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MagyarAcer Aspire 5 Spin 14 review: The 2-in-1 laptop with an active stylus
Acer's Aspire 5 Spin 14 series consists of 2-in-1 laptops with a 14-inch screen. Within this line-up, Raptor Lake CPUs are used. The present test device is a mid-range model with a Core i5-1335U. Competitors include the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 and the Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1.
possible competitors compared
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 82.2 % | 06/2023 | Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 i5-1335U, Iris Xe G7 80EUs | 1.6 kg | 17.99 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1200 | |
| 83.2 % | 12/2022 | Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 i7-1255U, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.5 kg | 18.9 mm | 14.00" | 2240x1400 | |
| 83.7 % | 06/2022 | Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 i7-1255U, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.6 kg | 17.86 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1200 |
Case & connectivity - The Acer convertible with Thunderbolt 4
The Acer laptop has a well-built, steel gray case with smooth, matte surfaces. The base unit (plastic) and lid (metal back) can be twisted ever so slightly - but nothing too out of the ordinary. Its battery (not glued on) and all the usual innards can be accessed once you remove the bottom part of the case.
The 2-in-1 device features two USB-A ports (USB 3.2 Gen 1) and a USB-C port (Thunderbolt 4). The latter supports Power Delivery and can output a DisplayPort signal. In total, the laptop has two video outputs (1x HDMI, 1x DP). The device doesn't have an SD card reader. Its webcam (2.1 MP, max. 1,920 x 1,080, no cover) is quite acceptable.
Under optimum conditions (no WiFi devices in close vicinity, short distance between the laptop and server PC), the Spin 14 achieved excellent WiFi data rates. The laptop uses a WiFi 6E chip (Intel AX211).
Input devices - an active stylus is included
The back-lit chiclet keyboard's flat, smooth keys have a short lift, clear pressure point and decent key resistance. The slight rocking while typing did not prove to be too annoying. The key imprints are partly difficult to read when the back-lighting is turned off - depending on the viewing angle. A clickpad (approx. 10.5 x 6.5 cm) with a short lift and clear pressure point replaces the need for a mouse.
The touchscreen (ten touch points) responds promptly to inputs. It can be operated with your fingers as well as with the included stylus. The latter has a comfortable feel to it; the pen tip glides smoothly over the screen. The pen is stored in a compartment in the base unit where it is also charged.
Display - The Acer laptop has a dim screen
The glossy touchscreen's brightness and contrast (1,920 x 1,200 pixels, 14 inch, 16:10 format) miss their respective targets (> 300 cd/m² and 1,000:1, respectively). Negative: The maximum brightness drops to below 200 cd/m² in battery mode. On the other hand: The panel does not show any PWM flickering.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 85 %
Center on Battery: 176 cd/m²
Contrast: 922:1 (Black: 0.27 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.95, calibrated: 5.06
ΔE Greyscale 2.86 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
39.8% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
57.3% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
38.5% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.19
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 BOE CQ NV140WUM-N41, IPS, 1920x1200, 14" | Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 BOE CQ NV140DRM-162, IPS, 2240x1400, 14" | Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 BOE NV14N42, IPS, 1920x1200, 14" | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 78% | -1% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 38.5 | 69.8 81% | 38.6 0% |
| sRGB Coverage | 57.3 | 98 71% | 56.2 -2% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 39.8 | 72.2 81% | 39.9 0% |
| Response Times | -65% | -2% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 29 ? | 44.4 ? -53% | 27.2 ? 6% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 19 ? | 33.6 ? -77% | 20.8 ? -9% |
| PWM Frequency | |||
| Screen | 10% | -31% | |
| Brightness middle | 249 | 317.3 27% | 269.4 8% |
| Brightness | 235 | 301 28% | 260 11% |
| Brightness Distribution | 85 | 90 6% | 89 5% |
| Black Level * | 0.27 | 0.22 19% | 0.41 -52% |
| Contrast | 922 | 1442 56% | 657 -29% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 5 | 3.99 20% | 6.53 -31% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 8.32 | 9.34 -12% | 19.76 -138% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 5.06 | 0.6 88% | 3.13 38% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 2.86 | 6.9 -141% | 5.4 -89% |
| Gamma | 2.19 100% | 2.19 100% | 2.05 107% |
| CCT | 6419 101% | 6161 106% | 6007 108% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 8% /
14% | -11% /
-20% |
* ... smaller is better
Straight out of the box, the laptop's screen has decent color depiction. However, with a deviation of around 5, its target (DeltaE < 3) is missed. Calibration leads to more balanced gray tones. The display isn't able to depict the color spaces AdobeRGB (40 per cent), sRGB (58 per cent) or DCI-P3 (39 per cent).
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 19 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 10 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 9 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. » 37 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (21.1 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 29 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 13 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 16 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 34 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (33.2 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 17348 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
Its viewing-angle stable IPS panel remains legible from every angle. Unfortunately, you basically cannot view the screen at all outside. Its low display brightness and reflective surface make this virtually impossible.
Performance - The 2-in-1 laptop with a Raptor Lake processor
Acer's Aspire 5 Spin 14 series is a line-up of various 2-in-1 laptops which use Raptor Lake CPUs with enough power for internet and office uses as well as some frugal games.
Testing conditions
You are able to switch between the three manufacturer-specific performance profiles (see table) via the key combination "Fn" + "F". The profiles "Normal Mode" (benchmarks) and "Silent Mode" (battery test) were used. All three profiles deliver the same CPU and GPU performance.
| Performance mode | Normal mode | Quiet mode | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power Limit 1 (HWInfo) | 28 watts | 25 watts | 28 watts |
| Power Limit 2 (HWInfo) | 55 watts | 50 watts | 55 watts |
Processor
The Core-i5-1335U processor (Raptor Lake) consists of two performance cores (hyperthreading, 1.3-4.6 GHz) and eight efficiency cores (no hyperthreading, 0.9-3.4 GHz). In total, there are 12 logical CPU cores.
During the Cinebench R15 benchmark, the laptop began the multi-thread test with relatively high clock rates (P: 3.9-4 GHz; E: 3 GHz) which quickly sank to 3 GHz (P) and 1.8 GHz (E). The single-thread test was run at 2.4-4.6 GHz (P) and 1-3.2 GHz (E). Its single-thread performance (73 points) and multi-thread performance (570 points) both sank during battery use.
The CB15 loop test showed: Permanent multi-thread load led the turbo clock rate to sink from the first to the second run. Subsequently, it held consistent rates. Using the profile "Performance Mode" did not lead to any improvements.
Cinebench R15 Multi continuous test
| CPU Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Average of class Convertible | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 -1! | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U | |
* ... 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 Convertible | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
| Average of class Convertible (468 - 25226, n=61, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U (5661 - 7809, n=11) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
| Average of class Convertible (2644 - 106512, n=60, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U (29483 - 43636, n=11) | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
| Average of class Convertible (182 - 4764, n=60, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U (1515 - 2278, n=11) | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
| Average of class Convertible (10502 - 120368, n=60, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U (53839 - 60992, n=11) | |
| AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
| Average of class Convertible (659 - 14835, n=60, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U (3873 - 5008, n=11) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
| Average of class Convertible (1420 - 56839, n=60, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U (14376 - 20553, n=11) | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Average of class Convertible (1279 - 169089, n=60, last 2 years) | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U (31154 - 65997, n=11) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
| Average of class Convertible (61.4 - 1088, n=60, last 2 years) | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U (378 - 676, n=11) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
| Average of class Convertible (254 - 13175, n=60, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U (2878 - 4214, n=11) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Average of class Convertible (5136 - 52599, n=60, last 2 years) | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U (13584 - 41123, n=11) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
System performance
The smoothly running system achieved good PCMark results. It provides enough performance for office and internet applications as well as some modest games. The RAM's (LPDDR5-6400) transfer rates were inconsistent: The write rate was about on the expected level, but the read rate clearly lagged behind.
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
| PCMark 10 / Score | |
| Average of class Convertible (1486 - 7963, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (5068 - 5600, n=11) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Average of class Convertible (3975 - 12059, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (9828 - 11912, n=11) | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
| Average of class Convertible (2764 - 10800, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (6196 - 7261, n=11) | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| Average of class Convertible (811 - 12360, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (5361 - 6164, n=11) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| CrossMark / Overall | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Average of class Convertible (310 - 1912, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (1339 - 1599, n=11) | |
| CrossMark / Productivity | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| Average of class Convertible (389 - 1790, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (1337 - 1638, n=11) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| CrossMark / Creativity | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Average of class Convertible (252 - 2183, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (1315 - 1620, n=11) | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (1023 - 1868, n=11) | |
| Average of class Convertible (295 - 1868, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 5216 points | |
Help | ||
| AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
| Average of class Convertible (16353 - 95631, n=60, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U (22417 - 60884, n=11) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Average of class Convertible (12706 - 125359, n=60, last 2 years) | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U (23104 - 61555, n=11) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Average of class Convertible (10177 - 93451, n=60, last 2 years) | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U (22936 - 72584, n=11) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
| Average of class Convertible (7.4 - 173, n=60, last 2 years) | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Average Intel Core i5-1335U (78.6 - 112.8, n=11) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
* ... smaller is better
DPC latency
The standardized latency monitor test (web surfing, 4k video playback, Prime95 high-load) revealed some anomalies. The system does not seem to be suitable for real-time video and audio editing. Future software updates could lead to improvements or even degradations.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage devices
Acer has equipped the Spin 14 with a PCIe 4 SSD (M.2-2280) from Micron, which has a storage capacity of 512 GB and delivers good transfer rates. Negative: Performance drops due to thermal throttling could be observed in the later course of the DiskSpd loop. The convertible does not offer room for additional storage media.
| Drive Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Acer Aspire 5 Spin 14 | |
| Average Micron 2450 512GB MTFDKBA512TFK | |
| Average of class Convertible | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 | |
* ... smaller is better
Reading continuous performance: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
Graphics card
Intel's iGPU (UHD Graphics Xe G7) was able to work consistently at full power (1,250 MHz) - the Witcher 3 test revealed that. The hardware should be able to meet the demands of many modest games - but the Aspire is by no means a gaming laptop. Both the 3DMark results and the frame rates were above the average of the iGPU.
| 3DMark Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Average of class Convertible | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 7i 14IAU7 | |