1.Pricing & specs2.Design & build3.Software4.Display5.Performance & thermals6.Battery life7.Keyboard & touchpad8.Camera, mic, & audio9.Competition10.Scorecard11.Should you buy it?
Plus, it has fantastic battery life, which helps make it an ideal work laptop or school laptop.
Here’s what I think of it.
The Acer Aspire Go 14 has an aluminum chassis.
This review was made possible thanks to a review unit provided by Acer.
The company did not see the contents of this review before publishing.
There are also a good range of ports to satisfy your accessory and connection needs.
This laptop doesn’t offer any frills or unique functions, but it gets the job done.
The frame itself is aluminum, which helps keep the Aspire Go 14 nice and light.
However, it is thicker than many other modern laptops, especially when the lid is closed.
The Acer Aspire Go 14 is on the thicker side for modern laptops.
This is to be expected from a laptop in this price range.
Obviously, you shouldn’t expect a budget laptop to offer as elegant a design as more costly devices.
There is also a Kensington lock slot on the laptop’s left side if you want to use that.
There is a power port, USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port, HDMI port, and USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port on the laptop’s right side.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
If you really do need that connection, then one of thebest Thunderbolt dockscould solve that for you.
Some of these programs are useful while others simply bog down the laptop and make it run less efficiently.
Just remember to keep important programs installed.
There is a headphone jack, USB-A port, and Kensington lock on the left side.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
Is the Acer Aspire Go 14 an AI PC or a Copilot+ PC?
As such, it is not an AI PC, nor is it a Copilot+ PC.
That said, the Aspire Go 14 does not have a very impressive panel.
AcerSense has a clean layout.
The Aspire Go 14 scored between the Surface Laptop 4 15 and the Surface Laptop 3 15.
I can confirm this with my own time spent using it.
I then ran the Cinebench R23 benchmark, which tests the CPU’s abilities.
If anything, it worked as well as expected and is a great performer, given its low price.
In fact, it earned the lowest score of any laptop we’ve tested thus far.
This isn’t too surprising, given its specs.
In a color gamut test, the Aspire Go 14 produced 63% of sRGB, 49% of AdobeRGB, and 49% of P3.
The vents themselves measured in at around 108 degrees F (42 degrees C).
While the keyboard area is warm to the touch, it never got too hot to handle.
The same goes for the bottom of the laptop; I never felt uncomfortable putting it on my lap.
This laptop’s CPU isn’t super powerful, but it is steady when running simple programs.(Image credit: Windows Central)
The keys themselves press down nicely and are well-spaced to give my fingers comfortable room when typing.
Plus, the lower resolution means that I look pretty pixelated during video calls.
In my experience, audio coming from this laptop sounded boxed and a little distant.
The Aspire Go 14 and its AMD R3 7320U earned a similar score to the AYANEO Slide gaming handheld.(Image credit: Windows Central)
The speakers also don’t get as loud as some other laptops I’ve tested.
But once again, this is to be expected in a budget laptop.
It has an MSRP of$329.99 at Acer.
The overall system performance score produced in Crossmark isn’t very impressive, but isn’t bad either.(Image credit: Windows Central)
At the time of writing, this laptop was selling for$449.99 at Best Buy.
For other suggestions, take a look at our list of thebest budget Windows laptopsorbest Windows laptops.
It offers solid performance without costing a lot.
The SSD’s read and write speeds aren’t the fastest, but they get the job done.(Image credit: Windows Central)
Design
4/5 The design isn’t anything special, but it is sturdy and reliable.
Display
3.5/5 Colors look washed out and the display cannot get very bright.
Performance
4/5 It isn’t super powerful, but it works as expected for its lower price point.
CPU rendering abilities proved to be decent after running Cinebench R23.(Image credit: Windows Central)
Just don’t plan on playing video games on this laptop.
Battery life
5/5 This laptop can last longer than 8 hours before needing a recharge.
Keyboard and touchpad
5/5 Everything functions well and feels good to use.
The Aspire Go 14 does not have very powerful graphics capabilities and shouldn’t be used to run demanding games.(Image credit: Windows Central)
Acer Aspire Go 14: Should you buy it?
You should buy this if…
You should not buy this if… Additionally, the speakers don’t offer the best sound quality and the display makes colors look washed out.
This inexpensive laptop features an AMD R3 7320U CPU with integrated Radeon 780M graphics.
The hottest areas of the laptop are the vents and the area above the keyboard.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central )
The area above the keyboard measured in at 111 degrees F.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central )
The vent measured in at 108 degrees F.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central )
The Aspire Go 14 comes with a barrel plug charging adapter.
The touchpad is somewhat small, but the keyboard is well spaced.
There is no built-in webcam shutter.
The ASUS Vivobook Go 14 is very similar to the Acer Aspire Go 14.
There are rubber feet on the bottom of the laptop to help lift it off of surfaces and allow it to breathe.
