Acer Aspire 5 R6DE Laptop Review

It is in the processor performance department that this model holds the aces, the Ryzen 7 3700U processor comes integrated with a Radeon RX vegan 10× GPU (graphics card), a combo that promises much and delivers more, despite its limitations. With 4 CPU Cores, it has a clock rate of 2.3MHz with a Turbo rate of 4.0Mhz.

This laptop will not come with the bells and whistles that Acer typically adorns its laptops with, but it is sure to ring a bell among users on a tight budget and bargain hunters.

Acer Aspire 5 A515-43-R6DE – Design and Appearance

We have reviewed the Acer Aspire 5 laptop Lineup features a series of Acer laptops (such as the Aspire 1) that are cast from the same stone or metal in this case. The silver-colored finish on the single strip of aluminum is the build design style, as is the black colors of all the keys in the keyboard ensemble.

The chassis is of a plastic make-up, wrapped around its entirety with a thin sheet of aluminum that gives it that refined but robust look and feel.

This model tips the scales at about 3.7pounds, its form factor gives it away as a portable device as it slims down to 0.71-inches.

The hinges are flexible when they flip open the lid and sturdy when they hold it in place, and the creaking of the hinges is faint and passable.

Ports and Connections

Two USB 2.0 ports and a solitary 3.1 Gen 1 port make their way to the sides of this laptop, there is a Gigabit Ethernet port and an HDMI port in the mix, as well as the audio jack slot.

As is the case with other laptop models from this Aspire rollout, there is no provision for a Thunderbolt or a DVD Drive.

An 802. 11ac Wi-Fi is on wireless connectivity duties, while a Bluetooth 4.0 feature allows for seamless transfer of files.

Keyboard and Input Devices

The keyboard is packed to the rafters. It features a standard six-row keyboard deck and enjoys the full complement of a Numpad for good measure.

The keys are firm and sizable, with tactile feedback and a snappy response to boot.

The keyboard deck also sports a single-level backlight that accentuates the keys with a LED-enabled brilliance in dimly lit settings.

The touchpad area is smooth, spacious,  and bereft of a fingerprint scanner as with the Aspire 5 59W2, it also receives support from windows precision drivers and responds keenly to windows multitouch gestures.

Acer Aspire 5 A515-43-R6DE – Audio

Audio from this device rolls out from a duo of speakers placed under the carriage of the laptop, it is not the most suitable place to site your speakers, but it is an inevitable provision for want of space.

Acer’s TrueHarmony system serves to improve the audio experience, you can absorb the highs and lows of every note and not sense any sort of distortion on any scale.

In general, the sounds turn out just fine, the bass is deep but not spectacular or noticeable outside of an earshot, but the volume is loud enough to be heard from a couple of blocks away.

Acer Aspire 5 A515-43-R6DE – Display

The display configuration is a Full HD display resolution on an IPS display panel, a decent combination in every right, the display is clear and sharp in a variety of viewing angles.

 Acer throws in a couple of props into the mix; ample screen real-estate is accounted for by thinning down the bezels from the chunky bits of other models to barely-there levels here, and the “Comfyview” feature helps in reducing glare in brightly lit areas with its matte screen finish.

There is the Acer color intelligence feature, that enriches and enhances every pixel dotting the screen to improve the clarity and acuity of the display in all its finer details.

And the list goes on, Acer adds the BlueLightShield into the array, a feature that as the name implies, serves to shield users from the harmful effects of sustained exposure to the screens’ blue light.

What you get in exchange for all these props is the satisfaction and security that comes with knowing that you can safely go on a screen binge, even in outdoor settings, and still be met with a brilliant and clearly visible display.

Radeon Graphics & Benchmarks

The AMD Radeon Vega 10x graphics card is a step-up from the intel UHD offerings in other models of the Aspire 5 laptop computers series, even though it is classified as a low-end processor.

There are more than enough cores and shaders in the mix to take on light gaming and basic graphic design tasks.

And with the support of a dual-channel DDR4 RAM module as with this laptop, this graphic card can churn out better-quality graphics in real-time, without the glitches and flickers that tend to dot the screen-scape.

This integrated graphics card is not a power player, but it still puts up a good showing, and that’s with the added benefit of its energy efficiency.

Gaming

Gaming is not a strong suit of this laptop, but it is not necessarily a position of weakness, the trick is simple, stay away from the biggest and newest titles and you’ll be the better for it, and check out the best sub $1500 gaming laptops for suitable game-playing devices..

The Radeon Vega 10 graphics card does not play in the big leagues, so gaming performance takes a sizable hit with this laptop, still, some decent titles can be run at standard frame rates, and with some little concessions in display resolution and graphics settings.

Games like Fortnite and GTA 5 can be played at 60fps or just above on low-medium FHD resolution.

Battery Life

The 45Wh battery promises around 7 hours of regular operation at the least, this limited power suffices for the most basic system work, any other thing will be asking for too much.

Gaming or multimedia editing on battery power alone will significantly reduce the runtime, although the graphics card is known to have a tolerable power draw. Web browsing and word processing will cut it down by nearly half, while video playback pegs back the touted 7hours runtime by a bit.

Cooling and Noise Emission

The fan design on this laptop does not spring up any surprises. The spinning motions get underway as soon as the laptop powers on- a little too soon perhaps. While the fan does not spiral uncontrollably into a frenzy of sorts during intensive usage, the whirl of the fan can still be slightly heard at close quarters.

The AMD processors in this laptop are energy efficient, this results in a laptop that mostly keeps it’s cool even in the thick of the action. In addition, the lineup of vents at the back edge of the laptop inadvertently serves as an outlet for hot air ejection.

Performance

This laptop is no pushover on the performance side of things, this models’ configuration comes with AMDs’ Ryzen 7 3700 processor, integrated with a Radeon RX Vega 10 graphics card.

This processor matchup is an exciting prospect and the Aspire 5 RD6E is the perfect exhibition. The Ryzen 7 can compare favorably with Intel’s Core i5 laptops in terms of multithreaded performance and speed of operation.

Word processing, heavy web browsing, video editing, and light gaming in that order, this laptop takes it all in its stride, albeit at varying degrees of speed.

On paper the specs might not make for a compelling argument, a dual-core processor might not look attractive, but this laptop gets enough base speed and prime power for multitasking and productivity.

Its peak speed of 4.0Ghz might not suffice for a blitz of workloads, but with an ability to maintain clock speeds for long periods, this laptop will give you uninterrupted performance for as long as your battery allows.

The laptop does not buckle under the pressure of processor-intensive activities, and the energy efficiency of the processors serves to reduce the risk of throttling or burnout.

Final Verdict

The Acer Aspire 5 A515-43-R6DE is a no-brainer for people that want the big bangs, but who can not afford big money in exchange.

It makes some tolerable concessions, some of which are inevitable, without necessarily compromising drastically on the overall quality of the user experience which makes it a good choice.

The display is easy on the eyes, the processors put in the work, and the battery does not put a damper on the running operation.

All of these are possible as long as you do not push this laptop beyond its limits, this laptop has thresholds in all its parameters, and exceeding them will set this device on a downward spiral.

Because as much as we don’t like to be reminded, the Aspire 5 R6DE is a budget laptop that Acer has brought to the market, making it an affordable choice for the money which is what most people want.

Acer Aspire 5 A515-43-R6DE Device Specifications (R6DE Specs)

Series

Aspire 5

Model

A515-43-R6DE

Processor 

AMD Ryzen 7 3700u

Graphics   

AMD Radeon RX Vega 10

Display      

15.6 inches

Processor  ‎

2.3-4.0GHz

RAM

‎8GB DDR4

Storage

‎512GB SSD (Flash Memory Solid State)

Wireless Connectivity type

802.11ac

Number of USB Ports

Two USB 2.0 ports and 1 USB 3.0 port

Average Battery Life (in hours)  

‎7 Hours

Operating System

‎Windows 10 Home

Item Weight

‎3.97 pounds