Acer Aspire E15 Start ES1-512-P1SM Notebook Review

The 15.6-inch screen in the Aspire ES1-512 has a resolution of 1366x768 pixels, common for this category. Other screen options are not offered, even for a surcharge ex-factory. Compared with the former Aspire ES1-511, the approximately 22% higher maximum brightness of 228 cd/m² in the new laptop is a positive feature. However, in battery mode it is reduced almost imperceptibly to the level of the older model. Although some competitors, such as HP's 350 G1 with a maximum of 250 cd/m², can serve with a slightly better brightness, the brightness can still be called appropriate for the price range. The relatively homogeneous illumination and the screen's matte surface is also compelling. The contrast of 356:1 and black level of 0.63 cd/m² are roughly on par with the rates of the comparison devices.

Intel's Pentium N3540 from the Bay Trail M platform powers the Aspire ES1-512-P1SM. Its four Silvermont cores clock at up to 2.66 GHz, but its base speed is lower at 2.16 GHz. The Atom chip introduced to the market mid 2014 has a TDP of 7.5 watts. The rivals with AMD's A6-6310 or Intel's Haswell ULV Pentium 3558U processor are specified with a TDP of 15 watts.

Twice as many execution units enable the Bay Trail Pentium to surpass the Haswell model in Cinebench R15. Thanks to the virtually consistent Turbo utilization, both the Celeron N2930 SoC in the former Aspire model and the dual-core processor in Asus' X551MAV are defeated. Then again, AMD's A6-6310 is on par with Intel's N3540. It is also interesting that the older Pentium N3540 clearly outperforms Intel's Atom x7-Z8700 based on the Bay Trail successor generation, Cherry Trail, in Microsoft's Surface 3. Whether this is due to the somewhat higher maximum clock or the TDP limitation of a passively cooled tablet will be seen in future laptop tests. However, a clear performance advantage of the new chip generation is not evident.

The single-core tests show a similar CPU ranking, although the Haswell-based Pentium 3558U ascends to the top of the test field owing to its very high single-core performance.

The scores from the PCMark 7 tools give an overview of the laptop's general performance. In addition to the processor's speed, the program focuses particularly on the performance of the installed storage device. Therefore, it is not very surprising that the combination of Intel's Atom CPU and the conventional hard drive achieves a below-average result. For example, HP's 350 G1 competitor achieves 21% higher scores because the installed Intel Pentium 3558U has a significantly higher single-core performance. It looks even better in Lenovo's IdeaPad G50-45 whose hybrid hard drive benefits from its SSD cache.

The conventional hard drive with a capacity of 500 GB from Western Digital achieves typical rates for a model that spins with 5400 revolutions per minute in both CrystalDiskMark and HDTune. Lenovo's IdeaPad G50-45 that comes with an SSHD proves that more is possible even in this low price range.

The processor-integrated graphics core, Intel HD Graphics (Bay Trail), supports DirectX and is specified with a maximum clock of up to 896 MHz. However, the Aspire ES-512-P1SM does not completely utilize this headroom. The GPU reached a maximum speed of 860 MHz in the test. Therefore, it is not surprising that the 3DMark 11 and 3DMark (2013) benchmarks scores are on par with the slow Celeron chip in the tested precursor (max. GPU frequency: 854 MHz), although the rates at least remain stable in battery mode. The graphics unit integrated in the Haswell ULV Pentium 3558U CPU, and even more so the AMD competition achieve a considerably higher performance.

The comparison to the Bay Trail successor generation, Cherry Trail, is again interesting. Its integrated GPU is based on a newer graphics architecture. The HD Graphics (Cherry Trail) in the Surface 3 achieves a twice as high score in 3DMark 11 compared with the graphics core in the current Aspire ES-512. In contrast to the CPU's performance, clear progress is evident in this sector.

Since the review sample is an entry-level office laptop, rendering games will not be a key aspect. While casual games in the browser or games from the Windows Store should run without problems, smooth frame rates should not be expected from newer games even in minimum settings. Rivals equipped with AMD APUs or Haswell-based processors are better for this purpose, and can render “Tomb Raider” relatively smoothly at least in minimum settings. The graphics unit of the Cherry Trail SoC, Intel Atom x7-Z8700 in Microsoft's Surface 3, plays in the same league as the latter two alternatives.

System Noise

Overall, the Aspire's noise development can be called moderate. Although the fan is always audible in quiet surroundings, even while idling, its noise and that of the hard drive remain unobtrusively in the background. As expected, the cooling gets slightly louder under full load. However, a maximum noise level of 36.5 dB(A) in the stress test is not distracting. Furthermore, the low frequency of the operating noise is a positive improvement. However, the competition shines with equally good rates.

The speakers on the device's underside have a sufficient maximum volume and reproduce speech clearly. These, together with the installed microphone and webcam are sufficient for video conferencing. However, they are not as suitable for enjoying multimedia contents or music. The sound is always tinny and there are no audible low ranges. The resulting, unnatural-sounding playback also lacks any surround feeling. On the positive side however, there are no audible distortions even in high volumes.

Power Consumption

Compared with the Aspire ES-512's precursor that was also tested with a quad-core SoC from the Bay Trail M generation, only minor savings are seen in standby and idle mode. This is different under load where the stronger Pentium processor consumes slightly more power than the Celeron in the ES-511. However, the laptop is very frugal with a maximum power consumption of 20 watts. The included 45-watt power supply is consequently generously sized.

With a battery life of almost 6 hours in the real-life Wi-Fi test, the Aspire ES-512 clearly places itself ahead of most entry-level devices from other manufacturers. Only the in-house rivals last even longer. However, this is not surprising since Acer has installed a 3-cell battery with 37 Wh in its latest model, while the previously tested Aspire ES-511 still featured a 4 cell battery with 53 Wh. Our new, more demanding test procedure in version 1.3 also contributes to the determined difference. Nevertheless, the possible battery life is extremely good for a device from the under 300 Euros (~$330) price range.