The newest multimedia-gaming hybrid from Acer’s new Acer aspire 7 a717-72g model with a strong GTX 1060, a quick quad-core, and an IPS display, but it is otherwise cost-optimized. Regarding specs, Acer’s new laptop is excellent, and the company made smart decisions when slashing prices. Except for one case
Case
Upon first glance, it is evident that Acer had not made any effort to reduce the size of the laptop. The bezels on the Acer aspire 7 a717-72g, which are mainly black, are enormous. The top cover and the lid both feel like cold metal and are easily marked by fingerprints due to their brushed metal finish. The pictures below show how difficult it has been to remove fingerprints from the surface. Slip-resistant material lines the inside of the casing. The silver Aspire-series hinge stands out, and the lid has a silver Acer logo and decorative strips around the base and touchpad.
Tiny movement occurred at the base even when subjected to tremendous force, and it maintained its silence throughout. Its lid is thick and resistant to pressure, and it is also quite robust and seldom budges when subjected to torsional stresses—extreme tightness at the hinge. As a result, when opened, it causes the whole base to rise. The good news is that teetering is quite rare.
The animal stays in one place for the most part, so Acer’s engineers seem to have misplaced their priorities. The gaps are consistent and tiny, and the protruding edges surrounding the hinge seem to be design aspects rather than manufacturing defects, so we have no issues with the overall build quality. The casing is stiff and strong without any frills, but it isn’t aesthetically pleasing.
Three contestants have a similar body type and weight at approximately 3 kilograms (6.6 lb). The HP Omen is the thickest and the largest of the three laptops, at 5 mm/0.2 in, compared to just 2 mm/0.08 for our review model and the Acer Aspire Nitro.
Connectivity
Its connection issues have already been noted. There are four USB ports; two are USB 2.0 only, while the other two are USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, at least one of which has a USB Type-C connection. As well as a standard-sized HDMI connector, an Ethernet port can be folded out of the way. The single 3.5 mm combo audio connector is unusual for gaming laptops. Thus most gaming headsets won’t function with it. Both of the laptop’s ports are located at the back, out of the way of any potential obstructions caused by protruding parts or wires.
To Read SD Cards
Although the SD card reader in the Acer aspire is linked via USB 3.0 (the same as on the HP Omen), it still falls behind the HP Omen in our real-world JPEG copy test when benchmarked with our 64 GB Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC UHS-II reference card. It was noticeably faster than the Aspire Nitro’s USB 2.0 card reader.
Communication
The Atheros/Qualcomm QCA 6174 modem’s transfer speeds were well below the theoretical limit of 867 Mbps without overhead, and it couldn’t keep up with the likes of an Intel dual-band Wireless-AC 8260 module. As a result, it was noticeably slower than most MIMO 2×2 Wi-Fi modems, albeit this might have been due to issues with the antennas rather than the actual wireless modem. We took readings from a distance of 1 meter (3 feet) from our reference router, a Linksys EA8500.
Security
To our delight, Acer aspire has included a TPM 2.0 chip and a fingerprint reader, which we found to be both quick and accurate in its location (the top left corner of the touchpad).
Accessories
Low-cost laptop with cheap attachments, or none at all. The packaging was empty save from the charger, standard quick start instructions, and warranty brochure, as with most modern Acer laptops. There currently are no specialized add-ons available for the Aspire 7.
Maintenance
With so many screws to take out and a bottom cover that rises almost to the same level as the top, we can only imagine that taking this thing apart is no easy feat. Remove the top cover from the bottom pan; it is necessary to do so. The hard disc and RAM slots are easily accessible thanks to two maintenance hatches.
Warranty
As is customary, European customers have access to a 2-year bring-in limited warranty on their purchases, but Americans get a 1-year guarantee.
Keyboard
The pressure-resistant keyboard is nearly the same width and slightly narrower in height than a regular desktop keyboard. Despite the extra room, the number pad is still smaller than on regular keyboards, which may be awkward for those with big hands. Touch typists should have no trouble with the average size and spacing of the moderately concave and somewhat roughened keys.
Touchpad
Acer aspire 7 a717-72g touchpad, bordered by an ornate silver strip, is big enough, but its position to the left makes it awkward while one’s hand rests on the WASD keys. Even with somewhat damp fingertips, it had reasonable sliding qualities but was impervious to inputs or movements along its edges. The rapid motion was always accurately identified, and the system was accurate and quick to react. Dragging and dropping with two taps always worked well.
Display
Its maximum brightness of 357 nits on the 17.3-inch matte FHD IPS display was fantastic, and it was noticeably brighter than both of its rivals, which were recorded at approximately 300 nits. The screen’s brightness was very well distributed at 86%, but there was some small leakage at the screen’s corners, so the blacks weren’t completely uniform. However, this was only a problem when the screen’s content was all black; once bright portions were added, the bleeding was no longer evident.
The low pixel density of just 127 PPI made the on-screen material seem coarse and pixelated when seen at close range. However, the crispness was excellent. Due to its poor color reproduction and limited color space coverage (only 85% sRGB and 56% AdobeRGB), the Aspire 7 is not a good choice for picture editing. Its two main rivals had coverage rates of 93% and 90%, respectively, but these needed to be increased for anybody with (semi-)professional picture editing aspirations.
While our list of complaints is longer than we anticipated when we began analyzing this notebook, our final judgment has remained the same. There are two ways to look at Acer’s new Acer aspire 7 a717-72g: a multimedia laptop with gaming aspirations or a gaming notebook with respectable multimedia skills. What you get for your money at the current asking price of 1400 Euros ($1651) is the essence of a $2000 gaming notebook without the bling of features like G-Sync, programmable macro keys, a multi-zoned RGB keyboard backlight, tools for monitoring, tuning, and overclocking, and an improved selection of ports.
