The computer that loves to play

AT LESS THAN Bt17,000, the new Acer Aspire E15 (E5-553G-F1J2) is a highly affordable entertainment notebook computer that will make the perfect festive gift for any game player.
It is powered by 7th Generation AMD FX9800P processor with an AMD Radeon R8 GPU (graphics processing unit) to handle the extensive graphics data of computer games.
With most gaming notebooks going for Bt30,000, Acer has managed to keep the price of the E15 down by using a lower-cost processor and GPU from AMD rather than its those of its rivals.

The Aspire E15 comes with 8 gigabytes of working memory, using fast DDR4 RAM and has a one-terabyte hard drive and a DVD drive. It has a 15.6-inch HD Acer CineCrystal LED display with 1366x768 pixel resolution.
The notebook is equipped with a two-antenna 802.11ac MU-MIMO wireless adapter that minimises disturbances in online gaming. I tested it with Linksys EA8500 MU-MIMO wireless router and found that the notebook streamed HD content and downloaded applications fast.
In terms of ports, it has what you’d expect, namely two USB 3.0, one USB 2.0, one HDMI, one card reader (SD/SDXC/SDHC/MMC), and a LAN port as well as one USB 3.1 Type C. The USB3.0 ports allow you to charge your devices even when the notebook is turned off as long as you keep its power plug in the wall socket.
The USB 3.1 Type C is great. It allows you to charge your mobile device up to 100 watts and transfer files at the speed of up to 5 Gbps. It also allows the E15 to be connected to a 4K monitor.

The notebook comes with a full-size keyboard with a numeric pad, which I found comfortable for typing.
The 7th Generation AMD FX9800P processor that powers the notebook has a clock speed of 2.7 GHz, which can be overclocked to 3.6 GHz. The FX9800P is the quad-core processor that AMD compares to the Intel Core i7 series.
AMD says the FX9800P consumes up to 12 per cent less power in productivity workloads compared to the previous generation AMD FX-8800P.
The E15’s graphics horsepower comes from AMD Radeon R8 with 2 GB of dedicated video memory. Compared to Nvidia GeForce GTX960M GPU with 4 GB dedicated video memory which I recently tested, the R8 displayed pictures of rendered game scenes with less texture and less sharpness but the pictures were still beautiful and colourful.
The frame rates were acceptable and the game speeds were okay so the notebook should be able to handle most graphics-extensive games, especially those in the middle level.
I tried it with Uniqine Heaven Benchmark 4.0 and found that the E15 notebook achieved an average frame rate of 31 frames per second while its max FPS was 72.9 and minimum was 11.4.
The notebook handled video playing fast and smoothly, rendering webpages and business applications to a satisfactory level.
Acer Aspire E15 (E5-553G-F1J2) has a suggested retail price of Bt16,900. This does not however include the cost of the Windows 10 operating system as it is preloaded with Linux OS. The notebook has a two-year of warranty.

Key Specs
- OS: Boot-up Linux |(Tested with Windows 10)
- Processor: AMD quad-core |FX9800P 2.7 GHz
- GPU: AMD Radeon R8 M445DX with |2 GB memory
- Memory: 8 GB DDR4 RAM
- Storage: 1,000 GB HDD
- Optical drive: DVD-Super Multi DL
- Display: 15.6-inch HD Acer CineCrystal LED LCD ( 1366x768 pixel)
- Connectivity: 802.11ac MU-MIMO, BT, LAN port
- Battery: 4-cell Lion battery
- Dimensions: |381.6 (W)x259 (D) x 23.9-30.2 (H)mm
- Weight: 2.39 kgs