if you're gaming, that combination of specs won't even run certain game titles if you're pushing for $500, then get a laptop with RTX 3050/4050 More on reddit.com

It was a circus getting one of those. First store said it was out of stock, and sent me to the second store. That store rang it up at the register before discovering it was also out of stock, in the process voiding my paper rebate check. They had to put the refund on a shop card so I could order it online before the sale ended. More on reddit.com

It's pretty good for that price. It's got a Ryzen 5700U, which is an older 8 core Zen2 CPU, which holds up great and is far more than enough for most people. You'd probably find it difficult to find any other new laptop at that price. The Ryzen 7 5700U on the Aspire is probably the best you'll get at that price for gaming performance, normally I'd expect a weaker 7520U or a 5500U at that price. 16GB of RAM is great and 512TB SSD is good enough. Most brands are fine, I'd just avoid HP, especially when it comes to their budget laptops. Typically laptops in that price range make compromises not only to performance but also to build quality, but as long as you aren't abusing the laptop it should be fine. My Aspire F15 I bought almost 10 years ago for £440 is in perfect condition, no damage at all. I ended up upgrading the RAM and SSD and giving it away to my father not too long ago since I got myself a new laptop, but it still has no problems. Like any other laptop in that price range, it doesn't have a GPU. The low powered CPU isn't really made for gaming either, though that's not too much of an issue compared to not having a GPU. The iGPU it has, Vega 8 graphics, is probably the best you will find at this price, but it's still not designed for gaming. Most Indie games and older games will play fine. With newer games, setting the graphics settings to minimum and reducing the resolution will make some games playable, but most current AAA games will not work well. This video should give you a better idea https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkzybvtxBM8 It'll play any movie/show with no issues. The screen is FHD, but the 45% NTSC colour gamut isn't great though still completely usable. Again, other laptops in this price range will have the same low colour gamut and it's not a big deal. I'd get it if I were you. It's a good deal for a decent laptop. More on reddit.com

How's the display screen on yours? I bought an Aspire 3 with Intel i5-1235 and the display is atrocious. The colors look washed out and patchy and turn negative if I look at the screen at any angle other than straight on. I couldn't find out what kind of screen Acer used because it's not listed on the documentation, but I suspect it's a very low quality TN panel. More on reddit.com