Acer’s Aspire line, particularly the desktop collection, has traditionally supplied customers a high quality PC with loads of efficiency at an affordable value. The newest model of the mainstream Aspire desktop, the TC-1775, builds on the earlier era, updating to a 14th Gen Intel processor and conserving the 8GB RAM (now DDR5) and 512GB NVMe solid-state drive. Priced at $599.99, the small tower contains Wi-Fi 6E, a safe media card reader, a USB-C port on the entrance panel, and even two HDMI ports for dual-monitor productiveness. It is hardly earth-shaking, however it’s cheap and works properly for a finances PC.Design & Configuration: A Mini-Tower That is Straightforward to HideThe compact-tower Aspire TC-1775-UR11 sports activities a easy design with an all-black chassis. In contrast to the beforehand reviewed Aspire TC-1780, this case does not embrace an angled entrance (although sure different Aspire desktop fashions do, if you need one). The plastic shell has a matte end with Acer branding on the high.
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
Towards the underside is what seems to be air flow however is only a totally different stretch of textured plastic. Measuring 13.4 by 13.8 by 6.4 inches, the 15L chassis is small for a mid-tower and suits in your desk or hides beneath it with out taking on an excessive amount of house.
Since 1982, PCMag has examined and rated hundreds of merchandise that can assist you make higher shopping for choices. See how we check.
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
On the entrance panel are a number of totally different ports providing a variety of connectivity. From high to backside, you will discover an SD card reader, two 5Gbps USB 3.2 ports—one Sort-C and one Sort-A—and eventually two 3.5mm audio jacks for headphones and a microphone. There’s additionally a cutout for an optical drive, although our check unit did not include one.
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
Round again are a number of extra USB ports and plugs, together with a second USB-A 3.2 port, 4 retro USB 2.0 ports, two HDMI ports (one model 1.4b, the opposite 2.0), a Gigabit Ethernet jack, and three 3.5mm plugs (microphone, plus audio line-out and line-in). The desktop additionally comes with Wi-Fi 6E—commendably, for the value—however you would possibly miss it, because the antenna connections are built-in.Entry to the internals requires a Philips screwdriver to take away two screws holding the facet panel in place. Inside, you will spy a easy green-colored motherboard with a fundamental heatsink protecting the CPU.
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
The chipset, VRMs, and M.2 socket are all with out devoted cooling; you’ll be able to see the naked M.2 boot drive within the picture beneath, partly hidden behind a bracket. Whereas fanatics could also be involved, this setup is completely acceptable for a easy desktop utilizing a midrange processor. The roughly MicroATX-size motherboard has two DIMM slots, so you’ll be able to add an identical module to double the RAM capability (as much as 32GB complete) and make the most of the platform’s dual-channel capabilities.
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
The motherboard has a full-length PCI Categorical x16 slot and a smaller PCIe x1 slot for enlargement. On the storage facet, this method has that one M.2 socket, plus 4 SATA ports. (Cables are included within the accent stack.) It is price noting that the 300-watt energy provide doesn’t include a GPU energy connector (6+2-pin), so when you add a graphics card it will need to run off the slot energy (75W) solely.There is not a number of airflow contained in the chassis. What’s there may be offered by the CPU heatsink and energy provide fan solely, however once more, that is OK with a low-powered system, particularly with out a discrete graphics card including warmth. The CPU fan was whisper-quiet throughout regular desktop operations however audible and intrusive throughout heavy CPU use.Within the field with the PC, Acer features a fundamental mouse and a membrane-type keyboard. The corporate backs the Aspire with a one-year guarantee. The Aspire TC comes with Home windows 11 House and, although it does put a number of unsolicited apps within the taskbar (Amazon, Dropbox, Reserving.com), you’ll be able to rapidly delete them. The Acer Care Middle is a worthwhile app that mixes entry to help, system updates, and restoration choices in case issues go flawed. It additionally covers some helpful Home windows capabilities similar to managing startup functions and features a easy tune-up function.Testing the Acer Aspire TC-1775: Your Every day Driver Has ArrivedThe Acer Aspire on right this moment’s check bench comes preconfigured with an Intel Core i5-14400 processor (10 complete cores, as much as 4.7 GHz increase), Intel UHD 730 built-in graphics, 8GB of single-channel DDR5-4800 RAM, and a 512GB NVMe solid-state drive. On the time of publication, it was obtainable within the Acer retailer for $599.99. Given the problems with thirteenth and 14th Gen Intel processors of 65W or larger (65W is the Core i5-14400’s base energy score), you will wish to be sure to replace the system on arrival with the most recent BIOS and any obtainable microcode updates from Acer’s help web site.Total, this Aspire has ample {hardware} specs to be your on a regular basis PC, as long as gaming is not concerned. Customers who multitask might discover the 8GB of RAM limiting, however one other slot is accessible so as to add capability. Additionally, a 512GB drive fills up rapidly as of late, however you’ll be able to choose as much as 2TB of storage from Acer. If opening a PC and including elements is intimidating, higher-spec fashions such because the $649.99 TC-1775-UR12, which sports activities 16GB of dual-channel reminiscence, can be found.
Productiveness and Content material Creation TestsWe run the identical basic productiveness benchmarks throughout each cell and desktop methods. Our first check is UL’s PCMark 10, which simulates quite a lot of real-world productiveness and workplace workflows to measure total system efficiency and likewise features a storage subtest for the first drive.Three different benchmarks give attention to the CPU, utilizing all obtainable cores and threads, to fee a PC’s suitability for processor-intensive workloads. Maxon’s Cinebench R23 makes use of that firm’s Cinema 4D engine to render a fancy scene, whereas Geekbench 5.4 Professional from Primate Labs simulates well-liked apps starting from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine studying. Lastly, we use the open-source video transcoder HandBrake 1.4 to transform a 12-minute video clip from 4K to 1080p decision (decrease instances are higher).Lastly, we run PugetBench for Photoshop by workstation maker Puget Programs. It makes use of Adobe’s well-known picture editor, Inventive Cloud model 22, to fee a PC’s efficiency for content material creation and multimedia functions. It is an automatic extension that executes quite a lot of basic and GPU-accelerated Photoshop duties, from opening, rotating, resizing, and saving a picture to making use of masks, gradient fills, and filters.
In these assessments, the Aspire TC-1755-UR11 carried out properly, beating its predecessor in most occasions. Inexplicably, it completed final in our Photoshop benchmark, although you’d count on it to return near the TC-1780’s outcome. Other than that, it positioned simply behind the notably dearer Asus NUC 14 and its Core Extremely 165H processor (with Intel Arc built-in graphics). It is a step above the last-gen mannequin that provides loads of efficiency for day by day workplace productiveness and light-weight content material creation.Graphics and Gaming TestsWe check the graphics of desktops and laptops with two DirectX 12 gaming simulations from UL’s 3DMark: Night time Raid (extra modest, appropriate for laptops with built-in graphics) and Time Spy (extra demanding, appropriate for gaming rigs with discrete GPUs). We usually add two assessments from the cross-platform GPU benchmark GFXBench 5, however the Aspire balked at them simply because the previous-generation mannequin did.
Our check unit was once more sooner than its predecessor utilizing the identical Intel UHD 730 Graphics. That is primarily on account of using DDR5 in comparison with DDR4 (built-in graphics use system RAM), because the clock speeds are the identical. Outdoors of that, it couldn’t finest any of our chosen opponents with superior Iris Xe or Intel Arc built-in graphics. Acer presents an Nvidia GTX 1660 Tremendous card when you crave extra horsepower for GPU-intensive duties and really gentle gaming.Verdict: One other Strong On a regular basis PC From AcerAcer’s newest Aspire is an efficient worth within the finances PC house. You get an up-to-date Intel CPU, speedy Wi-Fi, dual-monitor functionality, and extra. The vanilla 8GB of reminiscence and 512GB of storage can be too skimpy for some, however after-purchase upgrades are simple to put in (or you should purchase a higher-priced mannequin and never need to fiddle with it). The TC-1775-UR11’s pricing is aggressive with one in every of its direct rivals, the Dell Inspiron Small Desktop, which has a strikingly comparable configuration. In case you’re searching for a low-cost desktop for residence or workplace and video games aren’t a temptation, this Acer is a stable possibility.
Like What You are Studying?
Join Lab Report back to get the most recent opinions and high product recommendation delivered proper to your inbox.
This article might include promoting, offers, or affiliate hyperlinks. Subscribing to a e-newsletter signifies your consent to our Phrases of Use and Privateness Coverage. You might unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
About Joe Shields
Contributor
From my first PC within the mid-Nineteen Eighties (a Tandy TR-86) to right this moment’s productiveness, gaming, and LED-laden monster in use now, I’ve all the time been excited about electronics and computer systems. My gaming days began with early consoles (assume Intellivision, Atari 2600/5200) and ultimately moved on to PC as my controller expertise diminished and age crept up. I obtained again into PCs when AMD was the quickest CPU round (learn, earlier than the Intel Core days), and from there, it’s historical past. Overclocking, sub-ambient/excessive and aggressive overclocking: If it needed to do with benchmarking, I wished to be part of it.
Learn Joe’s full bio
Learn the most recent from Joe Shields
