Acer - Revo Box Mini PC Desktop - Intel Processor N150 2025 - 8GB DDR4 Memory - 512GB Storage - White

I was looking for something small and compact for general use. It’s pretty slick. Just a few things… first, I expected it to be a tad faster. It feels slow if too much is going on. Maybe that’s because it only has 8gb of ram… under the specs, it states that there is a second memory slot. I purchased an additional 8gb of ram to upgrade this PC but after opening it to install it, there is actually only one slot. So I had to return it and purchase a 16gb stick. The listing states it can only go up to 16gb, so I’m not sure if it can go beyond that or not since the other details were inaccurate.

This mini desktop PC looks small but sure is mighty. It is perfect for day-to-day tasks, takes up very little room, and is easy to set up and get started with it. *What’s included?* The Revo Box comes with a 4.5’ power cable and a metal mounting device. It can be mounted on the back of compatible monitors to have a neater workspace. *Ports* - 4 USB-A ports - 1 USB-C port - 2 ethernet ports - 1 HDMI out port - 1 DisplayPort - 1 audio jack *Functionality* Setting up the PC was quick, similar to most PC’s. It works flawlessly, connected easily to the Wi-Fi, and so far, has the average load time of a regular sized PC. At 8GB RAM, it does have its limitations on multitasking. Just running my browser puts it at around 70% capacity. Still, it has incredibly quick load times, works seamlessly, and runs quietly even when the fan turns on. It has more than enough ports to support a variety of needs and potential set-ups. It is also highly portable if that is necessary, with the caveat that you still would need a monitor, mouse, and keyboard wherever you plan to use it. But I love that I can just go and hook it up to any tv in the house so easily and it is less obtrusive than a laptop. The one downside for me in all of this is how short the power cable is. It limits placement and barely makes it to the outlet in my set-up. *Conclusion* Ultimately, I find this PC is perfect for anyone who just needs a computer for average tasks – school, work, leisure. It allows for a neater desk with a box than can easily be kept out of sight. It is a highly functional and powerful little computer for everyday needs.

This is honestly the first time I have ever seen a brand-new computer struggle and stutter during the initial Windows setup prompts that appear when you first turn the computer on. That gave me an indication right out of the box that I might be in trouble. I have tried pretty extensively to get this mini computer to perform at what I believe should be a reasonable level, and I have failed at just about every angle. One of the most perplexing things about the Acer Revo Box is the amount of bundled and promotional software that comes with it. This is an extremely modest system with an Intel N150 processor and only 8 GB of DDR4 RAM, yet out of the box I found things like McAfee, Booking.com, Forge of Empires, and other background services and promotional software. On a computer with this little processing headroom to begin with, that seems like a terrible choice. The first thing I tested was the 4K display capability over DisplayPort. I connected it to my Alienware 4K monitor and was pleasantly surprised that it immediately recognized the monitor and configured itself at the proper 3840 x 2160 resolution and 60 Hz refresh rate. I thought that was a promising start. Unfortunately, that is about where the good news ended. I knew something was wrong when the text input was stuttering during my very first browser search. I went straight to YouTube and tried playing several shorts. Every one of them stuttered at some point. I am talking about the kind of stuttering where the video slows or freezes momentarily and then suddenly speeds up to catch back up, or simply chops intermittently during playback. The processor seems to be taxed just handling the basic functions of Windows, and trying to do much beyond that falls flat very quickly. I ran Speedometer 3.1, which is a browser-based benchmark to measure the responsiveness of web applications. The results were abysmal. I could not break a score of 5 (out of 140). I tested both 4K and 1080p resolutions, and surprisingly, lowering the display resolution made virtually no difference. In one test, I actually scored slightly higher at 4K than I did at 1080p. Logically, I spent a lot of time in my task manager to see what was taxing the system. While simply sitting at the desktop and doing nothing, I watched CPU usage jump from around 3% all the way to 97%. At one point Windows Explorer alone was using approximately 70% of the CPU, even after I killed process after process to try and find the source. I checked windows updates, let the computer idle for hours to ensure all initial startup processes were settled, killed Microsoft defender, everything. At one point I stabilized my processer, but it immediately started spiking again as soon as I opened any program. Memory usage was routinely very high as well, despite the fact that I was doing almost nothing with the computer. What disappoints me most is that I actually really like the idea behind this machine. It is tiny, attractive, and includes a mounting solution that allows you to attach it to the back of a monitor and essentially turn almost any display into an all-in-one computer. I think that is a fantastic concept. It means you can spend money on a really nice monitor without tying the useful life of that monitor to the computer inside it. When the computer gets old, replace the little box and keep the display. Ironically, I do think I am going to find a use for it, just not the use it is being sold for. My plan is to wipe Windows from it and turn it into a headless Linux server. Without Windows, antivirus software, promotional applications, desktop graphics, and all of the other background services competing for its limited resources, the hardware should make a pretty interesting little low-power server for some of my lightweight APIs, Docker containers, n8n automations, monitoring services, and similar tasks. The N150 processor makes much more sense to me in that role. It uses very little power, produces very little heat, takes up almost no space, and should be perfectly capable of handling lightweight server workloads without all of the overhead of a Windows desktop environment. I actually think I may be surprisingly happy with it once I make that conversion. As a mini desktop though, I can't see anyone being happy with this computer. I struggled to do the most basic functions with this Mini PC, and ultimately spent more time trying to troubleshoot it than actually getting to use it. The time I did spend on it left me feeling frustrated and as if something were wrong, but every test I ran just pointed to it underperforming for what it should be capable of.

It isn’t the flashiest of the mini boxes you could get, but dual NICs at this price is pretty good if you have a niche use for it.

Pros: -Compact and quiet -Plenty of Ports -Easy set up Cons: -Only 8GB of Ram The REVO is a compact and lightweight PC. It stays quiet and keeps cool during operation. The performance is what’s expected for the specs it has, but those specs are low making it only good for minor tasks like browsing or streaming. The setup was easy, but it took quite a while. I did like that it was doing the updates first as it was going through the setup, but it did took quite a while. Expect to give it about 45 minutes to an hour to complete the setup. Build quality seems good. All components are very light, so the device hardly weighs anything. I used this device for my guest room, where I have a monitor set up for guests to plug in and use. It’s so compact that you can't tell there is a computer behind the monitor. It also has plenty of ports. In the front there’s 2 USB and a USB-C port. On the back there’s another 2 USB ports, an Ethernet port, an HDMI, and a display port. The mini PC is mainly set up to be able to use as a streaming device, and it does a decent enough job for that. Given the specs, I didn’t have high expectations for its performance. It’s quite slow with only 8GB of RAM, which doesn't do much with today’s memory intensive apps. Windows alone will use up most of that. Expect a good bit of bloatware from WIndows as well. It's quiet and well ventilated keeping it cool during use. For what it is, its performance is fine. It’s light and compact and has all the needed ports. The specs are low making it slow and unsuited to demanding tasks. The System should do fine for light browsing, word processing and watching youtube or streaming services.