Acer Aspire Ethos 5951 review

If it wasn’t already clear that the Ethos is designed for multimedia, the extra-large touchpad has a touch-sensitive LED backlight that can activate shortcuts and media controls with a single press. It can also be used as a wireless remote control; flick a switch and the whole thing pops out of the laptop, so you can sit back and still be in control. We occasionally ran into some issues with sensitivity after replacing it back in its charging cradle, but for the most part it was very responsive.

The keyboard isn’t quite so flashy, but it is backlit and very comfortable to type on. The Chiclet-style keys are all full-size and have crisp actions in spite of their incredibly short travel.

We aren’t convinced that the 15.6in screen is large enough to warrant a removable wireless touchpad, particularly as it lacks a Full HD resolution. The 1,366×768 resolution is fine for web browsing and 720p video, but it would have been nice to have a higher resolution to see more detail in 1080p content. Viewing angles were slightly better than average and there’s lots of screen tilt, but colours appeared slightly overblown and contrast was lacking.

In spite of its stellar gaming performance and powerful hardware, the Ethos slightly misses the mark as a multimedia laptop by not including a higher resolution display. We loved the removable touchpad, but it’s far better suited to its 18in sibling rather than with this 15in display. Here it feels more like a gimmick than a useful tool. The HP dv7-6051ea might not be in the same league for gaming performance, but it’s a better all-round multimedia laptop – with a 17in, 1,600×900 screen – for around £100 less.