For general use, the Acer Aspire 5 17 offers a larger screen and better performance due to its more powerful Intel i5 processor, making it suitable for everyday tasks and some light engineering work. However, it's less portable due to its larger size and weight. The Acer Aspire Go 15, on the other hand, is more compact and budget-friendly, with a battery life that's about 2 hours longer, making it a better choice if you prioritize portability and longer usage on the go. Both have similar RAM and storage, but the Aspire Go 15 has a slightly better color coverage for a more vibrant display, which might appeal to you if you enjoy media consumption or light photo editing. Consider the Aspire 5 17 for a balance of performance and screen size for home or office use, and the Aspire Go 15 for its portability and longer battery life for on-the-go tasks. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Acer Aspire 5 17
Good for general use
Advantages of the Acer Aspire Go 15
Good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Key differences
Screen Quality
6.2/10
7.3/10
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
266.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
284.0 nits
The Acer Aspire Go 15 has a better screen than the Acer Aspire 5 17 for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
7.0 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire 5 17 has 7 hours of battery life. The Acer Aspire Go 15 has 9 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Build Quality
6.5/10
7.4/10
The Acer Aspire Go 15 has good build quality, while the Acer Aspire 5 17 has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$700
$299
$0
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
The Acer Aspire 5 17 has a price of $700 and the Acer Aspire Go 15 costs $299.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Acer Aspire 5 17 to be good for general use, while the Acer Aspire Go 15 is only fair.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
6.2/10
5.9/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Acer Aspire 5 17 to be only fair for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire Go 15 is poor.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
6.7/10
6.4/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
3.9/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Acer Aspire 5 17 and Acer Aspire Go 15 are both only fair for engineering and design.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
7.2/10
7.1/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
3.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Aspire 5 17 and Acer Aspire Go 15 are both good for content creation.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.2/10
7.1/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
3.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Acer Aspire 5 17 and Acer Aspire Go 15 are both good for software development.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Portability
Good
Good
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
4.6 lbs
WEIGHT
3.8 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Acer Aspire Go 15 and Acer Aspire 5 17 both have good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Acer Aspire 5 17 and the Acer Aspire Go 15 compare to other laptops
"The Acer Aspire 5 17 laptop shows the expected strengths in the test. Besides the usual high build quality, the configuration convinces in most benchmarks and tests. The combination of CPU, GPU, and RAM is absolutely sufficient for the everyday office and browsing tasks of a laptop. It also renders the odd game passably if the requirements aren't too high. We liked the matte display in the test as well as the fairly manageable dimensions despite the screen size. It can also be used outdoors, even if it's certainly not a laptop designed for mobility."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 5 17 or the Acer Aspire Go 15
About Acer
Acer is a prominent Taiwanese electronics brand which makes a wide range of laptops, with multiple product lines catering to personal use, gaming, and business use. They are renowned for having exceptional value for money, as they frequently offer good specifications at a lower price than other manufacturers.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
109,395
Recommendations made
23,703
Consumer hours saved
About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.