Deutsch
Español
Français
Italiano
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Русский
Türkçe
Svenska
Chinese
MagyarAcer Aspire 5 A515-57G laptop review: unused potential
The review model (A515-57G-53N8) can be had for around 1,000 Euro (US$1,030). For this price, you are getting a current-gen Intel Alder Lake processor (the power-efficient Core i5-1240P), 16 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM (2x 8 GB dual-channel), a 512 GB NVMe M.2 SSD, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2050 for demanding graphics applications. The GPU comes with 4 GB of GDDR6 VRAM but only offers a 64-bit memory bus. Acer has equipped the laptop with a matt Full HD IPS panel and chosen to install Windows 11 Home as the operating system.
The Aspire 5 is competing against other 14- to 15-inch laptops with mid-range hardware, such as the Honor MagicBook 14 (also RTX 2050), Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC (RTX 3050), Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI (GTX 1650 Ti) and Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 (GTX 1650). All these notebooks will appear in the tables below for comparison purposes.
Comparison of possible competitors
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80.7 % | 09/2022 | Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 i5-1240P, GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile | 1.8 kg | 18 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 87.4 % | 09/2022 | Honor MagicBook 14 2022 i5-12500H, GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile | 1.6 kg | 16.9 mm | 14.00" | 2160x1440 | |
| 84.9 % | 08/2022 | Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC i7-12650H, GeForce RTX 3050 4GB Laptop GPU | 1.9 kg | 20.7 mm | 15.60" | 2560x1440 | |
| 80.8 % | 07/2020 | Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI i7-10750H, GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Mobile | 2.3 kg | 25.8 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 87.1 % | 04/2021 | Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE i7-10750H, GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile | 1.8 kg | 17.5 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 |
Chassis
The chassis left us with mixed feelings. At first glance, the Aspire 5 appears to be of high quality. The stylish (yet rather simple) design looks great in combination with the medium-grey surfaces. If you take a closer look, however, you will notice that only the lid is made of metal. The base section is made of plastic and exhibits significant flex when you push down harder on it (particularly in the middle above the keyboard). In general, the Aspire 5 doesn't have the sturdiest chassis amongst laptops in this category.
Meanwhile, there is hardly anything to criticise about the device's fit and finish. On our review unit, the seams between all the elements are clean and neat. The hinges behave as expected and do their job properly. The mechanism is designed to lift the rear of the base section by several millimetres when the laptop is opened in order to promote air flow.
Although we wish the screen bezel would be slightly thinner, the Aspire 5 doesn't take up too much space. Its dimensions of 36.3 x 23.8 cm (14.3 x 9.4") are typical for a 15-inch laptop and puts the device somewhere in the middle of our comparison group. The story is similar with its weight (1.8kg, or 3.97 lb). The Acer laptop is 1.8 cm (0.7") thick when closed, which is likewise average for such a laptop.
Features
Interfaces
You will be quite satisfied with the selection of ports if you don't mind the absence of a card reader. The Aspire 5 offers not only three USB-A 3.0 ports but also one USB-C port that supports Thunderbolt 4. There is also an up-to-date HDMI 2.1 output, an RJ45 Ethernet port, an audio jack and a Kensington lock slot. Unfortunately, the barrel plug on the power supply is very delicate, bordering on fragile. This could potentially limit the device's durability.
We like how the ports are arranged on the laptop. Most of them are located towards the rear of the sides, meaning your movement isn't going to be too restricted when using a mouse (and with many cables plugged in).
Connectivity
There is still room for improvement in terms of Wi-Fi performance. The MediaTek MT7921 chip only delivered mediocre performance in our signal strength test, which involved placing the laptop one metre away from our new reference router, the Asus AXE11000. With transmit and receive rates of around 1,000 Mbit/s, the Aspire 5 isn't able to keep pace with competing laptops equipped with Intel modules.
Webcam
The webcam is pretty standard. As is often the case, it is lacking in both colour accuracy and image sharpness.
Accessories
Other than a few information booklets, Acer only included a charger with the Aspire 5. The 90-watt adapter is nice and compact at about 12 x 5 x 3 cm (4.7 x 2.0 x 1.2") and weighs just around 0.3 kg (0.7 lb).
Maintenance
The process of opening up the product for maintenance is similar to that for other multimedia laptops. To access the internals of the device, you have to first remove ten Phillips screws and then lift the bottom cover off the laptop using a flat tool. Under the hood, you will find a surprisingly small motherboard with a pair of heat pipes running to two fans. There are also two RAM slots and two M.2 slots (see photo). Opening up the Aspire 5 will also allow you to access the Wi-Fi module and battery.
Warranty
Acer provides a 24-month warranty on the laptop.
Input devices
Keyboard
The input devices are average at best. The biggest drawback of the keyboard is the tiny font on the keys. It can be difficult to distinguish the font from the grey background (poor readability) depending on the viewing angle, time of day and ambient light. Acer should have used black keys with a bolder font instead. Likewise, the keyboard feels less than optimal to type on. Besides the issues with sturdiness previously mentioned, we are not all that impressed with the keys' fairly mushy feedback. Therefore, anyone who types a lot should probably take a look at other alternatives.
On the other hand, there isn't much to complain about the layout. The main section mostly follows the standard keyboard layout. The only things we didn't like were the small up and down arrow keys and the numeric keypad with three instead of four columns. It is also a shame that the backlight only has one brightness level.
Touchpad
The touchpad isn't going to win any awards either. Like the keyboard, it too feels quite mushy – the left- and right-click zones at the bottom offer too little feedback. Furthermore, the touchpad has a tendency to rattle, which detracts from the quality feel of the device. There is nothing spectacular about the touchpad's gesture support and texture; they are neither bad nor exceptional. At 12.5 x 8 cm (4.9 x 3.1"), the touchpad is also more than adequate for a 15-inch laptop.
Display
Those who are very particular about image quality won't be pleased with the Aspire 5 A515-57G. The Full HD screen (CMN N156HCA-EAB) on the device is average at best.
Once the laptop is switched on, you'll notice right away that the screen is lacking in brightness. Its average peak brightness of 234 cd/m² is too low for outdoor use and is only suitable for indoor spaces that are not too bright.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 79 %
Center on Battery: 250 cd/m²
Contrast: 1316:1 (Black: 0.19 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 3.94 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5, calibrated: 3.09
ΔE Greyscale 3.6 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
44.8% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
65% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
43.3% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.081
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 CMN N156HCA-EAB, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Honor MagicBook 14 2022 HD140ZB-01A, IPS, 2160x1440, 14.00 | Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC BOE CQ NE156QHM-NY1, IPS, 2560x1440, 15.60 | Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI Panda LM156LF-2F01, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE BOE CQ NV156FHM-N69, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 54% | 88% | -8% | 55% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 43.3 | 67.9 57% | 95.8 121% | 39.73 -8% | 68.7 59% |
| sRGB Coverage | 65 | 98.5 52% | 99.9 54% | 59.8 -8% | 97.1 49% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 44.8 | 68.7 53% | 85.1 90% | 41.06 -8% | 70.3 57% |
| Response Times | -6% | 67% | -4% | 81% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 35.6 ? | 37.2 ? -4% | 8.4 ? 76% | 33.6 ? 6% | 5 ? 86% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 24.5 ? | 26.3 ? -7% | 10.4 ? 58% | 27.6 ? -13% | 6 ? 76% |
| PWM Frequency | 28400 ? | ||||
| Screen | 31% | -4% | -31% | -17% | |
| Brightness middle | 250 | 330 32% | 354.2 42% | 271.2 8% | 360 44% |
| Brightness | 234 | 320 37% | 330 41% | 252 8% | 320 37% |
| Brightness Distribution | 79 | 90 14% | 88 11% | 79 0% | 81 3% |
| Black Level * | 0.19 | 0.21 -11% | 0.32 -68% | 0.53 -179% | 0.18 5% |
| Contrast | 1316 | 1571 19% | 1107 -16% | 512 -61% | 2000 52% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 3.94 | 1.8 54% | 4.06 -3% | 5.04 -28% | 6.84 -74% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 16.73 | 4.7 72% | 8.81 47% | 16.07 4% | 12.52 25% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 3.09 | 1.6 48% | 4.26 -38% | 2.54 18% | |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 3.6 | 3 17% | 6.7 -86% | 3.4 6% | 12.94 -259% |
| Gamma | 2.081 106% | 2.18 101% | 2.12 104% | 2.09 105% | 2.55 86% |
| CCT | 6476 100% | 6697 97% | 6731 97% | 7079 92% | 6973 93% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 37.8 | 63 | |||
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 59.5 | 97 | |||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 26% /
31% | 50% /
28% | -14% /
-22% | 40% /
13% |
* ... smaller is better
The colour coverage also significantly falls short of what IPS technology is capable of. The display only managed to cover 65% of the sRGB colour space - only the Asus ROG Strix G15 performed worse than that. To put things in perspective, good displays are able to hit 100% sRGB coverage.
You also shouldn't expect fast screen response times from the 15-inch device. The 60-Hz screen is not a great choice for gamers. The display is only saved from an even worse review by its great contrast (1,316:1) and low black level (0.19 cd/m²)
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 24.5 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 13.8 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 10.7 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 52 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.5 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 35.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 17.2 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 18.4 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 44 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (33.7 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 17915 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
Performance
The Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 is a mid-range laptop in term of both price and performance. The Core i5-1240P and GeForce RTX 2050 form a balanced all-round combination that has enough power for everyday tasks, such office work, video playback and Internet browsing. The same applies to the 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of SSD storage. However, the Aspire 5 shouldn't be viewed as a gaming laptop.
Test conditions
Unfortunately, Acer has preinstalled various tools and programmes from other companies in order to earn a few more dollars. The inclusion of bloatware has thankfully become less common in the past years – at least with other laptop manufacturers. This thus makes Acer stand out in a negative way. As we didn't find any performance profiles on the system (e.g. in the Acer Care Center), all the measurements were performed with the laptop in its factory settings.
Processor
The Core i5-1240P is a brand-new chip from Intel's Alder Lake lineup. The 10-nm chip with a specified TDP of 28 watts has 4 performance cores (with Hyper-Threading) and 8 efficiency cores (no Hyper-Threading), allowing it to run up to 16 threads in parallel.
The 1240P performed well in our series of CPU tests. Whilst the processor expectedly isn't as fast as current Intel GPUs with higher TDP (e.g. the Core i5-12500H and Core i7-12650H), it still performs better than older processors such as the Core i7-10750H. Our Cinebench loop test showed that the Aspire 5 is able to deliver adequate sustained performance. After a small dip initially, the results stabilised down at a fairly constant level.
Cinebench R15 Multi Sustained Load
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
| Performance Rating | |
| Average of class Multimedia | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1240P | |
| AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
| Average of class Multimedia (3804 - 27411, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1240P (2405 - 9694, n=16) | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
| Average of class Multimedia (16379 - 136048, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1240P (7407 - 49934, n=16) | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
| Average of class Multimedia (1099 - 6681, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1240P (415 - 2462, n=16) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
| Average of class Multimedia (21547 - 134321, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1240P (29405 - 76736, n=16) | |
| AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
| Average of class Multimedia (3099 - 15484, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1240P (2135 - 6540, n=16) | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
| Average of class Multimedia (9602 - 68591, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1240P (5113 - 23992, n=16) | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
| Average of class Multimedia (23702 - 169946, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1240P (8849 - 90370, n=16) | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
| Average of class Multimedia (302 - 1901, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1240P (101.6 - 812, n=16) | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
| Average of class Multimedia (1996 - 14590, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1240P (1154 - 5258, n=16) | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
| Average of class Multimedia (7419 - 52727, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1240P (11873 - 43661, n=16) | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
| PCMark 10 / Score | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Average of class Multimedia (4635 - 8670, n=83, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Average of class Multimedia (8480 - 12420, n=83, last 2 years) | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
| PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Average of class Multimedia (5845 - 11186, n=83, last 2 years) | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Average of class Multimedia (4688 - 13548, n=83, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| CrossMark / Overall | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Average of class Multimedia (1009 - 2146, n=89, last 2 years) | |
| CrossMark / Productivity | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Average of class Multimedia (971 - 2064, n=89, last 2 years) | |
| CrossMark / Creativity | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Average of class Multimedia (1054 - 2865, n=89, last 2 years) | |
| CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Average of class Multimedia (926 - 2171, n=89, last 2 years) | |
System performance
In terms of system performance, the Aspire 5 ranked third amongst the laptops in our comparison. The PCMark 10 score of 5,703 indicates that it is a capable all-round laptop.
| PCMark 10 Score | 5703 points | |
Help | ||
| AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
| Average of class Multimedia (20513 - 92745, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1240P (23312 - 70537, n=16) | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Average of class Multimedia (22917 - 90142, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1240P (18989 - 70553, n=16) | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
| Average of class Multimedia (20226 - 95196, n=86, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1240P (23454 - 62496, n=16) | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1240P (85.1 - 188.3, n=11) | |
| Average of class Multimedia (75 - 346, n=85, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
* ... smaller is better
DPC latency
The 15-inch laptop earned the dubious honour of having the highest DPC latency in the comparison group. According to LatencyMon, the Acer laptop has trouble handling real-time audio and video processing.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
* ... smaller is better
Mass storage
The Aspire 5 also put up a poor show when it comes to SSD performance. The included M.2 drive from Micron (model 2450) came in last in almost all the SSD benchmarks. Having said that, the performance gaps were often quite small. Only the SSD in the Honor MagicBook 14 was considerably faster than the competition.
* ... smaller is better
Sustained Read Performance: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
Graphics card
The GeForce RTX 2050 is quite a rare GPU on the market. Most of the time, manufacturers either make do by putting a low-end GPU such as the GeForce MX450 in multimedia laptops or use a graphics card on the same level as a GeForce RTX 3050 (Ti). The performance of the RTX 2050, which has 2,048 shading units, is very highly dependent on the TGP specified by the manufacturer. Whilst the RTX 2050 in the Honor MagicBook 14 has access to 60 watts of power, the GPU in the Aspire 5 only has 35 watts at its disposal. This disparity is very apparent in some of the GPU benchmarks.
Despite the two laptops having the same GPU, the Honor is 25% faster than the Acer on average according to our performance tests. Due to the meagre TGP, the RTX 2050 in the Aspire 5 is only about as fast as a GeForce GTX 1650, which has already been on the market for much longer. Sure, unlike the GTX 1650, the RTX 2050 supports ray tracing, but the card's RT performance is so modest that Nvidia might as well not include this feature at all.
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 10988 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 121654 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 24390 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 7428 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 3396 points | |
Help | ||
Gaming performance
Accordingly, the gaming test resulted in a divided conclusion. Although the laptop is able to run older, less demanding titles at the native Full HD resolution (1,920 x 1,080) and often at high or max detail level, you will need to lower the settings for games with stunning graphics (such as Forza Horizon 5). The RTX 2050 is also not very future-proof due to the small amount of video memory available. Right now, gamers should at least get a GPU with 6 or, even better, 8 GB of VRAM.
| The Witcher 3 | |
| 1920x1080 High Graphics & Postprocessing (Nvidia HairWorks Off) | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Average of class Multimedia (11.2 - 290, n=90, last 2 years) | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile (46.7 - 78, n=8) | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
| 1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+) | |
| Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC | |
| Average of class Multimedia (8 - 143.2, n=97, last 2 years) | |
| Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI | |
| Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile (24.3 - 39.6, n=9) | |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 | |
Nothing was out of the ordinary during the 60-minute Witcher 3 test (FHD/Ultra). Besides a small drop in frame rate, the performance remained otherwise fairly stable.
Witcher 3 FPS Graph
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
| GTA V (2015) | 159.8 | 150.8 | 79.3 | 40.2 |
| The Witcher 3 (2015) | 145 | 98.4 | 56.4 | 32.7 |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 143.3 | 132.8 | 97.9 | 90.2 |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) | 77.9 | 45.8 | 33.3 | |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 98.7 | 78.9 | 60.2 | |
| Far Cry 5 (2018) | 81 | 53 | 52 | 49 |
| Strange Brigade (2018) | 164.7 | 73.1 | 60.9 | |
| Hunt Showdown (2020) | 112.2 | 51 | 43 | |
| Doom Eternal (2020) | 121.5 | 86.9 | ||
| Gears Tactics (2020) | 164 | 84.2 | 55.1 | 35.6 |
| Death Stranding (2020) | 68.3 | 54.2 | 49.8 | 48.3 |
| Crysis Remastered (2020) | 130.8 | 65.4 | 25.3 | 20 |
| Serious Sam 4 (2020) | 123 | 42.8 | 31.9 | 28.4 |
| Mafia Definitive Edition (2020) | 60.7 | 42 | 38.8 | |
| Star Wars Squadrons (2020) | 202 | 114 | 111.2 | 93.5 |
| Watch Dogs Legion (2020) | 64 | 46 | 39 | 18 |
| Dirt 5 (2020) | 0 game wont start (crash) | 0 game wont start (crash) | 0 game wont start (crash) | 0 game wont start (crash) |
| Assassin´s Creed Valhalla (2020) | 72 | 42 | 21 | 7 |
| Yakuza Like a Dragon (2020) | 53.1 | 43.5 | 42.6 | 38.8 |
| Hitman 3 (2021) | 132 | 68.3 | 59 | 53.8 |
| Outriders (2021) | 55.3 | 34.6 | 33.5 | 30.3 |
| Resident Evil Village (2021) | 90 | 64.4 | 57.9 | 47.9 |
| Mass Effect Legendary Edition (2021) | 69.8 | 67.9 | ||
| Days Gone (2021) | 72 | 49 | 44.5 | 32.6 |
| Deathloop (2021) | 77.9 | 39.5 | 30.1 | 22.4 |
| Alan Wake Remastered (2021) | 73.6 | 57.8 | 49.7 | |
| Far Cry 6 (2021) | 81 | 51 | 43 | 27 |
| Back 4 Blood (2021) | 155 | 82.4 | 65.8 | 65.3 |
| Guardians of the Galaxy (2021) | 67 | 48 | 47 | 45 |
| Riders Republic (2021) | 76 | 49 | 38 | 33 |
| Forza Horizon 5 (2021) | 111 | 62 | 53 | 18 |
| Farming Simulator 22 (2021) | 138.2 | 89.3 | 63.1 | 52.6 |
| Halo Infinite (2021) | 72.5 | 54.8 | 40.7 | 37.5 |
| God of War (2022) | 42.6 | 37 | 29 | 19.7 |
| Rainbow Six Extraction (2022) | 88 | 70 | 66 | 42 |
| Dying Light 2 (2022) | 34.9 | 28.5 | 23.5 | |
| GRID Legends (2022) | 104 | 70.4 | 61.4 | 49.2 |
| Elden Ring (2022) | 50.1 | 43.1 | 39 | 34.9 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 1.6 (2022) | 45.5 | 42.1 | 28.1 | 27.4 |
| Elex 2 (2022) | 46.5 | 36.7 | 32.4 | 29.6 |
| Ghostwire Tokyo (2022) | 53.7 | 51.5 | 50.8 | 45 |
| Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (2022) | 74.6 | 59.2 | 37.8 | 29.5 |
| Vampire Bloodhunt (2022) | 115.8 | 77.7 | 72.8 | 65.8 |
| F1 22 (2022) | 71 | 69 | 56 | 16 |
| The Quarry (2022) | 50.7 | 36.9 | 30.7 | 23.6 |
Emissions
Noise emissions
Given the performance offered by the laptop, it is quite loud under load. At 42 to 47 dB(A), the noise generated is clearly audible and loud enough to bother many users. That said, some of its competitors are just as loud or perhaps even noisier. At idle though, the Aspire 5 is pleasantly quiet for the most part because the fans are either not spinning or barely audible. But the cooling system revs up a little from time to time, which is somewhat unnecessary in our opinion (particularly when the laptop is running simple tasks).
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 25 / 29 / 31 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 46 / 47 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 25 dB(A) | ||
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 i5-1240P, GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile | Honor MagicBook 14 2022 i5-12500H, GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile | Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC i7-12650H, GeForce RTX 3050 4GB Laptop GPU | Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI i7-10750H, GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Mobile | Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE i7-10750H, GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise | 6% | -2% | -15% | 5% | |
| off / environment * | 25 | 24.3 3% | 23.9 4% | 27.7 -11% | 24.9 -0% |
| Idle Minimum * | 25 | 24.3 3% | 24 4% | 34.2 -37% | 24.9 -0% |
| Idle Average * | 29 | 24.3 16% | 24 17% | 36 -24% | 24.9 14% |
| Idle Maximum * | 31 | 24.3 22% | 32.3 -4% | 36.6 -18% | 30.8 1% |
| Load Average * | 46 | 39.8 13% | 43.7 5% | 44.3 4% | 41.9 9% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 42 | 45.4 -8% | 53.4 -27% | 47.9 -14% | 41.9 -0% |
| Load Maximum * | 47 | 50.6 -8% | 53.6 -14% | 49.3 -5% | 41.7 11% |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
The heat generation is similar to that of other multimedia laptops. After our 60-minute stress test (running FurMark and Prime95), temperatures reached up to 43°C (109°F) at the top and 48°C (118°F) at the bottom. Whilst these values are not optimal, they are acceptable as long as you don't place the device on your lap. At idle, the entire chassis stayed nice and cool at below 30°C (86°F).
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 43 °C / 109 F, compared to the average of 36.9 °C / 98 F, ranging from 21.1 to 71 °C for the class Multimedia.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 48 °C / 118 F, compared to the average of 39.1 °C / 102 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 24.7 °C / 76 F, compared to the device average of 31.2 °C / 88 F.
(±) Playing The Witcher 3, the average temperature for the upper side is 33.9 °C / 93 F, compared to the device average of 31.2 °C / 88 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 31 °C / 87.8 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.8 °C / 83.8 F (-2.2 °C / -4 F).
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 i5-1240P, GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile | Honor MagicBook 14 2022 i5-12500H, GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile | Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC i7-12650H, GeForce RTX 3050 4GB Laptop GPU | Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI i7-10750H, GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Mobile | Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE i7-10750H, GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | -3% | 9% | -8% | 15% | |
| Maximum Upper Side * | 43 | 44.6 -4% | 43.4 -1% | 46.2 -7% | 39.8 7% |
| Maximum Bottom * | 48 | 51.6 -8% | 44.4 7% | 53.6 -12% | 36.5 24% |
| Idle Upper Side * | 26 | 26.1 -0% | 21.2 18% | 27.4 -5% | 22.9 12% |
| Idle Bottom * | 27 | 26.8 1% | 24 11% | 28.6 -6% | 23 15% |
* ... smaller is better
Stress test
The CPU, in particular, struggled during the stress test. Whilst the GeForce RTX 2050 even managed to boost its clock speed slightly (approx. 920 MHz), the Core i5-1240P throttled down to just 900 MHz (P-cores) and 700 MHz (E-cores). CPU and GPU temperatures reached around 60°C (140°F) during the test.
Speakers
The sound quality of the built-in 2.0 speaker system is more on the average side. It is especially lacking in bass, as is typical of laptop speakers. The maximum volume (72 dB) could also be better.
Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (72 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 20.9% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (13.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.3% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (4.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.9% away from median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (8.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (19.4% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 57% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 35% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 42% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 50% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Honor MagicBook 14 2022 audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (82.4 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 19% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (10.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.8% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1.7% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (14% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 24% of all tested devices in this class were better, 3% similar, 73% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 13% of all tested devices were better, 3% similar, 84% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Power management
Power consumption
The graphics switching (Nvidia Optimus) helps ensure that the Aspire 5 runs fairly efficiently at idle. With idle power consumption of 4 to 13 watts, the device doesn't have to shy away from the competition at all. Our power usage monitor revealed that the laptop requires between 60 and 70 watts of power when running 3D graphics. This level of power consumption can be considered average and won't overload the power adapter.
| Off / Standby | 0.3 / Watt |
| Idle | 4 / 8 / 13 Watt |
| Load |
62 / 70 Watt |
   
| |
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 i5-1240P, GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile | Honor MagicBook 14 2022 i5-12500H, GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile | Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC i7-12650H, GeForce RTX 3050 4GB Laptop GPU | Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI i7-10750H, GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Mobile | Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE i7-10750H, GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile | Average of class Multimedia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | -25% | -121% | -63% | -44% | -47% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 4 | 4.5 -13% | 9.2 -130% | 5.7 -43% | 6.9 -73% | 7.29 ? -82% |
| Idle Average * | 8 | 10.1 -26% | 15.9 -99% | 9.3 -16% | 10 -25% | 11.7 ? -46% |
| Idle Maximum * | 13 | 10.5 19% | 29.5 -127% | 20.9 -61% | 12.6 3% | 14.5 ? -12% |
| Load Average * | 62 | 83.2 -34% | 124.8 -101% | 105.1 -70% | 96 -55% | 77.7 ? -25% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 60 | 85 -42% | 129.2 -115% | 94.5 -58% | 75 -25% | |
| Load Maximum * | 70 | 107.1 -53% | 178.4 -155% | 160.8 -130% | 134 -91% | 120.2 ? -72% |
* ... smaller is better
Power consumption Witcher 3 / Stress test
Energieaufnahme mit externem Monitor
Battery life
The Aspire 5 boasts great battery life despite only having a 50 Wh battery. It is able to last roughly 7 hours when used for browsing the web over Wi-Fi (display brightness at 150 cd/m²). This level of battery life is only surpassed by the Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 (70 Wh, approx. 9 hours) and Honor MagicBook 14 (75 Wh, approx. 11 hours) due to their larger batteries.
| Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 i5-1240P, GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile, 50 Wh | Honor MagicBook 14 2022 i5-12500H, GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile, 75 Wh | Asus TUF Dash F15 FX517ZC i7-12650H, GeForce RTX 3050 4GB Laptop GPU, 76 Wh | Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI i7-10750H, GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Mobile, 48 Wh | Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 15IMH05 82DS000VGE i7-10750H, GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile, 70 Wh | Average of class Multimedia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | 32% | -43% | -19% | 20% | 16% | |
| Reader / Idle | 947 | 797 -16% | 1543 63% | 933 ? -1% | ||
| WiFi v1.3 | 424 | 665 57% | 241 -43% | 271 -36% | 539 27% | 569 ? 34% |
| Load | 84 | 90 7% | 81 -4% | 59 -30% | 97.6 ? 16% | |
| H.264 | 755 | 834 | 698 ? |
Pros
Cons
Verdict
Unfortunately, it is apparent that the manufacturer has cut some corners on the Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 to reduce costs.
In our opinion, such a dark and dull display has no business on a laptop that costs 1,000 Euro (US$1,030). Similarly, the chassis (keyword: sturdiness) and input devices (spongey feedback) don't fully justify the product's asking price. The GeForce RTX 2050 also isn't exactly going to wow anybody. The graphics card's TGP of 35 watts prevents it from reaching its full potential.
Some positive things worth highlighting about the Aspire 5 include its excellent battery life, its low power consumption, the empty M.2 slot and the presence of a Thunderbolt 4 port.
Nevertheless, we would recommend that you look at other devices with similar specs in this price range, such as the Honor MagicBook 14 – a laptop that has fewer slip-ups and offers better quality.
Price and availability
The Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G is available from Amazon and will set you back around 1,000 Euro (US$1,030), depending on the configuration.
Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8
-
09/21/2022 v7
Florian Glaser
More articles related to this device
Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G-53N8 (Aspire 5 A515 Series)Related Articles
Pricecompare
