Acer Aspire 3 (A317-54) – Top 5 Pros and Cons
Acer’s budget laptop options have been able to compete with other manufacturers’ offerings. Today’s Aspire 3 (A317-54) comes with a large 17.3-inch screen, low weight, and new hardware, as the 12th Gen Alder Lake processors were the hot stuff in 2022 and continue to be great until we see how Raptor Lake performs, but even then, the chips will still be relevant.
Today we’re giving you a quick overview of the Acer Aspire 3 (A317-54).
Acer Aspire 3 (A317-54): Full Specs / In-depth Review
3 reasons to BUY the Acer Aspire 3 (A317-54)
1. Upgradeability
The laptop starts off well, offering two RAM slots for DDR4 memory and two M.2 slots, only one of which has Gen 4 support.
Here is our detailed teardown video which shows how to access both the RAM and the storage of the Acer Aspire 3 (A317-54).
2. Performance
The Core i7-1255U offers 12 cores with 16 threads and delivers great performance, offering good scores inside both 3D and 2D Rendering benchmarks, trailing the Ryzen 7 5825U in 3D Rendering, while being quicker in Photoshop.
3. Cooling
The laptop manages these scores with a simple cooling setup, offering two copper heat pipes and one fan.
Max CPU load
Intel Core i7-1255U (15W TDP) | 0:02 – 0:10 sec | 0:15 – 0:30 sec | 10:00 – 15:00 min |
---|---|---|---|
Acer Aspire 3 (A317-54) | 3.58 GHz @ 2.68 GHz @ 70°C @ 43W | 3.53 GHz @ 2.47 GHz @ 74°C @ 37W | 2.92 GHz @ 2.26 GHz @ 69°C @ 28W |
HP EliteBook 860 G9 | 3.23 GHz @ 2.57 GHz @ 85°C @ 41W | 3.09 GHz @ 2.46 GHz @ 86°C @ 38W | 1.82 GHz @ 1.58 GHz @ 57°C @ 16W |
HP 15 (15-dw4000) | 3.19 GHz @ 2.42 GHz @ 69°C @ 40W | 1.90 GHz @ 1.49 GHz @ 57°C @ 17W | 1.91 GHz @ 1.49 GHz @ 56°C @ 17W |
Lenovo ThinkPad E15 Gen 4 | 3.44 GHz @ 2.63 GHz @ 78°C @ 43W | 2.98 GHz @ 2.24 GHz @ 75°C @ 36W | 2.15 GHz @ 1.57 GHz @ 70°C @ 23W |
MSI Modern 15 (B12M) | 3.63 GHz @ 2.68 GHz @ 78°C @ 44W | 3.63 GHz @ 2.65 GHz @ 86°C @ 44W | 3.26 GHz @ 2.40 GHz @ 85°C @ 35W |
As you can see, the Aspire 3 delivers good clock speeds and high wattage in all three stages of the test, while remaining cool.
Comfort during full load
As such, the laptop is quiet and the base has a low temperature of around 37°C.
2 reasons NOT to buy the Acer Aspire 3 (A317-54)
1. Build quality
More often than not, affordable devices struggle to remain durable, and unfortunately, the Acer Aspire 3 keeps the narrative going, with a flexy lid and base. On the other hand, the plastic material doesn’t feel cheap at all and has a nice feel to the touch. The lid can’t be opened with one hand, as the hinges are super stiff. Still, it keeps itself light, with a weight of 2.23 kg and 20.9 mm.
2. Input devices
The keyboard isn’t a bright spot, offering short key travel while the feedback isn’t consistent across the entire area. Below the board, there doesn’t seem to be any support as well, which doesn’t bode well for the typing experience. The touchpad is fast and smooth, however, the tracking feels sluggish.