Acer Aspire TC-885-UR17 Desktop, 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8700, 8GB DDR4, 512GB SSD, 8X DVD, 802.11ac WiFi, Windows 10 Home

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So, to get this out of the way - this is NOT a gaming computer (more on that later). 1.) Packaged well, undamaged during shipping process - always a bonus. 2.) Included in box: system itself, power cord, USB keyboard and mouse. 3.) Only doc in packaging was a 1-page, picture-based “plug this in here” set of directions – but not surprising given the way computers are packaged these days - especially cheaper ones. 4.). No annoying sticker on case stating something like: “If you open this, you void your warranty," which is good - cause I opened this bad boy up immediately, muhaha! 5.) Easy to open case – just two screws, with good accessibility inside to slots, etc (see picture). 6.) Specs are decent: Intel Core i5-8400 @2.8GHz 6-core 300W switchable power supply 12GB DDR4 in 2 slots, no other free memory slots – max supported 32GB DVD RW (this is a laptop-style drive) 2GB HDD – Toshiba DT01ACA200 (7200 RPM) / SATA 6Gbps controller Space internally above existing HDD for another HDD or SSD, with open connectors available Intel UHD Graphics 630 (shared memory) 802.11ac wireless Gigabit ethernet 1 PCIx 16 Back panel – 2 HDMI, VGA, 4 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0, ethernet, sound Front panel – SD card reader, USB C, “red/always hot” USB 3.1, another USB 3.1, headphone slot, microphone slot 7.) Very easy setup, minimal customization screens, easy configuration of monitor, peripherals, etc. (after updating drivers). Windows 10 installs are really, really easy these days. Youre basically just "completing" the install, tying it to your account/creating an account. The Acer preload here is fairly slim, with minimal extra bloatware added to Windows 10 Home Edition. 8.) The keyboard/mouse are generic, cheap-feeling, - meh! They do the job and thats it. This is to be expected. Ive had computers costing three times this amount come with similar-feeling accessories. A plus for me – many of the more annoying Windows 10 privacy and sharing “features” are already turned off in the factory preload. Yay! Also, Firefox was already installed, which is nice if you like Firefox. Performance, as youd expect, is quite snappy. The new 8th-generation Intel processors are ace, with the i5-8400 here about as fast a previous-generation Core i7-7700, - which is the CPU in my mainstay desktop right now. Madness! Its also a very quiet system, especially without a big GPU installed, making do with just the integrated Intel graphics. And so a note here on gaming: This is not a gaming computer. 300 Watts doesnt really cut it these days, so if installing even a Geforce GTX 1060 youd need to upgrade the PSU. This isnt a massive job, but something to bear in mind. The only thing that you may want to improve in this system is popping in a 2.5" Solid State Disk. Even a 120GB drive for the operating system to boot off would make a WORLD of difference, as the spinning Toshiba hard drive in here is a bottleneck for the rest of the speedy system. For the price point this computer hits, though, I dont hold this against Acer. Overall, this is a great value for money, and earns a high recommendation from me. 5 stars out of 5. A great multi-purpose work system.

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I have only had this new Acer for 2 days but so far I can say this thing rocks ; ) If you want fast this will do a complete reboot in 65 seconds. I will update later but so far I love it.

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This computer is nice and fast. I didnt think 8GB of memory would be sufficient for everything but gaming. It is much more than adequate when paired with an 8th gen i3 chip. I added an Acer 23" monitor and as such offers all and more than I could need in a home computer.

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The Acer TC-885-ACCFLi5 Aspire desktop, made in China, comes with the desktop, power cord, wired mouse, wired keyboard, and documentation. Technical stats include options like the Intel Core 2.8 GHz i5-8400 processor with Turbo Boost 2.0 Technology up to 4.0GHz, 12 GB DDR4 2666MHz memory, UHD graphics 630, high-def audio with 5.1-channel surround sound support, AC Wi-Fi, 8X DVD-writer double-layer drive (DVD-RW), 2TB 7200RPM SATA hard drive, and Windows 10 Home. Ports include 4x USB 2.0 ports, 3x USB 3.1 ports, 1x USB 3.1 Type C port (up to 10 Gbps), and 1x Network (RJ-45) Setting up the 6.42" W x 13.78" D x 13.39"H Acer TC-885-ACCFLi5 Aspire desktop is straight forward. Remove the pieces from the box, connect the wires, and turned the PC on. The basic keyboard and mouse are usable, but I prefer using better options. From there, Cortana leads the remaining setup process. This process was quicker than I expected; I only had to choose a few options and Cortana efficiently took care of the rest. Once I finished this process, I started adding software. I have some process heavy software for activities such as photo processing or digital painting which can heavily use the hard drive as swap space. While taxing the processers, there were times where I could cause the computer to slow down. Although, the computer caught up and finish the task quickly. This is a reasonable experience for these heavy processing tools. For most uses, this desktop should perform well. The Acer TC-885-ACCFLi5 Aspire desktop can also be upgraded to help those of us with heavy processing. The DDR4 memory can be maxed out at 32 GB, plus a portable hard drive can be attached by USB or USB-C for swap space The Acer TC-885-ACCFLi5 Aspire desktop is a good basic computer that will work well for most activities, Simple home users or students would find this computer more than adequate, but gamers, or people with heavy processing needs will like find reasons to upgrade. If you need more than basic, compare the cost of upgrading to purchasing a computer with the features you need. If this desktop computer, the Acer TC-885-ACCFLi5 Aspire desktop fits your needs, it is definitely worth considering. PROS: Good basic computer Decent stats Performs well 1 year limited warranty CONS: Would prefer a CF card port be included

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I am almost disappointed to admit that this computer seems to run faster than the "Gaming PC" I own that is more than twice the price. It is also visually appealing and immensely quite. Extremely satisfied with the purchase.

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...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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Surprisingly fast little desktop - sufficient amount of RAM, CPU is just as fast as some i5 and even i7 CPUs a few years back. The motherboard is an Acer B36H4-AD v1.1 one, but I was not able to find any information on it yet. Upgrading the mechanical hard drive (HDD) to either a SATA SSD or to an NVMe drive is a must. I purchased a Mushkin Pilot 250GB PCIe NVMe M.2 (2280) Gen3 x4 MKNSSDPL250GB-D8 SSD and inserted into the available slot on the motherboard. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CYLKZMW/ The installation is a bit tedious, but if there is interest, I can write a mini how-to. This involved activating Windows 10 on the old HDD, inserting the NVMe drive, changing some BIOS settings, then installing a clean copy of Windows10 downloaded from Microsoft. I was going to install an old AMD Radeon HD 6450 low profile card in it, but after looking up its performance compared to Intel UHD Graphics 630, it seemed completely pointless.

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I have a bunch of 2009 vintage high-end desktops in my home that Ive upgraded with 2013, 2014 & 2015 components. It was time to upgrade the primary desktop to 2018/2019 standards. As a retired engineer, I love to shop on E-Bay , and add bargain (bang-for-buck) upgrades to the various desktops around my home. At some point, there has to be an occasional low-budget upgrade to a current motherboard and CPU. For two years, I was pondering such an upgrade, but I wasnt really seeing much of an improvement over my 2009 motherboard gear, that I had been upgrading for almost ten years. Why upgrade? Im not an on-line gamer. I had been upgrading video/graphics cards, and never had a problem with any game I might occasionally play. I had added SSD (Solid State Drives), to speed up start-up times. Well, there just comes a time when a retired engineer needs to say - "OK, let me try an off-the-shelf new desktop computer". I got the ACER at a very good price, and was kind of amazed when it arrived. All of my other computers are in full, expensive, and a few in medium tower cases. The tiny ACER case, with a tiny 300W PSU (power supply) was initially very disappointing. Since I plugged it in, Im overwhelmed. Im just using the integral motherboard video, and the 1080p display is excellent. The sound is also very impressive. For the $420 I paid on Black Friday, this computer is leaps and bounds way ahead of anything Ive built over the last 10 years. Its very quiet, very fast, and pretty much very tiny, compared to the other 40-pound towers around my house. I did add an SSD to the computer, so that when I walk into the room where its resting, it will wake up in perhaps two seconds, and be ready to go. I love it!

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Needed a cheap professional looking computer as a starting point that had the horsepower to handle 24 megapixel photos and do some rendering and simple gaming for family. I just wanted this for the Coffee Lake CPU, RAM, motherboard, case, and Windows 10. My experience requires an extra 3d graphics card, better power supply to push the card, and M.2 drive sold separately. Aftermarket GPU install A full size double slot graphics card with blower or dual fans fits in tight but enough clearance for cooling and cables. If your using dual fans that exhaust inside a rear case fan will be necessary. With a blower card that exhausts outside its not. The power supply will need to be replaced and its a bit confusing. Removing the front drive cage is the trick. Its also the trick to finding the hidden M.2 slot. 500w bronze pushes this and a 1060 fine under a stress test at max load. The stock Intel UHD Graphics is yucky for 3d but anything 2d is fine and 2 monitor plugs on the stock graphics is a nice touch. Also nice if you have a workload that occupies your aftermarket GPU causing video stutter. Switching the plug to the internal graphics fixes this and allows you to continue on doing other things. Decent WIFI antenna included Many cheap machines have terrible WIFI reception and no antenna to speak of. This has a separate antenna built into the back of the front of the case plastic so you get good signal and less dropped packets. Its reading 150mbs so no multi-channel speed but both 2.4 and 5 ghz. Much better than the machine it replaced. Thermals/noise With rendering pushing both my aftermarket GPU and stock CPU to max while watching the thermals I expected a stock cooler with no case fan to eventually overheat and throttle. In a 70F 21C room CPU stabilized at 175-180F 79-82C. While this scares me Coffee-Lake is approved for and does not throttle until 212F 100C. If I was using this to render normally I would put a case fan in it but otherwise the stock unit seems good enough for the worst you can throw at it. Even at unreasonable max load its quieter than other machines I have used. At a more reasonable 98% spiking heavy workload processing photos its down around 140-150F 60-65C and very quiet. It might take a really hot room to make it whine but I dont know. Enough space for both cables and airflow inside. M.2 YOUR GOING TO NEED A TINY LAPTOP SIZED M.2 HOLD DOWN SCREW IF IT DOESNT COME WITH YOUR DRIVE. Mine had a standoff but not the screw included and its not a normal case sized screw. Adding any kind of M.2 drive is almost required. Without it booting takes forever and multiple applications starting or closing can make things start to chug real fast. Its the nature of hard drives. With a cheap M.2 installed AND windows booting from it I can copy 60mb+ a sec of files local network, filter and render photos at 98% CPU on all six cores, download a file, print, and browse the web without stuttering. Windows cold boots as fast or faster than it can come out of suspend mode. The ability of this thing to multitask this well is impressive. Dont be afraid of the licensing or Windows transfer. FINALLY its so simple. No mirroring drives and fighting with broken drivers. Just download Win10 and install on the M.2. Windows auto-magically claims it found the product key from the hardware. Weird ram configuration Coffee Lake seems to handle the mismatched sizes of ram just fine and documentation claims full speed dual channel mode works in this configuration. It is nice to have just a little more than 8 gigs. Too bad you only get 2 slots but at least its not soldered in. Ports and other stuff. 4 usb 2.0 and 2 usb 3.0 on the back for six total is just enough for those extra things. The DVD burner is a really cheap laptop version but it works. No grief because who even uses them anymore. If its something you use every day might want to swap it out for a better one. Compact flash, small and large single front USB plus headphone and microphone front and back. 3 total with 1 extra SATA port. 16x PCI with 2 slot spacing for graphics and a 1x PCI for something else. What more can I say? On first impression as long as it lasts I will be happy with the machine.

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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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