Acer Aspire E1-530 15.6-inch Notebook (Iron) - (Intel Pentium 1.8GHz, 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, DVDSM DL, LAN, WLAN, Webcam, Integrated Graphics, Windows 8.1)

I ordered this Acer Laptop to replace my previously reliable HP desktop PC, which after 6+years of constant use, decided to go wonky and depart to wherever computers go when they expire. My Acer arrived promptly, securely packaged and I found it surprisingly straightforward to set up, being as I am in my 70s and only moderately computer literate. Unfortunately at times like this, my exceedingly computer literate 2 sons and 7 grandkids all live well away from Perth, so unless I get remote help from them over the phone, they are unavailable to help me with immediate "hands-on" assistance. Anyway, my new laptop is working well (touches wood) and apart from my finding Windows 8.1 a bit fiddly and getting used to the touch pad instead of a mouse (I keep losing the damned cursor, when it decides to hide in various corners of the screen!) it is a great improvement on my old HP PC. I recommend this Amazon seller to all prospective customers, and the Acer Laptop too.

It's a budget laptop but it does exactly what I want without excessive slowness, hence the 5*s (although I did only pay £299 for it, not the £379 it's currently advertised for). Windows boots up in under 15 second and as long as you don't want high end gaming the speed is adequate. The screen is clear as long as it's viewed head on and the keyboard is decent enough, although the space-bar sometimes doesn't respond to corner taps. It comes with a bunch of annoying apps and assorted nastiness but these can be easily uninstalled (be careful to research what you're uninstalling, though, as some of the Acer stuff concerns the touchpad and other integral stuff). Wireless is ultra simple to set up and use and gives a solid 5 bar connection from my old Netgear in another room. So yeah, good, I like it.

Better than the Toshiba which I returned as unsatisfactory. Apart from the lack of an indicator on the Caps Lock I have no complaints with the Hardware. As to the operating system... what a disaster! I think it started as as Windows 8 and was later modified to Windows 8.1. It is a mess which has pages of Apps and a dreadful file explorer. In addition it was unstable, full of pop-ups and adverts and was unstable. As I needed a computer, I played with the operating system (left hand bottom corner and right click) and went into 'System'. I then updated the operating system to 8.1 with a clean install which works more or less well. The battery charging remains problematic. The rest of the operating system is still something to avoid. If you do not need to buy a computer with Windows 8.1 would suggest you hang on until the serious glitches are sorted out.

A pretty good machine, BUT, a week after setting it up, it failed to start. Took many goes to get it working. Eventually, I went on the online chat 'tech help' with someone with limited English who failed to grasp the nature of the problem and repeatedly suggested inappropriate fixes based on guesswork. Eventually, I asked for a supervisor to contact me but, a week later, I still wait to hear from them. Fortunately, a family member sorted the lap top out for me and, fingers crossed, it seems to be okay now. So, if you have good IT problem solving skills, go ahead and buy this. If, however, like most of us, you rely on experts to resolve problems with a nearly new bit of kit, DO NOT buy an ACER. Their after sales service is frankly rubbish. I just hope that I'll get a year or so out of it to justify the money spent.

Fast delivery. My daughter has gone through two Toshiba laptops in three years. The hard drive fails, sound goes and the keys break, the touch pad looses sensitivity and generally are poor laptops. Because of this I took my time to read all reveiws on different laptops, and the Acer seemed the best. It is a christmas present, so I have only booted it up, but it runs smoothly and is quiet. The screen is very clear and can be seen even if tilted.The keys are nice to touch and very sensitive, so is the touch pad. The silver colour is nice and it looks good against the black keyboard. At the moment it seems great, only time will tell.

I am not an IT expert being in my mid 70's but when my old tower unit died I went for this lap top and windows 8 was a bit of a leap but i am gradualy getting to grips with it and still learning. For a medium priced lap top this fits the bill for me. My only gripes are that the caps lock has no indicator light and the mouse pad is so sensitive I sometimes brush against it when typing and the screen changes or my work seems to go missing but maybe that's just my ham fists! Otherwise its a good machine and is very fast to use on line. Plenty of features to play with,and the screen is bright and has good colour resolution. Needed to load word for writing letters and docs.

We bought this laptop solely for connection to a projector so have not demanded much of it. It does all that a pentium laptop can be expected to do and seems to run WIndows 8.1 with ease. We don't lke the W8.1 interface but use the more conventional desktop interface which works well. Recommend as a competent budget computer which surfs the internet quickly.

This machine is just what I wanted. I don't do a lot of work on a computer, I wanted to store my photos and access the internet quicker than my ageing desk top. I was a bit nervous of windows 8.1, being used to XP for many years, but I soon got used to it for what I want. It was easy to set up as was the wifi. The back lighting on the screen is really good, it puts a bit more life into my pictures. The keyboard has a nice feel to it, though the touch pad is very sensitive. I've learned to keep my fingers away after I have chosen the function I want. I'm chuft with my purchase, and recommend it.