The case of the Aspire 3 is made of simple, brushed plastic. The surface does not feel cheap and the looks are further improved by its color – “Obsidian Black”. The base unit seems to be very stable and there were no creaking sounds or large gaps. The display cover is also well made, but is rather thin and made of light plastic, which means it is easy to warp.
There are two maintenance hatches on the bottom of the notebook. The smaller one leads to a free RAM slot, while the larger covers up a drive bay. In our test unit, this bay is empty and offers space for a 2.5-inch drive. Both maintenance hatches are secured with one screw each.
Connectivity
Acer was a little sparing with its connectivity features. The similarly priced Fujitsu LifeBook A557 offers several USB 3.0 and 3.1 ports. Acer could have easily inverted the ratio of two 2.0 ports to one 3.0 port.
Security
Apart from the Kensington lock, the Aspire 3 offers no security components.
Accessories
No particular accessories are available for the Aspire 3.
Maintenance
There are two maintenance hatches at the bottom of the Aspire 3, both secured with a screw. The smaller hatch covers the free RAM slot, with which working memory can be expanded to up to 12 GB. The second maintenance hatch is for an empty drive bay, which can be filled with a conventional 2.5-inch drive.
If you remove the bottom cover, you can see all the components. The SSD can be exchanged and the cooling fan is freely accessible for cleaning. The bottom cover and maintenance hatches have to be removed carefully as the plastic clips on the hatches catch easily and can break off. The battery is secured with only one screw that is removed when unscrewing the bottom cover. Therefore, the battery “falls” out of the device when you open it.
