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The new Aspire line shows Acer hasn't forgotten what people really want: cheap laptops

The new Aspire line shows Acer hasn't forgotten what people really want: cheap laptops

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Acer Aspire 7.
Acer Aspire 7.
Photo: Acer

Acer announced a whole slew of laptops this week, but seemingly lost in the shuffle alongside the ultrathin Predator Triton 700 gaming laptop and the screen-flipping Switch series were several more pedestrian models in the company’s cheaper Aspire series.

And sure, the new Aspire models are cheaper, less powerful laptops than some of the other computers Acer announced this week. But despite lacking in flashier concepts, these kinds of budget laptops tend to be the computer of choice for many who simply are just looking for the cheapest option that will get the job done when it comes to ordinary, everyday tasks. So with that in mind, let’s break down the new Aspire laptops.

Acer Aspire 1.
Acer Aspire 1.

First up is the cheapest Aspire 1 series, which starting at $219 is the cheapest of the bunch. And you get what you pay for, specs-wise: a 14-inch display, Intel Celeron or Pentium processors, a choice between 32 and 64GB of storage, and 4GB of RAM.

Acer Aspire 3.
Acer Aspire 3.

Next is the Aspire 3 series, which starts at $299. Screens come in a choice of 14-inch HD (read: 720p), 15.6-inch HD (also 720p), or 15.6-inch Full HD (1080p), which is certainly a wide variety of specs. That range of choice carries through to processors, too, which will vary between Intel Core, Celeron, and Pentium options depending on configuration.

Acer Aspire 5.
Acer Aspire 5.

The Aspire 5 series is another step up, starting at $449. Screens are 15.6 inches with either 720p or 1080p options, Kaby Lake Intel Core processors (again, what you get depends on configuration), and NVIDIA GeForce graphics. Memory and storage are similarly varied, with RAM maxing out at 20GB, hard drive options up to 2TB, and SSDs up to 256 GB. Oh, and it’s got a USB-C port.

Lastly, there’s the top-of-the-line Aspire 7 series, starting at $799. It’s the best of the lineup, with an aluminum case, Intel’s Kaby Lake processors, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 GPU, up to 32 GB of RAM. Storage wise, options include a HDD up to 2 TB oran SSD up to 512 GB. And like the Aspire 5, there’s a USB-C port.