Acer Aspire E 15 Review
We discovered all the details when reviewing the widely available Acer Aspire E 15 laptop. Learn the reasons why you shouldn’t bother.
Bottom Line
There are better laptops for the same price as the Acer Aspire E 15, but it’s still a decent entry-level gaming laptop with good internals and battery life.
Pros
Cons
If you hear the words “gaming laptop,” what likely comes to mind are bulky, flashy machines with bright colours like the Acer Predator 21X. However, looking at the cheaper end of the price range reveals an entirely different story. If you’re looking for a cheap laptop that can handle some light gaming, the Acer Aspire E 15 is a good option.
Acer Aspire E 15 Review: The Best Budget Laptop?
Today, we’ll examine it in further detail, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses.
Specifications
CPU Model | Intel Core i5-8250H |
CPU Core Count | 4 |
CPU Thread Count | 8 |
CPU Base Clock | 1.6 GHz |
CPU Boost Clock | 3.4 GHz |
GPU Model | Nvidia GeForce MX150 |
RAM | 8 GB DDR3L |
Storage | 256 GB SSD |
Display Resolution | 1920×1080 |
Display Type | IPS |
Refresh Rate | 60 Hz |
Response Time | 4ms |
Screen Size | 15.6in |
Battery | 6-cell Li-ion |
Battery Capacity | 2800 mAh |
Ports and Connectors | 1x HDMI 1x USB 2.0 2x USB 3.0 1x USB 3.1 Gen1 1x VGA 1x Ethernet port 1x SD card reader |
Speakers | Stereo |
Dimensions (HxWxD) | 1.2x15x10.2in (3×38.1×25.9cm) |
Weight | 5.27lb (2.39 kg) |
The Design
Acer’s Aspire E 15 is a standard, ordinary notebook. The only noticeable feature is the textured rear, which contrasts with the otherwise plain matte black surface.
Naturally, this renders the laptop virtually invisible, which is just how the vast majority of its users prefer to have it. While other laptops benefit visually from coloured accents and flashing LED lights, this does not. If you like sharp corners and angles on your gaming hardware, the E 15 is not for you.
The Aspire E 15 is roughly the same size and weight as a standard laptop, coming in at 5.27 pounds (2.39 kg), and its thickness and width are also about typical.
The Hardware
The design of the Acer Aspire E 15 is not going to win any awards. However, how are the inner workings?
The i5-8250U, a high-quality 8th-generation Intel Core processor with four actual cores and eight threads, is standard equipment for this model. Its essential clock speed is a disappointing 1.6 GHz, but it can go as high as 3.4 GHz; obviously, overclocking the CPU without a cooling pad will cause it to overheat pretty quickly.
The Nvidia GeForce MX150 is a standard but dedicated mobile GPU. Even though it is a budget option, this Pascal GPU can handle 1080p and 720p games reasonably well. It won’t do miracles, being roughly as powerful as the desktop GT 1030, but it should be fine for eSports and older games. Of course, if you want to play on a different rig, you’ll need to reduce a lot of settings to get playable framerates.
Next, there is 8 GB of DDR3L RAM, which is more than enough for the games that this laptop can run, but some may find the lack of DDR4 in 2020 a bit off-putting; not that it makes much of a difference here, but it’s still worth noting.
The laptop has a 256 GB NAND SSD for storage, which is excellent for the price but can fill up rapidly depending on how you use it. However, as a system drive, it should be fine for a laptop of this type, and additional storage can be added with a standard hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD).
The Display of Acer Aspire E 15
The screen is average for the price, measuring 15 inches and using IPS technology to provide 1080p resolution. As a result, you may expect a standard reaction time of 4ms and a refresh rate of 60 Hz.
We can’t complain about the E 15’s screen in terms of performance, especially considering the price and the fact that 144 Hz displays are still relatively new among gaming laptops (and also considering the entry-level hardware).
Visually, the screen falls short of the standards you might set for an IPS display. For example, the display’s maximum brightness of around 230 nits makes it unsuitable for usage outside or in strongly lit areas. At the same time, its viewing angles are restricted, and its colour reproduction is unimpressive (62% sRGB).
Our Thoughts on Acer Aspire E 15
The Acer Aspire E 15 is not a shining example of a high-quality gaming laptop. Still, it could be worth considering as an inexpensive way to get into the world of mobile video games.
As was previously said, the CPU is highly potent and performs admirably on both single-core and multi-core workloads because of its multiple threads. The graphics processing unit (GPU) is well suited for eSports and older games; the amount of RAM is sufficient in light of the other internals, and the 256 GB SSD strikes a nice mix between cost, capacity, and speed. Power-efficient hardware has the added benefit of long battery life, so your laptop can last all day with light use.
Our only complaint about the laptop is its less-than-stellar display; nonetheless, the SSD may be too small for some users, as we’ve already said. However, storage may be added without much trouble, whereas a side investment cannot increase the screen. The speakers and 720p webcam aren’t great, but that’s to be expected from a budget laptop.
In light of the market’s current status in 2023, we believe there are superior options for casual gamers. Unfortunately, this Aspire E 15 model costs about the same as the HP Pavilion we recommend in our gaming laptop buying guide, despite the latter’s superior GPU (GTX 1050 Ti), DDR4 RAM, slightly more powerful CPU, and display, as well as its excellent build quality and design philosophy.
However, the Aspire E 15 is still an excellent entry-level gaming laptop in its own right; however, it does not fare well against the competition in 2023, which is why we would be hesitant to recommend it as a primary choice at this time unless you can find it at a significant discount or you prefer the cleaner and more inconspicuous design.