Price: $579.98 list
With a 15.6-inch screen, dual-core Pentium processor, 4GB of RAM, 320GB hard drive, and Windows 7 Home Premium, the Aspire AS5741Z-5433 (available at Staples) has an impressive list of features for a budget laptop. In addition, its battery life and overall performance places it in the top tier in its category.
Weighing 5.39 pounds, this system is relatively light and has a very subdued design, with a smudge-resistant lid that’s covered in a dark-gray, plastic matte coating that has a textured, mesh pattern, while on its keyboard dock is a smooth, matte-silver metallic surface with light streaks. The Chiclet-style keyboard includes a numeric pad, but lacks dedicated volume and brightness buttons. The keyboard flexed way too much for my tastes, but the touch pad was very responsive.
The 15.6-inch display is surrounded by a glossy, black plastic bezel that also houses a 1.3-megapixel webcam and microphone. You also get an HDMI-out port and an integrated 5-in-1 media card reader. And the presence of bloatware is kept to a minimum. For a budget laptop, this Acer performs surprisingly well—easily out-sprinting its closest competitors on nearly every test. This system’s CineBench R10 score of 4,992 is a whopping 44 percent higher than the Compaq CQ62-225nr’s score. And the PCMark Vantage test score of 4,204 was still a sizeable 28 percent faster than the CQ62-225nr’s. Not to mention that the AS5741Z-5433 surprised me with its impressive battery life, lasting 4 hours, 20 minutes on MobileMark 2007. This class-leading performance and battery life, combined with a few extra features, means that a tight budget can still get you an Editors’ Choice laptop.— Daniel A. Begun.
Pros Strong performance for its class. Great battery life. HDMI port. Smudge-resistant lid.
Cons Lackluster audio quality. Mushy keyboard.
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