Acer Aspire 5 A515-56: Quiet, cool office laptop for a small budget

Acer offers the Acer Aspire 5 A515 - an office laptop in 15.6 inch format - in innumerable configurations ranging from 400 to 900 euros. The model tested here can be had for roughly 500 euros ($518). Tiger Lake processors from Pentium to Core i7 are used across the range. Higher priced models even come with a GeForce MX450 graphics card.

Our review model finds itself in the lower half of the pricing bracket and represents an ideal choice for a simple, affordable office laptop. The CPU manages everyday use (office, internet, streaming) without breaking sweat. To achieve this, you are aided by 8 GB RAM. Memory expansion is possible as the computer has one free memory slot.

The provided mass storage (512 GB SSD, PCIe 3, M.2 2280) ought to be sufficient. If, however, this were not the case, the Aspire can be fitted with an additional 2.5 inch storage medium. A SATA slot and mounting frame can be found within the laptop.

Positive: generally, the laptop operates silently to quietly and hardly warms up. A full battery charge (53 Wh) is sufficient for reading websites over the Wi-Fi network for nearly 8 hours – a reasonable to good value. Pity: the battery can't be charged via USB-C. The matte FHD screen (IPS) won't win any prizes but is entirely appropriate for the price point. The complete package is rounded off by a two year guarantee and a backlit keyboard.

Further information can be found in our full review: Acer Aspire 5 A515-56: Good value office laptop with reasonable battery life