Acer Aspire E (E5-771G-51T2)

Design and Features
The Aspire E has a large silver polycarbonate chassis that measures roughly 1.1 by 16.75 by 11.5 inches (HWD), and weighs 6.31 pounds. It has a 17.3-inch, 1,920-by-1,080 resolution screen, which should be the main reason you buy the system over any similarly priced laptop. It has a TFT LCD display instead of a more costly In-Plane Switching (IPS) screen, like the one on the Asus N550JV-DB72T. Thus, its angle viewing is a smidge narrower if you're a perfectionist, but the system's LED backlit screen is certainly bright and clear enough for a viewing session among close friends. Viewing 1080p HD trailers, including the new one for the upcoming Terminator Genisys movie, is clean and smooth on the display. Sound is also a strong point: The volume can fill a small to medium-size room without a hint of distortion.

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Connectors are plentiful, thanks to all the space on the sides of the system. You'll find an Ethernet port, an HDMI port, a headset jack, a Kensington lock port, an SD card reader, two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, and a VGA port. The extra chassis space also means that the keyboard deck is wide and comfortable, with a non-backlit, chiclet-style keyboard with full numeric keypad. The keys are all full size, an improvement over the narrow keypad keys on the 15-inch desktop-replacement laptops like the Acer Aspire M5-583P-6637 and the Asus N550JV-DB72T. That's still better than the Acer Aspire E5-471G-53XG, which lacks the space a numeric keypad. There's a DVD burner, and the system has 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

There's 8GB of memory, which is great for keeping dozens of browser tabs open, and the 1TB hard drive is plenty of room for downloads. We do have to point out that the system is filled with extra pre-loaded software. The Start screen is littered with tiles for programs such as Accuweather, Acer Deals, Amazon, Booking.com, eBay, Evernote, Hulu Plus, iStoryTime, Kindle, Netflix, Next Issue, Solitaire, Stumble Upon, Taptiles, Wild Tangent, and Zinio. The Aspire E comes with a standard one-year warranty.
Performance
Thanks to a 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-4210U processor and discrete Nvidia GeForce GT 840M graphics, the Aspire E is was able to achieve a decent 2,542 points on the PCMark 8 Work Conventional test. It finished the Handbrake test in an equally competent 3 minutes 33 seconds, and 4:59 on the Photoshop CS6 tests. These scores are within a stone's throw of other Core i5 desktop-replacement systems like the Lenovo Flex 2 (15-inch)$799.00 at Lenovo, the Lenovo Z40$499.00 at Lenovo, and the Toshiba Tecra C50-B1503$699.49 at WalMart.

Gaming performance is very good for the category. The Aspire E scored 26 frames per second (fps) on Heaven and 31fps on Valley, both at medium-quality settings. That's something that the other systems with Intel HD graphics couldn't do, and even the Acer Aspire E5-471G-53XG and the Lenovo Z40, both of which have entry-level discrete Nvidia GeForce GT 820M graphics, were left in the dust . If gaming is really important to you, the Lenovo Y50 Touch$979.00 at Lenovo is a better choice, but Y50 Touch is more of an entry-level gaming laptop, and is significantly more expensive to boot.
Battery life is good, though not great. It lasted 4 hours 25 minutes on our battery rundown test. That's enough for a good long session away from a plug around the house, and that's the best you can expect for portability, since this laptop won't fit on a typical airline tray table. The 14-inch Acer Aspire E5-471G-53XG has double the battery life (9:12). The system's sealed battery is impossible for the end user to replace easily, which is unfortunate. Replaceable batteries let you keep using the laptop for longer periods of time.
All in all, the Acer Aspire E (E5-771G-51T2) is a very good desktop-replacement laptop. It justifies its higher price tag over less expensive models by virtue of its 1080p HD screen, better performance, more system memory, and the fact that you can still see everything on the screen from six feet away. That said, the Dell Inspiron 17 5000 Series Non-Touch$449.99 at Dell, our Editors' Choice for budget desktop-replacement laptops, is still a much better value. It has a longer battery life, equally large screen, and performance that's good enough for movies and entertainment, all for a list price that's about $350 less. Our current Editors' Choice for midrange desktop-replacement laptops is the venerable Asus N550JV-DB72T, and while that system has limited availability, it also has an IPS touch screen, which is highly desirable at this price range.