Conclusion
The on-paper specification is strong, however there are a couple of significant provisos lurking between the lines.Wouldn't it be nice to be able to splash thousands of pounds on a new laptop? That's the dream, but for most a compromise has to be made with a more affordable solution that ticks as many boxes as possible at a given price point.
Our search for a well-rounded gaming laptop below the £1,000 mark is thus far proving tricky. The Acer Aspire VX 15, at £800, offers the many of the right ingredients, including an Intel Core i5 processor, dedicated Nvidia GeForce graphics, DDR4 memory, SSD storage and a full-HD display.
The on-paper specification is strong, however there are a couple of significant provisos lurking between the lines. The GeForce GTX 1050 GPU struggles to deliver high-quality gameplay at the native 1080p resolution, and the TN panel is particularly disappointing with poor contrast, narrow viewing angles and sub-standard colour reproduction.
It's a shame a better panel isn't available as an option, as the Aspire VX 15 offers a full-size, backlit keyboard, capable everyday performance, a good selection of I/O ports and over eight hours of battery life. Casual gamers may be willing to accept the limitations of the GPU, but for most the middling display will be one compromise too far.
The Good The Bad Capable everyday performance
Full-size, backlit keyboard
Good selection of I/O ports
Over eight hours of battery life
Available for under £800 Disappointing display
Struggles with 1080p gaming
Single-channel memory
Small 128GB SSD
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The Acer Aspire VX 15 gaming laptop is available to purchase from Scan Computers.
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