This was posted 2 years 8 months 5 days ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

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Acer Aspire 5 15" i5-1135G7/8GB RAM/256GB SSD/W11H $698 + Delivery ($0 C&C/ in-Store) @ Harvey Norman ($663.10 via OW PB)

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Acer Aspire 5 15" i5-1135G7/8GB RAM/256GB SSD/W11H $698 + Delivery ($0 C&C/ in-Store) @ Harvey Norman ($663.10 via OW PB)
Go to Deal
Chuckler on 26/04/2022 - 09:33 harveynorman.com.au (2067 clicks)
Last edited 27/04/2022 - 17:25 by 2 other users

Kid needed a new laptop for school, and found this not-the-best-price-ever but well priced Acer Aspire 5. (A515-56-52MV)

  • 15.6" LCD display with 1920 x 1080 resolution.
  • Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor.
  • 8 GB of RAM, expandable up to 20 GB.
  • 256 GB of PCIe NVMe SSD storage.
  • Intel Iris Xe Graphics.
  • Connections via Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi 802.11ac, 1 x HDMI 2.0, 1 x USB-C, 1 x USB 2.0, 2 x USB SuperSpeed 5 Gbps Type A (one with offline charging capabilities).
  • Up to 8.5 hours of battery life.
  • Windows 11 Home operating system.
  • 720p HD webcam.

Got the Officeworks Price Beat for $663.10. I'm sure he'd like it to have better games capability, but tough luck.

Computing 15.6inch Acer Computer Laptop

Related Stores

Harvey Norman
Harvey Norman

closed Comments

  • ja912son on 26/04/2022 - 09:59
    +34

    Please don't give Gerry the satisfaction and buy it from OW via pricebeat.

    • FabMan on 26/04/2022 - 17:16
      +1

      Aren't they franchises, meaning that he gets his monthly cut regardless of the sales a store makes? By refusing to shop there aren't you only hurting that local store because Gerry isn't affected by it.

      • garage sale on 27/04/2022 - 00:08
        +2

        yep, some sections of the store are franchised …..if you hate gerry then check what you eat ……he’s also big into food growing …..those little quke cucumbers are his, he is also big into truss tomatoes ……won’t go into his cattle holdings …….

  • allstar45 on 26/04/2022 - 10:23

    how do you get the price match with office works does it have to be the same model ??

    • Chuckler on 26/04/2022 - 10:27
      +7

      Yep, here it is at OW:
      https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/acer-aspir…

      I rang them, it was a bit of a PITA but at least I didn't have to go instore.

      • allstar45 on 26/04/2022 - 10:29

        cheers thanks for that

      • pinkybrain on 26/04/2022 - 11:35

        so you rang the store and they will send it?
        or you will pickup at the store at this price?

        Also is this suitable only for work or gaming and other stuff?

        • netsurfer on 26/04/2022 - 11:44
          +2

          Work and general Web browsing should be fine. Gaming, the Iris graphics is better than the old Intel UHD graphics, but it is still low end to be honest.

          It is well priced, but it did cut a lot of corners. USB 3.2 gen 2 ports are not there (so you can forget about USB-C/alt-mode. Obviously, given that's the case, no Thunderbolt 3/4). LCD screen is average (I'm being nice BTW) and one of the reviews complained about the fan noise when you have the laptop performs a bit of heavy work.

          • RangaWal on 24/05/2022 - 08:34

            @netsurfer: Do you know if this can use a USB-C docking station (to charge and connect to 2 external monitors)? My Auntie bought one, and I'm trying to advise from from afar about docking station options.

        • Chuckler on 26/04/2022 - 12:10

          I rang them, yes, and they're going to send it for the matched price. I was prepared to click and collect, but they assumed they would deliver so I kept my mouth shut.

      • Gaz1 on 28/04/2022 - 14:50

        Officeworks have now dropped their price to $697 (presumably to stop the price matching).

  • shaybisc on 26/04/2022 - 10:37
    +3

    Your child won't have enough nits with this.

  • hys on 26/04/2022 - 10:40
    +2

    I'm sure he'd like it to have better games capability, but tough luck.

    At least you're not giving him a Chromebook

    • Chuckler on 26/04/2022 - 12:15
      +2

      Chromebook isn't allowed at school sadly.

      • MrBillions on 26/04/2022 - 17:55
        +3

        Crazy!!

        Chromebook is targetting education!

        • amaslam on 27/04/2022 - 15:03

          Schools are used to Apple and MS. I've only seen one major workplace using Google and it's OK but MS Word/Excel and Adobe have such a stranglehold in education it's a massive amount of momentum for any newcomer (Yes, even Google) to undo. The teachers just want something they're trained on and works.

          I'd love Chromebook to have some better inroads in education but then when they get to Uni and Workplaces it'll be Apple and MS again and then the Unis/Workplaces will be screaming about 'lack of tech skills' kids. <rolleyes>

          • hys on 05/05/2022 - 08:26

            @amaslam: Woolworths uses chrome book, so does my work place for selected targeted users and anyone who forgets to bring their devices to work

  • amaslam on 26/04/2022 - 10:54
    +2

    Looks decent for a basic laptop. I'd up the RAM with a 16 GB module (max it out) ~$90. Looking at the disassembly it's fairly simple. Only one of the RAM slots is socketed so the other 4 GB is soldered on. It won't be great for gaming but then again if the kid is into stuff like Roblox or those types of things it won't struggle with that. For AAA 3D graphics at 4K you'd never use this sort of laptop anyway (something 3X the price is about right).

    Having dealt with Dells, HPs, Acers, Asus over the years they are good for about 3 years and then something ends up being too slow (usually full of old software and extensions slowing things down). That being said you'd just get another updated model at that point and this can be relegated to a simpler role (a clean reset will do wonders after those 3 years). I still have cheapie HPs and Lenovos working at the 10 year mark and just maxed the RAM + SSD (from mechanical HDDs) and they run Windows 10 just fine. I take them on trips when needing something for internet browsing and netflix to the hotel TV.

    • pinkybrain on 26/04/2022 - 11:38
      +1

      in most cases the battery life is the first thing to go.

      • amaslam on 26/04/2022 - 13:51

        True, they're about 2-3 hours on the 4 yr old laptops and 1 hour on a 10 yr old laptop. I usually use them plugged in.

        • Hangryuman on 26/04/2022 - 15:57
          +1

          agreed - my 11yo HP I just use plugged in when travelling - unplugged the battery might last an hour or so as you said.

  • Zackeroo on 26/04/2022 - 12:02

    According to Userbenchmark, the graphics on this laptop is only 10% worse than an MX350 (low-end dedicated GPU from 2020). The MX350 was considered a good GPU to have in a laptop if you want to do casual gaming.

    https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GeForce-MX350-v…

    I'm sure he'd like it to have better games capability, but tough luck.

    Integrated graphics have come so far. For this price, the gaming performance will be more than enough

    • netsurfer on 26/04/2022 - 12:08

      Intel finally made integrated graphics more competitive (compared to AMD's APU offering on equivalent products). However, it still far from ideal. HDMI 2.0 native support is finally included (used to be via a converter bridge through DisplayPort).

      Do bear in mind that the driver isn't great though, some games do have issues (not displaying properly). Don't have high expectation.

      • Zackeroo on 26/04/2022 - 12:10

        Hmm that is true. I have a Ryzen 4000 Series iGPU on my laptop and it's excellent. At the time, Intel integrated graphics were much behind. Good to see they've caught up.

        Intel HD Graphics drivers have always been an issue. Looks like some things haven't changed :)

        • netsurfer on 26/04/2022 - 13:45

          The GPU in this one beats Ryzen 4500U. However, nothing to be excited about as we are talking about 720p gaming for both. 20% better in Shadow of Tomb Raider, 39% in Metro Last Light Redux, 50% in Gears Tactics. Let's not call 720p gaming excellent (and AMD most certainly did not do its best so far).

          Let's hope AMD will beef up the iGPU and intel will follow again.

          • Zackeroo on 26/04/2022 - 13:54

            @netsurfer: I lived with HD Graphics 620 for 3.5 years. It was my device for everything (including gaming).

            I have a Ryzen 7 4800U and a 4800HS at home. the 4800U should be almost identical to the 4500U you mentioned. The 4800U truly is excellent, and is able to play games with 1080P with respectful frame rates.

            For example, I've played BeamNG on that integrated graphics at ~48-52FPS with FHD resolution. This is excellent for integrated graphics.

            • netsurfer on 26/04/2022 - 14:41

              @Zackeroo: I am trying to adjust the expectation mostly due to what Apple did with their CPUs (APUs). I just feel that 1080p/60fps should be something we want to aim for at least. I don't game with integrated graphics.

              Intel and AMD are doing just enough at the moment. It's a joke that Intel refused to implement native HDMI 2.0 until 11th gen CPUs' integrated graphics. I am also guessing some of those improvements we are seeing had something to do with Apple using Thunderbolt 4 (on the GPU side) since Intel is the provider of Apple's Thunderbolt chipset. To be honest, Intel's Thunderbolt 4 implementation currently is pretty ordinary (no bandwidth improvement and still DP 1.4 based).

              It's sad that in the PC world, we are still getting I/O being choked for lower end models. Even the lowest end Apple device has Thunderbolt ports. Even if the laptop makers want to save money, at least put in USB 3.2 gen 2 ports. I really cannot imagine an Intel chipset for 11th gen CPU not supporting USB 3.2 gen 2.

    • Chuckler on 26/04/2022 - 12:20
      +1

      I understand the graphics panel is the problem moreso than the the graphics processing? I don't mind too much, as long as it can run Office! Gaming can be done at home on a gaming device once homework has been done!

  • GoldAlwaysGold on 26/04/2022 - 12:24

    Value for money wise what is this out of 10? 1 being a Black Friday Sale and 10 being a Macbook Pro

    • ntt on 26/04/2022 - 13:58
      +2

      I rated it Lenovo

    • netsurfer on 26/04/2022 - 14:54
      +1

      Value for Money Rating Result: (2 π) - (Square root of π) + log(350)

      If you cannot claim GST, then add 10% to that rating result.

  • fatpizza on 26/04/2022 - 12:27
    +3

    I bought one of these for my mum during black friday. It has room for a 2.5" SSD as well if you want extra storage. The screen, whilst not great is perfectly fine.

    • elektron on 28/04/2022 - 05:47

      May I ask how much you paid? Was it better than this dea?

      • fatpizza on 28/04/2022 - 14:16
        +1

        It was the same price, but during black friday shopback had something like 10% cashback on HN gift cards.

  • IWoNdEr on 26/04/2022 - 14:46

    Love Acer Aspire series , I found they don't heat up much except during gaming.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/04/2022 - 15:32

    I regret selling my Officeworks deal 🤣

    My Samsung Ultrabook from 10 years ago has an i7, and 8GB ram.
    I got it for $1,000 off Gumtree, it was $2,000+ new. It was definitely stolen, some Asian kid met me at a random Macca's and it was sealed.

    I'm looking to upgrade, but doesn't look like anything around $1,000 is much of an upgrade!

    I should of kept that deal from December Officeworks, was hoping with falling GPU prices laptops would cut down a bit.

    Just seems like AVG deal after AVG deal.

    • amaslam on 26/04/2022 - 19:24
      +1

      The RAM should be upgradeable on that old Samsung. It will do well at 16GB. I've recently updated one of my Lenovos from Core I3 (3rd gen) to Core I7 (3rd gen) and it doubled in speed for most things. It's Win10 Pro. Don't game on it but anything else like Office, Chrome, Netflix it's solid. There are 2 upgrades you can likely make on this ultrabook: 1. HDD to SSD 2. RAM maxed out. (even if you need to completely chuck out your old RAM). You should get the manual from Samsung and see if there are steps for replacing or upgrading those parts in there. Most of the time spent is on disassembly. For that seek out videos on YouTube for your model to see someone disassembling it then decide if you want to do it. Keep the old HDD as a back up and install a new Win10 Pro on it. Use it up at least until it feels slow on Chrome/Netflix.

      The $500-$700 price point is for average laptops. It's actually gotten a bit worse.
      1. Soldered RAM without any update slots (hate this the most, especially galling when you see the solder pads for the additional socket but not a soldered on socket there).
      2. Soldered SSD sometimes (pretty Meh if you don't have any spare space for a SSD)
      3. Average or Meh screen at best. (There should be a minimum NITS for any laptop sold and it should look better than my 10 year old Lenovo screen by now)
      4. Soldered CPU (I'm kinda OK with this but the socket would at least allow for an upgrade path if you didn't get the top chip available for it at purchase), for example if this Acer had a socketed CPU you could have at least two higher speced CPUs as a future upgrade (1145G7 and 1165G7).

    • Ryballs on 27/04/2022 - 05:17

      This i5 will be about 30% faster than your i7

  • stan86 on 26/04/2022 - 16:01

    Any thoughts on which one is better. Been looking at getting a new laptop for mum, thinking either this one (Acer Aspire 5) or the Dell inspiron 3525. Mainly just for internet and some streaming.

    https://www.dell.com/en-au/work/shop/business-laptops-ultrab…

    Price ends up being similar with the Acer OW price beat after the 15% off dell coupon.

    • abovethelimit on 26/04/2022 - 16:20
      +3

      Keyboards without backlight is a PITA. 2022 and we still dont have backlit keyboards on medium basic laptops. Your Mum will extra thank you if you get her a laptop with backlit keyboard! So Acer wins over Dell in this instance.
      P.S. I also checked the specs and Acer is superior in every way over Dell.

      • [Deactivated] on 26/04/2022 - 16:44

        I have to agree, I'm rarely in the dark but it definitely helps when you only have a lamp on.

        So many things should be basics, but manufacturers just trying to charge you for every little thing.

      • stan86 on 26/04/2022 - 21:41

        Ahhhh…thanks for that. Totally makes sense. Will prob end up going with the Acer now. :)

  • fatpizza on 26/04/2022 - 17:18

    Also a quick note regarding these laptops, you CAN downgrade this to Windows 10. But it's a major pain in the ass getting all the drivers installed. There are some really obscure system devices which are almost impossible to find the drivers for.

  • garage sale on 27/04/2022 - 00:13

    doesn’t say if it’s IPS or TN panel …….

    • jwh on 27/04/2022 - 00:38

      Acer says yes, and I would hope it actually is IPS if they list that under the 'display' marketing blurb for the Aspire 5 series as a whole.

      …but then at the bottom it does say specs can vary. And specifications can change without notice.

      I wouldn't accept that though if it's promoted the way it is with the benefits of IPS.

      Amazon have matched the price too.

    • Nos 4r2 on 27/04/2022 - 09:52

      This review says its anti glare IPS, but its entry level with 45% NTSC and 250nits

      I bought the HP Ryzen 5 equivalent of this laptop last week at the same price (was $698, now its back up to full price again).

      My HP is in the same ball park to this Acer i5 and going by that review I am going to say the screen on my HP is very similar if not the same. 45% NTSC and 250nits, the screen is good but the viewing angles are not great, I am constantly adjusting it to get the right viewing angle.

    • jwh on 30/04/2022 - 01:03
      +1

      I got mine today. No way is it an IPS panel, looks like a TN to me. Everything fades on vertical and horizontal angles. Colours are murky and terrible.

      More importantly, it wouldn't turn on out of the box. So I plugged the charger in and then it turned on, but the battery wasn't even empty. Used it for a bit just while setting up Windows, and I realised it had stopped charging at some point as I got to the desktop. Unplugged it, plugged it back in several times; no go. Unplugged from the wall, back in and it starts but then stops after a few mins. This happened twice before I gave up and shut down.

      What a complete POS! Will try once more in the morning before likely sending it back.

  • bluehorntail on 03/05/2022 - 07:43

    Got one last month for $750 from officeworks . The specs are good for the price.
    The screen is crap . It hurts my eye even to look at it for a couple of minutes. Just need to connect to external monitor to be usable .

    • jwh on 04/05/2022 - 16:41

      I like the look and feel of the machine. Clean simple design, easy to open the bottom and had space for an extra 2.5" HDD, backlit keyboard that typed nicely.

      But I would only ever be using it portable, so the screen was a deal breaker. It says the Aspire 5 series is IPS on the Acer website; this is a TN. Coupled with the charging issue, I've parted ways…

      • bluehorntail on 04/05/2022 - 21:55

        Mate, you are spot on with charging issue. My laptop was DOA , unable to charge. I needed to return and get one for one exchange .

  • RangaWal on 24/05/2022 - 08:27

    Anyone know if this can use a USB-C docking station (to charge and connect to 2 external monitors)?

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