Acer Aspire NX.MLVAA.001; E5-531-C01E Review

This is yet another basic laptop from Acer that distinguishes from the lot by featuring Windows 7 OS instead of the Windows 8.1. Therefore, if you are one of those who loathes Window 8.1 there is good news for you. But let me warn you, that you have to pay a fair amount of premium for Window 7. Take, Acer Aspire E 15 ES1-512-C88M as an example. This laptop has almost the same hardware specs as Acer Aspire NX.MLVAA.001; E5-531-C01E, (the difference is the exclusion of the optical drive) but costs almost a $100 less. My point being, that your hate for Windows 8 should be worth the difference of around $50 – $80. 

In essence, this laptop is your average budget laptop designed for multitude of basic tasks. You cannot expect anything heavy to run on this although I would say that this laptop does have the hardware to support light gaming and light editing jobs. If you are a casual photo editor and use software such as Photoshop as hobby, then this laptop has enough power to entertainment you. However, this does not mean that you can perform professional editing jobs.

Some people on Amazon have answered regarding this laptop that it can game. The thing about ‘gaming’ is that the term itself is a relative term. To me gaming means having the ability to play Asasssins Creed Unity on max graphics settings. To others it just simply means having the ability to play Candy Crush on your Facebook account. Acer Aspire NX.MLVAA.001; E5-531-C01E is definitely not qualified as the case with the former. It can however play some of the latest games at lowest graphics settings possible. Older games and even some online multiplayer games can be supported but even then you should have your fingers crossed. You can find heavy duty gaming laptops on Pingzic if you've a larger budget of $1000 to $1500. The point being, this laptop is not designed for gaming and do not believe in anyone telling you otherwise.

You should note that although you do get the more intuitive interface with Window 7 OS installed, you can miss out on some exclusive features such as the app market on Windows 8.1. Many people have endorsed Window 8.1 for its ability to boast both a computer and smartphone OS interface, something that previous OSs have lacked.

At the heart of this laptop lies Intel Celeron 2957U. This is dual core processor with 1.4 GHz per core. It is like most other Celeron processors with entry level performance. Although it is not as bad as the Atom processors, it is not designed for heavier applications like i3 or i5. Quite on the contrary it designed to save up money and battery life. The good news is that you can expect a good 6.5+ battery life from Acer Aspire NX.MLVAA.001; E5-531-C01E easily. 

Weighing at about 5.6 pounds with a thickness of 1.2″, this is not the thinnest or lightest laptop in this price range either. You can definitely find laptops that are even thinner than 0.9″ for the same price. Acer Aspire E 15 ES1-512-C88M, for example, has a profile that is 1.00″ why? because it excludes an optical drive. 

This laptop includes a 4 GB of DDR3 RAM, 500 GB HDD which is quite standard for laptops of this price. It does features an optical drive, which many brands have began to opt out. This has both pros and cons. On one hand, the optical drive gives you versatility. On the other hand, it adds up further to the cost, weight and thickness of the laptop which you end up paying for.

Further features this notebook include 2x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x USB 3.0 port, HDMI, Wifi, Webcam, RJ-45 and Bluetooth 4.0. Note that Bluetooth 4.0 is a rare component to be found in budget laptops from other brands so this is win for Acer.

This laptop is excellent for students and for work. It is not recommended for enthusiasts, professionals or for those looking for extreme portability. This your average run-of-the-mill budget notebook with the most attractive feature being the Windows 7 OS.