There has been a noticeable trend with laptops over the past few years: you don't have to compromise as much with budget models anymore. Acer has now released a series of laptops that deliver performance without breaking the bank: the new Aspire 3.
Acer has started selling an updated Aspire 3 laptop lineup, with one of the models now available at Amazon and other retailers, the Aspire 3 A315-24P-R75B. It's the first laptop in North America with AMD's Ryzen 7020 series of processors (the Ryzen 7320U, in this case), a tweaked version of the company's Zen 2 architecture with a focus on battery life. Acer is promising 11 hours of battery life, but PC manufacturers like to test that in unrealistic conditions, so we'll have to wait for independent reviews on that metric.
Acer Aspire 3
This budget laptop covers all the basics, including a speedy processor, a large 1080p screen, and support for Windows 11.
The rest of the specifications look decent. You get a 15.6-inch 60 Hz LCD screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080, 8 GB RAM, a 128 GB SSD, 802.11ax Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 6), and a touchpad with Microsoft Precision drivers. There are also two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, one HDMI connector, and one UBS 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C connector. It would have been nice to see more USB Type-C ports, but at least the single one supports DisplayPort. Windows 11 is also pre-installed, though it's in S Mode by default, which you have to turn off to install apps from outside the Microsoft Store.
Best of all, the Aspire 3 A315 is sold for $399.99 -- less than half the price of a new MacBook Air or most Windows ultrabooks. It could make an excellent productivity workstation, especially with that large 15-inch screen, and you might even be able to do some light gaming.
Source: Acer