This computer was my first and only laptop. I got it for a fair price a few years ago and i have not changed it since. I use it for all sorts of things. Email, social media, and even playing some high quality online games. Even though it is a kind of older computer, it still works fine. The only major problem, if you can even really call it a problem, is the fact that it has no built in microphone. Which is easily fixed because i have a headset and since i am going to wear headphones anyways, its not really that big of a deal. It does have a built in camera so if you are going to video chat or film yourself for a video blog or whatever, then you do have that option. Just make sure you have a microphone if you are going to talk. I wish it had more USB ports on it, because it only has two, but i guess you could go buy a hub or something for it. But i mean, its not a bad computer for the price it is. You'll like it!

beckyboo926

USA

Hello- I bought this computer sometime ago and so far we are satisfied with it. We only use it for email, facebook, couponing, browsing etc. I am sure it would do a good job of burning cd and stuff like that but I dont do that stuff ha! I really like the slim design and it is pretty light weight too. It has all the features a laptop should have and it easy to operate. It is a great buy for the money and the support is good too. I think this would make an excellent computer for a student, first time computer buy or anyone to be honest. I think Acer has improved their products over the last few years and their sales seem to be up. I am happy with my laptop and hope others that are shopping for one find this helpful!

robingayle90

USA

Be sure you have money to waste before buying Ease of Use It is easy to use when it comes to the regular functions of a computer. If you want to raise or lower the volume/brightness you need the fn key. Battery Life Poor battery life. The battery supposedly lasts three hours on windows 7's power saver mode at the expense of nearly all of your screen brightness. On wi-fi and full brightness the computer lasts an hour (give or take about ten minutes) Speed/Performance Performance could be much better. Startup is incredibly slow with windows 7 and tends to lag for a while after booting. Windows 8 developer preview booted much faster but still lagged a lot after booting Design Too big and WAY too heavy. It lacks enough usb ports (only 2) and has no hdmi port when older computers have one. The screen is ok but it could be brighter. The speakers are absolutely horrible and distort sounds in certain programs such as fl studio. It also lacks a webcam. Durability Very durable plastic, has taken a few hits already and works fine

cedarus

Phoenix, AZ

I can do anything I want on my Acer!! I just love it. My main desk top computer gets hardly any use anymore. This little laptop... well, not so little-the screen is actually wide and quite nice in size...does everything I need to do and I'm still finding new things to do on it all the time. The only downside I have found is that the speakers do not always play at an audible level on youtube. I'm not sure if that has to do with youtube, or the laptop. But, I do think the speakers could still be better. Otherwise, great laptop!!

tinalousimon

Sharpsburg, GA

i love this computer its small easy to use and i can take it anywhere. it comes in alot of colors but i got red because im a girl. lol they had white blue black and brown. i would have gotten the brown but it wasnt in stock at the time. the only downfall of this computer is the speaker that is located on the bottom by the mouse but its underneath. i thought this was very strange. several occassions i had a hard time hearing especially if the tv is on or if other people is in the same room with you. i also found it strange that the del and backspace button is right next to each other. i keep wanting to hit the del button when i make a mistake but it doesnt work. u have to hit the backspace. overall this is a very cool notebook and would definily recommend it to others. i forgo to mention that the best feature on this notebook is the built in WEB CAM. i oovoo all the time with family and now i dont need a big bulky web cam

denetris101

Swedesboro, NJ

The Acer Aspire AS5517 Notebook PC I would highly recommend to people who want a computer mostly to type documents, send and receive emails, and surf the web. It is inexpensive because you are not paying for a bunch of stuff you will never use (never use because you have no need to and/or don't know how to use anyway). The Acer Aspire AS5517 Notebook is both small in dimensions and lightweight. It is only about 11 inches by six inches and about 1/2 high. I am guessing it only weighs about two pounds. I can think of a couple of downfalls on the computer. It is a little slow, but for the price it is fine. Also, it stalls/crashes more than I would like, but once again for the price it is fine. The only other downfall to this computer is that it doesn't hold a charge for too long, but I know people who have spent a lot more for their computers and they say the same thing about their computers.

LauraMouradian

San Marcos, CA

When I first purchased the Acer Notebook I wondered if I could adjust to it's slightly smaller size. I had been used to a bigger laptop and was concerned that the Acer's capabilities would be limited. It didn't take me long at all to adjust, in fact, I've grown accustomed to it's compact size. I love the slightly smaller keyboard, and screen are the perfect size for me to travel with and use for work. I also like that it's fairly light in weight. It came with all the necessary software and I was thrilled to have a card reader built in because my last laptop did not have one of those.. it made things easier for me as a food blogger to be able to pop my camera card in the side and upload pictures at a moment's notice. I've used it to blog in airports, used it for work data entry, and for personal use. And above all the price was excellent!!! I comparison shopped for quite some time before coming to the decisionto buy this one and I was so glad I did once I realized that you CAN get good quality at a low price.

traci2324

Canisteo, NY

My family needed a new 'family' laptop so i bought this Acer brand laptop. It is a little heavy and that is a disadvantage. The heavy weight makes it more tedious to travel with and it also makes it harder for the little kids to handle. The keys on the keyboard are well placed and the laptop comes with a full size key board. The price is very family friendly and affordable so that was a great perk. There is a dvd/cd player so that my kids are able to use this laptop to watch movies instead of going on the internet all the time. The battery life is not good at all. It takes less than hour for the battery to die when the kids are watching movies on the laptop and that makes it hard to use when we are traveling. The mouse pad is responsize and it can get a little shaky when using it with sweaty hands. the screen is very large and i am able to easily adjust the brightness and angle of the screen when using the laptop.

kittylove5

Nanuet, NY

This was my first laptop. So I didn't want to spent to much for my first one. But it's been great. I have friends who have big name brands that are not as good. The only thing I'm not a big music on my computer person, but when watching videos the sound does not go up very loud.

Shelleyas

Zephyrhills, FL

  I got the Acer Aspire 5517 many months ago, and have used it as my primary PC, while over seas.  Overall I have enjoyed the Aspire 5517.  I have a couple of crashes, and time when I got slowdown watching a movie off my hard drive, but other than that it has performed well.  I deleted a lot of the add on software that came with the product as I did not find it useful.   This is definitely not a gaming machine, the TF-20 processor and Ati graphics card definitely can not keep up with the demand of most modern PC games.  I have used it to play some free to play games and older PC games but still get Lag and low frame rates.  The 3GB of ram is good but really doesn't make much of a difference.   Physically, I love the screen size and the over all design of the Aspire.  There is plenty of room for my hands to type.  The screen is great for watching movies.  If you don't have head phones though the speakers leave much to be desired.   I would definitely recommend this PC for the budget minded.

GreatView

Plano, TX