Acer’s affordable workhorse Gateway desktop

A MIDSIZE TOWER PC, Acer’s Gateway DX4870-UB2C (go.pcworld.com/dx4870) delivers solid—but not spectacular—productivity performance and 1TB of hard disk storage for a modest $550; however,
you must provide a monitor, and headphones or speakers for audio.

That profile makes it a good candidate for a student or anyone else on a budget who already has a display and audio gear left over from a previous system. In fact, the DX4870-UB2C comes with an analog VGA port to handle the older LCD or (gasp!) CRT, and an HDMI port to accommodate a newer digital display (but not DVI or DisplayPort).

Outfitted with an Intel Core i5-3330 quad-core CPU, 8GB of RAM (expandable to 32GB), integrated Intel graphics, a 1TB (7200-rpm) hard disk, and Windows 8, the DX4870-UB2C earned a respectable mark of 153 on PC WorldBench 8.1.

The system’s lack of both a discrete graphics card and a solid-state drive probably accounts for its weak test results in file compression, storage, GPU-accelerated image editing, and gaming. The DX4870-UB2C finished in the middle of the pack on most other benchmarks, and it should capably handle any routine student or small-business tasks. Its power consumption was modest.

The DX4870-UB2C has a top that curves upward toward the front, ending in a protruding edge affording easy access to microphone and headphone jacks, a memory card reader, and a couple of USB 2.0 ports. The power toggle itself is adjacent in the center of the top edge.

Beneath this ledge, you’ll find two covered bays—one containing a DVD burner that supports multiple formats (DVD-RAM/±R/±RW), and the other standing empty and awaiting expansion.

In the back are six more USB ports (two USB 2.0 and two 3.0), the aforementioned display connections, a gigabit ethernet port, and additional audio-in and -out ports. The motherboard comes with four expansion slots:
three supporting older PCI Express x1 cards and one for the faster PCI Express x16 add-ons. You also get Bluetooth support and 802.11n Wi-Fi support on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.

The optical mouse and keyboard, which are wired, plug in to oldstyle dedicated PS2 ports located on the top of the back. Given the choice, I would have preferred wireless peripherals or at least USB. The keyboard felt cheesy, with somewhat wobbly action. But streamed video looked fine on a high-def HDMI-attached monitor, and the audio sounded great on a set of borrowed headphones.

Acer Gateway DX4870-UB2C

PROS:
• Affordable price tag
• Respectable benchmark performance
• Expansion opportunities

CONS:
• Relies on integrated graphics
• Poor gaming performance
• Mediocre (and nonwireless) PS/2 mouse
and keyboard

BOTTOM LINE:
This svelte, affordable desktop capably
handles everyday tasks.

PRICE:
$ 550

PC World USA October 2013

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Acer Aspire One

Netbook is One step behind the competition




THOSE WHO HAVEN'T YET TRIED OUT A NETBOOK-the new category of cheap ultraportable laptops that have quickly followed on the heels of the Asus Eee PC's runaway success-may need only a few minutes with a model like the Acer Aspire One to understand the reasons behind their popularity.

Like others in the genre, the $329 Aspire One is a featherweight (2.2 pounds that's perfect for throwing into a bag or backpack or for typing away in bed. And like the original Eee PC and the new MSI Wind U100, it uses Linux to keep startup and shutdown times short, and it offers a Windows XP option.

The Aspire One probably won't disappoint its target audience of students or users looking for an inexpensive, highly totable second system, though the 8GB of solid-state storage is a real liability. (The Windows XP version comes with a conventional hard drive.) Both version of the Aspire One do offer a dedicated SD memory-card slot, an additional multiformat memory-card slot, and three USB ports, which you can use to attach external storage.

The glossy lED-backlit screen on the Acer has good viewing angles and is more than fine for everyday use, but it gets washed out in bright light and suffers from a moderate amount of glare. Speaker volume is decent, though audio lacks warmth becaue there's almost no bass output.

The Aspire One uses Intel's new, low-power Atom mobile processor, but because its Linux OS needs fairly meager system requirements to run, the Acer comes with just 512MB of memory. (A $349 Windows XP configuration comes with 1GB of RAM and a 120GB hard drve, and Acer also offers a $399 XP version with a 160GB drive and an extended-life battery.) We didn't experience any hiccups doing everyday tasks like word processing and Web browsing at the same time. Bootup time was indeed impressive, taking only 20 seconds to get the main interface screen. It did take another 30 seconds, however, for the device to find and connect to our wireless network.

As you might imagine, a laptop that measures just 1.1x9.8x6.7 inches (HWD) doesn't have a full-size keyboard, but it is large enough to make touch-typing possible. We suffered the occasional spelling mishap with the slightly cramped keys, though, and had problems with the touch pad, even after we turned down its sensitivity.

Acer has gone to great lengths to make sure that the Linux underpinnings have ben gussied up enough for consumer accustomed to a Windows-based GUI. The main interface is divided into four sections-Connect, Works, Fun, and Files-under which the Aspire One's apps are grouped. The home screen also features an Internet search bar to further speed up jumping online.

Free software is plentiful, including Firefox, a universal instant-messaging client, an e-mail client, an RSS reader, and direct links to Google Maps, Microsoft Hotmail, and Wikipedia. The free office suite OpenOffice.org helps fill out the Works quadrant; you get apps for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, calculator functions, calendaring, photo and paint apps, a utility to utilize the Aspire Pne's built in Webcam, and a number of games. Files houses icons that let you access your documents, music, photos, videos, downloads, and miscellaneous files.

In addition to its memory-card slots and USB ports, the Aspire One offers VGA out, an Ethernet port, and headphone and microphone jacks. It ship with a three-cell battery, but because it doesn't feature an optical drive, we couldn't normally test its stamina with our DVD-playback benchmark. In our everyday use, however, it lasted roughly 2 hours and 20 minutes per charge. That duration doesn't reall jibe with the idea of the netbook as an ideal traveling companion-if you're looking for the Aspire One to say juiced fo a cross-country flight, you'll need to secure the optional six-cell battery separately.



With its availability at Best Buy and Circuit City stores, the Aspire One is going to be successful. That doesn't make it the best choice in its category-particularly this configuration, with its puny amount of onboard storage-but it does have an appealing price, and it largely succeeds in showcasing the (albeit limited) charms of the netbook, a laptop that can finally serve as a lifestyle accessory for the masses.-Sean Portnoy

Computer Shopper November 2008

us.acer.com

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Acer Aspire X1200

Energy-efficient, compact PC is no media-center master



DESPITE ITS DIMINUTIVE DIMENSION (10.6X4X14.4 inches, HWD), Acer's $449.99 Aspire X1200 is conventional in looks and behavior. Its solid-black metal case, silver trim (most visible on the power button), and gloss-black front panel give this system the unapologetic appearance of home media device with attitude.

The bevy of included features helps backu p that attitude with some substance. On the front you'll find a DVD+-RW drive, four USB ports, one four-pin FireWire port, headphone and microphone jacks, and a multiformat card reader. Around back, there are not onluy the expected Ethernet, keyboard, mouse, and USB jacks (four more, in fact), but also six-channel audio, external Serial ATa (for hooking up an external hard drive), and an HDMI port (for outputting video to an HDTV). A 320GB hard drive offers ample room for storage. Although the system's not silent, it's close.

If you want to do much more than basic photo, video, or music chores, however, keep you expectation in check. Though outfitted with 4GB of RAM and running the 64-bit version of Windows Vista Home Premium, the PC uses an energy-efficient 2GHz Athlon 64 X2 4860e processor that's not outstanding in the performance department: it took an unusually long 8 minutes and 27 seconds to finish our Windows Media Encoder test and a slightly above-average 4 minutes and 27 seconds to complete our iTunes conversion trial.



While the system isn't well-equipped for gaming, either, the laptop's most surprising omission is a TV tuner, which limits its utility when used alongside a typical entertainment setup. Don't count on adding one yourself; its one free expansion slot is half-height, and cracking open the case will void the one-year warranty.-Matthew Murray

Computer Shopper November 2008

www.acer.com/us

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It means business

It means business
Acer's Veriton S461 is the perfect small-form-factor PC for companies seeking affordable, secure desktops. Loaded with vPro technology-which helps IT departments wirelessly diagnose, repair, and manage their systems-the S461 also comes with a respectable selection of components, including a Pentium E2200 dual-core CPU, 2GB of DDR2 memory, 80GB of hard drive space, and a DVD burner. The best part about it is the price: $549. Acer America, us.acer.com

source: Computer Shopper October 2008.
www.acer.com

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Ready for Attack

Ready for Attack
Think Acer is just known for its budget systems? Think again. The company's new Predator will be the flagship system in its new Aspire G line of gaming desktops and notebooks. Pricing wasn't available at press time, though the specs and the design-which resembles an intergalactic battleship-offer lots to gawk at: Intel Core 2 Extreme and Core 2 Quad processors, up to 8GB of RAM, and an nVidia nForce 780i SLI motherboard primed to run 3-Way SLI with the most powerful of new nVidia graphics card.

source: Computer Shoppper August 2008.
www.acer.com

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Acer Aspire 8920G

Acer Aspire 8920G
18.4-inc laptop will turn heads with its stellar display

THE $2,599 ACER ASPIRE 8920G is a snappy-looking desktop-replacement notebook that features one of the nicest displays we've seen. Its high-end Penryn processor will handle anything you throw at it, although serious gamers will likely require more 3D muscle.
Decorated in an attractive, dark blue metallic finish, the centerpiece of the 9-pound Aspire 8920G is its beautiful 18.4-inch glossy wide-screen TFT, which can display 90 percent of the color gamut. The result is an exceptional picture with deep, rich color and excellent viewing angles. Even better, the display has a native resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels and an aspect ration of 16-to-9, so you can view high-definition (HD) movies in their natives format, without having to deal with black bars or stretched images. Using the built-in Blu-ray optical drive, we were blown away by the image quality, expecially when it came to skin-tone accuracy and color reproduction. Complementing the HD screen is Acer's CineSurround sound system, which provided true six-channel sound that's among the best we've heard from a notebook system. THe 8920's full-size black keyboard is responsive and comfortable, but the real eyecatcher is the CineDash media player console, which containts white-blacklit, touch-sensitive media controls and a dial that raise and lowers the speaker volume. (We found the latter a bit difficult to master.)
As for connectivity, the system has both VGA and HDMI video outputs, but FireWire and S-Video connections are nowhere to be found. Even more glaring is the absence of a TV tuner, an odd omission, considering the 8920G is billed as an entertainment system. With its 2.6GHz COre 2 Duo T9500 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 2 dedicated 512MB nVidia GeForce 9650 GS graphics card, the system performed well on our productivity and multimedia benchmark test. Gaming performance wasn't as stellar - we managed just 23.8 frames per second (fps) on Company of Heroes at the 8920's native resolution. While that isn't good news for hardcore fraggers, this system should satisfy casual games.



What's the Deal?
The 18.40-inch Acer Aspire 8920G is a real head-turner that will dominate your media collection, even if it is lacking some entertainment features and gaming prowess.

What it's for: This 9-pound desktop-replacement notebook can handle just about any media or productivity chore with ease. It's fine for casual gaming, too, though enthusiast gamers will want to look elsewhere.

Who it's for: Users who want a stay-at-home system that's built for showcasing HD movies, playing music, rendering video, and other media-intensive tasks.

What's included: 2.6GHz Core 2 Duo T9500 CPU; 4GB of RAM; 320GB hard drive; Blu-ray burner; 18.4-inch TFT; Acer's CineSurround sound system; touch-sensitive media buttons; HDMI out.

The bottom line: Though it's missing a few entertainment options, the big, brawny, and beautiful Aspire 8920G is still one of the hottest multimedia notebooks around.

www.acer.com

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Acer P5260i Wireless Projector

Acer has launched a new professional "video-projector", the P5260i, that's designed to offer cable-free projection.

The P5260i features wireless technology based on 802.11b/g protocols that supports 1080i/720p HD video projection.

The HD streaming video projection supports a range of formats without encryption including MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, WMV9, AVI, DivX, XviD, ASF and VOB.

Specs include a XGA 1024 x 768 resolution, DLP technology, 2700 ANSI Lumens brightness and a 2000:1 contrast ratio with inputs including D-Sub, DVI-D and HDMI.

Ease of use, good lamp life, low noise and fab colours are all promised as per the usual blurb plus some PowerPoint friendly business-related features that will no doubt get execs excited.

And for those whose presentations don't go as well as hoped, the included Acer "InstantPack" technology means if the user is in a hurry to leave, the power cord can be unplugged right after the projector is turned off, without any resulting damage.

www.pocket-lint.co.uk

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