Acer Extensa 14 EXO14-71-58MU 14" WUXGA IPS, Core Ultra 5 115U, 16GB/512GB

The Extensa 14 is the most upgradable machine in Acer’s affordable range, which is what separates it from the sealed ultraportables around it. Memory is 16 GB of DDR5 across two DIMM slots and can be taken to 32 GB, and the 512 GB PCIe NVMe SSD can be joined by a second drive — Acer includes the upgrade kit in the box rather than selling it separately.

It runs an Intel Core Ultra 5 115U behind a 14-inch WUXGA IPS display. There is a microSD card reader and a fingerprint reader on the chassis, wireless is Wi-Fi 6 with Bluetooth, and the camera is a 2 MP unit for calls.

The 55 Wh battery charges over a 65 W USB Type-C adapter, so it shares a charger with most current phones and tablets. It ships with Windows 11 Home Single Language and a one-year warranty. For a machine that needs to last and grow rather than be replaced, the two open expansion paths matter more than any single figure on the spec sheet.