Acer Aspire TC-885-UR16 Desktop, 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8700, 8GB DDR4, 1TB HDD, 8X DVD, 802.11ac WiFi, Windows 10 Home

...as long as you recognize its limitations. Pros: -reasonably priced desktop for productivity applications, online services, light photo/video editing -Optical drive (DVD-RW) -Abundant memory (8 GB installed; there is an additional slot available, and according to a major memory reseller [crucial], it will accept up to 32GB). -LOTS of interface options (front: 1 USB, 1 microUSB, 1 SD/SDHX plus headphone/mic 3.5mm ports; rear: 2x HDMI, 1x VGA, 4x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.0, 1 ethernet and audio 3.5mm ports) -integrated WiFi -Small footprint, lightweight -VERY quiet operation -Ships with limited bloatware; kudos to Acer! Cons: -Integrated graphics mean it will strain under the load of tough video rendering/gaming -Limited upgrade capability: one SATA port, one PCI slot and one memory slot. Unconventional vertically-mounted hard drive cage will require patience if you wish to populate its second bay. Acers support site doesnt indicate max RAM the motherboard will accommodate, so this is an unknown capability. -Power supply is 300W; this will similarly limit your upgrade options -Small form-factor mini-tower and motherboard make internal work challenging. For all but the most demanding gaming or video rendering jobs, this should serve most users very well. Its upgradability is somewhat limited, but there are some options available to the patient (it has an available 2nd HDD bay, an open PCI slot and an empty RAM slot) willing to work within the confines of a small case and an unusual drive bay configuration. Overall, decent performance from decently priced desktop.

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I purchased this desktop for my mother to use to replace the laptop I got her. For her needs of checking email, facebook, and YouTube, it works great once the following issue was fixed. After 5 minutes or so of Internet use, the WiFi would stop working. I tried resetting the router, manually changing the DNS address, updating WiFi card drivers, etc, but nothing would work. Same thing would happen, WiFi stops working after 5 minutes. Getting an external WiFi antenna solved this issue. She can now surf the web and watch videos without anymore frustrations. Also, the description talks about "immersive sound" with "5.1 surround sound" leading me to think the tower had some built in speaker that manipulated the sound to sound like surround sound. Nope, NO INTERNAL SPEAKERS. I had to order a pair of Creative Pebble Speakers. So between that, the external WiFi antenna, the keyboard, and the mouse, four USB ports are now in use. The tower is quiet, much quieter than the laptop it replaced. The included mouse and keyboard work just fine. For obvious reasons, gaming was not tried, so I cant say anything in regards to how it can handle games. But like I said, once some drawbacks are addressed, it works great for basic functions.

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Pros: Very quiet and fast enough for my needs. I’m not a game player so I can’t judge on that front. I added a Crucial MX500 250GB SSD drive and the system boots up in about 40 seconds. My old system took so long to boot that I’d frequently leave it on all day. That is no longer a problem and the PC even had a place to mount the SSD drive. There are sufficient USB ports for all of my Thumb drives, etc. and the inclusion of Bluetooth is very welcome. Cons: The DVD/CD drive is mounted vertically which I assume was done for space considerations. Using the DVD drive is just plain strange and requires more pressure than should be necessary to mount and dismount a DVD/CD. Fortunately, my use of the drive will be infrequent. The included keyboard and mouse are not great quality and I’ve opted to keep the setup I currently have. I believe it only fair and proper to comment on my overall purchase experience. I purchased this PC from Amazon and it was advertised as NEW. After I mounted the SSD drive and was satisfied that this unit was indeed a keeper, I went to the Acer website to register it. After I created a username and password, I was asked to provide either the Serial# or SNID for the item I purchased. I entered the SNID and was immediately greeted with the following message: “The product is already registered. Please check the Serial Number”. I then entered Serial Number and got the same message. I immediately contacted Amazon and advised them of the situation. Amazon contacted Acer and was given a Case#. After I got off the phone with Amazon, I went back to the Acer website and entered the Case# I was given. The following message popped up on my screen. “Repair Case Status” – Your product has shipped! Back on the phone with Amazon. I demanded a NEW computer and it was received the next day. I immediately went to the Acer website to register it and there were no outstanding case numbers and the PC did not come back as already registered. I purchased this item from Amazon and I was not going to deal with Acer. I’m satisfied with what Amazon did to rectify the problem but if I ever purchase another product from Acer I will be most careful to check if it has already been registered. Overall, I’m very happy with my purchase and definitely believe it is a great value for the price. Just be careful, not everyone in the world is honest!

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Pro: Ready out of the box Con: Space for adding a second HD is too small and it cannot be fully secured. A second one is easily plugged in but could only be secured with one screw due to the rotated angle I had to put it at. Con: NOT FOR GAMING! The power supply is too low to add a video card, the on board is simply too low for most games, and as such does not include a PCIE cable to add a card. An amitious gamer can use a second power supply with a short bridge, but this is at your own risk. Con: Upgrading the power supply takes an additional, 8 Pin EPS Male to P4 ATX 4 Pin Female adapter, is needed as the CPU receiver on the motherboard is a 4 pin instead of an 8 pin that most power supplies come with. The availability and distributor reliability of this part is questionable. Just a FYI for Windows that will come up during set up. DO NOT turn on the MS OneDrive unless you already use it, turning off a synch deletes the folders content files on your computer, nothing to do with the computer maker but something that can cause permanent data lose without realizing.

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