U (2.10 GHz – 3.50 GHz)
- 15.6-inch, 1,920 x 1,080 (1080p)
- Integrated AMD Radeon Vega 6
- RAM: 4GB DDR4 (Expandable)
- 128GB SSD (Expandable)
- Windows 10 Home (S Mode)
- Fingerprint reader, Backlit Keyboard
Features & Design
Even though this AMD-powered device is a little thicker and lighter than its predecessors, it meets the bill for Acer’s Aspire 5 range. The Aspire A515-46-R3UB, despite its 14.3-by-9.9-inch size, is surprisingly thin and light at just 0.7 inches thick and under 4 pounds.
The laptop’s metal lid and tapering body give it a sleek appearance. An Aspire logo and silver chassis contrast with the black keyboard when the lid is opened, revealing a 15.6-inch display with slight left and right bezels.
It’s a good collection of ports for a budget system, but there is one notable exclusion. One USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C port and two USB 3.0 ports can be found on the device’s left side. The Aspire’s 128GB solid-state drive necessitates using these USB ports to connect external storage devices.
The combination audio jack and a USB 2.0 Type-A port are located on the right side of the device. Because there is no memory card reader, you cannot access memory cards from your digital camera or your Android phone without a USB adaptor. This is surprising.
Display
The Acer Aspire 5’s 15.6-inch display is perfect; it’s rated at 267 nits. The Full HD (1920 x 1080) display has ample brightness for work and daily plays. Any brightness exceeding 250 nits for a cheap notebook like this is impressive, although we’ve seen even brighter displays in more expensive computers. While the Core i7-equipped Aspire 5 costs around $200 extra, its screen is much darker.
With a 1080p resolution, the display is appropriate for a large screen. You can easily collaborate or share the screen with another person because of the IPS (In-Plane Switching) technology it employs.
Touchpad and Keyboard
In addition to offering a comfortable keyboard, the Aspire 5 range from Acer has several unique features for a cheap laptop. The Acer A515-46-R3UB laptop we tested boasts a spacious backlit keyboard with a 10-key numeric keypad. When typing, each keystroke provides a pleasing sound and sensation.
On the other hand, the essential travel isn’t as deep as on some of our other productivity-oriented computers. However, for a cheap machine, the keyboard’s comfort and the backlight’s ability to illuminate the keys make a big difference.
The trackpad below the keyboard is equally significant and sensitive, and it does an excellent job of avoiding accidental swipes from palms while you type. A fingerprint reader is included in the Aspire 5 trackpad model, though.
The audio quality is also worth mentioning. It’s an excellent sound for a cheap laptop, although it’s a little thin and lacking in depth. The Aspire 5’s speakers aren’t the worst we’ve heard on a laptop under $1,000, but they’re not the best.
Performance
There are many similarities between this year’s Acer Aspire 5 and the Acer Aspire 5 we evaluated last year, except that this year’s model has Windows 11 Home instead of Windows 10 Home (S Mode) (S mode). As with its predecessor, this year’s Aspire 5 is a workhorse capable of handling many duties, from email to web browsing.
The bright 15.6-inch screen can handle all of your daily email, YouTube videos, papers, and schoolwork. As a result, the Aspire 5 fills the void between low-cost corporate laptops and high-end student laptops, offering impressive performance and a feature set that’s hard to match at this price range.
Even though it has a built-in GPU rather than the newer Intel Iris Xe graphics found in the Aspire 5 A515-56-50RS, you may still utilize it for actual video production and editing and casual games like Minecraft. The Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3 is an attractive option if you need to play contemporary games and create mid-high quality movies.
Longevity of the Battery
Acer estimates the battery life of the Ace Aspire 5 at 10 hours with its 48Wh 3-cell Li-ion battery. In real-world use, the laptop lasts 7 hours 53 minutes at 150 nits of brightness, which isn’t terrible for a low-cost laptop.
In the end, it came down to this:
Starting with its thin and light construction and decent performance on basic mainstream computer activities, the cheap Acer A515-46-R3UB has a lot going for it. There’s also the bonus of a backlit keyboard and fingerprint reader, which make it even more compelling.
If your budget is limited to $350, you won’t be able to do much better than this high-powered workhorse. Nevertheless, if you’re willing to spend a little more, we recommend the Core i7 model, the Acer Aspire 5 A515-56-53S3, which comes pre-loaded with Windows 11 Home, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of SSD, and Intel Iris Xe graphics.