When the going gets tough, the tough need Internet connectivity. In tight economic times, a basic laptop computer can be invaluable in communicating during job searches. Fortunately, there are a number of excellent low cost laptops in the marketplace. The laptop I chose for low cost computing was the Acer Aspire 5515. The Acer Aspire AS5515-5831 was available at Microcenter for a sale price of $359.99.
The Acer Aspire 5515 Laptop is an attractively-styled, AMD Athlon-based, laptop computer with a nice set of standard features. It comes with Windows Vista Basic, Microsoft Works, and trial editions of the Microsoft Office and McAfee Security Center. Fortunately, I already owned a license for Microsoft Office. As the MS Office Student and Home edition can cover up to three personal computers in a household, I was able to fully activate my trial edition of office and start computing right away. The Acer Aspire 5515 also comes with a wireless capabilities (802.11b/g), an integrated webcam, a DVD reader and recorder, jacks for headphones or a microphone. I was also amazed to find that the Acer Aspire also has a microphone built right in to the wrist rest so that you can record audio clips or participate in web chats with audio and video.
I considered buying a smaller Netbook computer, but chose the Acer because it offered a full-sized keyboard, a generous 15.4″ XGA widescreen display and decent hardware. I can handle the 6.18 pound weight of this laptop computer. The Acer Aspire 5515 comes with 2GB of RAM and a 160GB hard-drive. However, there are trade-offs when buying PC hardware at a low price point. The Acer Aspire 5515 has only two USB ports and doesn’t have a multicard reader. Also, despite the AMD Athlon 64 sticker, the AMD Athlon 2650e processor running at 1.6 Ghz in this Acer doesn’t seem to handle multithreading or 64-bit applications. The Athlon 2650e is a single-threaded 32-bit processor. The Acer Aspire 5515 has an ATI Radeon Xpress 1200 video card with up to 1919MB memory available. However, in reality, the Acer Aspire 5515 isn’t a computer for hard-core computer geeks. It simply doesn’t have the horsepower for the best games and the most taxing applications. However, with a Windows Experience Index of 3, it works just fine for basic office software, casual games, surfing the web, and dealing with photos.
While I have generally been pleased, the Acer Aspire 5515 does have some drawbacks. On my machine, the 8x SuperMulti Double Layer DVD RW drive is very noisy. While the drive seems to read files o.k., I do worry about it’s overall longevity. I also found that some software that I would like to try as an IT professional simply won’t work on a 32-bit system with the Home Basic Edition of the Microsoft Windows Vista Operating System. I also really missed having a card reader as it forced me to transfer pictures via a USB cable.
I enjoyed using McAfee Security Center and the easy activation of my Microsoft Office license. It was very easy to get up and running with my Acer Aspire on a variety of wireless networks. The computer simply worked and worked well. Microsoft Works is often underestimated, but works well and provides a lot of utility for home users. I would have been totally comfortable using it for most household tasks. This cheap notebook is backed by a 1-year warranty from Acer America Corporation.
I bought my share of $3000 386 and 486 computers back in the last century. In this millennium, I simply buy inexpensive commodity computers that get the job done. The Acer Aspire 5515 has done a good job on the basic tasks. The Acer Aspire 5515 is not a cutting edge computer, but it offers a reasonable level of basic performance, a large hard-drive, most of the expected amenities, and a very attractive price point. I recommend the Acer Aspire 5515 notebook for value-oriented computer users.
Sources:
Micro Center In-Store Product Specs. Acer America Corporation Aspire AS5515-5831
