What’s the biggest differences between Aspire 3 and Aspire 5?

I’m planning to buy an Acer Aspire, and i’m actually facing the two same general specs (same I5, same MX250 graphic card, same SSD size...) for the same price.

The main differences i saw is that Aspire 3 have 3USB-A port, an optical drive, max ram capacity locked at 12GB, and a 17" screen

The Aspire 5 on the other hand have 2USB-A port + 1USB-C port, no optical drive but a max ram capacity of 20GB, and a 15" screen

Two years ago, acer was marketing the Aspire 3 as a family computer, and the Aspire 5 as a working laptop, since i’m a student i should move to the Aspire 5. But i need an optical drive, i’m not into USB-C port, and for the same price i should really go for the 17" screen right?
My biggest concern about that is the display, will I have a bigger one but actually worst in term of quality? Will I have an MX250 low power consumption graphic card? (The Aspire 5 have a confirmed 25W card, we know nothing about the Aspire 3 one... )

I’m in France so the website don’t show the same models but the reference code for the Aspire 3 is NX.HM1EF.004 (model A317-51G)

And the aspire 5 model is : A515-54G-542A

Anyways, i can assure you they are the same specifications, except for the motherboard.
So which one should i get??
Thanks for your time and the help!

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JackE

>>>But i need an optical drive>>>

This seems to be your main issue. Why do you think you need an internal optical drive? Jack E/NJ

sageyo

JackE said:

>>>But i need an optical drive>>>

This seems to be your main issue. Why do you think you need an internal optical drive? Jack E/NJ

No, the optical drive is absolutely not my main issue, because if i go for the Aspire 3, i get one integrated, pretty useful. If i go for the Aspire 5 i’m buying an USB external one, i need an optical drive anyways, i study audiovisual arts and music, i have to burn things for projects + for personal usage obviously.

To correct you, my mains issues are : Is the Aspire 3 screen have lower specs (big screen burns, short range angle) than the Aspire 5? Like I am putting money into a bigger screen but worst looking one than a casual 15" good looking one?

And : Is the MX250 is a 10W or 25W model? The 10W having 30% less performances than the other, which is considerable for this level.
The only way to know which one is inside is to do a GPU-Z benchmark and read the ID, i don’t see myself taking the risk of buying the Aspire 3 only to see it’s the 10W.. if someone have benchmark of this model, will be a nice help there! Didn’t find anything of the web. Now the Aspire 5 has been tested and certified 25W by benchmarks, so there is a little chance that they putted the same chip inside the A3 since it’s the same type (physically) of laptop? (but like i said, 2 years ago acer was marketing the 3 as a family usage and the 5 as working usage) So there is still a chance it’s a 10W because they think a « family » laptop don’t need the most powerful graphic chip.

aphanic

Honestly... I'd say Aspire 3 is the lower end of the spectrum, Aspire 5s are mid-range devices maybe, I'd go for the 5 if it were my decision to make.

I can tell you about the A515-54G (I have a sub-model of that line). Yes, the MX250 variant is the 25w one, but will it be used to its full potential and not throttle, or be capped at a certain temperature? Because that kind of engineering data is never available for consumers. Besides, being an entry-level card you shouldn't expect much of it (after all, it's like an overclocked MX150). The MX350 on the other hand is based off of a different chip and its physical size is bigger = greater capabilities, but I don't know if there's any A515-54G with that one.

As for the screen, I've seen different screen technologies in the same sub-model: some A515-54G ship with IPS panels, others with what appears to be IPS panels but look not quite like one (some subtype of the VA family maybe?) and others with pure TN panels with all of their nuisances, very bad viewing angles (specially tilted to the top), but better response time. For the display they only claim it's ComfyView, marketing term for matte displays if I'm not mistaken, but other than that.

Mine came with a PANDA LM156LF-CL07 (IPS or the likes), and a friend's with an Innolux N156HGA-EA3 (TN). Same goes for other components, while both RAMs are expected to run at DDR4-2666 speeds my friend had a stick rated for 3200 because it was probably cheaper at the time of manufacturing or they had more stock on that. Some have Synaptic touchpads, others have Elan's, etc. etc.

Another thing is that the seller specifically mentions it has an IPS panel and then you find out it ain't, and that's grounds for the resolution of the contract already.

So my advice, get one, see how it goes; return it if you don't like it. There doesn't seem to be great consistency on components, at least on the A515-54G which is the one I'm familiar with, and you won't be finding the kind of detailed specs you're looking for anywhere I'm afraid. I can only wish things were more transparent to cater to tech people as well, but they seem to be simplified for easier understanding.

PS. The USB Type-C port of the A515-54G is just that, a port for USB 3; it doesn't implement any of the alt modes nor is it capable of Power Delivery.

JackE

Agree with aphanic

Just get yourself an external burner. They're cheap nowadays. And one less power-hungry mechanical component to worry about in an already over-stuffed laptop. And 17.3" screen laptops are usually a hassle to lug around --- I have a big one with a burner. Not too portable. Jack E/NJ

sageyo

Thank you sooo much!

Firstly, i’m perfectly aware for the graphic card, i don’t want a 1060 or alternatives for the same budget, i know what i get, that’s why i really don’t want a 10W model.

For the screen, i was also implying the colors quality, luminosity etc.. from let’s said A3 IPS vs A5 IPS, like are they really just using a bigger panel made of the same quality? Or there is something behind?

Finally, the Aspire 3 is mentionned as having the comfy view technology, the Aspire 5 did not, the pictures for the 5 on the website says that it use IPS technology for some models, and someone asked publicly what is the panel type, and a customer answered « TN » and the official Acer account answered « IPS » .... i think it’s really random.

I don’t care about using a mat display more than that, but knowing the colors could be a little better if i have the chance of having ship an IPS one drive me crazy

I logically should get the A3 first because of the screen size, to see which one of MX250 is used, and if it’s really a 10W i will ship it back i guess... really lazy thinking about that but hey, it’s a long term choice so i have to be serious.

Again, thanks for your time, i appreciated that, if anyone have more pieces of the puzzle feel free to add them!

aphanic

Agree with @JackE on the size as well, I had forgotten to point that out, mine being a 15''er gives me plenty enough real state to do work and if something more is needed you can always hook up an external monitor. A 17'' laptop nowadays, unless it's one of those rugged ones people need for specialty purposes is really not portable (or gamers, I guess they also value them).

As for the display, you could also think about getting a unit, buying a replacement display up to your specifications and replacing it yourself. You'll probably have some trouble if you ever need to get the device serviced under its official warranty, but as long as you do the replacement properly there's no problem.

Color gamut coverage isn't the greatest in laptops that don't advertise it, I think I'm looking at a ~50% of sRGB in my panel and PWM seems to be not great either, when I measured it it was around 180Hz (yep, not kHz) but it only kicked in at very low brightness settings. However the PWM signal for the screen of my friend is awesome, way into the several thousands Hz.

But really, even if you get the 25w variant for the GPU, if it's capped at a certain temp it won't be performing like you expect it to be. It may not get past 15w consumption for example.

sageyo

JackE said:

Agree with aphanic
Just get yourself an external burner. They're cheap nowadays. And one less power-hungry mechanical component to worry about in an already over-stuffed laptop. And 17.3" screen laptops are usually a hassle to lug around --- I have a big one with a burner. Not too portable. Jack E/NJ

That’s just contradicted what i’ve just posted lol... after that, i realize a 17" laptop could not simply fit into my backpack, i was thinking about carrying it by hand but it’s also a big inconvenient

I’m really mixed out there, is a 17" screen really rock out a 15" when i’m on my bed or on my desk... i don’t think so

alright i’m letting myself a bit more time to think about all of that, i’m now more into the A5

aphanic

Is there any tech store nearby you could visit? Even if they're not the same models you'd assess how big they are more or less, after all it's a matter of taste. I've seen many people doing work on 13'' MacBooks for some reason...

I can tell you though that the side bezels of the screen of the A515-54G are on the thin side (certainly not to scale, but you get an idea):

               17mm
    ╔══════════════════════╗
    ║ ╔══════════════════╗ ║
    ║ ║                  ║ ║    
8mm ║ ║                  ║ ║ 8mm
    ║ ║                  ║ ║    
    ║ ╚══════════════════╝ ║
    ╚══════════════════════╝
              24mm

ctx1769

I opted for the A515-54G because of the specs, I'm not disappointed either. I do miss the cd burner, but an external one can be bought for under £30/€35.

I will be doing this once the lockdowns ease off.

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