| Rating | Where to buy |
 | Amazon.com *Same or similar item |
Acer Aspire E1-571-6650 was our first choice as the best laptop priced under $400 until we reviewed Asus A53Z-AS61. Yet Acer Aspire E1 is superior in some features than the Asus A53Z. With 2.4 GHz Core i3-2370M, 4 GB RAM, 128MB graphics RAM, 500 GB HD, and attractive look, it surely demands some attention in this price range.
Design
Acer Aspire E1 is the second slimmest, and lightest among the laptops we listed in our post titled Best laptops under $400. It is only 1.31 inches thick and weighs 5.4 pounds. It looks exotic with the nice black matte finish and silver color below the keyboard. If only it had a USB 3.0 port, we would have moved it to the top of our list without a second thought.
Acer E1 571-6650 has the power in, LAN, VGA, HDMI, 1 USB 2.0, audio ports, and the vent on its left panel. On the right, it has the DVD burner, Kensington lock, and 2 USB 2.0 ports. The memory card reader is located on the front. The memory card slot has a cover for preventing dust.
The keyboard is soft. It looks good. But the touchpad is located so near to the left that it takes a little time for your hands to accidentally fall on the touchpad while you are typing.
Performance
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit operating system comes pre-installed with Aspire E1 571-6650. It comes with a 500GB hard drive that can revolve 5400 times per minute. Acer E1 Laptop sports Intel 2.4 GHz Core i3-2370M processor. Intel Core i3-2370M is a very good processor with the ability to speed up the whole system. Also, it comes with 4GB DDR3 RAM. DDR3 RAMs are faster and more energy efficient than SO-DIMM RAMs. As a result, this Acer laptop gave better battery backup (45 minutes to 1 hour) than the Asus A53Z laptop. However, we could not unanimously agree as to which one performed more quickly. It was surely a very tight competition between the two laptops.
Acer Aspire E1-571-6650 sports Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 128 MB dedicated memory. The display on its 15.6-inches screen was crisp, colorful, and bright. As with most 15.6-inches laptops, the native resolution is no greater than 1366×768 pixels.
Acer E1 laptop features 802.11bgn. Its Wi-Fi reception was good and speedy. Video chatting and internet browsing experience were flawless on this laptop.
| Pros | Cons |
| Sports 2.4 GHz Core i3-2370M, 4 GB RAM, 128MB graphics RAM, 500 GB HD, attractive looking. | No USB 3.0 port. |
Acer Aspire E1-571-6650 is very fast, and stable for a laptop that costs $400. It hardly gets warm even after long use. The display is crisp and bright. The battery lasts more than 4 hours. We highly recommend Acer E1-571-6650 for anyone who is looking for laptop under $400.
Specifications
Screen Size: 15.6 inches
Max Resolution: 1366 x 768 pixels
Processor: 2.4 GHz Core i3-2370M
RAM: 4 GB DDR3
Hard Drive: 500 GB SATA
Graphics Coprocessor: Intel HD Graphics 3000
Graphics Ram: 128 MB
Wireless Type: 802.11bgn
USB 2.0 Ports: 3
Average Battery Life: 4.5 hours
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Weight: 5.4 pounds
Dimensions: 15.02 X 9.96 X 1.31 inches
Color: Black
Optical Drive: DVD R/W