The Acer Aspire 5745 is an inexpensive 15.6 inch notebook with the choice of Intel Core i5 or i7 processors. While the specs and build quality may not be amazing in themselves, they certainly become much more interesting when viewed in context of the sub $800 price tag.
The display on the aspire 5745 is a 15.6 inch HD LED, with a resolution of 1366 x 768 which is respectable if not brilliant. The colours look good when watching movies and playing games, although the 200-nit brightness is not going to be enough for extended outdoor use. The graphics performance is also pretty good, with the choice of a dedicated Intel card or an Nvidia GeForce GT 330M.
The CPU in the i5 version of this laptop is a fairly fast 2.4GHz dual-core 450M i5, with added Turbo Boost technology which is capable of bringing speeds up to 2.66GHz. While the quad-core i7 is faster at 2.66GHz, it does have a rather negative effect on this battery life of this laptop. Speaking of battery life, the Aspire 5745 i5 model goes for about 4 hours in moderate usage, which while OK is certainly nothing to write home about.
The keyboard is another potential weakness in this design, and the flex will take some getting used to. It is an indication of the overall build quality however, which is one thing that does seem to suffer from the sub $800 price tag. A multi-gesture touchpad is supported, and seems to work pretty much as expected. The audio experience is also surprisingly good for a laptop of this price, due to Dolby Audio Enhancement features and high definition audio support.
The Acer Aspire 5745 is very well connected, with 4 USBs, HDMI, Ethernet, and a multi card reader as well. Overall, the performance and functionality of this laptop is very impressive for the price being asked, although the battery life and build quality are definitely not top-notch. Prices start from $800, although with all the different configuration options available, this number could get much higher if you are not careful.
Specifications
Intel Core i5/Intel Core i7
15.6 inch screen
1366 x 768 resolution
Intel graphics/Nvidia GeForce GT 330M
up to 4GB DDR3 RAM
up to 640GB hard drive
BluRay/DVD Super Multi
USB x 4
HDMI
Multi-1 card reader
Ethernet
VGA
