Acer Aspire E17 E5-721-69FX Notebook Review
For the original German review, see here.
Acer has a basic, 17.3-inch laptop for approximately 470 Euros (~$583) dubbed Aspire E17 E5-721-69FX. The laptop is powered by a Beema APU from AMD, and the laptop also has plenty of storage. Can the desktop computer at home be sent into retirement?
Basically, all 17.3-inch devices for below 500 Euros (~$621) are rivals of the Aspire, for example Toshiba's Satellite C70D-A-10L (AMD A4-5000, Radeon HD 8330). The Satellite version that we tested has been discontinued. Instead, models with an E1-2100 or A6-5200 APU are available. Another contender for the Aspire would be Lenovo's G700 (Pentium 2020M, HD Graphics (Ivy Bridge)). This laptop is available for a price starting at 300 Euros (~$372) without a Windows operating system.
Case & Connectivity
The Aspire's casing is comprised of black plastic. A very subtle brushed metal look is simulated on the base unit's upper side and the lid's back. Unfortunately, the surfaces are quite susceptible to fingerprints. The casing's build and stiffness makes a good impression. Although the base unit can be warped slightly, it is still within an acceptable range. As usual, the lid can be twisted to a greater extent. However, it does not lead to visible image distortions. The hinges keep the lid firmly in position, but opening it with one hand is possible. Regrettably, the Aspire does not feature a maintenance cover. The base unit's upper tray would have to be removed to access the hardware.
Acer installs the nowadays common interfaces. There are no surprises. The user has a total of four USB ports, two of which support the USB 3.0 standard.
The laptop is shipped with preloaded Windows 8.1 (64-bit). There is no recovery DVD, but a corresponding DVD can be created using the preloaded Acer Recovery Management software.
Input Devices
The Aspire is equipped with an unlit chiclet keyboard that corresponds to the familiar Acer layout. A number pad is also installed. The level, lightly roughened keys have a medium drop and clear pressure point that could, however, be a bit crisper. The keyboard yields marginally when typing on it, which is not annoying. The multi-touch ClickPad in the Aspire has a surface area of approximately 10.6 x 7.8 cm. The sleek surface allows the fingers to glide smoothly. Gesture controls can be used without problems. The pad features a short drop and clearly palpable pressure point.
Display
The 17.3-inch, glare-type screen in the Aspire has a native resolution of 1600x900 pixels. Though the brightness of 216.9 cd/m² is not an outstanding rate, it corresponds to the price level. It is likely that the Aspire will be used stationary indoors in view of its size and weight, and thus the brightness should prove sufficient.
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Brightness Distribution: 81 %
Center on Battery: 225 cd/m²
Contrast: 726:1 (Black: 0.31 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 10.86 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.9
ΔE Greyscale 10.5 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
49% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
53.8% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
76% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
52.1% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 1.85
| Acer Aspire E17 E5-721-69FX Radeon R4 (Beema), A6-6310, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0 | Lenovo G700 HD Graphics (Ivy Bridge), 2020M, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142 | Toshiba Satellite C70D-A-10L Radeon HD 8330, A4-5000, Toshiba MQ01ABF050 | Acer Aspire E1-772G 54208G1TMnsk GeForce 820M, 4200M, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0 | HP Pavilion 17-f050ng Radeon R5 (Beema/Carrizo-L), A8-6410, Toshiba MQ01ABF050 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 2% | -4% | 13% | -4% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 52.1 | 53.7 3% | 52.5 1% | 59.8 15% | 51.4 -1% |
| sRGB Coverage | 76 | 75.7 0% | 69.2 -9% | 83.6 10% | 70.9 -7% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 53.8 | 55.3 3% | 50.9 -5% | 61 13% | 51.8 -4% |
| Screen | -26% | -13% | 9% | -25% | |
| Brightness middle | 225 | 241 7% | 261 16% | 333 48% | 238 6% |
| Brightness | 217 | 215 -1% | 240 11% | 322 48% | 227 5% |
| Brightness Distribution | 81 | 83 2% | 79 -2% | 86 6% | 88 9% |
| Black Level * | 0.31 | 0.89 -187% | 0.54 -74% | 0.44 -42% | 0.68 -119% |
| Contrast | 726 | 271 -63% | 483 -33% | 757 4% | 350 -52% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 10.86 | 10.57 3% | 10.72 1% | 10.61 2% | 12.18 -12% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 10.5 | 12.12 -15% | 11.81 -12% | 10.74 -2% | 13.57 -29% |
| Gamma | 1.85 119% | 2.71 81% | 2.1 105% | 3.79 58% | 2.1 105% |
| CCT | 10896 60% | 16424 40% | 13927 47% | 12587 52% | 14690 44% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 49 | 71.15 45% | 44.7 -9% | 53.3 9% | 45.6 -7% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -12% /
-18% | -9% /
-10% | 11% /
10% | -15% /
-19% |
* ... smaller is better
The screen's contrast of 726:1 and black level of 0.31 cd/m² is a nice surprise. Those are good rates that we do not see every day in this price range. However, the color reproduction exactly correlates to the price level. The screen has an average DeltaE 2000 shift of 10.86 in state of delivery. A rate less than 3 would be the target range. Furthermore, the screen exhibits a bluish cast.
The Aspire's TN screen can only offer limited viewing angles. Using the Aspire outdoors would primarily be possible in shade-protected surroundings. The reflections on the screen would otherwise thwart any other plans.
Performance
Acer has a 17.3-inch office laptop in its line with the Aspire E5-721. The laptop is apt for office, Internet, and video rendering applications. Our review sample costs around 470 Euros (~$583), but Acer has other configurations available. The currently lowest-priced model (E5-721-685U) largely corresponds to our review sample but is shipped with a 500 GB hard drive and 4 GB of working memory. A Windows operating system is not preloaded either. It is sold for approximately 350 Euros (~$434).
Processor
An A6-6310 (Beema) APU from AMD is inside the Aspire. The APU's CPU part is comprised of a quad-core processor that clocks with a base speed of 1.8 GHz. It can be accelerated up to 2.4 GHz via Turbo. The APU's TDP is on par with current Intel Haswell ULV CPUs. The performance of AMD's quad-core processor is located between the Haswell Pentium and Haswell Core i3. The processor's full performance is available in AC mode. It processed the single-thread tests of the Cinebench benchmarks with 2.4 GHz and the multi-thread tests with 2.2 to 2.4 GHz. The speeds were throttled to 2 to 2.4 GHz (single-thread) and 1.6 to 2 GHz (multi-thread) in battery mode.
System Performance
The system runs smoothly, as the good PCMark benchmark scores confirm. We did not experience any serious issues, though we could not run newer versions of the HWInfo 64 tool, for example. The laptop responded to initiation attempts with crashing, followed by rebooting. The 4.10 version proved usable.
| PCMark 7 Score | 1962 points | |
| PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 2120 points | |
| PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2 | 2243 points | |
| PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 2880 points | |
Help | ||
Storage Devices
Aspire owners will not run out of storage capacity too soon. Acer equips the laptop with a 1 TB hard drive from Western Digital (5400 revolutions per minute). The drive's transfer rates are good and are on par with the speeds of other 5400 rpm drives.
Graphics Card
The Radeon R4 (Beema) graphics core in the Aspire supports DirectX 11.2 and clocks with speeds of up to 800 MHz. AMD's GPU is considerably stronger than Intel's counterparts, such as the Bay Trail GPUs and HD Graphics (Haswell) chip. The Radeon R4 chip is roughly located between Intel's HD Graphics 4200 and HD Graphics 4400 cores.
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 819 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 36194 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 3037 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 500 points | |
Help | ||
| 3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance (sort by value) | |
| Acer Aspire E17 E5-721-69FX | |
| Lenovo G700 | |
| Acer Aspire E1-771-33114G50Mnii | |
| Toshiba Satellite C70D-A-10L | |
| HP Pavilion 17-f050ng | |
| Acer Aspire E1-772G 54208G1TMnsk | |
| Lenovo G710 59397112 | |
| HP Pavilion 17-f003ng | |
Gaming Performance
It is quite possible to play some games with the Aspire. The Aspire's APU can render a few games smoothly in a low resolution and low quality settings. It works better with games that only have moderate hardware requirements, such as Counter Strike: Global Offensive. By the way, installing a second working memory will not increase the frame rates because the APU does not support dual-channel mode. That would make better use of the GPU, which would lead to higher frame rates.
The availability of affordable and at the same time gaming-suitable 17.3-inch laptops is quite limited. An alternative for the Aspire E5-721 would, for example, be HP's Pavilion 17-f003ng (Core i3-4030U, GeForce 830M) for approximately 500 Euros (~$621).
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomb Raider (2013) | 34.6 | 18.7 | 12.5 | |
| Wolfenstein: The New Order (2014) | 18.7 | 16.6 | 7.8 | |
| Fifa 15 (2014) | 28.3 | 20.8 | ||
| Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (2014) | 14.2 | 10 | ||
| Alien: Isolation (2014) | 21.9 | 14.5 | ||
| Ryse: Son of Rome (2014) | 13.4 | 8.5 | ||
| The Evil Within (2014) | 9.8 | 8 | ||
| F1 2014 (2014) | 38 | 28 | 19 | 12 |
| Civilization: Beyond Earth (2014) | 33.2 | 10.2 |
| Acer Aspire E17 E5-721-69FX Radeon R4 (Beema), A6-6310, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0 | HP Pavilion 17-f050ng Radeon R5 (Beema/Carrizo-L), A8-6410, Toshiba MQ01ABF050 | Acer Aspire E1-772G 54208G1TMnsk GeForce 820M, 4200M, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0 | Toshiba Satellite C70D-A-10L Radeon HD 8330, A4-5000, Toshiba MQ01ABF050 | Lenovo G700 HD Graphics (Ivy Bridge), 2020M, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142 | HP Pavilion 17-f003ng GeForce 830M, 4030U | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomb Raider | -41% | 100% | -29% | -57% | 177% | |
| 1024x768 Low Preset | 34.6 | 24.6 -29% | 77.5 124% | 25.3 -27% | 16.1 -53% | 110.1 218% |
| 1366x768 Normal Preset AA:FX AF:4x | 18.7 | 12.3 -34% | 37.9 103% | 13 -30% | 7.7 -59% | 53.5 186% |
| 1366x768 High Preset AA:FX AF:8x | 12.5 | 5.1 -59% | 21.7 74% | 5.1 -59% | 28.3 126% |
Emissions
System Noise
The fan permanently spun slowly in idle mode, and its noise was only audible in quiet surroundings. The noise level was a low 34.2 dB(A) in medium load (via 3DMark06) and 36.9 dB(A) in full load (stress test via Prime95 and Furmark). However, that is deceiving because the APU was throttled strongly in the stress test. The processor clocked higher when only Prime95 was performed and the fan spun faster. In that case, the noise level climbed up to 45.8 dB(A).
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 33.7 / 33.7 / 33.8 dB(A) |
| HDD |
| 34.1 dB(A) |
| DVD |
| 38.6 / dB(A) |
| Load |
| 34.2 / 36.9 dB(A) |
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30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
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min:  , med:  , max:  Voltcraft sl-320 (15 cm distance) | ||
Temperature
The Aspire's APU performed the stress test (Prime95 and Furmark run for at least one hour) with 1.4 GHz in both AC and battery mode. The GPU ran the stress test with full speed (800 MHz) in AC mode but throttled to 300 to 400 MHz in battery modes. The Aspire did not have any heat issues. Its temperatures remained clearly below 40 °C on every measuring point during the stress test. It can be assumed that the laptop will heat up a bit more when only the processor is loaded, especially since the power consumption is higher in that case.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 34.7 °C / 94 F, compared to the average of 34.3 °C / 94 F, ranging from 21.2 to 62.5 °C for the class Office.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 37.6 °C / 100 F, compared to the average of 36.8 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 26.2 °C / 79 F, compared to the device average of 29.5 °C / 85 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 31.6 °C / 88.9 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 27.6 °C / 81.7 F (-4 °C / -7.2 F).
Speakers
Acer places the Aspire's stereo speakers on the casing's underside. They produce a rich sound that, as so often, lacks bass. The speakers exhibit a light tendency for a muffled, tinny sound particularly in loud parts. Users who want a better sound experience will have to connect external speakers or headphones.
Energy Management
Power Consumption
The Aspire's power consumption is on par with the 17.3-inch devices of other manufacturers, such as Lenovo's G700 or HP's Pavilion 17z, over the entire load range. The power consumption of the Aspire climbed to 30.7 watts during the stress test (via Prime95 and Furmark). The power consumption climbed to 34.7 watts as soon as only the processor was loaded (Prime95).
| Off / Standby | 0.1 / 0.5 Watt |
| Idle | 6.5 / 10.7 / 12 Watt |
| Load |
25.2 / 30.7 Watt |
   
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Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Voltcraft VC 940 | |
Battery Runtime
Websites are opened automatically every 40 seconds using the energy-saving profile and a screen brightness of approximately 150 cd/m² in the practical Wi-Fi test. The Aspire achieved a runtime of 5:42 hours - a very good rate.
Verdict
Buyers who opt for Acer's Aspire E17 E5-721-69FX will get a solid 17.3-inch laptop with enough power for the average user. The laptop feels at home in the office, Internet and video-rendering fields. The Aspire usually operates quietly and does not get excessively warm. Furthermore, the user will have plenty of storage capacity available. The laptop also pleases with a very good battery life. The screen is very acceptable considering the price level. Though it is not exceptionally bright, it has a good contrast. Unfortunately, the annoying custom of omitting a maintenance cover has also moved into the Aspire. Users who want to, for example, replace the hard drive with a solid state drive will have to open the casing.
Lenovo's G700 would be an even more affordable alternative to the Aspire. It is available for a price starting at 300 Euros (~$372) with a Pentium 2020M processor and without a Windows operating system. The CPU performance of both laptops is roughly on par, but the Aspire has a clear advantage in graphics performance. Lenovo's G700 is also available with a Core i3-3110M processor, which boosts the price to about 370 Euros (~$459). In return, the CPU offers slightly more computing power than the Aspire's processor, but the Aspire still has the edge in graphics performance. Users who want the G700 with the Windows 8.1 operating system will have to shell out around 380 Euros (~$472) for the version with a Pentium 2030M processor. The advantages of the G700 over the Aspire are - apart from the price - the removable battery and the big maintenance cover.
