Acer Aspire 5 (A517-58M) review – Budget Beast with Record-Breaking Performance for the Core i7-1355U
Verdict
Well, well, the not-so-expensive Acer Aspire 5 (A517-58M) hides some tricks up in its sleeve like the impressively high CPU clocks during load. The optional Core i7-1355U (which is the top chip option for the series) can sustain 3.09 GHz / 2.18 GHz for the P and E cores when the processor is loaded at max for a long time. This is a tremendously good result, and don’t forget the fact that we are talking about a budget device. That’s one of the advantages of a big laptop – there is more free space around the thermal solution which is beneficial for the whole cooling. The air inlet keyboard design and the lifting hinge of the lid also help in this situation. Speaking of which, when the processor is heavily loaded, the keyboard doesn’t become too hot to the touch and the single cooling fan isn’t too noisy. Not bad Acer, not bad!
The laptop offers snappy performance for everyday usage. Considering the great CPU clocks under load, this machine has the potential to be a crazy fast budget blockbuster in its class if the manufacturer had used memory with higher frequency and tighter timings (something like LPDDR5-6400 MHz). Still, the overall power of the notebook is good, and playing light games such as CS:GO is a breezy experience even with the iGPU.
The 17.3″ 1080p IPS display (BOE NV173FHM-N49 (BOE084E)) is a good choice for office usage or daily usage. The PWM-free unit also has good viewing angles. The panel color coverage is low but that’s fine given the price class. The keyboard with optional backlight is decent but the touchpad doesn’t impress us at all. The I/O offers a total of three USB ports which can be not enough for some users. At least you get one modern and fast Thunderbolt 4 connector.
The battery life is fine – a bit more than 9 hours of Web browsing on a single charge is a good result for a 50Wh capacity. You can get the optional 65Wh battery for longer autonomous work when the AC adapter isn’t plugged in. All in all, the Acer Aspire 5 (A517-58M) is a good choice in its class thanks to the decent chassis rigidity, the great CPU clocks under full load, the PWM IPS display, and the up-to-date connectivity options (Wi-Fi 6E + Bluetooth 5.2).
You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/acer-aspire-5-a517-58m/
Pros
- Good battery life
- Decent chassis rigidity
- The keyboard is comfortable enough for work and has a NumPad
- Great CPU clocks especially under full CPU load
- 1080p Web camera with Temporal Noise Reduction
- PWM-free + good viewing angles (BOE NV173FHM-N49 (BOE084E))
- Has a Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 port
- Good audio quality
- Air inlet keyboard + lifting hinge design
- The cooling fan isn’t too noisy even in “Performance” mode
- Has an optional fingerprint reader
Cons
- Soldered memory and just one M.2 slot
- Limited port selection
- High NVMe temperatures during benchmarking
- The touchpad could be way better
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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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