As of late we're seeing how the tables have turned in the laptop market. What was once considered standard for high end models has now made its way down to the mid-tier. We're talking about features such as Full HD displays, SSD storage, dedicated graphics and so forth. Today we're gonna rob you of a couple of minutes of your busy schedule to invite you to read up on one of such models with our review of the Acer Aspire F5-573G-56CG.
Acer's newest bet for mid-range stardom features a Full HD display, Skylake generation processor, DDR4 RAM and a whole lot more for a staggering price. Eager to know more? Let's get to it!
A rather "meh" design coupled with a stunning display
Honestly, if we were walking down a department store in the laptop section the Acer Aspire F5-573G-56CG would not catch our eyes. It's design doesn't really stand out in a crowd and while many seek flashy laptops there are many other consumers who value more what's on the inside rather than the exterior. That said, it's not as ugly as some of Lenovo's more robust models but it's also not Acer's most compelling design.
In terms of weight and thickness, this Acer laptop weighs in at 5.07 pounds and measures 1.1 inch thick. Overall, these are the standard figures within its competitors so we weren't really expecting anything else.
An interesting feature that really comes in handy is the backlit keyboard present within this laptop. That means you can type away into the wee hours of the night and nobody's gonna be disturbed by you having the lights on.
Finally, in terms of the display, we've got a 15.6 inch backlit LED Full HD (1920 by 1080) display. While this kind of display is growing in popularity amongst the mid-tier laptops, it's still not the default setting so it's definitely a big pro for this model.
Let's dive into the performance aspect
Moving on towards the performance segment of our Acer Aspire F5-573G-56CG review it's important to note that this laptop has everything it takes to be taken seriously both for people looking for an entry level laptop as well as those looking for a powerhouse performer.
To this point, we've got an Intel Core i5-6200U processor running the show. This is a Skylake generation CPU running over two cores at a default speed of 2.3 GHz. Things can get very interesting once you become more demanding and the CPU can reach speeds of up to 2.8 GHz. It's also worth noting that this CPU comes along with 3MB's of Intel's Smart cache and, of course, works through four logical threads.
Add to this 8 GB of DDR4 SDRAM (upgradable to 32 GB) and you've got yourself a real powerplayer that can handle whichever task you throw in its direction. Be it some light web browsing or some heavy code compiling over a virtual machine, this laptop is up and ready for anything you've got in store.
Let's talk graphics and gaming
Again, this laptop should be considered mostly an "entry gamers laptop" since it doesn't have a GPU suited for top notch games yet it has an all around good performance and a strong graphics card which most laptops in its price bracket will quite simply ignore.
Storage and connectivity options
Storage on this model is within expectations with a 1 TB Serial ATA hard drive. We say it's within expectations because it's following what most laptops feature. That said, we personally prefer models that opt for an SSD drive, even though that means sacrificing a great deal of storage capacity. Then again, there are lots of people who would rather have ample storage then the fastest storage and would rather opt for an HDD solution such as this one.
Finally, in regards to the available connectivity options we've got a couple of USB 3.0 ports, a stand-alone USB 2.0 port as well as the recently launched USB Type-C port.
We're especially impressed with the WiFi antenna over here since it features the latest ac standard and has Mu-MIMO technology, providing a connection that's up to three times faster than standard WiFi b/g/n options. There's also an HDMI port, SD card reader and an ethernet port.
What's the projected battery life?
Finally, when it comes down to the Acer Aspire F5-573G-56CG battery life we can count on roughly 7 hours of usage according to Acer. This is all thanks to the 4 cell lithion-ion battery with a 2800 mAh potency. Overall, this is a rough estimate and should be taken with precaution, as we all know, therefore setting our expectations at 6 hours of mixed usage seems more reasonable.
In closing...
When it comes down to wrapping things up in our review of the Acer Aspire F5-573G-56CG we've gotta say we're more than excited to recommend this laptop to a wide array of users. Be it mid level power users or entry level gamers, this laptop has cast its net pretty wide and has a very wide appeal, especially when you consider it's budget price. Overall, a laptop that's bound to hit the bestseller list pretty soon.