Review: Acer Aspire Vero (AV15-51-7555)

As a responsible, environmentally conscious consumer, can you even dare to buy a new PC?

The Acer Aspire Vero may be the positive answer to this question. As the name suggests, it is a member of the Aspire family, which is made up of sensible laptops. But it differs from the other models in that sustainability plays the main role.

The green message can already be seen on the packaging, which can be recycled 100 percent. Which will not be the first time this has happened – as it already consists of 85 percent recycled paper. However, this is really not the first time we have seen a brown cardboard box!

30 percent recycling

The computer in the box, on the other hand, does not look like anything I have seen before. The computer is made from grayish plastic, and the rough surface is speceled with small colored pigment groats. It all signals “recycled plastic”. Which is partly true since the cabinet does contain 30 percent recycled plastic.

The keys even contain 50 percent recycled plastic, but they look quite ordinary. Except that the letters on the E and R keys are written in reverse and with yellow text. This is to remind the user of the main values ​​of sustainability: “REview”, “REthink”, “REcycle” and “REduce”.

It may sound a little high-swung, but it’s eye-catching! Personally, I would rather think of the task in front of me when I sit down at the keyboard. And there, the yellow mirrored letters can become distracting. Fortunately, I write without looking at the keyboard.

Normal hardware beneath a green surface

The most interesting part of a PC, however, tends to be located inside the cabinet. And here, the Acer Aspire Vero is completely conventional: a 2.9 GHz 11th generation Intel Core i7 processor with four cores, 16 gigabytes of RAM and Intel Iris Xe motherboard graphics. In other words, a configuration that we have seen with small variations several times over the last year.

The screen is, rather predictably, a 15.6-inch Full HD screen in 16: 9 format. It’s neither particularly bright nor very high-resolution, and a 45 percent coverage of the NTSC color space is frankly poor. But we are in the cheap end and for the price there is no reason to complain.

The keyboard is of average quality, which is fine as the price is below average. And there has even been room for a narrow numeric keypad.

Benchmarks

Beneath the green surface, the Acer Aspire Vero is very much reminiscent of the Acer Aspire 5 that we tested recently. No wonder since they are in the same series and price range. But this time, Acer has opted for a four-core Intel Core i7 processor instead of the six-core AMD Ryzen 5 that put in the Aspire 5. This also means that the Aspire Vero gets the Intel Iris Xe graphics instead of the Radeon. In both cases, it is the main processor’s integrated graphics – from Intel and AMD, respectively.

The similarities can also be seen in our benchmark tests. The two computers are if not identical, then at least close to each other in performance.

The Geekbench 5 test ends with a score of 1,629 in single-core and 5,396 in multi-core. It’s a little bit faster than the Aspire 5. Which, by the way, is a fully capable office machine. The same goes for the PCMark 10 office software test, which scores 5,156.

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Integrated motherboard graphics with shared RAM is not the recipe for fast graphics. This is proven – again – by the 3DMark graphics tests. The Time Spy test ends with 1,597 and the Fire Strike with 3,663. However, it is still fine for the animations in the Windows 11 interface and also for browser games during the break.

The battery test from PCMark 8 ended in three hours and 18 minutes. In practice, it is good enough for a day at work or study.

Conclusion

The Acer Aspire Vero looks like the short path to a fresh, green conscience. The initiative is commendable and every recycled plastic bag is a small step in the right direction. But it is also a rather easy step, since sustainability only applies to the exterior. And then even only a third of the material in the cabinet.

To put things in perspective, the chip industry pollutes just as much as the entire automotive industry. And regardless of whether the case looks gray and unpolished, the inside of the PC is brand new and modern.

Assessed on more common parameters, the Acer Aspire Vero is a fine and sensible computer for everyday tasks and home office. And if you use it as a study computer, it will probably give you some extra climate points when you take it out of the backpack in the auditorium.