Acer Aspire Go (AG15-51P) review – Balancing Affordability and Performance
The laptop market is full of affordable daily drivers with decent hardware. The Acer Aspire Go (AG15-51P) falls right into this category. It’s powered by 15W Alder Lake-based processors. These are still fast enough for normal usage but the lack of a dedicated NPU unit for AI tasks could be a no-go for some users. Still, the port selection with its four USB connectors is definitely good for the price class. The same can be said about the upgradability.
When it comes to display variants, we are happy to see that there are no TN units. The only panel available for this Acer series is a 15.3″ IPS screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio which sounds perfectly fine for this kind of device. Expectedly, the refresh rate is 60Hz.
Here, you’ll not find goodies such as a fingerprint reader or a privacy shutter. Considering the price tag, this isn’t exactly a huge issue while the lack of a backlight even as an option isn’t exactly an ideal solution even for an inexpensive machine.
You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/acer-aspire-go-ag15-51p/
Contents
Specs, Drivers, What’s in the box
Acer Aspire Go (AG15-51P) - Specs
- Display
- 15.3”, WUXGA (1920 x 1200), IPS
- HDD/SSD
- up to 1000GB SSD
- M.2 Slot
- 1x 2280 PCIe NVMe 4.0 x4 See photo
- RAM
- up to 32GB
- OS
- Windows 11 Home, No OS, Windows 11 Pro
- Battery
- 53Wh
- Body material
- Plastic / Polycarbonate
- Dimensions
- 344.2 x 243.45 x 13.0 - 19.9 mm (13.55" x 9.58" x 0.51")
- Weight
- 1.70 kg (3.7 lbs)
- Ports and connectivity
- 1x USB Type-A
- 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
- 1x USB Type-A
- 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), Sleep and Charge
- 2x USB Type-C
- 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps), Power Delivery (PD)
- HDMI
- 2.1
- Card reader
- Ethernet LAN
- Wi-Fi
- Wi-Fi 6E
- Bluetooth
- 5.3
- Audio jack
- 3.5mm Combo Jack
- Features
- Fingerprint reader
- Web camera
- FHD with Temporal Noise Reduction
- Backlit keyboard
- Microphone
- 2x Microphones with Acer Purified Voice, AI noise reduction
- Speakers
- 2x Stereo Speakers
- Optical drive
- Security Lock slot
All Acer Aspire Go (AG15-51P) configurations
Drivers
All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://www.acer.com/us-en/support/product-support/AG15-51P/downloads?suggest=AG15-51P;0
What’s in the box?
The package is business as usual. It contains the mandatory paperwork and a 65W Type-C adapter.
Design and construction
The design of the Aspire Go (AG15-51P) is typical for Acer and its budget lineup of notebooks. It looks clean and stealthy. The all-plastic build has a positive side and that’s the low 1.70 kg weight. The 13.0 – 19.9 mm profile height is okay for a 15.3″ gadget.
The metal cap above the lid slightly sticks out of the chassis which eases the opening.
You’ll need both hands to open the notebook. The lid feels stable in a closed position but it’s spongy when you open the machine. The base is more solid. There is no wobble on the main body while typing. You could flex the sections below the Space key and the Arrows but only just.
The bezels that surround the IPS screen aren’t among the thinnest we’ve seen, especially the top and bottom ones. The Web camera is placed above the panel and it lacks a privacy shutter. Still, the dual-mic 1080p@60FPS unit is tied with Temporal Noise Reduction tech and with support for Staggered High Dynamic Range (SHDR).
The max angle of the opening isn’t too limited but the device couldn’t lay flat.
The keyboard has a NumPad which is for the accountants out there. Unfortunately, the unit doesn’t have a backlight. The key travel is average while the feedback is kind of soft. Still, the board is comfortable enough for typing. Shortcuts for Acer Sense and MS Copilot are also onboard.
The moisture-resistant touchpad is decently big. It’s also surprisingly smooth and it’s accuracy isn’t bad at all.
The large 3-row ventilation grill on the bottom reveals almost the entire cooling. The plate also houses four small rubber feet, cutouts for the speakers, and a battery reset pinhole. The hot air is pushed through a small vent on the back that points at the lower display bezel. That’s why some amount of heat makes its way to the screen during heavy CPU loads.
Ports
On the left side, you get a pair of 20 Gbps USB4 / USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 2×2) ports, followed by an HDMI 2.1, and a 5 Gbps USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port with power-off charging. The other side is home to a Kensington Lock slot, one more 5 Gbps USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, and an Audio combo jack.
The two Type-Cs support DisplayPort and USB charging 5 V; 3 A + DC-in 20 V; 65 W.
Display, Get our Profiles
| Acer Aspire Go | NV153WUM-N41 (BOE0CEA) |
| Diagonal | 15.3 inches (38.9 cm) |
| Panel Type | IPS |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1200 pixels |
| Max Refresh Rate | 60 Hz |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:10 |
| Pixel Density | 148 PPI |
| ‘Retina’ Distance | Greater than or equal to 59 cm |
Viewing Angles
Viewing angles are good. We take photos from different angles to evaluate the quality.
Also, a video with locked focus and exposure.
Color Coverage
The whole “sail-shaped” map below (Fig. 1) consists of all the colors we can see, while the black crooked line shows all the colors from real-world scenes and nature around us.
Then, we’ve drawn some of the most important and interesting color spaces, compared to the colors the panel of Acer Aspire Go can show:
Standard/For Web: sRGB – widely used color space for most consumer devices, ideal for Web design and development
For Print: AdobeRGB – used in professional photo editing, graphic design, and print
For Photographers/Video Editors: DCI-P3 – used in high-end film production, post-production, and digital cinema
Premium HDR: Rec.2020 – the widest consumer ITU color standard, covering a massive 75.8% of the visible spectrum, a benchmark for premium HDR content
Acer Aspire Go: the yellow dashed triangle (– – – – – –) represents the range of colors this monitor can display.
In our tests, we calculated the total color coverage of the monitor at 52% of the sRGB color gamut and 42% of the DCI-P3 color gamut.
(Fig.1) Acer Aspire Go covers 52% of the sRGB gamut
Brightness and Contrast
The maximum brightness in SDR mode is 279 cd/m² in the center of the screen and 282 cd/m² averaged across the surface with a maximum deviation of 6%.
The Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) on a white screen at maximum brightness is 6710K.
The contrast ratio is 1150:1.
Uniformity: Luminance, Contrast, and Color Deviation
The figure below shows the results from our uniformity test across different sections of the screen. It’s measured at 182 nits (Windows slider = 61%) — a brightness level we consider typical for standard working conditions.
DeltaE values below 4.0 are acceptable for regular users. For those working with colors, screens with DeltaE values no higher than 2.0 are recommended.
Color Accuracy
Let’s check the difference between real colors and those you’ll see on the Acer Aspire Go. We measure that distance in DeltaE – the higher the number, the more different they look.
Values below 4.0 are acceptable for regular users, while values below 2.0 are suitable for color-sensitive work. A value below 1.0 means the difference is indistinguishable to the naked eye.
For the next graph, we’ve selected 24 common colors, including dark/light skin, blue sky, green grass, etc.
Before our calibration of the Acer Aspire Go, the Average color accuracy was 4.6 dE (Fig. 2), and with our Design and Office profile, it lowered to 4.1 dE (Fig. 3).
(Fig. 2) Acer Aspire Go in its factory condition
(Fig. 3) Acer Aspire Go with our display profile
Comparison in the sRGB color space.
Here’s an illustration of what the Design and Office profile aims to deliver:
Left: No Profile | Drag the slider to see the difference | Right: Design & Gaming Profile
Visibility in dark scenes
Have you ever watched a movie with dark scenes where you could barely see anything? This often happens because many display panels struggle to differentiate the darkest nuances, making them appear the same.
The next figure illustrates how well the display reproduces these dark nuances. The left side of the image shows the display with stock settings, and the right side shows it with our Gaming and movies profile activated.
On the horizontal axis are the grayscale levels, and on the vertical axis – the corresponding display brightness.
You can also check how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display and the surrounding light conditions.
Response time (Gaming capabilities)
We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa.
We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 15.2 ms. Short pixel response time is a prerequisite for a smooth picture in dynamic scenes.
After that, we test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “Gray-to-Gray” method from 50% White to 80% White and vice versa between 10% and 90% of the amplitude.
Health Impact: PWM (Screen flickering)
Some use PWM to regulate their brightness, which means that instead of reducing the light intensity, they pulse or flicker. Our brain merges the image, so it appears darker, but this strains both it and our vision, especially when the frequency of the pulses is low. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM.
In the graph below, you see the intensity of light at different brightness levels—on the vertical axis is the brightness of the emitted light, and on the horizontal axis—time.
The light from the backlight of the Acer Aspire Go display is not pulse-width modulated, providing visual comfort in the discussed aspect.
Health Impact: Blue light emissions
Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates harmful PWM when the laptop uses it to control brightness but also reduces harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate.
If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light.
Health Impact: Screen Reflectance
Glossy-coated displays can cause eye fatigue in high ambient light conditions due to reflections. We measure the level of screen reflection with the display turned off, at a 60° angle.
The reflectance of the Acer Aspire Go’s screen is 49.0 GU.
High Gloss: >70 GU
Medium Gloss: 30 – 70 GU
Low Gloss: <30 GU
Get our profiles
Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for Acer Aspire Go configurations with NV153WUM-N41 (BOE0CEA), 1920 x 1200, IPS panel.
*Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected].
Read more about the profiles HERE.
In addition to receiving efficient and health-friendly profiles, by buying LaptopMedia's products you also support the development of our labs, where we test devices in order to produce the most objective reviews possible.
Office Work
Office Work should be used mostly by users who spend most of the time looking at pieces of text, tables or just surfing. This profile aims to deliver better distinctness and clarity by keeping a flat gamma curve (2.20), native color temperature and perceptually accurate colors.
Design and Gaming
This profile is aimed at designers who work with colors professionally, and for games and movies as well. Design and Gaming takes display panels to their limits, making them as accurate as possible in the sRGB IEC61966-2-1 standard for Web and HDTV, at white point D65.
Health-Guard
Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate. Health-Guard simulates paper so the pressure on the eyes is greatly reduced.
Get all 3 profiles with 33% discount
Sound
When we subjectively listen to a sound file through the built-in speakers, the sound quality offered by Acer Aspire Go is good.
Performance: CPU, GPU, Storage
All benchmarks and tests were conducted with the “Best Performance” mode applied in the Windows “Power & Battery” menu.
CPU options
You can find this machine with Intel Core i3-1215U, Core i5-1235U, Core i7-1255U, and Intel Core i5-1334U.
Our laptop has a 1334U chip.
Here, we evaluate the CPU's performance using a real-world 3D rendering task, assessing its ability to handle complex computations and rendering workloads efficiently.
Results are from the Cinebench 2024 Multi-Core test (higher is better)
Single-core performance ensures smooth operation and responsiveness in operating systems, providing a better user experience.
Results are from the Geekbench 6 Single-Core test (higher is better)
Multi-core performance is essential for handling complex and demanding tasks, such as Video editing, CAD, and Scientific simulations.
Results are from the Geekbench 6 Multi-Core test (higher is better)
GPU options
All machines of this Acer series are iGPU-only notebooks.
The device that we bought has an Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 (80EU) under the hood that operates as UHD Graphics since the memory works in single-channel mode (only one RAM stick is installed).
The results are from 3DMark Time Spy (Graphics). Higher is better.
The results are from 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited. Higher is better.
Gaming tests
| Counter-Strike 2 | HD 1080p, Low (Check settings) | HD 1080p, Medium (Check settings) | HD 1080p, Very High (Check settings) |
| Average FPS | 75 FPS | 47 FPS | 15 FPS |
| Gears 5 | Full HD, Low (Check settings) | Full HD, Medium (Check settings) | Full HD, High (Check settings) | Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) |
| Average FPS | 34 FPS | 22 FPS | 17 FPS | 13 FPS |
Storage performance
Our laptop has a 512GB SAMSUNG PM9C1 (MZVL8512HELU-00BTW). It offers good read speeds while the write ones are average at best. Unfortunately, the lack of dedicated cooling for the NVMe has a negative impact on the temperatures during benchmarking.
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Temperatures and comfort, Battery Life
Max CPU load
In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering.
Average E-core frequency; CPU temp.; Package Power
| Intel Core i5-1334U (15W TDP) | 0:02 – 0:10 sec | 0:15 – 0:30 sec | 10:00 – 15:00 min |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acer Aspire Go (AG15-51P) | 3.16 GHz @ 2.23 GHz @ 53°C @ 34W | 3.14 GHz @ 2.22 GHz @ 66°C @ 32W | 2.88 GHz @ 2.03 GHz @ 61°C @ 28W |
Even in long loads, the Core i5-1334U can sustain a 2.88 GHz / 2.03 GHz P and E-core clock which is much higher than the official Intel base frequencies for this processor. The temperatures are also under control.
Gaming comfort
During max processor stress in “Best Performance” mode, the noise that is coming from the single fan is average. The hotspot on the keyboard is around the WASD area but this section feels just slightly warm to the touch. The two palmrests are cool.
The “Balanced” mode sports slightly hindered clocks than the “Best Performance” preset while the noise levels are almost the same.
Battery
Now, we conduct the battery tests with the Windows Best Power Efficiency setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 180 nits and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. This laptop’s 53Wh battery lasts for around 9 hours and a half of video playback. Оur test was conducted with the “Battery Saver” preset activated in the Windows “Power & Battery” menu.
Brightness: 180 nits; Display Mode: SDR
Time to Full Discharge: Higher is Better
Disassembly, Upgrade options, and Maintenance
To gain access to the internals, you have to undo 10 Philips-head screws. Pry the back with a thin plastic tool and pop the top edges. Then, pry the sides and the front.
Here’s how the bottom panel looks on the inside.
Our laptop has a 53Wh battery. To take it out, detach the connector by pulling it towards the unit and undo the two Philips-head screws that secure the battery to the base. The capacity is enough for around 9 hours and a half of video playback.
The RAM zone is covered by a metal cap and you can pop it with a lever tool. For memory expansion, you get a pair of SODIMMs.
According to Acer, the slots are compatible with up to 32GB of DDR5-5600MHz memory in dual-channel mode. However, since the CPU can support up to 96GB, this laptop likely wouldn’t have issues running a larger amount of memory than the official manufacturer’s specified limit.
In terms of storage upgrades, there is just one M.2 slot for 2280 Gen 4 NVMe drives.
The Wi-Fi 6 card is on the right of the cooling.
The thermal system is pretty basic. It comprises a single fan, one decently long heat pipe, a top-mounted heat sink, and a heat spreader.
Verdict
The Acer Aspire Go (AG15-51P) is a good choice for unpretentious users who need an affordable laptop for home or office usage. The input devices are good enough for work. Despite the plastic build, the base is solid while the lid definitely could be more stable.
All looks good in terms of performance. In our case, the Core i5-1334U maintains a 2.88 GHz / 2.03 GHz P and E-core clock even during heavy CPU stress such as 3D rendering. At the same time, the single fan isn’t too noisy and the keyboard doesn’t become scorching hot to the touch. On the flip side, the SSD reaches 77°C when it’s pounded with liner write and read loads. Still, the NVMe is much cooler when using the laptop normally.
The 1200p IPS display (NV153WUM-N41 (BOE0CEA)) isn’t exactly spectacular but it gets the job done for standard tasks. It’s a PWM-free unit with wide viewing angles. However, the sRGB coverage and the max brightness are low.
The Acer Aspire Go is a good offer in the budget segment thanks to the long battery life, the rich port selection, and the adequate performance.
You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/acer-aspire-go-ag15-51p/
Pros
- Long battery life given the modest 53Wh battery ~ 9 hours and a half of videos
- Fair price
- Solid base
- Light for a 15-incher (1.70 kg)
- PWM-free (BOE0CEA)
- Wide viewing angles (BOE0CEA)
- Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth 5.1
- Good comfort during full system loads
- The Core i5-1334U maintains ~2.88 GHz / 2.03 GHz even in longer stress
- 2x DDR5 SODIMMs
- 4x USB ports + HDMI 2.1
- Upgradable Wi-Fi card
- You can pop the bottom plate pretty easily
- Surprisingly good touchpad for the price class
- Good sound quality
Cons
- Plastic build
- Low sRGB coverage and max brightness (BOE0CEA)
- Only one M.2 slot
- Spongy lid
- No backlight and fingerprint reader even as an option
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