Acer Aspire E5-575G (i5-7200U, GTX 950M) Notebook Review

Notwithstanding the comparatively low purchase price, the E5-575G has a relatively high-resolution Full HD screen. Its 1920x1080 pixels combined with a diagonal of 15.6 inches lead to a decent pixel density of 141 PPI. Thus, the reproduction is pleasantly sharp and users with normal eyesight should be able to recognize all the contents well, even without increasing the scaling factor (which can often cause problems with older programs).

Unfortunately, the TN screen from the manufacturer Chi Mei at most does a mediocre job in all other rating criteria. The average maximum brightness of 169 cd/m² in particular is far too low - we expect at least 230 to 250 cd/m² or more even in this price range. At the same time, the screen cannot be dimmed enough and still shines at a bright 26 cd/m² even at minimum settings. The relatively homogeneous illumination and flicker-free backlight control without PWM only compensates for this to a small extent. The screen's black level (0.47 cd/m²) that results in a very low contrast ratio (374:1) is not much better. The subjective image impression is correspondingly pale and lifeless.

As typical for TN, users only see a true reproduction at an absolute perpendicular viewing angle. The slightest deviations upward or downward quickly lead to an extreme brightening or darkening of the image, distorted colors and significant loss in contrast. The lateral elbowroom is somewhat bigger, but the device can only conditionally be viewed by several users at the same time. An IPS panel, such as the one in Medion's Erazer P6661, would have done a considerably better job here.

Acer's Aspire E5-575G is one of the first laptops based on the Kaby Lake architecture, the successor of the Skylake lineup introduced in 2015. Technically, not much has changed in the new generation. Thanks to the optimized 14 nm manufacturing, Intel can now offer somewhat higher clock rates at the same power consumption, while the per-MHz performance stagnates at a high level. This equates to a clock headroom of 2.5 to 3.1 GHz (2-core Turbo: also 3.1 GHz) in the case of the Core i5-7200U ULV model (TDP: 15 watts) installed here, which is 200 to 400 MHz higher than the previous Core i5-6200U (2.3 to 2.8 GHz, 2-core Turbo: 2.7 GHz). Most of the other technical specifications of the dual-core processor with Hyperthreading support have not been modified.

Although the HD Graphics 620 integrated into the Kaby Lake chip is somewhat stronger than the previous ones, Acer has opted for an additional dedicated graphic solution by Nvidia. The GeForce GTX 950M, which is still based on the Maxwell architecture built in 28 nanometers, promises three times the performance of the processor GPU and has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory. The GTX 950M is only enabled during 3D application via the Optimus technology for reducing the power consumption, as opposed to simple desktop applications that are accelerated via the HD 620.

Considering the purchase price, the user has to be satisfied with a conventional hard drive that, however, offers a very generous capacity of 1000 GB. Furthermore, thanks to the empty M.2 slot, an SSD can be retrofitted as a second storage device. The 8 GB of working memory (1x8 GB DDR4-2133, single-channel, one empty bank) could also use an upgrade in the long run.

In our first test of a Kaby Lake CPU, we established astounding efficiency improvements that interestingly, are not seen in this case. The CPU displays a power consumption of approximately 16 watts at full 3.1 GHz in Cinebench R15 (slightly more than previous Skylake models), which in turn should lead to a slight decrease in clock rates after a few seconds. However, since Acer has increased the TDP limit from 15 to 25 watts, the maximum Turbo is maintained stably in all single and Multithread applications. Consequently, in our benchmarks the i5-7200U places itself at least on the same level as a Core i7-6500U  and in some cases even comes close to the former Core i7-6600U premium model. In short: Thanks to Kaby Lake, users now get roughly the same performance as that which used to be found in the next higher price class.

The Aspire E5's performance was the same in AC and battery mode.

Acer has installed Toshiba's MQ01ABD100 storage device, which is a 1000 GB 2.5-inch HDD and spins at 5400 RPM. Comparable hard drives are also found in the entry-configurations of the competing models, although the industry is also increasingly relying on 128 or 256 GB SSDs. While the price per gigabyte still clearly speaks for the traditional magnet storage, SSDs have long since gained the upper hand in terms of performance. Toshiba's HDD is still roughly on the same level as a modern SSD with 86 MB/s in sequential read, but the difference in accessing smaller data quickly climbs by the power of two or more - one of the main reasons why almost every old laptop feels brand new when refitted with an SSD.

Since Nvidia's new GP107 mainstream chip (Pascal, 16-nanometers) has not yet been released, the older Maxwell GM107 in the 28 nanometer build is inside the Aspire E5. Nevertheless, the GeForce GTX 950M with 640 Shader units offers a solid computing performance with up to 928 MHz, which renders up-to-date games and 3D application smoothly - even if not at maximum settings in most cases. Only the related 2 GB GDDR5 memory (128-bit interface, 5 GHz effective) is relatively tight for today's standards. Thus, the texture resolution has to be more or less reduced. Compared with other competitors, the GTX 950M in the Aspire E5 delivers the expected performance, and this, without losses in the battery mode.

The integrated HD Graphics 620 is active during low load. Its biggest attraction (besides the low power consumption) is its excellent multimedia capabilities. The GPU can even decode the HEVC Main10 codec or the open alternative, VP9, efficiently in the hardware. However, in practice, driver problems apparently still exist - a 4K VP9 video in Google Chrome was obviously decoded in the software during the test and was rendered with minor stutters at 100% CPU usage.

Both the CPU and GPU Turbo of the E5-575G are utilized ideally in games, and the laptop achieves the performance corresponding with its configuration. While the reserves are enough for older games such as "BioShock Infinite" or "Battlefield 4" in the native Full HD resolution and medium to high graphic settings, the latest 3D games often have to be reduced to 720p and minimum settings. At least in principle almost every game can be played without stutters, which should not be at all considered as a matter of course for a device from the 600-Euro (~$673) price range.

System Noise

It is primarily the hard drive's muffled hum that prevents an absolutely silent system in idle and office mode, as well as when browsing. Although the fan is also sometimes active during low load, it spins at such a low speed that it does not drown out the hard drive's noise of almost 31 dB(A).

The Aspire is surprisingly quiet during games with just over 33 dB(A) and is not annoyingly loud even during prolonged gaming sessions. Although the good 40 dB(A) in the stress test proves that the cooling system can get considerably louder, in practice, this level will at most be observed in mid-summer.

It should not be surprising that an uncompromisingly high-end device cannot be expected from the 600-Euro (~$673) laptop category. Acer, however, offers a solid configuration and gaming suitable device to the mainstream market with its Aspire E15 E5-575G-549D. Its low price involves some more or less painful austerity measures. There was obviously no room for a stylish metal casing, fast SSD or bright IPS panel in the budget - but a cutting-edge Kaby Lake processor, fast mid-range GPU, as well as 8 GB of DDR 4 memory and a big hard drive were still possible. This configuration makes the Aspire unconditionally suitable for gaming, although the screen's native resolution can be used only in a few cases. However, all newer games are principally playable with some visual losses - not necessarily a matter of course for a laptop.

We can give the Aspire a very good rating in terms of build and input device quality. Apart from the screen's far too low brightness, overall, the device hardly shows any major weaknesses and even surprises with unexpected strengths in some aspects: Seven to eight hours of practical battery life or fast ac-Wi-Fi (despite only 1x1 TX/RX) are not found in some even more expensive models. Thus, it can be summarized:

Buyers looking for an affordable multimedia laptop, with performance reserves for up-to-date games will not go wrong with Acer's Aspire E5-575G. However, the Aspire is not suitable in the outdoors due to its very dark screen.