The Acer Aspire TC-895-UA91 is, in almost every way, simply what most budget shoppers are looking for. Budget friendly, compact, and fully feature, this general use tower includes the essentials, that even like-priced competitors lack.
For instance, the true desktop-class 10th Generation Intel core i3 processor offers legitimately powerful performance, the 512GB SSD makes everything run fast, and the included USB Type-C ensures that nothing major is missing here.
Some closely priced basic PCs make do with lesser-laptop grade CPUs, have horrible port options and some still use traditional spinning hard drives for storage. The Aspire TC-895-UA91 combines processing pep and a solid feature set to outshine the competition. It easily earns our Editors’ Choice award for budget desktops.
Acer Aspire TC-895-UA91 Specs
- Desktop Class: Mainstream
- Processor: Intel Core i3-10100
- Processor Speed: 3.6 GHz
- RAM (as Tested): 8 GB
- Boot Drive Type: SSD
- Boot Drive Capacity (as Tested): 512 GB
- Optical Drive: DVD-RW (Available)
- Graphics Card: Intel UHD Graphics 630
- Operating System: Windows 10 Home
Design: No-fuss but very perfect
By just looking at it, you’ll tell this machine is all about the basics, and for this category and price point, that’s very OK. It sports a fairly compact size with a modest look, meaning there isn’t anything here that screams ‘powerhouse’ or ‘gamer’ at all. Instead, you have a minimalist look for an all-black device that won’t clash with your décor; it will blend well with your office or bedroom.
Again, you don’t have to worry about space on your desk or floor to a accommodate a traditional tower, either, at 13.4 by 6.4 by 13.8 inches (HWD). Compared, the HP Slim Desktop (10.6 by 3.7 by 11.9 inches) and Lenovo IdeaCentre 3 (11.8 by 3.9 by 10.6 inches) are even more compact, but that’s fair enough when it is even less expensive (and less powerful), especially when one has ‘slim’ for a name. (These machines, as mentioned above, are powered by lesser laptop-class processors).
Port selection is above-average for this price range, starting with a USB 3.1 Type-A port, a USB Type-C port, an SD card slot, and audio jacks on the front panel (in addition to a disk drive on the front panel).
The rest of the ports are on the rear panel: two HDMI connections, four USB 3.1 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, and an Ethernet jack. The inclusion of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth adds value and proves useful, though most competitors do offer this too.
Also bundled into the package is a very simple wired mouse and keyboard, which get the job done, if you don’t already own your own peripherals.
Performance: A Perfectly Reliable Core i3
The Acer Aspire TC-895-UA91 is perfectly capable Core i3-powered desktop PC, that’s quite fluent on most basic tasks. However, the party doesn’t end there, you’ll be impressed by the combination of a 10th Generation Intel Core i3-10100 (quad-core) processor, 8GB of RAM and 512GB SSD storage, all packed into a compact machine without hiking the price.
As a general-use desktop PC, you can count on the new core components to deliver stable performance and the storage option will keep the machine running without glitches. If you need to do some light office work at home that you did in the past, this Aspire is up to the task. However, I’d not fully recommend it as your main work PC, if you have some heavy workload.
The Core i5 chip in the Acer Aspire TC-895-UA92 closes the gap for most office tasks, but should you need an absolute powerhouse for the office, upping your budget will get you the HP Envy TE01 or the Dell Inspiron 3880 business desktop. Both alternatives are quite costly, though.
Meanwhile, the TC-895-UA91 is much faster that most laptop-grade Athlon Silver – and Gold- based models, justifying the modest price. Again, it can load up some simple browser games, with simple graphic demands, or 2D games like simulations or strategy games, that depend more on the processor that CPU. I
f you intend to run serious modern titles on the side, though, you’d need something with a dedicated graphics card, check out the HP Pavilion TG01-1022, which is a more budget-friendly pick.
Read more: HP Pavilion TG01-1022 Review
Should you buy the Acer Aspire TC-895-UA91?
The Acer Aspire TC-895 stands out as the best value so far among the recent crop of general-use desktops we’ve been reviewing from Acer, HP, Lenovo and others, and it doesn’t have any room for complains. Like the Acer Aspire TC-895-UA92 before it, this model has a solid overall combination of features and components at a still-competitive price.
It delivers superior performance over the less expensive competition to justify the extra bucks you’re spending here, and it even offers extras they don’t include, like USB-C and an SD card slot, and more storage space. For all these, the Acer Aspire TC-895-UA91 is our newest Editors’ Choice for budget desktops.
Acer Aspire TC-895-UA91 Desktop, 10th Gen Intel Core i3-10100 4-Core Processor, 8GB 2666MHz DDR4, 512GB NVMe M.2 SSD, 8X DVD, 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6, USB 3.2 Type C, Windows 10 Home
8 used from $343.20
