Acer Aspire C24-865-ACi5NT Review

Michael C. Smith 8252 Basic Desktops

7.5

$429.99

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Acer Aspire C24-865-ACi5NT Review

$429.99

SEE IT

Very slim, elegant display

Inexpensive

The Acer Aspire C24-865-ACi5NT is a nice looking 24-inch All-In-One desktop, with a luxe aesthetic than most entry-levels AIO PCs. By luxurious we mean a display that’s incredibly thin, not just the borders, but also on the bezels and the casing. Measuring a mere 0.46 inches thick, this desktop passes for a gaming laptop with a case holding the keyboard and mouse below the display.

And, the price is just right for the components, making it excellent value for an entry-level All-In-One PC. It’s a nice AIO to have in your business –if you’re on a budget, then the Aspire C24 is certainly an ideal choice for having at home in the most futuristic of kitchens or home offices.

Design

The Intel Core i5-8250U is mostly used on ultraportable laptops, and an integrated graphics processor, both of which explain the extremely thin profile on this system. Surprisingly, as ultraportable laptops become ever slim, all-in-one PC makers are picking the craft of packing powerful components into thin systems. In this case, the result is a system with 12GB RAM and an attractive 23.8-inch full HD (1,920-by-1.080) display.

It has a gorgeous, but incredibly thin border (‘bezel’ is the right name here) on the top and sides to a point that they are barely visible when staring from across the room. The bottom bezel is fairly wider than the top and sides, with a silver accent that matches the stand that attaches the display to the Aspire C24’s base.

A hinge connecting the back of the screen to the base arm lets you rotate the screen slightly – up to an angle of 45 degrees. It doesn’t support height and swivel adjustments, but we’re satisfied with the level of adjustment it offers, as it provides a vantage point when the Aspire C24 is placed on a kitchen counter or surface.

Display

The quality of the screen is pretty average, albeit acceptable for the price. For a screen this size, I consider a full HD (1920-by-1080) resolution to be on the lower end of what is acceptable, although it is now the norm even on competing budget AIOs like the Asus V272UA-DS501T. It would be better if Acer offered a 4K option (even at a higher price), since most of us would readily buy into a display that looks just a good as the surrounding pixels.

That said, the screen’s matte finish, bright backlighting and in-plane switching (IPS) technology make the display exquisite, offering wide viewing angles and does a nice job reducing glare from ambient light. In addition to omission of 4K option, the lack of a touch screen may not go down well with most prospective owners. While we didn’t anticipate for both features at this price range, at least a higher-price configuration would be better.

Clearly, an all-in-one PC destined for use in a public area in your house will be the best place to use Windows 10’s touch interface, to maybe check the calendar, fire up a recipe or pause music playback. However, if you will be using the Aspire C24 in a desk or home office, then you really don’t have much use for a touch screen.

Connectivity

The display being so thin, it lacks room for a webcam. As such, the only reasonable option is an external webcam that hooks to one of the USB ports but lets you take not-so-good videos and photos. All of the Aspire C24’s features are located on the back, typical to all-in-ones and monitors. The most notable feature is the location of the built-in speakers and a pair of USB 2.0 points on the upper-back panel, making it an easier connection point for the webcam.

On the back panel, next to the stand dock is another pair of USB 3.1 port, an HDMI-out port and a Gigabit Ethernet port as an alternative to the built-in 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.3. Also, the slim profile doesn’t allow for an optical drive, meaning you’ll have to do with an external DVD drive. Other include an audio port and a Kensington-style locking slot. Also bundled into the package are a wireless keyboard and mouse.

Performance

With an eight-generation Intel Core i5-8250U processor, the Acer Aspire C24 fairs well on most daily productivity tasks, with the kind of performance you’d expect of a similarly configured desktop PC. At least on all common activities that you’ll likely perform with this system, the newer chip and 12GB RAM will be more than sufficient. That includes web-browsing, videoconferencing (although the webcam is a bit grainy), word and spreadsheet processing, and many other everyday computing tasks.

Even so, startup times are a bit long, usually more than a minute, and so are other activities. Navigating between pages, for example, switching between Chrome and MS Office can be rather sluggish, and Windows interface animations occasionally freeze, especially when opening new app windows with multiple tabs open on the browser.

The main culprit for these problems is the 1TB (5400RPM) hard drive, which is way slower than solid state drives (SSDs) or hybrid drives that are included in most midrange desktops and laptops. While an SSD has little effect on execution time for processor-intensive activities, it does improve the user experience on things like switching apps, smooth resizing of windows and restarting the PC.

Graphics Performance

Since the 1TB HDD is the only option you have on the Aspire C24, the bottom line remains that you may not even notice problems when editing a document or watching a video. However, when opening that video or document, the Aspire may take longer than you might expect from a modern PC.

The integrated UHD Graphics 620 chip isn’t the best for graphics-related tasks. You won’t play any modern games at Ultra settings, but is a fine platform for kids to play web-based games. The discrete graphic cards on the 34-inch HP ENVY 34-b010 offer a better gaming experience, but the 27-inch Apple iMac MNED2LL/A remains all-in-one of choice for professional artists who require strong graphics performance.

Bottom Line

The Acer Aspire C24-865-ACi5NT’s one selling feature is its gorgeous display. If you fancy a good-looking all-in-one on a budget, this system is worth a close look. However, if your desktop needs are flexible, especially is you don’t mind a mainstream desktop PC with a monitor, there are better options. For instance, if the Aspire C24’s looks win you over and you’ve got plenty of space under the kitchen counter or on your worktop and a slightly deeper wallet, you could a Mini PC like the Intel NUC NUC7i7DNHE and connect it to the similar looking Acer SB220Q bi monitor.

By so doing, you have greater freedom in choosing the right PC components you want, and you also get a 4K resolution. In the same spirit, if you have a modest budget but an all-in-one is a must have, this Aspire C24 is an excellent choice, thanks to an incredibly thin, bezeless design and very reasonable pricing. It is among our top picks for budget All-In-One (AIO) desktop PCs.

OUR PICK