Just bought a new gaming laptop for $600 (Acer Aspire 5)

[Kokolums]

Acer Aspire 5

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...V8&ignorebbr=1

Its on sale ($200 off) until wednesday so I went for it.

The Amazon version is here:

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-i...ct_top?ie=UTF8

I need a laptop because I travel a lot across country.

8th Generation Intel Core i7-8550U Processor (Up to 4.0GHz)
15.6" Full HD (1920 x 1080) Comfy View widescreen LED-backlit display
8GB DDR4 Memory & 256GB SSD 523 MB/s read 456 MB/s write
NVIDIA GeForce MX150 2GB (power level of a 1030)
1 x USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 1 (up to 5 Gbps)
1 x USB 3.0 (with Power-off Charging)
2 x USB 2.0
1 x HDMI
gigabit ethernet port

Battle plan is to buy
https://www.amazon.com/USB-C-Display.../dp/B01KIMP28Y

And plug that into the USB 3.1 port to get an extended display on 2 monitors. If that doesn't work, then maybe just use the HDMI port & a single HDMI to USB 3.1 converter to get 2 displays. I might be able to extend to 3 displays if I wanted.

The downside of this cheap gaming laptop is the monitor on the lid is of poor quality, but I don't care because I'm just docking this thing no matter where I am in most cases.

The goal is just to run BfA, WoW Classic, Diablo 3, Diablo 2, Overwatch, Path of Exile, Torchlight 2, and maybe some other games and for my purposes it will run great. Hoping to get 4 years of use out of this at most, but 2 would be fine.

I'll let you guys know how it goes!

Update:

This laptop has a combo jack. I never actually used headphones or a microphone until today. Unfortunately, when I plugged it in, I only got audio but it wouldn't hear my mic. UPDATING DRIVERS IS ALWAYS THE LAST SOLUTION because there are settings all over the place in windows. And, I have a solve:

1. I opened Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > HD Audio Manager
2. The FIRST time you open this software, a tiny little menu of checkboxes pops up asking you to define what is plugged into the combo jack. ONLY the headphones option was selected. I unchecked that and checked headset.

ALSO

1. Look at your toolbar on your desktop.
2. To the left of the time and date is the speaker icon.
3. Right-click that and select Volume Mixer.
4. Left-click Speakers and the Speakers Properties window will pop up.
5. Select the Levels tab.
6. The Microphone was actually MUTED by default on my computer. You can tell its muted because there's a little red circle with a diagonal cross out line in the lower right corner of the button. If you see red, click it to remove the red in other words.

Doing both activated the microphone on my headset.

Also, just in case people still have problems, I learned a lot of people have issues with their privacy setting preventing the mic from working. This wasn't my problem but I see it a lot so let's cover that while we're here:

1. Do a Windows search for the word: Privacy
2. Click Privacy Settings.
3. On the menu bar on the left click Microphone
4. Make sure near the top it says "Microphone access for this device is on" and if not, click the grey button underneath that sentence to change it to on.
5. Allow apps to access your mic should also be toggled to on.
6. Any apps you want to grant access to your mic listed underneath that should also be toggled to on.

Some people disable a lot of this for privacy when they get a computer and forget months later when they want to use the mic for gaming.

[Moozart]

Acer Aspire 5

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...V8&ignorebbr=1

Its on sale ($200 off) until wednesday so I went for it.

The Amazon version is here:

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-i...ct_top?ie=UTF8

I need a laptop because I travel a lot across country.

8th Generation Intel Core i7-8550U Processor (Up to 4.0GHz)
15.6" Full HD (1920 x 1080) Comfy View widescreen LED-backlit display
8GB DDR4 Memory & 256GB SSD
NVIDIA GeForce MX150 2GB (power level of a 1030)
1 x USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 1 (up to 5 Gbps)
1 x USB 3.0 (with Power-off Charging)
2 x USB 2.0
1 x HDMI
gigabit ethernet port

Battle plan is to buy
https://www.amazon.com/USB-C-Display.../dp/B01KIMP28Y

And plug that into the USB 3.1 port to get an extended display on 2 monitors. If that doesn't work, then maybe just use the HDMI port & a single HDMI to USB 3.1 converter to get 2 displays. I might be able to extend to 3 displays if I wanted.

The downside of this cheap gaming laptop is the monitor on the lid is of poor quality, but I don't care because I'm just docking this thing no matter where I am in most cases.

The goal is just to run BfA, WoW Classic, Diablo 3, Diablo 2, Overwatch, Path of Exile, Torchlight 2, and maybe some other games and for my purposes it will run great. Hoping to get 4 years of use out of this at most, but 2 would be fine.

I'll let you guys know how it goes!

That is a business class laptop that has had a slightly better than on board GPU included. should run wow at about setting 2-3 and get 30+ FPS, Raids will be tough and its going to get VERY hot. Since it is NOT a "gaming laptop" its not going to have a cooling solution that was designed for prolonged gaming use like an actual gaming laptop does.

[korijenkins]

That is a bossiness glass laptop that has had a slightly better than on board GPU included. should run wow at about setting 2-3 and get 30+ FPS, Raids will be tough and its going to get VERY hot. Since it is NOT a "gaming laptop" its not going to have a cooling solution that was designed for prolonged gaming use like an actual gaming laptop does.

Well its that time of year when people buy things that aren't sufficient thinking they are.

[Kokolums]

That is a business class laptop that has had a slightly better than on board GPU included. should run wow at about setting 2-3 and get 30+ FPS, Raids will be tough and its going to get VERY hot. Since it is NOT a "gaming laptop" its not going to have a cooling solution that was designed for prolonged gaming use like an actual gaming laptop does.

That's very wrong since I've been gaming on a laptop far far worse and it handles raids fine.

You can always buy something like

https://www.amazon.com/HAYATA-Laptop.../dp/B01COVL88K

to help cool the processors. Those work amazingly well. I just highly doubt it will be needed.

[Saphyron]

Problem with that GPU is that it is very low end. And not much better than integrated GPU's (still better though).

You can raid with it. But expect to have it on minimum.
My lappy only has a intel 510 integrated GPU. It can raid 20-man at the absolute minimum with major lag. That GPU might be able to push the fps above 20 but not above 30 even at minimum.

CPU is pretty shit as well.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...954R-_-Product
This one is a much better choice for you. The CPU is more powerful, especially for gaming. And the GPU while not great is many times better than the one you linked. It also has much better cooling and will allow you to turbo-clock up to 3,9GHz from the standard of 2,3GHz.
The one you picked, as far as I know, can't be turbo-clocked thus you are stuck at a horrible 1,8GHz which is not what you want in World of Warcraft.

[Kokolums]

Problem with that GPU is that it is very low end. And not much better than integrated GPU's (still better though).

You can raid with it. But expect to have it on minimum.
My lappy only has a intel 510 integrated GPU. It can raid 20-man at the absolute minimum with major lag. That GPU might be able to push the fps above 20 but not above 30 even at minimum.

None of that matches my experience with low end laptops. I think I'll trust my experience vs what you're saying. If your performance was that bad I have to assume you were something very very wrong. Although over the years I have a slew of tweaks to get the most performance.

[Ayirasi]

I remember seeing gameplay videos of the Aspire 5, and was pretty impressed with its bang-for-the-buck. Curious to see how you're getting on with it.

[macphistofly]

Yeah nothing about that laptop is a gaming laptop. I mean it has 8 gigs of memory and an ethernet port. Yes you can game on it....sort of. Should you expect to run anything on settings other than low, probably not with that cpu/gpu.

[Appelgren]

None of that matches my experience with low end laptops. I think I'll trust my experience vs what you're saying. If your performance was that bad I have to assume you were something very very wrong. Although over the years I have a slew of tweaks to get the most performance.

Or you have much higher tolerance for what you think is good/bad performance vs the rest of us...
I agree with Saphyron on this one

[Saphyron]

None of that matches my experience with low end laptops. I think I'll trust my experience vs what you're saying. If your performance was that bad I have to assume you were something very very wrong. Although over the years I have a slew of tweaks to get the most performance.

While the GPU does not mean nearly as much for wow as the CPU does.

That CPU in the pc you picked are horrible.
The higher clock speed you get per single core the better the game runs (for wow).
And 1,8GHz is horrendous for wow. Together with a really shitty GPU means your game will not run very well. It will do other things fine. But sure waste your money if you want. I am not going to lose sleep over it.
And all the other games you linked you will get a much better gaming experience with the drastically better GPU.

[Serpha]

lol gaming laptop...U processor...MX 150 gfx...200 off...
NO on all accounts

[Kokolums]

Someone actually uploaded a video to youtube running BfA with this exact laptop. There are just in the starting zone but they set the graphics to 8 and the FPS around 60-80. Also, he's using the i5 and not the i7 version that i got.

[Zensunni]

I'd give that laptop a year at best.

[endersblade]

Someone actually uploaded a video to youtube running BfA with this exact laptop. There are just in the starting zone but they set the graphics to 8 and the FPS around 60-80. Also, he's using the i5 and not the i7 version that i got.

Watching that guy attempt to play WoW made me want to punch a kitten. Good fucking god. I'm going to assume he has never played the game before.

[Pebrocks The Warlock]

Please tell me you didn't actually waste your money on a "gaming" laptop.

[Kokolums]

For performance sake, I recorded this video on an Acer Aspire 5560g-7809 using OBS. If I can RECORD audio/video on a crappy laptop like THAT in Legion, I don't see how a vastly superior laptop will be unable to handle merely PLAYING BfA....

https://www.cnet.com/au/reviews/acer...-5560g-review/

AMD A6-3400M 1.4Ghz processor
4GB of RAM
1 GB Radeon HD 6540G2 processor
5400 rpm HDD

https://vimeo.com/292512696



That video was recorded on a freaking TOASTER

[Wermys]

This is playing at 768p. This isn't that impressive. The battery life is fair on it. But if you are needing battery life then an ultrabook would be better. The graphics on this are just kinda pointless except in some limited scenarios. Personally I would look for a used Dell or other laptop which warranty transfers. You can find them on hardwareswap in reddit for about this price which would have a 1060 in it.

- - - Updated - - -

Problem with that GPU is that it is very low end. And not much better than integrated GPU's (still better though).

You can raid with it. But expect to have it on minimum.
My lappy only has a intel 510 integrated GPU. It can raid 20-man at the absolute minimum with major lag. That GPU might be able to push the fps above 20 but not above 30 even at minimum.

CPU is pretty shit as well.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...954R-_-Product
This one is a much better choice for you. The CPU is more powerful, especially for gaming. And the GPU while not great is many times better than the one you linked. It also has much better cooling and will allow you to turbo-clock up to 3,9GHz from the standard of 2,3GHz.
The one you picked, as far as I know, can't be turbo-clocked thus you are stuck at a horrible 1,8GHz which is not what you want in World of Warcraft.

I would upvote this This laptop is solid for the stats. Also a Ryzen 2500u laptop would be another one to look at which should perform about on part with a mx150 slightly slower but a 100 cheaper. Something like this https://slickdeals.net/f/12558205-le...archBarV2Algo1 But that is only if you are concerned about buying a refurb.

[GreenJesus]

lol... You do realize that every 2 years games increase in requirements right?

[Kokolums]

This is playing at 768p. This isn't that impressive.

Its $600. Stop expecting playing WoW on graphics setting 10 on a 4k monitor.

[GreenJesus]

For performance sake, I recorded this video on an Acer Aspire 5560g-7809 using OBS. If I can RECORD audio/video on a crappy laptop like THAT in Legion, I don't see how a vastly superior laptop will be unable to handle merely PLAYING BfA....

https://www.cnet.com/au/reviews/acer...-5560g-review/

AMD A6-3400M 1.4Ghz processor
4GB of RAM
1 GB Radeon HD 6540G2 processor
5400 rpm HDD

https://vimeo.com/292512696



That video was recorded on a freaking TOASTER

and that looks like complete shit. Why are you bragging? You could have spent an extra couple hundred dollars and gotten a way better PC.