install lcd panel for acer aspire one cloudbook pricelist

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Why we like this one: If you need to run Windows apps or games, or if you prefer to work offline, we recommend the Acer Aspire 5 (A514-54) in any of the following configurations: 501Z, 35LK, or 395V. Its processor, memory, and storage are fast enough to meet most people’s computing needs for years to come—especially the Core i5 model, though the Core i3 models are also plenty fast if that one’s unavailable. Many cheap Windows laptops have less memory or terrible processors that limit them to running only a couple apps and a handful of browser tabs at a time.

The Aspire 5 (A514-54) is one of the more portable, cheap Windows laptops we’ve tested. It’s lighter and more compact than common Windows laptops in this price range, and its battery life lasted 8 hours and 35 minutes in our tests—above average compared to the other models we tested in mid-2022. Unlike cheap laptops with unpleasant keyboards and trackpads that flex and rattle, the Aspire 5’s keyboard and trackpad are accurate and reliable. The Aspire 5’s 14-inch 1920×1080 screen looks crisp but has a slight yellowish tint. Most Windows laptops in this price range have lower-resolution screens that look pixelated or horrendous TN panels that look harsh and blown out, and they also invert colors at the edge of the display when you look at the screen head-on.

Where it falls short: By default, some configurations of the Aspire 5 (A514-54) ship with Windows 11 S mode, which only allows apps from the Microsoft Store and limits you to Microsoft Edge for web browsing. But you can switch it to Windows 11 Home for free to install any program you need. And like many inexpensive Windows laptops, our pick comes with a ton of unnecessary bloatware that takes up space and slows down performance. Follow these steps to remove those programs and make your laptop feel faster and be more secure. The Aspire 5 (A514-54) also lacks a fingerprint reader, which some of our other picks have.

Why we like this one: If you want a Windows laptop with a large 15-inch screen, we recommend the Asus VivoBook 15 F515EA—either the F515EA-AH34 or F515EA-OS33 model. Both versions have our recommended specs and will be fast enough for most people’s computer needs for years to come. And the F515EA’s 1080p screen, its backlit keyboard, and its trackpad are about as good as those of our other picks. This Vivobook also has a reliable fingerprint reader in the upper right corner of the trackpad, and it has one USB-C port, though it can’t be used for charging.

Where it falls short: In our 2022 battery-life tests, the VivoBook 15 F515 lasted for 6 hours 46 minutes—not quite long enough for a full day of work or classes, but about average for this category. And like most inexpensive Windows laptops, this model is bulky and heavy. We recommend following these instructions when you get the laptop to remove unnecessary preinstalled programs. This laptop comes with Windows 11 in S mode, but you can switch it to Windows 11 Home for free if you want to use programs like Zoom.

The VivoBook 15 F513 has solid performance, a decent 1080p display, and a comfortable keyboard and reliable trackpad. But its battery life won’t last a full day of work or classes.

Why we like this one: The Asus VivoBook 15 F513EA-OS36 is another good budget Windows laptop. It’s fast enough for everyday work and it’s a sturdy, well-built laptop that should last for years. This VivoBook has a decent 1080p display, a comfortable backlit keyboard with a full number pad, and a responsive trackpad with a reliable built-in fingerprint reader. It also has one USB-C port (though it can’t charge via this port).

Where it falls short: The Vivobook 15 F513 lasted 5 hours and 47 minutes in our battery-life tests—not quite as long as our other picks and not long enough to last a full day of work or class. And like our other picks, the VivoBook 15 F513 is large and heavy. We also recommend following these instructions to remove unnecessary programs. By default, the VivoBook runs in Windows 10 S mode, but you can switch it to Windows 10 Home for free.

The Aspire 5 A515-45 has solid performance, a great screen, a responsive trackpad, and long battery life. But it’s big and heavy, and its keyboard is only okay.

Why we like this one: If the other options are unavailable or cost more than $500, the Acer Aspire 5 A515-45 (in either the R74Z or R6PQ configurations) is another solid 15-inch Windows laptop. It’s fast enough to handle most workloads, and its 15-inch 1920×1080 screen looks vivid and bright, which is an achievement compared with many Windows laptops in this price range. It has a decent—but not great, and not backlit—keyboard with a built-in number pad, a responsive trackpad, and one USB-C port. The Aspire 5 also has a few more hours of battery life than our other Windows picks; it lasted 9 hours 27 minutes in our tests.

Where it falls short: The Aspire 5 is big and heavy, so despite its long battery life it’s not especially convenient to use on the go. And like most inexpensive Windows laptops, it comes with a ton of unnecessary bloatware that takes up space and slows down performance. We recommend following these steps to remove those unnecessary programs and make your laptop feel faster, and to help it be more secure. It also lacks a fingerprint reader, and its keyboard isn’t as satisfying as that of the Asus VivoBook models above.

These days the are many good thin, light, and fast ultraportable laptops, but for those of you for whom the size and portability of your computer matter more than other aspects, a mini laptop with an 11-inch, 10-inch, or even smaller display size might be the ideal choice.

In order to make it a little easier for you to single out the best small laptops that best suit your needs and your budget, I’ve split this article into several sections:

We’ll go over the important details in each class, with the strong points and the quirks that you need to be aware of for each of the recommended options; I’ve also added links to our detailed reviews and to our deals pages, and you can also get in touch with me in the comments section at the end of the article if you have any questions or need my help.

A mini laptop offers the same functionality and aspect as a regular device, but in a smaller format. Hence, this article goes over ultra-compact small-screen laptops, so I left out the laptops with a 12-inch, 13.3-inch, or larger display sizes (I’ve covered them in this Best Ultrabook buying guide instead, which goes over the Apple MacBook, Dell XPS 13, Microsoft Surface Laptop, HP Envy x360 13 and a multitude of other options built on Intel Core or AMD Ryzen hardware, with the latest traits that money can buy today).

With the small-size options that we’re discussing in this article (which are also known as netbooks on mini-laptops), you’re still getting most of the same features and abilities, but you will have to accept lower-power hardware mostly suitable for basic everyday use and less-so for demanding applications, as well as smaller displays, fewer ports, and more cramped keyboards. Of course, there are exceptions to consider, and at the same time, these computers are portable and easy to carry around, offer long battery life, and are generally quite affordable.

The offer for budget 11-inch small laptops is diverse, especially in the $200 to $400 range of compact no-fuss daily computers, travel companions, or inexpensive small laptops for your kids (these are just some of the common use cases for small laptops).

Don’t expect premium features or materials in this class, but you will find here simple and compact computers that can handle basic everyday tasks (browsing, email, video streaming, text editing) and can run for quite a few hours on a charge.

Chromebooks are by far your best bet in this segment at this point. As long as they meet your requirements, you’re not going to find better value for your money elsewhere.

You must however understand, and I can’t stress it enough, what a Chromebook is and what it can and especially what it cannot do for you. For that reason, I’ve put up a whole detailed article on Chromebooks over here, which you should go through.

In very few words, if you’re connected to the Internet most of the time and your activities mostly involve browsing, streaming content on Youtube or Netflix or Spotify, eMail, text-editing, and other everyday web-related tasks, a Chromebook is going to be a perfect match for you. On the other hand, if you mostly use your laptop offline, or if you want to run specialized software for your work or school, a Windows notebook might be the better choice for you, and we’ll discuss them further down in this article.

For those basic chores, though, Chromebooks are quicker than the Windows computers you’ll find for the same kind of money, especially in the sub $400 price segment, as well as safer and simpler to use.

They’re designed so you don’t have to deal with updates, they’re safer against viruses and harmful exploits, and easier to customize and set up to your needs. Much like with your phone, you install apps from a dedicated web store with pre-vetted applications, and most of the Chromebooks available today also support Android apps from the PlayStore, as well as Linux and even Windows apps to some extent.

Most of the available Chromebooks you can find for less than $400 are built on lower-power processors, with 4-8 GB of RAM memory, 16-64 GB of storage expandable through the included card reader, IPS screens with HD or Full HD resolution, an HDMI port for watching movies on an external display, as well as long battery life and fast charging abilities, in most cases. As a recommendation, stay away from older devices with Intel Atom processors and only 2 GB of RAM, those get sluggish with today’s requirements.

Starting at around $200 at the time of this update, the Chromebook Spin 311 is our favorite inexpensive compact 2-in-1 Chromebook. It offers an 11.6-inch touchscreen display with an HD IPS panel, it’s built on an Intel Celeron hardware platform with 4 GB of RAM and 32/64 GB of storage space, and gets a 38 Wh battery that delivers 6-10 hours of battery life on a charge.

You’ll have to settle for an all-plastic construction though, with fair, but not excellent build-quality, thicker bezels around the display, and a total weight of around 2.6 lbs, so overall this is not as portable as some of the other options we’ll discuss further down.

This gets the same kind of 11.6-inch touchscreen display and the same convertible format, but slightly different hardware with a Mediatek processor, and a larger 42 Wh battery that allows it to last a little longer on each charge.

And that’s because the Chromebook Duet offers a superior-quality screen to any of the other alternatives in this class, with a brighter and richer FHD IPS panel and 16:10 aspect ratio. Furthermore, the build quality of the Duet is also second-to-none in its class, with a matte aluminum back and glass on the front.

The form factor is that of a tablet, but Lenovo bundles a keyboard folio for laptop use, and the two make up for around 2 lbs combined. Spec-wise, everything is motorized by a Mediatek platform, paired with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage space, which feels alright with daily use and proves to be highly efficient, squeezing 6-12 hours of battery life out of the 28 Wh battery inside.

This section includes 11-inch laptops that run fully functional Windows environments, with either clamshell or 2-in-1 designs, selling for between $150 to $400.

In this segment, my advice would be to aim for a configuration with at least 4 GB of RAM, at least 64 GB of storage, and one of the faster CPU options (newer generation Intel quad-core or later), otherwise the computer is going to struggle even with light multitasking, or you won’t have enough storage space for Windows and your software.

The screen isn’t great, though, with an HD LED panel and no option for IPS. That’s the norm in this class with Windows laptops though, as the software license takes its toll, and the OEMs have to cut some corners in order to meet the low price point.

HP Stream 11 – plastic construction, clamshell, available in a few different colors, 11-inch HD LED TN matte display, Gemini Lake Celeron 4Core processor, 4 GB RAM, and 64 GB eMMC storage on base model, 38 Wh battery, weighs only 1.1 kg/ 2.4 lbs, around $220 for mid-level Gemini configurations, older Apollo Lake versions also available.

Lenovo 300e – plastic 2-in-1 format, 11-inch HD IPS touch display + pen, Gemini Lake Celeron 4Core + 4 GB + 64 Gb eMMC, 47 Wh battery, weighs 1.3 kg /2.9 lbs, around $220.

Most of these options are similar in specs, with 11-inch HD screens and Gemini Lake-R hardware. On one hand, I lean towards the Asus L210 for the slightly nicer build, its reduced weight, and low price, but the newer Lenovo 300e is a worthy alternative if you value the nicer IPS panel with touch and the convertible format. Furthermore, the Dell Latitude 11 is an interesting option as well, with more powerful hardware specs than most other 11-inch notebooks available these days, and a good keyboard, making it a proper option for programming and engineering work on the go.

There are a few other older options in this segment, such as the Acer Spin 1, or Asus VivoBook Flip 11, or the rugged Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11e. They’re quite expensive, though, and overall not the same value as those recommendations above.

Most manufacturers migrated their premium ultraportables towards the 12 and 13-inch segments in recent years, as those formats can easier accommodate modern more powerful components, better displays, and a larger battery.

Hence, if you’re looking for 2022 specs with either Intel Core + Iris Xe or AMD Ryzen + Vega hardware, those are mostly available in the 12+ inch models mentioned above. For what is worth, many of those models are actually compact and lightweight, as the OEMs were able to improve their designs in recent years, shrink up the bezels and optimize the designs for modern expectations. Not to mention those also get nicer displays and features not available with these smaller-screen models.

The HP Elitebook Revolve 810 is another very interesting older model and most likely difficult to source out, but remains even to this day one of the most complete 11-inch laptops ever made. It gets a sturdy and compact metallic chassis, an excellent backlit and spill-proof keyboard, a bright IPS convertible multi-touch touchscreen, Intel Core i5 U hardware, 8GB of RAM, 128/256 GB SSD storage, and a 44 Wh battery. Once more, this is a good option for university use, programming, light photo/video work, and other more demanding tasks that most other small computers in this niche won’t be able to properly deal with.

Overall, though, you are sacrificing a fair bit when going with one of these over the modern 12/13-inch ultrabooks available out there, or even some of the smaller options that we’ll cover down below. Even so, though, these premium 11-inchers still make sense if you’re buying used/refreshed in the $300 or lower price range.

Finally, if you absolutely have to go the ultra-compact route, I’d rather suggest one of the smallest 10-inch and sub-10-inch options in the next part of this article.

With old-style clamshell netbooks no longer a reality, there aren’t many 10-inch or smaller laptop-format computers out there, with a few notable exceptions. There are, however, quite a few good 10-inch tablets to consider, paired with keyboard docks or folios for laptop use. And there are also a couple of pico-sized handheld gaming projects such as the GPD Win, Steam Deck or AYA Neo, that we’ll get to in a bit.

The One-Netbook OneMix 4 is perhaps the more interesting product here, a 10-inch 2-in-1 with Intel Core U hardware, the same kind available in ultralight laptops such as the ThinkPad X1 Nano.

This is one of the smallest touch screen laptops available at this point, as it weighs 1.7 lbs (.77 grams) and measures roughly 17 mm in thickness. It’s also built well, with an aluminum chassis and a black minimalist design, and offers more ports than you’d expect from a computer of this size, with USB-A, 2x USB-C, a microSD card reader, and an audio jack.

The touchscreen is a nice touch here as well, alongside the convertible 2-in-1 form factor. There are small bezels around the panel, which is actually a pretty good IPS option with 16:10 aspect ratio, 2560 x 1600 px resolution, 300+ nits of brightness, and 100% sRGB color coverage. This also supports an N-trig pen. There’s no webcam at the top, though.

The hardware inside this mini-laptop is an efficient Intel Core i7-1130G7 platform running at 7-15 W, paired with up to 16 GB of LPDDR4x memory and SSD storage. There’s room inside for an M.2 2280 drive, so the storage can be upgraded if you want to. There’s also a fan on this laptop, and a 38.5 Wh battery. That’s not bad for a 10-inch design, but don’t expect more than 4-6 hours of multitasking and 7+ of video here.

The GPD P2 Max is a slightly more affordable 8.9-inch laptop, but perhaps not as practical or as powerful as the two above, as it’s built on an Intel Jasper Lake Pentium platform (or Core m in the previous generation) and only offers a smaller keyboard with tiny keys, fewer ports, and a 35Wh battery.

This is also not a convertible, but at the same time, it is a lighter pico-laptop at only 1.43 lbs, it’s fanless and completely silent, and can still handle basic everyday tasks reasonably well, while allowing for longer runtimes than the One Mix 4 thanks to the more efficient hardware inside. If you can live with a laptop this small, this should be on your list.

When it comes to 10-inch tablet laptops, the Microsoft Surface Gois still my go-to recommendation in this class as one of the few 10-inch Windows devices with modern specs and features. You’ll still find both the Go 2 and the newer Surface Go 3 in stores right now, and the two are identical, but with slightly faster specs on the Go 3 update, especially in the base-level configurations.

This is Microsoft’s smaller and less powerful alternative for their Surface Pro lineup, as well as their most inexpensive model. It’s not necessarily cheap, though, starting at $399 MSRP for the tablet alone, with the keyboard folio and the Surface pen coming as extras.

That’s for the base model with an Intel Pentium processor, 4 GB of RAM, and 64 GB of storage, and higher-tier options go up to $700 for faster specs and LTE connectivity. I’d primarily consider those budget versions, though, and keep in mind that Microsoft offers discounts for students/parents/teachers/ military personnel all year long, as well as various bundles and periodical discounts for everyone else, so you should keep an eye on their site for updates.

Despite its price, the Surface Go is a worthy portable and affordable travel companion or computer for kids. Don’t expect to run demanding tasks or games on this thing, but it will handle basic everyday browsing, content streaming, text editing, and the likes just fine.

The Go is also built from a durable and lightweight magnesium alloy with Gorilla Glass on top of the screen, it’s extremely lightweight at only 1.15 lbs (for the tablet, and 1.7 lbs with the keyboard folio), gets an excellent-quality 10-inch IPS touchscreen with a 3:2 aspect ratio and pen support, as well as two cameras, one of the front and another on the back.

The Surface Go is usable as a stand-alone device, with the cleverly integrated stand on the back, but much more versatile when hooked up to its backlit keyboard cover. Given this is a 10-inch device, expect the keys to feel rather cramped for those of you with larger hands, but the layout should be fine for kids and users with smaller hands.

In this case, an iPad or perhaps an Android tablet might be options to consider, especially since these are backed up by solid ecosystems and a wide range of compatible accessories such as stands, keyboards, or pens. At the same time, these could end up fairly expensive, but there’s one more option that sells for less: the Lenovo Chromebook Duet.

Yep, I started this article by suggesting a couple of Chromebooks and will finish it with another one. I’m not going to go over what a ChromeBook can and cannot do all over again, I’ve done that in this and this article, so let’s look at the Duet.

The screen is a 16:10 aspect ratio, FHD IPS, and touch, so a bit smaller than the 3:2 available on the Go. It’s bright and punchy and colorful though, which is awesome for a budget device that normally compromises at this level. Not this one, though.

As for the keyboard, it’s cramped, as you’d expect from a 10-inch implementation, it’s not backlit and can’t be angled like on the Surface Go, but it’s otherwise fine, and the same can be said about the integrated clickpad. A USB-C port handles the connectivity, and there’s a camera on the front, above the screen, but no 3.5 mm jack, so you’ll have to use wireless headphones with this one.

Specs-wise, the Chromebook Duet runs on an ARM-based MediaTek 8Core platform with 4 GB of RAM and 64/128 GB of storage. That’s fine for a lightweight and optimized environment such as ChromeOS, and the everyday user experience is snappy and smooth in both tablet and laptop modes. Not as smooth as on an iPad or some of the higher-tier Chromebooks out there, but fine for daily use, and this can also run Android apps/games well since it’s an ARM platform. Finally, battery life is where this nails it, with 10+ hours of real-life daily use and 12+ hours of video on a charge. That’s better than on the Surface Go.

Bottom point, the Chromebook Duet is a game-changer and an excellent buy for under $300. Lenovo nailed it with this product, so if a ChromeOS device would work for you, this would be my budget go-to in this niche even over the Surface Go. As long as you can actually find it in stock, since this is in very high demand.

The Lenovo Tablet 10 could also be an alternative to consider if you’re after a 10-incher that can last for longer on each charge, offers more ports, and is overall more ergonomic in laptop mode, as this one gets a keyboard dock, not a keyboard folio.

It starts at around $400 as well, or $500 with the keyboard, but Lenovo offers occasional discounts for as low as $350. As the name suggests, this Tablet 10 gets a 16:10 10.1-inch IPS touchscreen with pen support, and Intel Gemini Lake hardware with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage, so it’s not as speedy as the Surface Go. It will outlast it on a charge, though, thanks to the 39 Wh battery inside. You should also consider that the keyboard is not backlit.

All in all the Surface Go is still my favorite, but the Tablet 10 from Lenovo can be a good alternative if you’re on a tighter budget and can find it for cheap. Follow this link for a more detailed comparison between the two, and this one for updated prices and configurations at the time you’re reading this post.

Finally, you’ll also find some lesser-known products that sell for under $200, like the CHUWI Hi10 Air or the Fusion5 Tablet PC(more details via this link), but our first-hand experience with these is limited, and I’d only recommend them if none of the other models are within your budget, and if you can get these from stores that allow easy returns and replacements. Oh, and adjust your expectations according to their price, you’re getting what you’re paying for with these cheap small tablets.

Inside, the Win 3 is powered by Intel Tiger Lake Core U hardware, with options for either an i5-1135G7 (with 80 EUs Iris XE graphics) or i7-1165G7 (with 96 EUs Iris XE graphics), 16 GB of LPDDR4x memory, 1 TB of SSD storage, and a 45 Wh battery, the kind of hardware you’d normally get in some of the most powerful 13+ inch ultraportables. With the 720p screen and Iris Xe graphics, the Win 3 is designed to handle a multitude of games, including modern AAA titles.

At the same time, with only a Ryzen 5 4500U platform and Vega graphics inside, this is not going to match the gaming performance of the Win 3 either, further impacted by the slightly increased resolution. The Neo does get 16 GB of memory and up to 1 TB of storage as well, plus a 47 Wh battery. You’ll find more about it from our detailed review.

Finally, the Steam Deck is probably the best-value option in this niche, that if you can get your hands on it. It’s the better polished of the three in terms of hardware and software combined, and also comes as the most affordable. You’ll find more about it from our detailed review.

You’ll have to compromise here and there with a mini laptop, but for the most part, you’ll want a good price, fair build quality, and a combo of specs/battery life that can handle your demands. It’s a balance game with these devices, and there are options for most expectations.

You’ll want one of these for the compact portable format and lightweight construction. As a secondary, many of these options are also inexpensive, so excellent as no-fuss travel companions or laptops for your kids.

Based on your budget, you’ll have to make do with plastic builds, rather cramped keyboards, potentially lackluster display quality, and not much in terms of performance or even battery life with some units.

These are the 11.6-inch and 10-inch small laptops and mini tablets I’d look at right now if I’d be in the market for an ultra-compact computer, either Chromebooks, MacBooks, or Windows options.

Most of them cater to those of you on limited budgets, those looking for devices for primarily tablet use, or those looking for secondary travel notebooks or inexpensive notebooks for your kids. The options for high-end 11 and 10-inchers are limited nowadays when most OEMs have migrated their higher-tier options towards the 12-inch and 13-inch classes, which offer an increased screen area and more space inside for components and battery cells, as well as a multitude of modern features that you won’t get on these smaller computers.

Thus, if you do need more power in a small form factor, you should also check out our list of recommended 1 2 and 13-inch ultrabooks and thin-and-light laptops, where you’ll find marginally larger, but significantly more competent options.

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From time to time, you may find that the brightness on your Acer screen diminishes, making it difficult to see, or, that the manner in which the colours are di ..."

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Sluggish performance and poor displays are expected of laptops that cost less than $400. With the Aspire 1, Acer wants to change that. This $249 laptop has a stylish design that is both slim and lightweight, and its 1080p display is sharper than others in this price range. Its shortcomings -- below-average battery life, a poor webcam and flimsy construction -- are disappointing, but the Aspire 1 remains a very good option for shoppers trying to spend as little as possible on a new laptop.

I admit I wasn"t expecting the Acer Aspire 1 to look so dang sleek. A stylish profile and slim, lightweight chassis raise this laptop above its inexpensive rivals.

Measuring 13.5 x 9.6 x 0.7 inches, the Aspire 1 is as slim as the HP Stream 14 (13.3 x 8.9 x 0.7 inches) and a lot more compact than the 15-inch Dell Inspiron 15 3000 (14.9 x 10.2 x 0.9 inches). And weighing 3.3 pounds, the Aspire 1 is nowhere near as hefty as the Inspiron 15 3000 (5 pounds), though the Stream 14 (3.1 pounds) is even lighter.

If you"re looking for a pop of color, look elsewhere, as you won"t find it on the Aspire 1. Apart from the silver Acer logo on the lid and the white keyboard font, the entire laptop is black. Fortunately, a brushed texture on the lid and deck elevates the Aspire 1"s otherwise-ordinary aesthetics. Perhaps my favorite design element is the stepped platform on the Aspire"s rear, where an Aspire logo is embossed. It"s a subtle design cue, but it gives the Aspire 1 a certain cool factor.

The build quality of the Acer Aspire 1 is a mixed bag. The smooth plastic lid doesn"t inspire much confidence, flexing under the slightest pressure. I also noticed some springiness when pressing my fingers down hard on the keyboard. On the flip side, the Aspire 1 has sturdy hinges that rotate 180 degrees, so you can fold the display back flat. The flexible display is great for collaborating with a group, but it would be a lot more useful with a touch screen, which is not offered on the Aspire 1.

The right side contains a headphone/mic combo jack and two USB 2.0 ports. There are also two LED indicators for power and battery status, along with a DC power jack.

When I watched a trailer for the upcoming film Hunter Killer, I could see the small details in the submarine set design. The green and blue uniforms worn by the soldiers seemed the appropriate colors, and the explosions burst with shades of orange and yellow. But the colors weren"t particularly vivid. Also, the display"s viewing angles are woefully shallow, fading rapidly when viewed from a slight angle.

The Acer Aspire 1 can reproduce 71 percent of the sRGB color gamut. That"s not colorful by most standards, but it"s a strong result for a $250 laptop. The HP Stream 14 (82 percent) and Dell Inspiron 15 3000"s (73 percent) panels are even more vivid, and the Aspire falls well short of the budget-laptop average (87 percent).

The Aspire 1"s maximum brightness of 206 nits is respectable, but this machine couldn"t reach the budget laptop average (239 nits). However, laptops at this price typically have even dimmer displays, as seen on the HP Stream 14 (186 nits) and Dell Inspiron 15 (145 nits). The Aspire 1"s matte display does a good job softening reflections under bright conditions.

We prefer at least 1.5mm of key travel, to prevent us from bottoming out or hitting the base of the laptop. Also, an actuation force closer to 60 grams offers the right amount of pressure and isn"t overly straining. That said, the Aspire"s keys are well-spaced, and a soft tactile bump rewards your fingers when a key press is registered.

The Aspire 1"s speakers aren"t particularly loud and could barely fill a medium-size conference room. The audio quality isn"t great, either. When I listened to Aretha Franklin"s "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," the iconic singer"s voice lacked character. At maximum volume, the vocals were shrill when Franklin hit the chorus, and the instruments lost focus as they came to a crescendo. When I played Kanye West"s "Homecoming," the piano riffs sounded thin and the bass line lacked its thumping pulse. On a positive note, Chris Martin"s falsetto came in clear, and the instruments were well-separated.

I visited additional pages individually without issue, even with a 1080p YouTube video and a Twitch stream running in the background. However, the Aspire 1 doesn"t have the firepower to load more-demanding sites. In one notable hiccup, the Aspire 1"s CPU couldn"t keep pace with my typing when I was conducting the 10fastfingers.com test.The Aspire 1 struggled with everyday multitasking.

The Acer Aspire 1 scored 3,349 in the Geekbench 4 overall performance test, a much better score than what the HP Stream 14 achieved (1,817), but just short of the budget laptop category average (3,622).

The Acer Aspire 1"s 64GB of eMMC flash storage did a great job on the Laptop Mag File Transfer test, duplicating 4.97GB of mixed-media files in just 1 minute and 2 seconds. That comes out to a transfer rate of 82.1 megabytes per second, which is more than three times faster than the results from the HP Stream 14 (24.7 MBps) and Dell Inspiron 15 3000 (25.7 MBps). The Acer"s storage is also twice as fast as the average budget laptop (47.2 MBps).

It took the Aspire 6 minutes and 19 seconds to match 65,000 names with their corresponding addresses in our Excel VLOOKUP test. That"s right around the 6:02 budget laptop average.

The Acer took 1 hour and 17 minutes to transcode a 4K video into 1080p, which is around what"d we expect from lower-powered processors. Still, it"s significantly longer than the budget laptop average (40:29).

The Intel UHD Graphics 600 GPU in the Acer Aspire 1 offers enough power to play web games -- but don"t expect it to fire up AAA titles, like Fortnite or Overwatch. It scored 22,965 in the 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited graphics test. That"s better than the scores from the HP Stream 14 (19,073) and Dell Inspiron 15 3000 (18,154) but short of the budget laptop average (26,790).

The Aspire 1 failed to run Dirt 3 at a playable frame rate, hitting only 19 frames per second. At 26 fps, the budget laptop average also failed to reach our 30-fps playability threshold.

The Acer Aspire 1 turned in below-average results in our Laptop Mag Battery Test, which involves continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. The laptop lasted 6 hours and 31 minutes on a charge, which is shorter than the HP Stream 14"s time (7:04) and the budget laptop average (7:14). Acer"s machine did stay powered for longer than the short-lived Dell Inspiron 15 3000 (5:33).

That"s not the half of it. Our dimly lit office was so washed out in the image that I couldn"t identify objects behind me. The colors the webcam captured weren"t accurate, either. My army-green shirt was a muddy gray, and my blue eyes looked like black pits. I haven"t used such a poor camera since I owned a flip phone. Needless to say, Aspire 1 owners will want to check out our Best External Webcams guide.

The Acer Aspire 1"s thin chassis became uncomfortably warm when we played a full-screen HD video for 15 minutes. The underside heated to 105 degrees Fahrenheit, and the lower left side of the bottom panel topped out at a scalding 113 degrees. These temperatures are well above our 95-degree comfort threshold. Fortunately, you won"t feel the heat unless the Aspire 1 is on your lap. Its touchpad remained a cool 80 degrees, and the keyboard center peaked at 93 degrees.

Microsoft wasn"t as generous with its preinstalled software. All the bloatware we"ve come to expect can be found on the Aspire 1, including children"s games, like Bubble Witch 3 Saga, Candy Crush Saga, Candy Crush Soda Soda, Hidden City, Minecraft, Cooking Fever and Dragon Mania Legends, along with other pre-installed programs, like Booking.com, Evernote and Netflix.

The Acer Aspire 1 comes in a few configurations, all of which cost less than $300. For $249, our review unit, the base model, came equipped with an Intel Celeron N4000 CPU, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of flash storage. For $30 more, you can get a more powerful Intel Celeron N4100 CPU.

If you"re on a strict budget, the 14-inch Acer Aspire 1 is an impressive laptop. With a sharp, 14-inch display and slim, lightweight design, the Aspire is a far cry from the ugly, low-resolution devices we typically see in this price range. It also has a strong selection of ports and a solid keyboard.

Unfortunately, the Aspire"s plastic chassis exhibits a concerning amount of flex, battery life could be improved, and the webcam is practically useless.

There are few alternatives worth mentioning at this price range. If you want a pop of color, you could choose the HP Stream, which has longer battery life, but you"ll have to compromise on a dim display and even slower performance. Your other option is to purchase a Chromebook, like the Samsung Chromebook 3. However, Chromebooks typically have smaller displays, and Chrome OS isn"t as versatile as Windows 10. That makes the Aspire 1 a compelling option for anyone on a budget, and at $250, it"s a steal.