Acer Aspire V3-571G-9435

Gamers typically don't have many options in the cheap laptop category, but experts say that the powerful components in the 15.6-inch Acer Aspire V3-571G-9435 -- including a discrete Nvidia GeForce GT 640M GPU -- makes it good for modern gaming and a whole lot more.

The Acer Aspire V3-571G-9435 is very powerful for a cheap notebook.

The discrete graphics card gives the laptop the ability to play even the newest games at low or average graphics detail settings, a very rare find in cheap laptops. The Acer Aspire V3 doesn't blow all its capabilities on gaming, either; it includes a top-of-the-line quad-core, third-generation Core i7 CPU, 6 GB of RAM and a 500 GB hard drive that makes short work of almost any computing tasks an average user could throw at it. Basically, the Acer Aspire V3-571G-9435 performs like a much more expensive computer and tears through benchmark tests, although the 5,400 RPM hard drive is much, much slower than the SSDs found in premium notebooks. On the flip side, all that power gives the notebook a battery life that's far below average.

The Acer Aspire V3-571G-9435 is very bulky and heavy.

This 5.8-pound, 1-inch thick laptop won't be confused for a thin-and-light Ultrabook anytime soon. Reviewers largely consider the large, comfortable, springy keys on the keyboard to be a positive asset. The touchpad works well and supports multitouch gestures, but some find the buttons a bit too stiff. Connectivity is another plus: the Acer Aspire V3-571G-9435 has a USB 3.0 port, HDMI, VGA, Ethernet and a DVD drive.

The plastic case and overall design is nothing special.

Critics say the silver finish on the keyboard and glossy black lid look good, but aren't anything to write home about -- and they're fingerprint magnets, to boot. The audio doesn't get loud, but it sounds great, and reviewers appreciate the included Dolby Home Theater software that allows you to tweak sound settings. The low 1,366-by-768-pixel resolution of the 15.6-inch screen disappoints reviewers all around, but they concede that Acer had to cut some corners -- such as ditching HD screen resolutions -- in order to keep costs down, especially with the powerful internal component.

Acer products don't break often, but it's a pain if they do.

Acer's notebooks don't have a reputation for poor quality, but the company itself has a relatively poor reputation for customer service. Acer offers a one-year warranty with free phone support. It also offers a question-and-answer section on the Acer support website and free live support chat.

This notebook is a great value for gamers and power users.

Jarred Walton says it best at AnandTech.com: "You won't find (any) laptops that deliver quad-core Ivy Bridge with an Optimus-enabled Kepler GPU for less money." If you don't need all that power, however, the Sony Vaio E15 SVE1511AFXS (Discontinued) and its Core i5 processor delivers plenty of performance for everyday use along with a bigger hard drive, a Blu-ray drive and a much more attractive design.

Only a handful of sources review the Acer Aspire V3-571G-9435, but AnandTech.com, Laptop Magazine and Engadget.com all conduct lengthy, in-depth testing in hands-on reviews. A couple of user reviews pop up at Newegg.com, too.