Is there a better alternative?

If you can still buy it, the Acer Aspire E 15 is a strong competitor. It’s just $600 for a Core i5-8250U, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SATA SSD. Acer also throws in a discrete Nvidia MX150 GPU that can power some modern games at low resolutions and graphical detail and many indie titles. And that’s only $60 less than an Aspire 5 with more storage space and a newer GPU. But if that’s your choice, then you’ll want to pick one up before it goes away.

　　Acer’s Swift 3 is another option, particularly if you’re considering the more expensive version of the Aspire 5. It costs $1,000 for a Core i7-8565U, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and an MX150 for faster graphics . That compares to the equivalent Aspire 5 with a Core i7, 12GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and an MX250 GPU for $850.

　　Finally, you could consider the Lenovo IdeaPad 530s. It’s a bit better looking than the Aspire 5, and it has a slightly better build quality. It costs $735 as we reviewed it, with a Core i5-8250U CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and a 15.6-inch Full HD display. Of course, you can spend less than that with the Aspire 5 and get more RAM, storage, and a discrete GPU – so it depends on how much better looks and build quality matter.

　　

How long will it last?

If you spend $400 on a laptop, then you don’t necessarily expect it to last a decade. And while the Aspire 5 feels like it’ll last a while, it’s held back by its relatively slow, dual-core CPU. The 1-year standard warranty isn’t quite as disappointing at this price as it is when you’re spending over $1,000 for a laptop.

　　

Should you buy it?

Yes. The Aspire 5, whether in its $400 review configuration or its slightly more expensive $660 model with much better components, is our new favorite budget laptop.