Pros: - The overall build quality and construction of the laptop is very good for the price range.  The inner components  are easy to access, giving the impression that the engineers had personal upgrades in mind.- The screen clarity is excellent.  Much clearer and brighter screen than other similarly priced laptops that I have  owned.- Battery life should be adequate for most users.- The keyboard has a good feel to it.  Typing for long periods of time is not a problem.- The machine is lightweight.  Easy to carry in a backpack if you’re a college student.- The look is professional and sleek.  This laptop looks at home in both classroom and office settings.- The price is very competitive for the overall quality.  You’ll be hard pressed to find something better than this for less than $400.Cons:- The sound projection is not the best.  I believe the speakers are at the bottom of the laptop.  When placed on certain surfaces, the sound can be muffled.  I would recommend a decent pair of headphones if sound projection is important to you.- The provided hardware, while adequate, is still lacking.  Any modern Windows machine should have at least 8 GB of RAM installed.  Despite this, adding the additional 4GB is very easy.  There are plenty of very accessible resources that explain what type of RAM to purchase, and exactly how to install it.  The 128 GB of provided storage will most likely be enough for most but adding an additional SSD for some added storage is also a simple process.- The touchpad doesn’t feel as intuitive as some others.  Those who have need for very precision clicking, or those who are easily annoyed by a finicky touchpad, should invest in a mouse.Conclusion:The Acer Aspire 5 is a great laptop for the price you’re paying.  For most people, simply adding another 4 GB of RAM will result in a very cheap machine that can perform just about any task you might need it to.  Of course, if you need to run any sort of very large or complex software, such as CAD or digital design, you will need to invest in a more powerful machine.  All in all, the positives shine much brighter than the negatives on what is a very good budget laptop.