If you are on the hunt for a compact, light, and powerful laptop for office and home tasks that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, the Acer Aspire 5 (A514-56M) should possibly be on your shortlist. The notebook isn't expensive and it has a display with a 16:10 aspect ratio which is more comfortable for work because the pannel is taller. The machine can be configured with Intel Raptor Lake U CPUs which are efficient and don't require significant cooling. The manufacturer has used some clever tricks to keep the processor temperatures as low as possible. This includes the well-known lever hinge and an air-inlet keyboard. At least for now, the device is offered with just one display model but since it's an IPS variant with 1200p resolution, it seems enough for this kind of price tag. The absence of TN panels is something that we highly admire. You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/acer-aspire-5-a514-56m-a514-56gm/ Specs, Drivers, What's in the box Drivers All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://www.acer.com/us-en/support/product-support/Aspire%20A514-56M/downloads?suggest=A514-56M;1 What's in the box? The package contains the laptop itself, a 65W barrel plug adapter, and the mandatory paperwork. Design and construction This machine looks like a usual Acer laptop meant for office and home usage. The design and the color scheme are stealthy. Dimension-wise, this is a notebook that can fit in most backpacks and suitcases with ease. It weighs just 1.48 kg and the profile is 17.8 mm. The lid is made of metal and can be opened with a single hand. The unit is a bit bendy in the center when it's closed and you can flex it a bit in an open position but overall, nothing serious. The plastic base is solid, we observed slight bends in the upper section between the two hinges and between the Space key and the touchpad. Ultimately, the build quality is good for the class. The bezels around the panel aren't thin. The upper one houses a 1080p Web camera with Temporal Noise Reduction. The lid acts as a lever and it lifts the back of the base when the angle of opening is bigger than 90 degrees. The raised chassis results in better comfort during typing and enhanced cooling capabilities. The optional backlit keyboard lacks a NumPad but that's normal for this form factor. It's more important that the board has a long key travel and clicky feedback. The touchpad is a bit smaller than expected but it's moisture resistant, and its smooth surface allows good accuracy. The fingerprint reader is positioned in the top left corner of the pad. On the bottom plate, we can see a large ventilation grille, a battery reset pinhole, and two speaker cutouts. The heat is being exhausted through a vent on the back of the laptop that aims at the lower bezel of the display. This section becomes warm if the CPU is heavily stressed. Ports On the left, you can see a power connector, a Thunderbolt 4 port with charging and Display Port support, an HDMI 2.1 connector, and a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port with a power-off charging function. On the right, you spot a Kensington lock slot, another USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, and an audio jack. Display quality, Health impact (PWM), Sound Acer Aspire 5 (A514-56M) is equipped with a WUXGA IPS panel, model number AUO B140UAN04.0 (AUO7DA7). It comes with a 60Hz refresh rate. Its diagonal is 14" (35.6 cm), and the resolution - 1920 x 1200p. Additionally, the screen ratio is 16:10, the pixel density – 162 ppi, and their pitch – 0.16 x 0.16 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 53 cm (from this distance, the average human eye can’t see the individual pixels). Viewing angles are good. We offer images at different angles to evaluate the quality. Also, a video with locked focus and exposure. The maximum measured brightness is 273 nits (cd/m2) in the middle of the screen and 252 nits (cd/m2) average across the surface with a maximum deviation of 12%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness is 6720K (average). In the illustration below you can see how the display performs from a uniformity perspective. The illustration below shows how matters are for operational brightness levels (approximately 140 nits) – in this particular case at 51% Brightness (White level = 140 cd/m2, Black level = 0.12 cd/m2). Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work (a maximum tolerance of 2.0 ). The contrast ratio is good – 1200:1. To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy. Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook. Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day. The yellow dotted line shows Acer Aspire 5 (A514-56M)'s color gamut coverage. Its display covers 51% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976, and 39% of DCI-P3. Our “Design and Gaming” profile delivers optimal color temperature (6500K) at 140 cd/m2 luminance and sRGB gamma mode. We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results at factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile. Below you can compare the scores of the Acer Aspire 5 (A514-56M) with the default settings (left), and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile (right). The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light. The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, 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 = 16 ms. 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) Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the backlight is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM. Acer Aspire 5 (A514-56M)'s display doesn't flicker at any brightness level. This makes the screen pretty comfortable for long periods of use. Health Impact: Blue light emissions Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the 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: Gloss-level measurement Glossy-coated displays are sometimes inconvenient in high ambient light conditions. We show the level of reflection on the screen for the respective laptop when the display is turned off and the measurement angle is 60° (in this case, the result is 62.4 GU). Sound Acer Aspire 5 (A514-56M)'s speakers produce a sound of very good quality. Its low, mid, and high tones are clear of deviations. Buy our profiles Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for Acer Aspire 5 (A514-56M) configurations with 14" AUO B140UAN04.0 (AUO7DA7) (1920 x 1200) IPS. *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 bg.laptopmedia@gmail.com. Read more about the profiles HERE. Performance: CPU, GPU, Gaming Tests CPU options You have a choice of four Raptor Lake U processors for configuring - Intel Core i3-1305U, Core i3-1315U, Core i5-1335U, and Core i7-1355U. Our laptop has an i7 under the hood because we want to see the performance of this chip when it's fitted into an inexpensive device. GPU options Depending on which CPU you will get, the iGPU can be one of the following - Intel UHD Graphics (Alder Lake, 64EU), Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 (80EU), and Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 (96EU). Gaming tests CS:GO HD 1080p, Low (Check settings) HD 1080p, Medium (Check settings) HD 1080p, MAX (Check settings) Average FPS 173 fps 141 fps 87 fps DOTA 2 HD 1080p, Low (Check settings) HD 1080p, Normal (Check settings) HD 1080p, High (Check settings) Average FPS 133 fps 94 fps 58 fps The Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 (96EU) in our laptop is showing good scores. You can play DOTA 2 on Normal details with around 94FPS - not bad for an integrated video card. [eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT your Laptop 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 P-core frequency; Average E-core frequency; CPU temp.; Package Power Intel Core i7-1355U (15W TDP) 0:02 - 0:10 sec 0:15 - 0:30 sec 10:00 - 15:00 min Acer Aspire 5 (A514-56M) 3.82 GHz @ 2.82 GHz @ 64°C @ 55W 2.18 GHz @ 2.26 GHz @ 65°C @ 37W 1.43 GHz @ 1.98 GHz @ 60°C @ 28W Dell Vostro 15 3530 2.06 GHz @ 2.70 GHz @ 94°C @ 40W 1.56 GHz @ 2.22 GHz @ 96°C @ 26W 2.06 GHz @ 2.25 GHz @ 95°C @ 26W Lenovo Yoga Book 9 (13IRU8) 2.23 GHz @ 2.58 GHz @ 76°C @ 40W 2.13 GHz @ 2.42 GHz @ 85°C @ 35W 1.64 GHz @ 2.03 GHz @ 77°C @ 24W ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED (UX5304) 3.46 GHz @ 2.47 GHz @ 80°C @ 41W 3.06 GHz @ 2.24 GHz @ 91°C @ 31W 2.36 GHz @ 1.68 GHz @ 75°C @ 21W In light loads, the Core i7-1355U can maintain high P and E core clocks while in medium stress, the frequencies are expectedly lower but still good. In the long run, the E core clock is okay and the P cores are reaching 1.43 GHz which is on the low side. The processor temperatures are always low which is a bit of a pleasant surprise given the modest cooling system. Comfort during combined load The fan isn't quiet in "Performance mode" but it's not super noisy. The "Silent mode" offers much lower noise levels but even then, the fan is still audible during light tasks. When the CPU is pounded with 100% stress, the hotspot of the keyboard is located on its left side. The temperature there is fine for normal usage because this laptop has an air-inlet keyboard so the fan is sucking fresh air through the keyboard deck. This clever trick reduces the outside temperatures. Battery Now, we conduct the battery tests with the Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits, and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. This notebook has a 53Wh battery model. It lasts for 11 hours and 7 minutes of either Web browsing or video playback. The result is very good. Disassembly, upgrade options, and maintenance If you want to access the internals, you have to undo 10 Phillips-head screws. Next, you can pry the bottom plate with a plastic tool. One of the upper two corners is the best starting point. The battery is a 53Wh model. If you want to take it out, you have to pull out the connector from the mainboard. Then, you can just remove the battery because it isn't fixed to the base with screws. The battery has enough juice for 11 hours and 7 minutes of Web browsing and we got the exact same score for video playback. The result is good. There is a dedicated socket for the battery on the inside of the bottom plate, that keeps the unit in place. The memory here is soldered. On the bright side, the maximum amount of RAM is 32GB of LPDDR5-6400MHz memory in dual-channel which seems future-proof. Storage-wise, there is a single M.2 slot for Gen 4 SSDs. The cooling isn't massive. It has one fan, two heat pipes, one heat sink, and a heat spreader. Storage performance Our machine is equipped with a 1TB Micron_2450_MTFDKBA1T0TFK. Below you can see some benchmarks of this Gen 4 SSD with TLC memory. It reached just 34°C during testing. Verdict The Acer Aspire 5 (A514-56M) should be a good choice for people who are constantly on the go and need a light and inexpensive device. The dimensions of this machine are one of its strong advantages. It weighs just 1.48 kilos and has a profile of 17.8 mm. The non-intrusive design is suitable for office usage. The long battery life is enough for more than one working day away from the charger. The performance of this notebook is good thanks to the fast and efficient Intel Raptor Lake CPUs. Our machine has a Core i7-1355U which is the top processor option. It can maintain high P and Core clocks in short and medium loads which is the thing that matters the most for normal daily tasks. In long periods of stress, the frequency of the P cores isn't that high but the overall performance is still okay because the efficient cores can sustain ~ 2.0GHz. The cooling solution may look basic but the processor temperatures are always low which is great. The comfort during load is normal. The fan noise is moderate in "Performance mode" but you can switch anytime to "Silent mode" while using the device for light tasks. The keyboard isn't hot when the CPU is massively stressed. You can feel a bit of heat around the WASD section but the thermals are fine for typing. The IPS display (AUO B140UAN04.0 (AUO7DA7)) has a 16:10 aspect ratio and wide viewing angles. Sure, the sRGB coverage is low but that's not something major for such a device. The panel is PWM-free so you can use it safely for long hours (but hey, don't forget to take short breaks). This machine is suitable for light gaming - CS:GO and DOTA 2 can be played on Low or Medium details with high FPS. The upgradability is one of the few disadvantages of the device. The memory is soldered but you can configure the laptop with up to 32GB of LPDDR5-6400MHz memory which should be enough for most people. For storage, there is only one M.2 slot that is compatible with Gen 4 SSDs. At the end of the day, the Acer Aspire 5 (A514-56M) is a machine that doesn't cost much but it can be picked with efficient and potent CPUs, a PWM-free display, and a comfortable keyboard and touchpad. You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/acer-aspire-5-a514-56m-a514-56gm/