The new Acer Aspire TC-391-UR12 is created for the living room, the small home office, and busy everyday users, and it gets the job done, thanks to an array of the latest hardware and components with a solid design, that can be had at a reasonable price.
As always, the Aspire TC desktop lines is available in several different specifications, meaning you have a variety to choose from, but it’s worth paying attention to the hardware. Some of the systems in this range are ideal for basic use, others are pretty powerful and can be used for complex tasks, while some can run the latest AAA games.
PROS
- Consistently affordable
- A compact, good-looking design
- Decent connectivity throughout
- Optical drive, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth included
- USB-C port
CONS
- Somewhat cramped interior
- Integrated graphics make gaming and 3D apps nonstarters
Our review unit, the Acer Aspire TC-391-UR12 sits right at the middle, and is arguably among our best home-office PCs, as one of the more affordable, everyday-use machines. Powered by AMD’s Ryzen 5 4600G processors, paired with AMD Radeon graphics, 12GB RAM and fast 512GB SSD, it offers more buck for the dollar than most pricier competitors.
Design
A fairly compact, mid-size chassis and simple design is what you get in the Acer Aspire TC-391-UR12. That’s fine for a home desktop, and this Acer Aspire has a pretty sleek style makes it an appealing design for that small business/office.
The overall design is earmarked by a notch up the front panel, and I think the angular front panel design and black plastic will make it blend well into any home office setup. You may favor the HP Envy Desktop for its ribbed front design, but both make the cut for the nicer budget desktops. Measuring 13.4 x 6.4 x 13.8 inches (HWD), it takes up very little space and can easily fit in a small compartment in a desk should you wish.
Ports
Port selection is very robust, and even includes a DVD-RW drive on the front panel, alongside one USB-C port, one USB 3.1 port, an SD card slot, and headphones and mic jack. Around the back, there are two more USB 3.1 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, two HDMI connections, a VGA port, and a Gigabit Ethernet jack.
Also included in the package are a basic keyboard and mouse, which are nothing to write home about, but they still get the job done. The Aspire TC-391-UR12 also includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 to get you connected.
Acer Aspire TC-391-UR12 Review: Performance
Under the hood, the Acer Aspire TC-391-UR12 packs the aforementioned AMD Ryzen 5 4600G (hexa-core) processor, AMD Radeon graphics, 12GB RAM and 512GB NVMe SSD for storage. That’s spec-sheet offers about the same level of performance as its Intel-powered sibling, the Acer Aspire TC-895-UA92 that pack an Intel Core i5-10400 (6-core) processor, Intel UHD Graphics 630, and the same memory and storage option.
In deciding between the two, it all comes down to preference when choosing between the two, but if you’re buying for office use, the AMD-powered Acer Aspire is more preferable and will offer better marginal processing power. Nevertheless, for both Aspire models, its great value at under $600, even compared to less expensive competitors – the upgrades you’re getting are well worth the added cost.
Overall, the Acer Aspire TC-391-UR12 has a leg up with its recent AMD Ryzen 5 processor, but part of the reason we like this system so much is that it’s including the superior core component with much of a price increase. It costs hundreds of dollars less than both the HP Pavilion TG01-1022 and the Asus ExpertCenter D500SA, but it somehow manages to match performance and even performs better on some processor-intensive workloads.
The Bottom Line
We’re hot off heels to review most of the competitors mentioned above, and with all the recent information in mind, it’s clear that the Acer Aspire TC-391-UR12 is the best pick. It’s priced in line with others while offering better components and performance. It doesn’t exactly have any standout features, but it cleverly avoids any obvious errors.
In fact, you don’t shop in this price range for fancy extra features, and so we give it top marks for delivering the essentials and doing a better job that the rest at a good price. For a simple sleek design, decent performance and a reasonable price, the Acer Aspire TC-391-UR12 is easily our new Editor’s Choice for budget desktops.
