Acer Aspire 5 (A517-58M) review – Budget Beast with Record-Breaking Performance for the Core i7-1355U

Name: Acer Aspire 5
Brand: Acer

LaptopMedia.com Reviews and Analysis Acer Aspire 5 (A517-58M) review - Budget Beast with Record-Breaking Performance for the Core i7-1355U Page 2

From: Nikolay Palaozov, eng. Kroum Nikolov 30 March 2024 / 12:00 1

2. Design and construction

1. Intro, Specs, Drivers, What’s in the box Previous page Next page 3. Display quality, Health impact (PWM), Sound

Design and construction

The design of the Aspire 5 (A517-58M) is unintrusive and clean, with a laser-engraved Acer logo on top of the lid. The latter is made of metal and has an anodized finish. The only color option for the series is called Steel Gray. With a 17.99 mm profile, the laptop is definitely thin for a 17-incher. The iGPU-only machines weigh 2.09 kg while the RTX 2050-based iterations are heavier – 2.40 kilos.

The lid can’t be opened with a single hand but on the bright side, the unit feels rigid when the laptop is closed. In an opened position, the lid is averagely flexible but nothing too serious. Overall, the plastic base feels stable. There is a bit of flex in the central zones above and below the board deck but that happens only when you apply pressure on purpose.

The bezels that surround the panel are decently thin except for the bottom one that houses the Acer logo and the odd-looking black and yellow “1080p” sticker. The Web camera is orthodoxly placed. This Full HD model lacks a privacy shutter but it supports Temporal Noise Reduction tech.

This device offers the so-called “elevated design”. This means that the lid acts as a lever and it lifts the back of the machine when the angle of opening is bigger than 90 degrees. This enhances the ergonomics during typing and the capabilities of the cooling solution because more fresh air can reach the internals.

You get a full-sized keyboard with a NumberPad zone but keep in mind that the backlight is optional. The key travel and the feedback are average. Still, the board is comfortable enough for normal usage. We don’t like the reduced size of the “Up” and “Down” Arrow keys which makes them hard to hit.

The touchpad is small considering the big form factor of the laptop. The pad smoothness is alright for the class but the whole top cover makes some rattling noises during usage and the clicks are notably noisy. All in all, the best thing that we can say about the unit is that it’s usable. The optional fingerprint reader can be seen in the top left corner of the pad.

The bottom plate houses a big ventilation grill that reveals almost the whole cooling, four small rubber feet, a battery reset pinhole, and two speaker cutouts. The hot air is being exhausted through a vent on the back which aims at the lower bezels of the display. Some amount of heat reaches the panel during heavy CPU loads.

Ports

On the left, there is a power plug, a Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 connector with Power Delivery (3A at 5V DC) and DisplayPort capabilities, HDMI 2.1, and a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port that supports power-off charging. On the right, we can spot a lock slot, one more USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, and an Audio combo jack.

2. Design and construction

1. Intro, Specs, Drivers, What’s in the box Previous page Next page 3. Display quality, Health impact (PWM), Sound

Author: Nikolay Palaozov

Author: eng. Kroum NikolovHead of Engineering at LaptopMedia.com, inventor and innovator with 40+ years of experience in electronics and high technology.

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Jon Wood

2 months ago

Could you clarify on the RAM front? Your specs say up to 64GB, but the dismantling shows only soldered-in RAM. Some memory websites suggest a SODIMM slot, I’ve only ever seen 16GB versions sold with some indication they could be upgraded to 32GB, which I would like to do with mine – A517-58M-71A2 NX.KHMEK.001