ZDNET Highlights
- The Acer Aspire Go is available at 15 major retailers for around $299.
- At an affordable price, the Acer Aspire Go 15 is a capable laptop for everyday use with a good battery.
- Like most devices in this price range, the laptop’s limitations become apparent with heavier workloads.
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Not everyone needs a decked-out laptop with expensive hardware. For users who want an affordable laptop that’s good enough for everyday use acer aspire go 15 — a new feature recently added to Acer’s budget laptop line — fills that niche nicely.
At $300, the Acer Aspire Go 15 is a capable budget laptop for users without heavy performance demands. The 15-inch screen is perfect for browsing the web, checking email, and using productivity software, while the onboard webcam is big enough for taking work calls away from the office.
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At 3.75 pounds, it’s not the lightest laptop, and the 15-inch display results in a bit of bulk, but the tradeoff is a full-sized keyboard with a number pad on the right (even if the keys are a little smaller) and a display that feels big enough.
In fact, “just enough” is the overarching theme for this laptop. It has enough performance to cover the basics, a good webcam, port selection and form factor, plus the stand-out feature is a surprisingly long-lasting battery.
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When you look closely at these parameters, you can see that they are quite well optimized, resulting in a laptop with limitations, but a device that also performs well within the scope of its capabilities.
So, let’s see what’s under the hood. The Aspire Go 15 has an Intel Core i3-N305, which is a somewhat low-end processor with only 8GB of RAM. This combination of hardware limits the capabilities of this machine. However, in my testing, the laptop could mostly keep up with my Internet browsing habits (read: lots of YouTube tabs) and work-related apps, if not for some stuttering when the CPU was taxed.
I used this laptop for a week, switching between taking it to the office and my main computer, and it handled basic productivity tasks well. However, performance degrades when you open a handful of apps and start trying to move quickly between windows.
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As for the keyboard and trackpad, I have no complaints about typing on the Aspire Go 15. The keys are light, responsive and quiet. If you like backlighting on your keyboard, you won’t find any of those luxuries here, but the texture and springiness of the keys is fine. The trackpad doesn’t feel particularly high-end, but it’s in good condition and works.
The overall physical appearance of this laptop can be described like this. On first inspection, the all-plastic body feels a little flimsy, and the display seems wobbly. The laptop’s silver and black color scheme offers a neutral, non-descript aesthetic.
The 15-inch display is basic and not very bright, but it has good viewing-angle flexibility, unlike other Chromebooks or budget laptops. The 1080p Full HD display has ample contrast, even if the 60Hz refresh rate isn’t phenomenal. I find that brightness below 75% is too dim on this laptop.
The selection of ports here is also adequate. You get two USB-A ports, one USB-C, one HDMI port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a Kensington lock slot. The charger that comes with the Aspire Go 15 is a cheap-feeling proprietary jack, but the laptop can also be charged via its USB-C port.
The speakers aren’t inspiring, as you might expect for a $300 laptop. Although the speakers may be loud enough, they are thin and thin. Connect your Bluetooth wireless earbuds or plug them into the headphone jack to hear better audio.
So let’s talk about the battery life of this laptop. I used the device intermittently for a day and a half before plugging it back in. In the more demanding battery test, the laptop lasted more than 10 hours with a livestream video playing continuously. This battery life leads me to believe that the hardware on this machine, even at the lower end, is at least well optimized.
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However, this laptop won’t last more than a day of hard, sustained use. If you take the Acer Aspire Go 15 to the office and forget your charger, you’ll get about seven to eight hours of life. But all things considered, the battery power of this machine completes the package well.
ZDNET’s shopping advice
For price, acer aspire go 15 A solid choice for users without demanding performance requirements or who need a secondary laptop for travel. It’s also a great option for students who want to bring a budget laptop to campus for taking notes and completing assignments, and this device makes our list of the best laptops for college.
The practical list of features, selection of ports, and good battery life give you everything you need and nothing you don’t. The laptop is well optimized to work within its capabilities. Plus, at just $300, the price is right.
