Buy it on Amazon - http://lon.tv/ufe42 (affiliate link) - This is a pretty powerful quad core i5 computer for a pretty reasonable price. See more computers: http://lon.tv/computers and subscribe! http://lon.tv/s
VIDEO INDEX:
00:35 - Hardware overview
01:52 - Upgrade options: GPU, memory, CPU, storage
04:01 - Performance : Web browsing, YouTube, Word, multitasking
05:30 - Gaming: Minecraft
06:02 - Gaming: Counterstrike: GO
06:32 - Gaming: Rocket League
06:58 - Switching to dual channel RAM discussion
08:14 - Kodi / home theater movie playback performance
08:54 - Conclusion and final thoughts
This is a lot of computer for the money.
I look at a lot of low cost PCs that come in at and around this price point. Typically they are appliances that don't have a lot of horsepower and aren't very upgradeable. This one breaks that mold and delivers a fairly powerful quad core i5 PC with a healthy 8 GB of RAM and plenty of room for upgrades.
Out of the box it will perform most casual tasks as well as perhaps many premium computers will. I found it to very easily tackle complex Word documents while simultaneously watching a 60 frames per second 1080p video from YouTube. And even though it lacks an onboard graphics card (GPU) it was able to achieve playable frame rates in popular games like Rocket League, Minecraft, and Counterstrike.
Is it a gaming PC? Definitely not as configured but there is some ability to make it into an entry level one thanks to a PCIe x16 slot that should be able to accommodate a slot powered mini GPU. The 300 watt power supply should have enough juice to power it. It also has a free RAM slot to bring its included DDR4 RAM into dual channel mode to better enhance gameplay.
Gripes? Not many. I do wish Acer configured the computer with two 4GB RAM modules vs. the single 8GB module installed. The reason is that when memory is installed in pairs the computer will perform faster as can be seen in the attached video during the Rocket League segment. Also for $400 don't expect much out of the keyboard and mouse - they're about as cheap as you can get.
For the money this is a great value and worth considering for a family PC - especially if family members plan to do some video / photo editing and other demanding tasks. Even without the GPU this quad core computer packs a decent punch for a very low price.
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