The Acer brand has proven itself in the budget segment, producing products that are in enviable demand, while having very good performance in terms of price and quality. The company always has something to offer its fans, it’s enough to recall only the same Emachines 500 series, whose cost is compared with the price of an average netbook. But this is more an extreme than an established rule.
Most lovers of mobile gadgets prefer to overpay a little for the filling, while receiving a device that can not only type and print text, but also entertain the owner of gaming applications. One of such middles is the Acer Aspire 5530 model. The gadget's specifications do not shine with high technical indicators, but, as a basic device for everyday needs, the model is quite suitable.
Design
The case is made in the style already familiar to the brand - a kind of shining decoration with high-tech elements. The model looks pretty decent and its appearance inspires confidence in users. There is an extensive LED illumination around the perimeter, which stands out especially in the area of the power button - it’s creative and fresh, and it pleases the eye, if, of course, you are a conservative to the core.
Despite the fact that the Acer Aspire 5530 uses exclusively plastic elements, it feels very durable and monolithic to the touch. Especially it is worth paying attention to the dark gray coating in the area of the sub-handhelds, which not only looks nice, but also does not emit any squeaks or sounds during operation (models of previous generations are different).
Assembly
The laptop itself is small in size, its compactness will surely be appreciated by fans to travel light. Users in their reviews sometimes complain about a flaw in the case, lamenting that with a point pressure on the bottom of the device, the laptop bends a little. The lid suffers from the same drawback, distorting the image on the screen.
The hinges of the Acer Aspire 5530, although they seem small, are nevertheless capable of holding the device cover in position, so you can read or watch something lying on the couch without any problems.
Interfaces
Already during the first inspection of the device, you can notice that the model is generously equipped with all sorts of interfaces, even despite its low cost. An unusual component for this segment is the presence of a Dock port, which is conveniently located on the left side of the case. With its help, you can significantly expand the peripheral capabilities of the gadget by connecting the proprietary Acer EasyPort to the port, which is very pleasing. As a result, we have four USB type ports, a DVI video output, a classic RJ-45 network adapter, and audio outputs for headphones and speakers.
Ports are located almost around the perimeter of the Acer Aspire 5530. But the bulk is on the left side of the device. If there are not enough ports, then you can always increase their number using the proprietary Dock-interface.
The laptop is not deprived of modern wireless protocols like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth latest version, which provides the gadget with excellent synergy with other devices. Some users in their reviews complain about the wireless connection of the Acer Aspire 5530 (black screen or refusal to transfer data), but in most cases the problem is solved by updating the drivers.
Input Devices
The keyboard of the device can be called not only a text input element, but also a part of the design. The main stylistic motif begins to emerge with LED lighting, which is located in the area of the power button and continues to delight the eye along the entire perimeter of the device, touching the additional keyboard unit, logo, space bar and completes its move on the Alt group.
The keys of the Acer Aspire 5530 themselves have a resilient and not too long stroke: the buttons are pushed through and return to their place without any problems while typing.
Manipulator
The touchpad has a solid working surface area with specific borders in the scroll area, which are pleasant to the touch. Its surface is quite smooth and its fingers glide perfectly on it. It's nice that the engineers have finally improved the working area of the Acer Aspire 5530. The response characteristics of the touchpad are very encouraging and the manipulator is quite capable of replacing a standard mouse. Both navigation keys work flawlessly, and the noise from the click is not annoying at all, as was the case with previous generations of gadgets.
Display
The base model of the Acer Aspire 5530 603G16Mi has a 15.4-inch display with a resolution of 1280 by 800 pixels. Famous for the budget series CrystalBrite inscription means that the display surface is reflective, but this is natural for laptops in the low price segment. Also, the standard is considered a matrix format such as WXGA, which is enough for daily use, although it causes some discomfort when working with multiple windows.
Some users in their reviews sometimes complain about the Acer Aspire 5530 matrix: the laptop does not turn on, the image blinks, but in most cases all these problems are solved after the battery is fully charged.
Alas, the device did not cope with the brightness declared by the manufacturer (200 cd / m2). On all tests, the gadget did not show more than 182 cd / m2. And this means that the screen contrast is approximately 192: 1 - not enough even for the budget line.
Notebook Acer Aspire 5530 - this is not the best model for use in the fresh air, and on a sunny day, you should not even turn it on. Brightness is very mediocre, so try to avoid direct sunlight and well-lit rooms (especially with daylight bulbs).
The viewing angles also do not shine with good indicators, and the picture begins to change its colors along with saturation even with a slight deviation from the center of the screen. Vertical directions are particularly affected due to the weak matrix of the device. So, watching a photo or having fun with a movie in the company of friends will not work - the model has turned out to be very “selfish”.
Performance
The Acer Aspire 5530 motherboard uses a combination of ATI and AMD cores. In terms of cost, red ones are much more attractive than Intel chips and green cards from NVIDIA, although they are sometimes inferior in some performance tests, but for budget devices this bundle is the most suitable.
The company equipped the model with a Turion X2 RM-70 series processor with two cores and a clock frequency of 2 GHz. The only difference from the Intel chips is the reduced size of the second-level cache (512 KB per core). The processor technology is 65 nm and is comparable with the same Intel in the face of Merom.
The duplicated video card "Radeon" HD3470 supporting CrossFire technology is responsible for processing graphic packets. Depending on the settings of the Acer Aspire 5530 BIOS, either one or two cards can work simultaneously. There was no particular benefit from duplicating the video adapter.
The basic model has 2 GB of RAM on board, but if you wish, you can disassemble the Acer Aspire 5530 and add another same bar for greater performance. It is worth noting separately that the 32-bit Windows system is installed by default, so if you decide to increase the amount of RAM, then do not forget to put the 64-bit version of the operating system.
Summarizing
Model 5530 is positioned by the company as an inexpensive multimedia gadget. The device stands out from the crowd due to the extensive peripheral connection options, an integrated drive that reads Blu-ray formats and ATI's graphic solutions in the person of CrossFire technology, which allows you to duplicate video adapters to increase performance (the technology is useful, but a significant increase in FPS is noticeable only on powerful machines).
The device usually attracts with its design, although some conservatives will not be able to appreciate the bluish “path” that runs along the entire perimeter of the device. The autonomous operation of the device is very mediocre even in the presence of economical chips from ATI, so very often you have to work with it on a leash. In any case, the price-quality ratio is fully observed - the cost of the device is absolutely fair.