The Acer Aspire 3 exemplifies the problem. It’s a capable laptop for basic tasks. But if you can stretch your budget to $700 or $800, you can snag a laptop that’s at least twice as quick and a ...

The Acer Aspire 3 represents a smart set of trade-offs. It’s easily one of the best-built laptops we’ve tested for under $500, with sturdy Construction and a spacious keyboard and trackpad.

No, put away the 3-D gear, change the annoying desktop wallpaper and accept the Acer Aspire 5738DG for what it is: A pretty good, very cheap laptop. For a mere $780, the Aspire 5738DG is awfully ...