Acer - Aspire XC-1715_CZN-UB13 Desktop - AMD Ryzen 3 5000 Series 2021 - 8GB LPDDR5 - 512GB - USB Keyboard and Mouse - Black

Pros: - Basic budget desktop PC at a reasonable price. - Uses DDR4 SODIMM (Laptop RAM), which is more affordable. - Good performance for basic computing with simple upgrade. Cons: - Pre-installed bloatware programs use up the limited RAM. - Uses mobile/laptop parts that have lower performance than desktop counterparts. Out of the Box: Acer did a great job including everything you’d need to get started within the box: Desktop PC, AC Adapter, Power Cable, USB Keyboard and USB Mouse. The included Keyboard and Mouse are basic but work well. This is a great bundle for a basic web browsing and email user. Unfortunately, Acer still includes multiple Pre-installed Bloatware apps like McCfee and cash grab games. Luckily, all of these, and most of the Acer branded apps, can be removed with minimal impact. Even the Acer Jumpstart and Acer Sense are redundant programs, as Windows Updates can handle the required system updates without needing to run a separate program in the background. Specs & Upgradability: The Acer Aspire XC 1715 is basically a laptop put into a desktop tower. It is as basic of a computer as they come, but it is plenty of PC for basic tasks like web browsing and email. It is built with older components that are widely available, and significantly cheaper than newer parts with an MSRP of $449.99. For the CPU Acer chose the Ryzen 3 5400U, this is a mobile processor with 4 cores and 8 threads. This means the power draw on the CPU is on the lower end at 15W, with a configurable draw between 10-25W. Graphics is provided through the Radeon Vega 6 integrated graphics. For RAM, Acer chose to go with SODIMM module (Laptop RAM), including only 1x 8GB DDR4 3200MT/s stick. There is a second slot that is empty and can be upgraded, for a maximum total of 16GB. I both love and hate this configuration. I love it as it provides a simple path to upgrade to 16GB, just install another 8GB stick of RAM. Since it is DDR4 SODIMM, it is significantly cheaper than DDR5. But I hate this as the performance of the Default system is significantly impacted as the RAM is not running in Dual Channel mode. For storage, a 512GB PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD is installed. 512GB is the new standard size of pre-installed drives for most PC, which is plenty for basic document and web application use, though if you want more space you will want to either get an external drive or a larger NVMe drive to install. But that would require transferring or reinstalling windows. The installed drive being an NVMe is much faster than a standard SATA SSD and WAY faster than an HDD. The drive Reads around 2,600MB/s and Writes around 1,200MB/s. The newest standard is PCIe 5.0, which is much faster but also more expensive. There is an empty Sata connector on the motherboard, which I assume would be for the Disk Drive or another storage drive, except that there is no power adapter included. The motherboard is a custom board, which requires a specific power adapter to be used to power another SATA device. Performance: For basic computing tasks, the Acer Aspire XC-1715 handles most tasks individually well; browsing the internet, watching videos and creating documents or excels. The system starts to slow down if you open too many apps or web browser tabs, the main bottleneck being the 8GB of RAM. Just starting the computer with all the default applications (Bloatware) uses up almost all the available RAM. I was sitting at 85% utilization for RAM, after starting up without opening any applications, just allowing the default programs to start up. I removed almost all the programs set to start on startup (in Task Manager, Startup apps tab), and my utilization dropped down to 45% which provides much needed resources for better performance. This allowed the system to start up quicker and be more responsive. Ideally, for much better performance, you would install a 2nd stick of 8GB DDR4 RAM (specifically an 8GB DDR4 3200 MHz SODIMM stick). I had a stick of RAM that worked on hand and installed it, which greatly improved the performance of the PC. The responsiveness of the applications and overall system more than doubled (think instead of waiting 10 seconds for a window to open, it took around 5 seconds). Additionally, with the extra RAM installed, I was able to open multiple apps at the same time without noticing any performance issues (each app opened within about 5 seconds). The integrated graphics will provide enough power to watch videos up to 4K at 60FPS with hardware decoding enabled. If you’re multi-tasking while watching a video/show, expect best performance at lower resolutions like 1080/1440. On the gaming side, you CAN game on this, but at 1080p on low to low-med settings and expect no more than 60FPS. I would not recommend this to play anything recent, but if it is older titles from 15+ years ago, this will play them without an issue at lower settings. Conclusion: If you want basic desktop experience, without the current high prices that come with the newest generation of desktop hardware, the Acer Aspire XC-1715 is a great alternative for the budget-minded PC user. It offers a decent amount of performance, for a reasonable MSRP (and hopefully a better sale price in the coming sales season). Adding an additional stick of RAM upgrades the PC from okay to good performance. Though you will likely want to disable multiple startup programs to improve the performance and uninstall unnecessary preinstalled apps to get back the limited storage space. Overall, the Acer Aspire XC-1715 (2026 Refresh) is a great approach providing a budget desktop PC in the current PC market.

With prices of electronics going up over the years, it's nice to see that we can still find an affordable desktop computer. That's what this Aspire model from Acer provides. While it won't have the bells and whistles of a higher end gaming desktop, it makes for a terrific student PC or beginner PC for children that are just getting started with computers. Pros: - The MSRP is excellent for a budget PC that has all the basics you would need. (Including Windows 11) - If you don't plan on gaming or performing tasks that require a lot of heavy processing power, this PC will do the trick for you. It's great for email, web browsing, video streaming, etc. - There are plenty of ports with USB access both on the front and back. Audio ports are conveniently located in the front to connect speakers or a headset. The USB-C port is in the front which is perfect for charging phones, earbuds, and other accessories. - It comes with a mouse and keyboard. - The included 500GB solid state drive helps this machine run silently. Gone are the days of spinning hard drives that can really get annoying in a quiet room! - The tower has a very small form factor making it easy to store either above or below a desk. It's also very lightweight. Cons: - You get what you pay for. The features and expandability are limited, but you should know that going in with a budget model computer. - The included mouse is not great. It will get the job done, but I would suggest having a better one handy. This computer is exactly what you would expect it to be. Perfect for students going off to college that need something to do their schoolwork on, a beginner's first computer, or even an adult that just wants a basic machine to browse the internet and check their email.

Small tower, simple setup, enough to do everyday items. Acer has been around for a long creating PCs and other components. I actually bought one of their first small form factor PCs many years ago for my mother in law. It lasted for quite long time. Anyway back to this Acer - Aspire XC-1715_CZN-UB13 Desktop - AMD Ryzen 3 5000 Series 2021 - 8GB LPDDR5 - 512GB - USB Keyboard and Mouse - in Black. Setup was super easy. In the box was the mini tower, power adapter, mouse and keyboard. Note for them the save space they are using power adapter that is not a standard tower power source. Pro on this is that it allows for smaller tower con is that it is a special adapter. I did not price it out so not sure how much it would cost to replace this adapter if it fails or something. Back of PC has multiple ports. 1 HDMI 2 USB A 3 2 USB A 2 Sport Network Mic in Audio out Front of PC has multiple ports too 1 USB C 1 USB A 3 Mic in Audio out So it's enough for every casual use. Ok back to setup. Plugged in fired up and hooked up a monitor and the windows setup went through at it needed to do. Took about 40 mins total with updates. Not bad. I browses the Internet just fine. I used word processing and spreadsheets just fine. Watched videos just fine. All good.. My only wish was that it would have come with an HDMI cord. I was short a spare one so I had to take one from another one of my PC setups. But that would have been over asking as this PC doesn't come with a monitor. For super simple use and small size this PC does the trick.

First impression: My first impression of the Acer Aspire XC-1715_CZN was uncertainty. The case is small and weighs less than the box that delivered it. Looking through the vents, I saw a motherboard barely 6.5” x 6.5”. I knew this was not a high-performance computer going into the review, but I didn’t know just how non-performance it was. The aesthetics of this computer are nice. The center of the front comes out about an inch making a triangular look, almost like a locomotive, and the plastic front panel has a stylish brushed aluminum look. I like the looks of this computer. What’s in the Box: • Acer Aspire XC-1715_CZN computer • 90W A/C Power Apadter. • Bundled Keyboard and Mouse • Basic Setup Documentation Technical Specifications: • CPU: AMD Ryzen™ 3 5000 series, 2.6 GHz 4 cores, 8 threads • RAM: 8 GB LPDDR5 5500 MT/s RAM • Storage: 512 GB PCIe® NVMe™ PPCIe SSD • Graphics: AMD Radeon™ Integrated Graphics • Wi-Fi: 6E • Ports: 1xHDMI, 1xDisplay Port, 4xUSB 5Gbps, 1xUSB 2.0, 1 xRJ45 • Power Supply: 90 W Smart AC power adapter • Color: Black • Size: 11.61 × 3.94 × 12.99 in • Weight: 8.82 lbs Pros • Compact design will fit desks easily. • Silent operation. • USB 3.2 5Gbps Type A and C on the front panel. • 4 USB ports on the back. • Both HDMI and DP on the back. • Uses Laptop memory making it affordable to upgrade the RAM. Cons • Only 8GB of RAM. Setup: Setup of the computer is a typical Windows 11 configuration and nothing more. I used my Microsoft account, and everything fell right into place. And there were not that many Windows updates for me to install, which means it’s a newer image. Performance: The performance is surprisingly good for such a basic computer. When searching the Web or performing office tasks it performs much better than I thought it would; it’s quite responsive. Even opening office apps were faster than I expected. When watching YouTube videos, I was surprised to see 4K60FPS videos without any frame drops or bandwidth noise. The bootup time of this PC shocked me in a good way. After performing all the Window’s updates and disabling all Auto-Start options except AcerSense, the machine booted from a cold start to login screen in 9.97 seconds. I was not expecting this at all and it was a very pleasant surprise. The performance really drops fast though when you try to run too many apps or have too many tabs open. This is not a result of inferior products or parts but is the result of only 8GB of RAM This behavior is not surprising to me at all. It’s difficult to do much with 8GB with today’s Windows and applications, and I know the performance will greatly improve with an additional 8GB. Conclusion: Let me start by saying that when I review a product, I review the product to perform as designed by the manufacturer, not what I think they should have done or could have done. Saying this, I really like this computer. It is a budget-friendly, small form factor desktop with a polished, almost elegant, brushed aluminum front. While the front aesthetics are minor, it is a nice touch and really separates this desktop from the other budget desktops. The performance is a little better than I expected for a budget or entry-level computer. This little computer does everything well that a computer like this should and only dipped below average when overusing the available memory. This computer has all the basics you need for general computing, plus a few extras such as 6 USB ports, both HDMI and Display Port connections, and upgradable RAM. If you need a general-purpose everyday use computer without the frills and performance of a more powerful computer, I believe you will be very happy with this one. I recommend this computer.

I tested the Acer Aspire XC as an everyday productivity computer first because I wanted to get a good feel for its performance before deciding how I would ultimately use it. I tried it with normal day-to-day tasks including web browsing with multiple tabs open, email, Microsoft Office-type work, streaming and general multitasking. For those uses, it handled everything well and felt responsive without making simple tasks feel like a chore. This configuration has an AMD Ryzen 3 5000 Series processor, 8GB of memory and a 512GB drive. I think the important thing for anyone considering this desktop is having realistic expectations about what those specs are intended for. This isn’t a gaming PC or something I would choose for heavy video editing or other demanding workloads. For regular home use, schoolwork, basic office productivity and web-based applications, though, I found the performance perfectly adequate. One thing I really like is the compact tower. It doesn’t take up much room, which opens up some interesting possibilities beyond using it as your main desktop. Acer also includes a USB keyboard and mouse. They’re basic, but they get the job done and make it possible to get everything set up without needing to have extra peripherals on hand. After testing the Aspire for productivity, I decided I’m going to use it as a dedicated desktop for my home security setup. I have multiple cameras and security devices, and having one computer that I can leave set up for viewing cameras, accessing security dashboards and handling related tasks makes more sense than constantly using my primary computer. The Aspire’s small footprint is especially useful for this because I can tuck the tower into my setup without giving up much space. The biggest thing I would consider before choosing this configuration is the 8GB of memory. It worked fine during my testing, but it’s not a lot of memory by today’s standards. If your normal routine involves keeping a lot of programs and browser tabs open simultaneously or running more demanding software, I would look carefully at whether a higher-spec configuration would be a better long-term choice. Overall, the Aspire XC does what I think a computer in this category should do. It’s compact, straightforward and capable of handling normal productivity tasks without paying for performance you may never use. After actually using it, I think it makes the most sense for someone who needs a basic home or office desktop, a computer for a student, or even a dedicated system for something specific like my security setup. Just understand the limitations of the 8GB memory configuration before deciding if it fits how you plan to use it. I gave it 5 stars because it delivers based on its specs.