15.6″ Acer E5-521 Sleekbook via Amazon
Acer E5-521-23KH Sleekbook is a slim 15.6 inch modern budget laptop with a quad core AMD E series processor, generous amount of storage, HD webcam, impressively long battery life, convenient connectivity including USB 3.0 and HDMI and more.. It is a certified and refurbished product by the manufacturer and comes with a 90 day warranty but looks and performs like brand new. Acer E5-521-23KH includes the AMD E series quad core E2-6110 processor (2MB L2 Cache) at 1.50 GHz, 4GB DDR3 SDRAM for adequate multitasking- to handle several apps and multimedia simultaneously and can be expanded up to 16GB, 1TB Hard Drive as very ample storage space that you can fit in so many songs, videos and photos on such a budget system + Acer’s Build Your Own Cloud that enables you to determine the size of your Cloud- can be as large as you want and the usual genuine Windows 8.1 operating system with the familiar Star screen and is eligible for the new free Windows 10 upgrade.
15.6 inch HD CineCrystal Widescreen LED-backlit display with 1366 x 768 pixel resolution and 16:9 image aspect ratio is quite all right at this price level even though not like Full HD with IPS panel. AMD Radeon R2 Graphics with shared video memory is not the best for gaming as you can only play less demanding games like World of Warcraft at low settings. High definition webcam with built-in digital microphone is good for taking clear still photos and great live chats and sound is pretty decent with HD Audio Support and two integrated stereo speakers. Stylish and modern black Acer E5-521 has a simple and uncluttered design, weighs 5.51 pounds and measures 15.02 x 10.08 x 1 inches. It has the Acer FineTip keyboard with large keys, numeric keypad and Precision Touchpad that supports accurate and smooth multiple gestures, and the battery life is up to 8 hours from its 6-cell lithium ion battery but this will depend on the apps used and brightness settings. Connectivity options include the 802.11bgn Wireless LAN, 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet with RJ-45, Bluetooth 4.0, 8X SuperMulti Double-Layer DVD Burner, 1 x DC-in, 1 x USB 3.0 port, 2 x USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI output with HDCP Support, a VGA output, 1 x Headphone/Speaker/line-out jack and SD Memory Card Reader.
Conclusion: Acer E5-521-23KH is an everyday performer basic laptop and offers great value for money- mainly because of being a certified refurbished computer, is very easy to set up and use, works pretty fast and battery life is long. It is one of the thinnest in its class and has a nice pattern and curvature. The package includes a laptop case, a wireless mouse,power cord and AC adapter as well as the Quick Start Guide, 6 months of McAfee Security (it also includes the built-in Windows Defender and SmartScreen so just uninstall the McAfee and perhaps install the free AVG online), 30 days of Microsoft Office Trial and Acer Recovery Management. Warranty is for 90 days for the certified and refurbished units and you will get the same 24/7 technical and customer support by phone and online. You can connect it to your big screen HDTV to watch videos or share content with others in HD. Sound is quite rich and immersive through the stereo speakers with sound support. Windows 8 or 8.1 is not that great but the good news is you have the free Windows 10 upgrade very soon. It is a good one for basic computing- word processing, spreadsheets, net surfing, social media, keeping in touch with friends and getting your daily work done.
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