A Gaming laptop that does not cost much money is something that might sound dubious to you. After all, gaming notebooks have special components that are valuable, right? Might be so, but Acer Aspire VX 15 (VX5-591G-5652) seems to promise gaming performance for not-so-high price tag. Another question is, how well does the laptop succeed in this task? I tell you my opinion on that here.

Under the hood

Acer Aspire VX 15 (VX5-591G-5652) enjoys the performance the 7th generation Intel Core i5-7300HQ processor brings. Belonging to the Kaby Lake architecture, this chip is clocked at 2.5GHz frequency, yet there’s also turbo boost which increases the frequency momentarily to 3.5GHz. What is more, this processor has four cores, so it’s more than suitable for multitasking. If you’re interested comparing the chip to other processors, let me tell you the i5-7300HQ gets a solid ~6600 score in CPU Mark benchmark.

This model is equipped with a 256GB solid-state drive. It’s M.2 form factor from Hynix or Toshiba. Now, such an SSD might be enough by itself, but there’s also the possibility to install additional 2.5″ SATA drive. To install such an extra drive easily, Acer provides a free HDD upgrade kit (bracket and power cable) if you ask their support. Also bear in mind the already-installed SSD can be upgraded as well – the laptop supports PCIe/NVMe drives.

Memory sits at a decent 8GB. Type is DDR4 2400MHz, one stick. It is probably enough, even many gamers do fine on eight gigabytes. Nonetheless, it is possible to add more by using the two memory slots on motherboard. Maximum memory you can go is 32 gigabytes.

Graphics and display

The graphics card is decent GeForce GTX 1050 with 4GB video RAM. It’s certainly not the fastest engine in the bunch, but for a recreational player the GTX 1050 is spot on. In fact, many games will be playable on ultra high settings and 1080p, including popular ones like Battlefield 1. Then again, some heavier ones will require high(ish) settings to get smooth frames, example being The Witcher 3. Bear in mind the graphics card is not upgradeable, and it does not support Virtual Reality.

The display on Acer Aspire VX 15 (VX5-591G-5652) is 15.6 inches Full HD screen. It’s no bigger or smaller than most other gaming notebooks, with the resolution also being the most common one 1080p. It has an IPS (In-Plane Switching) panel which usually means viewing angles around 170 degrees. The color gamut on this model is 45% and refresh rate 60hz. Touch is not supported.

Video

Ports and interfaces

The laptop offers one HDMI output for an external monitor. An important thing to keep in mind, it spits out 1920×1080 @ 60hz signal, no 4K. Nonetheless, you can hook up your PC monitor or HD television to this computer if you want.

In addition, Acer Aspire VX 15 (VX5-591G-5652) has four USB ports available. One is USB 2.0, I recommend to stay away from it because it has limited bandwidth. Instead, use the two USB 3.0 ports that are much faster. There’s also one USB 3.1 Type-C port without Thunderbolt 3 function.

It’s a trend to leave DVD drives out of laptops. Indeed, there’s no optical drive in the Acer either. If you must, you can buy an external DVD burner for 20 bucks and hook it up to the laptop’s USB port.

Both wired and wireless Internet work right out of the box. The notebook has a Gigabit Ethernet port for connection via cable. If you want the freedom of wireless, there’s a fast and long-range 802.11ac WiFi adapter installed. A good thing, it also works with Bluetooth devices.

Miscellaneous features

The battery on Acer Aspire VX 15 (VX5-591G-5652) contains three cells and 52.5Whr energy. You might be familiar with battery life of gaming laptops – they are far from the best. This model, if you are gaming, will be out of juice after ~2 hours. On the other hand, a handful of users have reported getting 4-5 hours with non-gaming activities which is decent for such a notebook.

The laptop has a backlit keyboard with iron-red color.

Why should I buy it?

If you don’t demand absolutely the highest settings and through the roof FPS, Acer Aspire VX 15 (VX5-591G-5652) is great choice for gaming. With medium to high settings, every game – from sports games to Triple A titles – will be playable and enjoyable on this rig.

Thanks to the HDD upgrade kit, it will be very easy to install a secondary drive later. That being said, you might not even need the additional unit since a snappy solid-state drive is already there.

The laptop has received terrific reviews over Internet. It can’t be that bad, eh?

Why should I not buy it?

Obviously, if gaming is not your hobby, you won’t see much value in this Acer. It surely works for any kind of use but if you never play games I’d recommend buying something else. You will get better battery life on many other notebooks, if not for any other reason.

Summary

Acer Aspire VX 15 (VX5-591G-5652) makes a good gaming laptop if you keep one thing in mind: the settings. If you can do on high, occasionally medium, settings, then every game there currently is (and will be in 2017-2018) runs fine on this Acer. In other regards, the laptop looks solid: plenty of processor performance, a solid-state drive and 1080p screen. Also noteworthy is the high review rating it has received from people who bought it. If you have a knack for gaming but are not willing to spend a ton of money – this Acer is just for you!