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Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii Notebook Review Update

Maxwell upgrade. The GeForce GTX 850M graphics core equips the Aspire with considerable gaming performance. At the same time, the good battery life and the slim, elegant casing can be maintained. Whether Acer has designed the optimal all-round notebook will be shown in the following review.

For the original German review, see here.

The Acer Aspire V3-573G is one of the most popular notebooks on the market. The notebookcheck forum alone has over 500 entries related to the device. After last year's Aspire version (Core i5-4200UGeForce GT 750M) with the Kepler graphics core, the updated version with the Maxwell graphics core GeForce GTX 850M is tested. In the following review you will see whether the device can take advantage of the new GPU.

Competitors of the Aspire offer 15.6-inch all-round notebooks within a price range of 700 to 800 Euros (~$926 to ~$1059), such as the Asus F550LN-CN89H (Core i7-4500UGeForce 840M) for example. 

Since the two Aspire models are identically constructed, we are not going to mention the casing, equipment, input devices and speakers. Corresponding information can be retrieved from the Aspire model that has already been tested.

Display

Concerning the display, nothing has changed. Acer still relies on a matte 15.6-inch display with Full HD resolution. With a brightness of 305.7 cd/m², the Aspire can even top its predecessor (278.4 cd/m²). The display of the F550LN (166.4 cd/m²; Full HD) does not even come close to these values. 

292
cd/m²
318
cd/m²
294
cd/m²
284
cd/m²
326
cd/m²
303
cd/m²
308
cd/m²
309
cd/m²
317
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
AU Optronics B156HAN01.2 tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 326 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 305.7 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 87 %
Center on Battery: 326 cd/m²
Contrast: 582:1 (Black: 0.56 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 3.2 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 3.65 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
58% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
64.6% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
89.7% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
63.4% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.29
Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii
GeForce GTX 850M, 4210U, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive
Acer Aspire V5-573G-54208G50aii
GeForce GT 750M, 4200U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142
Asus F550LN-CN89H
GeForce 840M, 4500U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
Dell Inspiron 15-5547
Radeon R7 M265, 4210U, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-75JC3T0
Display
0%
-34%
-38%
Display P3 Coverage
63.4
64.1
1%
40.82
-36%
38.84
-39%
sRGB Coverage
89.7
89
-1%
61.2
-32%
57.8
-36%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
64.6
64.6
0%
42.2
-35%
40.19
-38%
Screen
6%
-20%
-46%
Brightness middle
326
287
-12%
178
-45%
191
-41%
Brightness
306
278
-9%
166
-46%
178
-42%
Brightness Distribution
87
77
-11%
81
-7%
86
-1%
Black Level *
0.56
0.24
57%
0.41
27%
0.25
55%
Contrast
582
1196
105%
434
-25%
764
31%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
3.2
4.8
-50%
4.36
-36%
8.94
-179%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
3.65
5
-37%
3.35
8%
9.43
-158%
Gamma
2.29 96%
2.7 81%
2.36 93%
2.46 89%
CCT
6685 97%
6360 102%
6991 93%
11093 59%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
58
61
5%
39
-33%
37.16
-36%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
3% / 4%
-27% / -24%
-42% / -44%

* ... smaller is better

Aspire vs. sRGB
Aspire vs. sRGB
Aspire vs. AdobeRGB
Aspire vs. AdobeRGB

Contrast (582:1) and black level (0.56 cd/m²) of the screen are acceptable; however, we expected more. A closer look at the predecessor (1196:1, 0.24 cd/m²) shows what could have been possible. Also in terms of contrast and black level, the screen of the F550LN (434:1, 0.41 cd/m²) cannot keep up with either Acer model. The display of the Aspire is not capable of displaying the AdobeRGB and sRGB color spaces. Coverage rates are 78% (sRGB) and 58% (AdobeRGB).

However, the display shows good color values. The average DeltaE 2000 deviation is 3.2 at delivery condition, which means that it only just misses the targeted DeltaE (smaller than 3). The display does not show any blue cast.

CalMAN - ColorChecker
CalMAN - ColorChecker
CalMAN - Grayscale
CalMAN - Grayscale
CalMAN - Color Saturation
CalMAN - Color Saturation

Thanks to the matte and bright display, outdoor use is also possible. Acer uses an IPS panel for its Aspire. Therefore, the user does not have to deal with limited viewing angles. The display can be read from every position.

Outdoor use of the Aspire
Outdoor use of the Aspire
Aspire viewing angles
Aspire viewing angles

Performance

The Aspire V5-573G from Acer is a 15.6-inch all-round notebook. The available processing power allows for simple tasks such as browsing, typing or Skyping and also for current 3D games. Our test device can be purchased for 800 Euros (~$1059). If one does not need Windows as the operating system and if a smaller hard drive is sufficient (500 GB) then the laptop can be bought for 700 Euros (~$926). Also, the predecessor with GeForce GT 750M is still available and can be purchased for 580 Euros (~$767, without Windows OS).

CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
GPU-Z
GPU-Z
HWInfo
System information for the Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii

Processor

Core i5-4210U processor is used for the Aspire. This Haswell dual-core processor works at basic speeds of 1.7 GHz. Via Turbo, the speed can be increased to 2.4 (two cores) or 2.7 GHz (only one core). The CPU has a TDP of 15 Watt. Full processing power of the CPU is not entirely available in grid operation. The single-thread tests of the Cinebench benchmarks are performed with 2.4 GHz, the multi-thread tests with 2.2 to 2.3 GHz. When running on battery only, both tests are performed with 1.7 GHz. The Turbo is then not used. Accordingly, the results are lower (Cinebench R11.5: Single - 0.76; Multi - 1.82).

Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit
3831
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
7730
Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit
6463
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single CPUs 64Bit
5113 Points
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 64Bit
10087 Points
Cinebench R10 Shading 64Bit
6488 Points
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
2.41 Points
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit
1.17 Points
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
42.59 fps
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
69.7 fps
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
99.6 %
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
226 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
103 Points
Help
Cinebench R11.5 - CPU Single 64Bit (sort by value)
Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii
GeForce GTX 850M, 4210U, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive
1.17 Points
Dell Inspiron 15-5547
Radeon R7 M265, 4210U, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-75JC3T0
1.03 Points -12%
Acer Aspire V5-573G-54208G50aii
GeForce GT 750M, 4200U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142
1.13 Points -3%
Asus X550LB-NH52
GeForce GT 740M, 4200U, Seagate Momentus ST750LM022 HN-M750MB
1.15 Points -2%
Asus F550LN-CN89H
GeForce 840M, 4500U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
1.32 Points +13%
Asus F550LN-CN89H
GeForce 840M, 4500U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
1.32 Points +13%
Lenovo IdeaPad Y50-70 59-427489
GeForce GTX 860M, 4710HQ, Western Digital WD10S21X SSHD 1TB + 8GB SSD-Cache
1.56 Points +33%
Cinebench R11.5 - CPU Multi 64Bit (sort by value)
Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii
GeForce GTX 850M, 4210U, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive
2.41 Points
Dell Inspiron 15-5547
Radeon R7 M265, 4210U, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-75JC3T0
2.11 Points -12%
Acer Aspire V5-573G-54208G50aii
GeForce GT 750M, 4200U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142
2.45 Points +2%
Asus X550LB-NH52
GeForce GT 740M, 4200U, Seagate Momentus ST750LM022 HN-M750MB
2.5 Points +4%
Asus F550LN-CN89H
GeForce 840M, 4500U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
2.93 Points +22%
Asus F550LN-CN89H
GeForce 840M, 4500U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
2.93 Points +22%
Lenovo IdeaPad Y50-70 59-427489
GeForce GTX 860M, 4710HQ, Western Digital WD10S21X SSHD 1TB + 8GB SSD-Cache
5.9 Points +145%

System Performance

The system works smoothly and Windows boots relatively fast. This subjective impression is encouraged by good to excellent results in the PCMark benchmarks. The excellent result in the PCMark 7 benchmark is due to the hybrid hard drive (hard drive with integrated SSD cache).

PCMark 7 Score
3935 points
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
3046 points
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2
3238 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
3581 points
Help
PCMark 8 - Home Score Accelerated v2 (sort by value)
Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii
GeForce GTX 850M, 4210U, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive
3046 Points
Asus F550LN-CN89H
GeForce 840M, 4500U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
2844 Points -7%
Dell Inspiron 15-5547
Radeon R7 M265, 4210U, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-75JC3T0
3340 Points +10%

Storage Devices

Owners of the Aspire will surely not lack sufficient disk space.  The integrated Seagate hybrid hard drive has a capacity of 1 TB. It works at 5,400 rpm. For a faster start up of frequently used applications, an integrated SSD cache (8 GB) is used. The measured transfer rates can be considered good and are within what we can find in a 5,400 hard drive nowadays.

Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive
Transfer Rate Minimum: 55.7 MB/s
Transfer Rate Maximum: 116.5 MB/s
Transfer Rate Average: 93.4 MB/s
Access Time: 17.9 ms
Burst Rate: 211.6 MB/s
CPU Usage: 2.3 %

Graphics Card

The graphics consist of an Optimus combination of the Intel HD Graphics 4400 and the GeForce GTX 850M graphics core. Grid operation and daily use applications are dealt with by the Intel chip, whereas the GeForce chip is used for more demanding applications such as computer games. Both cores support at least DirectX 11. The GeForce core is a GPU mid-class core. It works at a basic speed of 876 MHz. Via Turbo, the speed can be increased to 1,084 MHz. The results of the 3DMark benchmarks are within the expected range. The notebooks with GeForce GTX 850M cores that we have tested so far show better overall results since they are equipped with more powerful mobile processors (two or four cores, no ULV). The Aspire outperforms by far its predecessor, which is equipped with a GeForce GT 750M graphics core.

3DMark 06 Standard Score
14528 points
3DMark 11 Performance
3834 points
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score
45226 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
7761 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
2506 points
Help
3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance (sort by value)
Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii
GeForce GTX 850M, 4210U, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive
3834 Points
Asus X550LB-NH52
GeForce GT 740M, 4200U, Seagate Momentus ST750LM022 HN-M750MB
1819 Points -53%
Dell Inspiron 15-5547
Radeon R7 M265, 4210U, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-75JC3T0
1934 Points -50%
Asus F550LN-CN89H
GeForce 840M, 4500U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
2385 Points -38%
Acer Aspire V5-573G-54208G50aii
GeForce GT 750M, 4200U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142
2462 Points -36%
Lenovo IdeaPad Y50-70 59-427489
GeForce GTX 860M, 4710HQ, Western Digital WD10S21X SSHD 1TB + 8GB SSD-Cache
5046 Points +32%

Gaming Performance

No question: The Aspire can handle computer games. Most games can be played smoothly in HD resolution and high quality settings. The full display resolution, however, can only be used for certain games. In combination with a more powerful two or four-core processor (no ULV), higher frame rates could be achieved. In comparison to the Aspire version with GeForce GT 750M graphics core, significant improvements of the gaming performance can be noted.

low med. high ultra
Hitman: Absolution (2012) 39.5 37.2 33.9 25.9
Tomb Raider (2013) 181.1 112.6 62.4 30.4
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (2013) 63.5 54.9 29.9
BioShock Infinite (2013) 108.4 78.2 67.4 25.4
Company of Heroes 2 (2013) 38.7 34.6 26.8 10.7
Saints Row IV (2013) 52.2 43.8 30.6 20.6
Total War: Rome II (2013) 84.1 70.1 60.1 16.8
F1 2013 (2013) 75 72 46
Batman: Arkham Origins (2013) 138 101 54 28
Battlefield 4 (2013) 78 59.9 45.2 18.9
X-Plane 10.25 (2013) 73.3 35 18.6 13.3
Thief (2014) 38.8 30.8 27 15.2
Wolfenstein: The New Order (2014) 56.3 56.4 33.5 25.6
GRID: Autosport (2014) 75.5 45.2 25.7
Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii
GeForce GTX 850M, 4210U, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive
Acer Aspire V5-573G-54208G50aii
GeForce GT 750M, 4200U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142
Asus F550LN-CN89H
GeForce 840M, 4500U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
Dell Inspiron 15-5547
Radeon R7 M265, 4210U, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-75JC3T0
Asus N750JK-T4042H
GeForce GTX 850M, 4700HQ, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
Tomb Raider
-40%
-51%
-67%
16%
1366x768 Normal Preset AA:FX AF:4x
112.6
65.4
-42%
58.8
-48%
34.2
-70%
123
9%
1366x768 High Preset AA:FX AF:8x
62.4
39.8
-36%
29.2
-53%
21.1
-66%
85
36%
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:FX AF:16x
30.4
17.9
-41%
10.6
-65%
31
2%
BioShock Infinite
-39%
-43%
-64%
22%
1366x768 Medium Preset
78.2
51.2
-35%
47.5
-39%
32
-59%
102
30%
1366x768 High Preset
67.4
43.62
-35%
38.4
-43%
25
-63%
84
25%
1920x1080 Ultra Preset, DX11 (DDOF)
25.4
13.18
-48%
13.4
-47%
8
-69%
28
10%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
-40% / -40%
-47% / -46%
-66% / -65%
19% / 19%

Emissions

System Noise

There is almost no noise generation in idle mode. The fan is quiet and the hard drive is only audible in very quiet environments. As expected, the fan cranks up as soon as more computing power is required. After all, a more performing graphics core is used. The resulting noise is just acceptable. The user is spared from high frequency sounds. Overall, the fan is to some extent quieter than the previously tested Aspire version

Noise Level

Idle
30 / 30 / 30.6 dB(A)
HDD
30.3 dB(A)
Load
39.7 / 40 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   Voltcraft sl-320 (15 cm distance)
Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii
GeForce GTX 850M, 4210U, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive
Acer Aspire V5-573G-54208G50aii
GeForce GT 750M, 4200U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142
Asus F550LN-CN89H
GeForce 840M, 4500U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
Dell Inspiron 15-5547
Radeon R7 M265, 4210U, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-75JC3T0
Lenovo IdeaPad Y50-70 59-427489
GeForce GTX 860M, 4710HQ, Western Digital WD10S21X SSHD 1TB + 8GB SSD-Cache
Noise
-7%
0%
3%
-7%
Idle Minimum *
30
30.8
-3%
31.2
-4%
29
3%
31
-3%
Idle Average *
30
33.3
-11%
31.2
-4%
29
3%
32
-7%
Idle Maximum *
30.6
33.3
-9%
31.6
-3%
29
5%
32.8
-7%
Load Average *
39.7
40.9
-3%
34.2
14%
36.5
8%
40
-1%
Load Maximum *
40
43.6
-9%
41.1
-3%
41.6
-4%
46
-15%

* ... smaller is better

Temperature

Stress test of the Aspire
Stress test of the Aspire

Ambient temperature of the Aspire is consistently okay in idle mode. During the stress test, things change: temperature exceeds the 50 °C level at several measuring points and the device cannot be put on the thighs anymore. Ambient temperature is in general lower than for the Aspire version with GeForce GT 750M graphics core. 

The stress test (Prime95 and Furmark running for at least 1 hour) is performed at full speed (1,084 MHz) both in grid operation and when running on battery only. The CPU performs the stress test with 1.7 GHZ. When running on battery only, it is regularly reduced to 800 MHz. CPU temperature levels off at around 80 °C (during stress test in grid operation). 

Max. Load
 50.8 °C
123 F
52.3 °C
126 F
47.7 °C
118 F
 
 46.8 °C
116 F
52 °C
126 F
45.3 °C
114 F
 
 29.4 °C
85 F
34.1 °C
93 F
32.4 °C
90 F
 
Maximum: 52.3 °C = 126 F
Average: 43.4 °C = 110 F
44.8 °C
113 F
50.2 °C
122 F
46.1 °C
115 F
38.3 °C
101 F
47 °C
117 F
40.9 °C
106 F
36.1 °C
97 F
34.1 °C
93 F
32.4 °C
90 F
Maximum: 50.2 °C = 122 F
Average: 41.1 °C = 106 F
Power Supply (max.)  59.6 °C = 139 F | Room Temperature 24 °C = 75 F | Voltcraft IR-900
(-) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 43.4 °C / 110 F, compared to the average of 31.2 °C / 88 F for the devices in the class Multimedia.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 52.3 °C / 126 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 50.2 °C / 122 F, compared to the average of 39.1 °C / 102 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28.4 °C / 83 F, compared to the device average of 31.2 °C / 88 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are reaching skin temperature as a maximum (34.1 °C / 93.4 F) and are therefore not hot.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.8 °C / 83.8 F (-5.3 °C / -9.6 F).
Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii
GeForce GTX 850M, 4210U, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive
Acer Aspire V5-573G-54208G50aii
GeForce GT 750M, 4200U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142
Asus F550LN-CN89H
GeForce 840M, 4500U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
Dell Inspiron 15-5547
Radeon R7 M265, 4210U, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-75JC3T0
Lenovo IdeaPad Y50-70 59-427489
GeForce GTX 860M, 4710HQ, Western Digital WD10S21X SSHD 1TB + 8GB SSD-Cache
Heat
-12%
18%
12%
0%
Maximum Upper Side *
52.3
57.9
-11%
42
20%
40.4
23%
57.6
-10%
Maximum Bottom *
50.2
62.1
-24%
38.5
23%
51.2
-2%
52.9
-5%
Idle Upper Side *
31.3
33.5
-7%
28.2
10%
28.6
9%
29.9
4%
Idle Bottom *
33.9
35.3
-4%
27
20%
28.5
16%
29.7
12%

* ... smaller is better

Energy Management

Power Consumption

In idle mode, the Aspire requires quite some power: an intake of 17.4 Watt is too much. From other notebooks with Haswell ULV processors, we are used to values lower than 10 Watt. Under load, values are within the usual range. All values have been determined with switched-on keyboard light. 

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.1 / 0.3 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 7.2 / 11.3 / 17.4 Watt
Load midlight 54 / 85.9 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Voltcraft VC 940
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii
GeForce GTX 850M, 4210U, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive
Acer Aspire V5-573G-54208G50aii
GeForce GT 750M, 4200U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142
Asus F550LN-CN89H
GeForce 840M, 4500U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
Dell Inspiron 15-5547
Radeon R7 M265, 4210U, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-75JC3T0
Lenovo IdeaPad Y50-70 59-427489
GeForce GTX 860M, 4710HQ, Western Digital WD10S21X SSHD 1TB + 8GB SSD-Cache
Power Consumption
3%
35%
48%
-25%
Idle Minimum *
7.2
5
31%
3.5
51%
5.6
22%
Idle Average *
11.3
11
3%
8.4
26%
5
56%
11.3
-0%
Idle Maximum *
17.4
11.2
36%
8.4
52%
6.1
65%
27.5
-58%
Load Average *
54
73.3
-36%
35.4
34%
37.3
31%
83.4
-54%
Load Maximum *
85.9
77.5
10%
58.7
32%
55.7
35%
118
-37%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

The battery lasts for 10:24 h in idle mode. The F550LN battery (7:17 h) definitely performs less. Idle mode is checked through the Battery Eater Reader's test. The display is set to lowest brightness, energy-saver mode is active and the radio modules are switched off. Under load, the Aspire performs for 2:39 h. Again, the F550LN (1:14 h) cannot keep up. Battery life under full load is determined with the Battery Eater Classic test. The display is set to highest brightness; high performance mode and radio modules are active. 

The Wi-Fi test is finished after 5:46 h. Again, the F550LN (3:50 h) cannot keep up. During this test, websites are automatically accessed within a 40-second interval. Energy-saver mode is active and display brightness is set to around 150 cd/m². Video playback is tested with a continuous loop of the short movie Big Buck Bunny (H.264-encoding, 1920x1080 pixels). Energy-saver mode is active, radio modules are deactivated and display brightness is set to around 150 cd/m². The Aspire performs for 5:35 h. This test was not done for the F550LN.

Overall, the Aspire has a good battery life. Especially during the Wi-Fi and video tests, the Aspire performs very well. In parts, the Aspire can beat its predecessor in terms of battery life.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
10h 24min
WiFi Surfing
5h 46min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
5h 35min
Load (maximum brightness)
2h 39min
Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii
GeForce GTX 850M, 4210U, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive
Acer Aspire V5-573G-54208G50aii
GeForce GT 750M, 4200U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142
Asus F550LN-CN89H
GeForce 840M, 4500U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
Dell Inspiron 15-5547
Radeon R7 M265, 4210U, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-75JC3T0
Lenovo IdeaPad Y50-70 59-427489
GeForce GTX 860M, 4710HQ, Western Digital WD10S21X SSHD 1TB + 8GB SSD-Cache
Battery Runtime
-4%
-39%
-18%
-12%
Reader / Idle
624
527
-16%
437
-30%
489
-22%
584
-6%
H.264
335
312
-7%
WiFi
346
429
24%
230
-34%
373
8%
285
-18%
Load
159
125
-21%
74
-53%
77
-52%

Verdict

The Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii
The Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii

The Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii is a Maxwell upgrade of an already existing notebook, so that all advantages of the Aspire are preserved. The new graphics core allows for a significant boost in terms of gaming performance. The version with the GeForce GT 750M graphics core clearly cannot keep up. But other improvements can be noted as well: the new Aspire model warms up slightly less, it works more quietly and has a better overall battery life. 

Even though the F550LN-CN89H (Core i7-4500UGeForce 840M) is, with a price of 750 Euros (~$992), within the same range as the Aspire, it is no real competition. It has a significantly worse display (no IPS), a lower battery life and a worse gaming performance.  

Another hint: the Aspire predecessor with GeForce GT 750M graphics core is currently available for 580 Euros (~$767, without Windows as operating system) and is therefore a hot deal.

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In review: Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii (NX.MQ4EG.001). Test model provided by Acer Germany.
In review: Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii (NX.MQ4EG.001). Test model provided by Acer Germany.

Specifications

Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii (Aspire V5 Series)
Processor
Intel Core i5-4210U 2 x 1.7 - 2.7 GHz, Haswell
Graphics adapter
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M - 4 GB VRAM, Core: 1084 MHz, GDDR3, ForceWare 332.91, Optimus
Memory
8 GB 
, DDR3, Dual-Channel, one memory bank (used), 4 GB directly soldered to the board
Display
15.60 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel, AU Optronics B156HAN01.2, IPS, glossy: no
Mainboard
Intel Lynx Point-LP
Storage
Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive, 1000 GB 
, 5400 rpm, 850 GB free
Soundcard
Intel Lynx Point-LP - High Definition Audio Controller
Connections
2 USB 2.0, 1 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 HDMI, 1 DisplayPort, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm combo, Card Reader: SD
Networking
Realtek RTL8168/8111 Gigabit-LAN (10/100/1000MBit/s), Intel Dual Band Wireless-N 7260 (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/), Bluetooth 4.0
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 20.75 x 381.6 x 255.9 ( = 0.82 x 15.02 x 10.07 in)
Battery
53 Wh Lithium-Polymer
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64 Bit
Camera
Webcam: HD-Webcam
Additional features
Speakers: Stereo, Keyboard: Chiclet, Keyboard Light: yes, Acer Video Player, Cyberlink PhotoDirector 3, Cyberlink PowerDirector 10, McAfee LiveSafe - Internet Security (trial version), MS Office 365 (trial version), 24 Months Warranty
Weight
2 kg ( = 70.55 oz / 4.41 pounds), Power Supply: 499.5 g ( = 17.62 oz / 1.1 pounds)
Price
799 Euro

 

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GeForce GTX 850M, Core i5 4200H

Links

Price Comparison

Pros

+Good gaming performance
+Flat, slim casing
+Matte, Full HD screen
+Excellent color display
+Good battery life
+Illuminated keyboard
+A lot of disk space
 

Cons

-Hot under full load
-No maintenance flap

Shortcut

What we like

The good gaming performance, the display, the flat casing.

What we are missing

A maintenance flap. 

What surprises us

Despite the large processing power, it achieves a good battery life. 

The competition

Asus F550LN-CN89H, Asus X550LB-NH52, Dell Inspiron 15-5547, Lenovo IdeaPad Y50-70, MSI GP60-2PEi585, Acer Aspire V5-561G, Toshiba Satellite M50-A-11L.

Rating

Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii - 08/02/2014 v4(old)
Sascha Mölck

Chassis
82 / 98 → 84%
Keyboard
75%
Pointing Device
81%
Connectivity
67 / 81 → 83%
Weight
63 / 20-67 → 91%
Battery
89%
Display
88%
Games Performance
88 / 85 → 100%
Application Performance
74 / 92 → 80%
Temperature
82%
Noise
90 / 95 → 95%
Audio
50%
Camera
40 / 85 → 47%
Average
75%
82%
Multimedia - Weighted Average
Sascha Mölck, 2014-08-11 (Update: 2018-05-15)