Acer Aspire GO 15 AG15-32P 15.6" FHD Core™ 3-N355 128GB SSD 8GB W11 SILVER

No fingerprint reader or facial recognition The Acer Aspire Go 15 may be one of the best budget laptops you can buy for under $500, but it makes some compromises to get there. This machine shines with light desktop use, but it isn’t built for demanding tasks. This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined The Acer Aspire Go 15 is a 15.6-inch budget laptop that delivers great value for your dollar. With reasonable desktop performance, a nice 1080p display, 16 GB of RAM, and 512 GB of storage, there’s a lot to like here. But the Aspire Go 15 won’t pass for a premium laptop any time soon. Acer’s choice of budget-tier N-series Intel CPU and a small battery are compromises that were likely necessary to hit this price point. You’ll notice this compromise in day-to-day use. The Acer Aspire Go 15 pairs an Intel Core i3-N355 CPU with 16 GB of DDR5 RAM and a 512 GB SSD — that’s a good amount of RAM and storage for a $499 laptop. It’s available from both Best Buy and Target . While I was wrapping up the review, Target had it on sale for $429, which is a solid value. Compared to last year’s $299 Acer Aspire Go 15 , this year’s model delivers 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage (up from 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage.) There’s been some inflation of laptop prices, but these spec bumps make the pill easier to swallow. This is a good amount of RAM and storage you’d want in a laptop. Anything less can become hard to live with. You could probably get by with 256 GB of storage, Acer is being generous! The big thing holding this laptop back is its Intel CPU and graphics. Intel N-series chips are designed for budget machines. It’s fast enough for basic desktop and productivity application use, but this is a budget CPU experience. Additionally, the Intel graphics hardware here is very slow. This machine isn’t a good fit if you plan on playing PC games or using other 3D apps. Acer chooses to ship this laptop in S Mode, which is a strange decision in 2025.

Ultra affordable 1080p IPS display Wi-Fi 6E and two USB-C ports Low performance ceiling Subpar battery life Lackluster keyboard Noticeable cooling fan Non-upgradable UFS storage The Aspire Go 15 AG15-32P-39R2 under review runs on the new-for-2025 Intel Core 3 N355 CPU, a light-hitting “Twin Lake” chip with eight Efficient cores, no Performance cores, and a modest 3.9GHz turbo clock. It provides just enough performance for daily use, but no more. Another cost-cutting feature: the skimpy 128GB of Universal Flash Storage (UFS), a type of memory more commonly found in smartphones. Considering that you can get a 256GB SSD for around $25, the parts-bin nature of this laptop is explicit. Adding to the compromises, Windows 11 comes in S Mode, which restricts app installations to the Microsoft Store. Most users will likely initiate the one-way switch out of S Mode into full Windows 11 early on. Most other Aspire Go 15 configurations, including the mentioned Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-51P) , provide more robust processors and real SSD storage. Acer even equips some models with desktop-replacement CPUs at a significantly higher price. Case in point: Model AG15-71P-794K was $749.99 on the Acer Store with a Core i7-13620H CPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. Acer’s Aspire is more upscale than its price suggests. Despite some flex in the chassis, it still feels sturdy, and the lid opens with a smooth, confident motion. Visually, the Aspire Go 15 blends in with the sea of budget laptops lining wholesale-club tables, but that’s not a bad thing: Its neutral lines and minimal branding won't turn heads, for better or worse. And the design avoids the telltale signs of a bargain-bin buy, apart from the thick lower bezel framing its conventional 16:9 display. In short, it’s perfectly adequate. At 0.78 by 14.3 by 9.4 inches (HWD) and 3.8 pounds, the Aspire shares a similar footprint with other budget-friendly laptops, such as the Asus Vivobook Go 15 (0.7 by 14.2 by 9.2 inches and 3.

The Acer Aspire Go 15 is fast at executing everyday tasks, from light productivity to entertainment. However, the display is too grainy and hard to see at many angles, while those seeking some graphical prowess will be left wanting more. But if you can settle for these drawbacks, there aren’t many better Windows alternatives for this kind of money. Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you're buying the best. Find out more about how we test. The Acer Aspire Go 15 is an affordable Windows laptop with a spec that should prove capable enough for everyday use. Considering its 15.6-inch form, it has a sleek and slender body. It’s also quite thin and light, which makes it easier to carry around than expected. The light silver finish and minimal aesthetic also imbue the Aspire Go 15 with some style, although there are a few unsightly angles that mar its appearance somewhat. It isn’t built to the same high standards as the best laptops , much less many of the best Ultrabooks , either. The materials aren’t premium, and its construction isn’t as reassuringly solid as I would’ve liked. The lid isn’t the most stable, either, and its downward protrusion means it lifts up the rear of the unit when opened beyond 90 degrees, which is a design choice I’m not particularly fond of due to its impractical nature. On a more positive note, there’s a decent selection of ports, including three for USB-A, one for HDMI cables, and one for Ethernet connections. There’s only one USB-C port, though, and no SD card reader. The everyday performance of the Aspire Go 15 is very good, handling light productivity and entertainment workloads with speed. However, more intensive tasks such as gaming fare worse, given that it lacks a dedicated GPU. Light gaming is still possible, though, and both fan noise and temperatures are kept to a minimum. One of the most disappointing aspects of the Aspire Go 15 is its display.