Cheap laptops are getting a whole lot better, but in a world with the likes of Lenovo IdeaPads and hundreds of… Great Chromebooks, it seems that the Acer Aspire has been left out a bit. The laptop has always offered great value for money, but it also has a lot of competition.
That could change though. The new Acer Aspire 3 clearly has a lot to offer at its low starting price—and it might be a better option than most at under $400.
How well does the Acer Aspire 3 actually perform? And do you kill the competition under $400? I was using my laptop to find out.
Positives
- Solid performance for the price
- Good value
- The keyboard is not bad
cons
- The build is not the best
- Webcam could be better
Acer Aspire 3 (2022) Design
The Acer Aspire 3 is a budget laptop, and as such, you shouldn’t expect the sleekest and most elegant design around. The device offers a slightly large and bulky design, with Acer opting for a silver-colored plastic body.
The build quality of the laptop is average at best. There’s quite a bit of flex in the lid and keyboard surface, which suggests it won’t stand up to a lot of abuse over time. Again, it’s not terrible — but it feels like a budget laptop.
Around the edges of the laptop are the ports, and Acer offered a decent selection. There are two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, as well as a port USB 3.2 Type C port And an HDMI 2.1 port on the left side. On the right side is another USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port and an audio jack. Enough to get you going, but Acer could have inserted a few more USB-C ports for good measure, especially in 2023.
Overall, Acer has done a good job with the design of the Acer Aspire 3, considering the price point. It’s not overly sleek or stylish, but it looks good and is functional enough for everyday tasks.
Acer Aspire 3 (2022) display and webcam
offer on Acer Aspire 3 A little sloppy, though that’s to be expected with a budget laptop like this. It’s a 1080p LCD with a 60Hz refresh rate, which is fine but nothing to write home about.
Despite the slightly lower specs, it looks good. Viewing angles aren’t the best, but it’ll do the job for most tasks. There’s also a built-in webcam, though it’s not great. The colors are very muted and not very clear. This is largely thanks to its 720p resolution, which isn’t great. I wanted to see at least a 1080p webcam.
Acer Aspire 3 (2022) keyboard, touchpad, and speakers
The Aspire 3 comes with a full-size keyboard and number pad. This is nice for those who want extra keys. There is quite a bit of flex in the keyboard bed, but you get used to it after a while. The keys themselves feel a little mushy, with decent travel and spacing. Typing on the Acer Aspire 3’s keyboard isn’t incredible, but it’s perfectly acceptable given the price point.
The touchpad is a similarly average experience. It’s a good size and mostly responsive, though you can’t tap towards the top of it. Again, perfectly fine for basic tasks — but don’t expect anything like the more expensive laptops out there.
The speakers are a bit small, but they can get decently loud, and they’re deep enough for casual listening. Most will want a decent pair of headphones or speakers, but again, for things like listening to podcasts, the built-in speakers will be just fine.
Acer Aspire 3 (2022) Performance
Under the hood, our Acer model comes with an AMD Ryzen 3 7320U processor, along with 8GB of RAM. This makes it more than capable of basic tasks, such as web browsing and word processing. It’s not a powerhouse in performance – even on startup the fans seem to spin a bit. So, if you’re looking for something for gaming, or heavy workloads, this probably isn’t it.
Benchmark results confirmed our findings. The laptop scored 983 on GeekBench 5’s single-core test and 3,669 on its multi-core test. That’s relatively low, but not bad for a phone in its price range.
Acer Aspire 3 (2022) Battery
The Acer Aspire 3 comes with a battery that Acer claims is capable of working for up to 11 hours. However, most of them will never quite reach those heights. If your brightness is up to a decent level, or you’re doing more than basic tasks, you’ll get less than that. Still, the battery life isn’t too bad — but as someone who’s used to using recent Apple laptops, it felt a little short. In general, though, most will have no problems getting a few hours at a time on the battery.
Acer Aspire 3 (2022) software
The 2022 Acer Aspire 3 comes with Windows 10 in S mode, though it can be downgraded to Windows 10. There’s not a lot of bloatware and add-ons, which is always nice — but there are still some, like some games, Evernote and more. They can be removed or ignored relatively easily though. The rest of the experience is pretty much what you’d expect from a Windows laptop at this price point.
conclusions
The Acer Aspire 3 (2022) is a decent budget laptop that’s a perfect fit for most people. It’s good enough for everyday tasks, like web browsing and word processing — but it won’t handle heavy workloads or games very well. The screen, speakers, and battery life are all fine, while the value is definitely on its side.
However, if you’re looking for something a little more powerful, it might be worth spending a little extra money. But if you want an affordable laptop that does the job without breaking the bank, Acer’s Aspire 3 (2022) is definitely worth considering.
The competition
Acer faces some stiff competition in this price segment, but it competes relatively well. If you’re looking for a 15-inch laptop for basic tasks, it’s also worth considering the cheaper Aspire 5 or even the ASUS Chromebook. But this laptop still performs very well for its price range, for those looking for a Windows laptop.
Should I buy the Acer Aspire 3 (2022)?
Yes, but only if your budget is $400.