Acer – Aspire XC-1715_CZN-UB13 Desktop – AMD Ryzen 3 5000 Series 2021 – 8GB LPDDR5 – 512GB – USB Keyboard and Mouse – Black

Solid budget desktop that gets the job done - I picked this up as a replacement for an aging Dell that finally died on me, and honestly, for the price, this thing has been a pleasant surprise. The AMD Ryzen 3 5000 series processor handles everyday tasks without breaking a sweat—web browsing with a dozen tabs open, streaming, spreadsheets, light photo editing, all smooth sailing. I even tossed a few older, less demanding games at it just to see, and it managed fine on lower settings. Setup was refreshingly painless. Plugged it in, went through the initial Windows prompts, and I was up and running in under fifteen minutes. No bloatware nightmares either, which I was bracing for after past experiences with budget prebuilts. The size is compact enough that it doesn't dominate my desk, which matters more than I expected. I've got it tucked to the side and it's quiet during normal use—only really spins up the fan noticeably if I'm pushing it hard. Where it loses a star for me is expandability and the storage situation out of the box. If you're someone who tinkers or plans to upgrade down the line, you'll want to check what's actually accessible inside before assuming you can just swap things freely. I also ended up adding an external SSD pretty quickly since the included storage filled up faster than I anticipated once I loaded my usual programs and files. Port selection is decent for a machine in this price bracket, and I haven't run into any connectivity headaches with my peripherals or second monitor. Overall, if you need a reliable machine for work-from-home tasks, general productivity, and casual use without wanting to spend a fortune, this checks the boxes. It's not going to satisfy hardcore gamers or video editors chewing through 4K footage, but that's not really who it's built for. For what I paid, I'm not complaining—just went in with realistic expectations and came out satisfied. Would recommend to anyone needing a dependable everyday desktop without the premium price tag.

Simple, compact and does the job - I tested the Acer Aspire XC as an everyday productivity computer first because I wanted to get a good feel for its performance before deciding how I would ultimately use it. I tried it with normal day-to-day tasks including web browsing with multiple tabs open, email, Microsoft Office-type work, streaming and general multitasking. For those uses, it handled everything well and felt responsive without making simple tasks feel like a chore. This configuration has an AMD Ryzen 3 5000 Series processor, 8GB of memory and a 512GB drive. I think the important thing for anyone considering this desktop is having realistic expectations about what those specs are intended for. This isn’t a gaming PC or something I would choose for heavy video editing or other demanding workloads. For regular home use, schoolwork, basic office productivity and web-based applications, though, I found the performance perfectly adequate. One thing I really like is the compact tower. It doesn’t take up much room, which opens up some interesting possibilities beyond using it as your main desktop. Acer also includes a USB keyboard and mouse. They’re basic, but they get the job done and make it possible to get everything set up without needing to have extra peripherals on hand. After testing the Aspire for productivity, I decided I’m going to use it as a dedicated desktop for my home security setup. I have multiple cameras and security devices, and having one computer that I can leave set up for viewing cameras, accessing security dashboards and handling related tasks makes more sense than constantly using my primary computer. The Aspire’s small footprint is especially useful for this because I can tuck the tower into my setup without giving up much space. The biggest thing I would consider before choosing this configuration is the 8GB of memory. It worked fine during my testing, but it’s not a lot of memory by today’s standards. If your normal routine involves keeping a lot of programs and browser tabs open simultaneously or running more demanding software, I would look carefully at whether a higher-spec configuration would be a better long-term choice. Overall, the Aspire XC does what I think a computer in this category should do. It’s compact, straightforward and capable of handling normal productivity tasks without paying for performance you may never use. After actually using it, I think it makes the most sense for someone who needs a basic home or office desktop, a computer for a student, or even a dedicated system for something specific like my security setup. Just understand the limitations of the 8GB memory configuration before deciding if it fits how you plan to use it. I gave it 5 stars because it delivers based on its specs.

A budget computer that performed better than most - First impression: My first impression of the Acer Aspire XC-1715_CZN was uncertainty. The case is small and weighs less than the box that delivered it. Looking through the vents, I saw a motherboard barely 6.5” x 6.5”. I knew this was not a high-performance computer going into the review, but I didn’t know just how non-performance it was. The aesthetics of this computer are nice. The center of the front comes out about an inch making a triangular look, almost like a locomotive, and the plastic front panel has a stylish brushed aluminum look. I like the looks of this computer. What’s in the Box: • Acer Aspire XC-1715_CZN computer • 90W A/C Power Apadter. • Bundled Keyboard and Mouse • Basic Setup Documentation Technical Specifications: • CPU: AMD Ryzen™ 3 5000 series, 2.6 GHz 4 cores, 8 threads • RAM: 8 GB LPDDR5 5500 MT/s RAM • Storage: 512 GB PCIe® NVMe™ PPCIe SSD • Graphics: AMD Radeon™ Integrated Graphics • Wi-Fi: 6E • Ports: 1xHDMI, 1xDisplay Port, 4xUSB 5Gbps, 1xUSB 2.0, 1 xRJ45 • Power Supply: 90 W Smart AC power adapter • Color: Black • Size: 11.61 × 3.94 × 12.99 in • Weight: 8.82 lbs Pros • Compact design will fit desks easily. • Silent operation. • USB 3.2 5Gbps Type A and C on the front panel. • 4 USB ports on the back. • Both HDMI and DP on the back. • Uses Laptop memory making it affordable to upgrade the RAM. Cons • Only 8GB of RAM. Setup: Setup of the computer is a typical Windows 11 configuration and nothing more. I used my Microsoft account, and everything fell right into place. And there were not that many Windows updates for me to install, which means it’s a newer image. Performance: The performance is surprisingly good for such a basic computer. When searching the Web or performing office tasks it performs much better than I thought it would; it’s quite responsive. Even opening office apps were faster than I expected. When watching YouTube videos, I was surprised to see 4K60FPS videos without any frame drops or bandwidth noise. The bootup time of this PC shocked me in a good way. After performing all the Window’s updates and disabling all Auto-Start options except AcerSense, the machine booted from a cold start to login screen in 9.97 seconds. I was not expecting this at all and it was a very pleasant surprise. The performance really drops fast though when you try to run too many apps or have too many tabs open. This is not a result of inferior products or parts but is the result of only 8GB of RAM This behavior is not surprising to me at all. It’s difficult to do much with 8GB with today’s Windows and applications, and I know the performance will greatly improve with an additional 8GB. Conclusion: Let me start by saying that when I review a product, I review the product to perform as designed by the manufacturer, not what I think they should have done or could have done. Saying this, I really like this computer. It is a budget-friendly, small form factor desktop with a polished, almost elegant, brushed aluminum front. While the front aesthetics are minor, it is a nice touch and really separates this desktop from the other budget desktops. The performance is a little better than I expected for a budget or entry-level computer. This little computer does everything well that a computer like this should and only dipped below average when overusing the available memory. This computer has all the basics you need for general computing, plus a few extras such as 6 USB ports, both HDMI and Display Port connections, and upgradable RAM. If you need a general-purpose everyday use computer without the frills and performance of a more powerful computer, I believe you will be very happy with this one. I recommend this computer.

A swing and a miss for this little desktop - Overall – I really wanted to like this computer, but I just don't think it delivers enough. It is small, quiet, and easy to use, but the performance is where it falls short. For basic web browsing, email, and simple office work, it gets the job done. Once you start doing more than that, though, it starts to struggle. The 8GB of RAM is also a problem if you're trying to run multiple things at the same time. Packaging – The computer arrived well packaged, and everything was protected. It includes the keyboard and mouse, which is nice for getting everything set up without having to round up additional stuff. The small size of the desktop is also a plus. Touch and Feel – The computer feels pretty solid, and I like the compact design. It isn't anything fancy, but it looks fine sitting on a desk. The keyboard and mouse are really basic wired accessories. That said, the mouse is not bad; however, while the keyboard feels solid, it’s pretty clunky and, for me, sat at an odd angle to rest my hands on the desk and type. The external power brick is something I normally don't expect to see with a desktop. Setup – Setup was easy. Plug everything in, connect the monitor, and go through the Windows setup. I didn't have any problems getting it up and running. The only issue was the Acer default Windows background was just not for me – it took me a minute to determine if that was meant to be like that or if it was a video graphics problem. Functionality – This is where I have the biggest problem with this computer. For basic things like browsing the internet, checking email, streaming, and light office work, it works fine. The problem starts when you try to do several things at once. With only 8GB of RAM, it can get sluggish pretty quickly. I ran PassMark testing and got the following results: • PassMark Rating: 1836.7 • CPU Mark: 9370.1 • 2D Graphics: 358.4 • 3D Graphics: 1150 • Memory Mark: 1504.4 • Disk Mark: 10485.8 The 512GB SSD helps with startup and loading times, but it can't make up for the limited overall performance. The integrated graphics are OK, but anything beyond basic will just not key up. You can upgrade the RAM, which is a plus, but I really don't think you should have to upgrade to a new desktop just to get decent multitasking performance. It does have good network performance. I used the WiFI 6E, and it was fast and stable. As for ports it a mixed bag – the back has ample USB-A, HDMI, DisplayPort, network, mic, and audio. Great for this level of system; however, no USB-C port on the back. The front ports are nice: one each of USB-A, USB-C (the only one of these on the desktop), mic, and audio. There are a couple of things that bother me. 1. The case has room for two plug-in type cards; however, there are no connectors on the motherboard. 2. The description lists the memory as DDR5, and it’s DDR4 Bottom line - For someone who just needs a basic computer for email, internet, and simple everyday tasks, this will work. It feels more like a cheap laptop packed into a small desktop case than a computer I'd actually want to use every day. The small size and SSD are nice, but the limited RAM and overall performance are just too much of a drawback. This might work for someone who only needs the basics, but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone looking for a desktop that will handle more than basic everyday use. There just too many distractors for me to give more than 2 stars.

The Little Engine that Could - SUMMARY: The Acer - Aspire XC-1715_CZN-UB13 Desktop is exactly what the specs and low price say, a budget computer in a decent housing with enough ports considering it only has 8 Gb Ram, and 2021 mobile computer processor designed for laptops (low-heat). If you have any doubt, even though it’s a tower computer, it uses a small power brick. To me it is the Little Engine That Could, it gets the job done, and it’s a decent value, but you won’t confuse it for a gaming monster. PROs: - Gets the job done, if that job is normal office tasks. - Built for, and delivers, Value. - Small, surprisingly attractive form factor. - Has an empty ram slot, you can double the 8 GB Ram yourself to 16 GB for $50. - Complete with functional value keyboard and mouse (wired) - Quiet, cool performance. - Easy to set up - Boots fast - HDMI connection ran my 4k monitor fine. CONs: - Power brick. On a desktop? That’s going to hold back any plans for expansion. A MATTER OF TASTE: - Only one USB-C port. And it is gen 1, limited to 5 Gbps. - 3 USB 3.2 ports, also limited to 5 Gbps. But that’s the fastest on this machine. - Integrated graphics, okay for everyday visuals and streaming and casual gaming. But not great for anything advanced. - 8 GB of ram. This borders on a ‘Con.’ The only reason its not, is it is user upgradable which is rare these days. And it’s hard to blame the manufacturer, the cost of Ram these days is world-wide sky high, they had to cut costs. - Basic USB-A wired keyboard and mouse. Personally, I am fine with this, it’s not my first PC so why pay more for something better? But some may think it’s cheap (because it is.) - 512 GB of storage, with 10% of that taken by the system. WHO IS THIS FOR? Anyone that places a premium on budget/value. Students. Casual office work. AND/OR anyone that wants a second computer in a fixed location that they will use occasionally. It does handle all office tasks thrown at it, including powerpoint. WHO ISN’T THIS FOR? It’s not a gaming or graphics powerhouse. I would not plan on editing 4k movies on this. Likewise, because the external ports are relatively slow (5 Gbps, fine for spinning rust, slow for SSD), you probably won’t be connecting large external SSDs to make up for the 512 GB internal. FINAL WORDS. I am grading this on a curve. If it was higher priced it would rapidly sink down to a 4 for 8 GB of ram and relatively slow ports, or even a 3 if you wanted a graphics machine. But if you want much more speed, you are going to literally pay at least twice the price. And if you don’t want to spend a lot of money but do want a competent, small, desktop computer that can handle office tasks, then this deserves its 5.

Budget PC That Gets the Job Done - With prices of electronics going up over the years, it's nice to see that we can still find an affordable desktop computer. That's what this Aspire model from Acer provides. While it won't have the bells and whistles of a higher end gaming desktop, it makes for a terrific student PC or beginner PC for children that are just getting started with computers. Pros: - The MSRP is excellent for a budget PC that has all the basics you would need. (Including Windows 11) - If you don't plan on gaming or performing tasks that require a lot of heavy processing power, this PC will do the trick for you. It's great for email, web browsing, video streaming, etc. - There are plenty of ports with USB access both on the front and back. Audio ports are conveniently located in the front to connect speakers or a headset. The USB-C port is in the front which is perfect for charging phones, earbuds, and other accessories. - It comes with a mouse and keyboard. - The included 500GB solid state drive helps this machine run silently. Gone are the days of spinning hard drives that can really get annoying in a quiet room! - The tower has a very small form factor making it easy to store either above or below a desk. It's also very lightweight. Cons: - You get what you pay for. The features and expandability are limited, but you should know that going in with a budget model computer. - The included mouse is not great. It will get the job done, but I would suggest having a better one handy. This computer is exactly what you would expect it to be. Perfect for students going off to college that need something to do their schoolwork on, a beginner's first computer, or even an adult that just wants a basic machine to browse the internet and check their email.

Good everyday option - I've been happy with this Acer overall. It's a nice choice if you're looking for a straightforward PC for everyday use like browsing the web, paying bills, streaming videos, and getting work done. Windows is responsive for normal tasks, and the 512GB SSD helps everything boot and load quickly. I do appreciate that there are plenty of USB ports along with both HDMI and DisplayPort for connecting monitors. Because who uses just one monitor these days if they can help it? The biggest drawback is the hardware is starting to show its age before this even hits your desk. The Ryzen 3 processor is still solid and capable for everyday computing. It handles basic tasks well, but don't expect the same level of performance or longevity as newer Ryzen processors (or any newer processor really). Combined with the included 8GB of memory, you'll probably notice slowdowns if you like to multitask with lots of browser tabs or demanding applications. You can upgrade the RAM to 16GB though, which is nice and almost surprising at this price point, so that helps balance things out a bit. Hopefully everyone knows this already, but this isn't a gaming desktop or meant for demanding creative work. For a family computer, home office, or student PC, it still offers good value, especially if you can catch it on sale. Just keep in mind that you're buying an older platform, which is why I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5. Overall, I'd recommend it to anyone looking for an affordable, reliable desktop for everyday computing, as long as you understand that it does have a few limitations. But again, for an everyday computer, this is a good option.

Excellent Media PC - This kit includes everything you need for a nice little workstation PC or media center. It's surprisingly snappy with 8 GB of RAM and I was able to open a dozen or so Chrome tabs. I like that everything is included in the box and I was up and running within ten minutes. The Windows updates took the usual almost two hours though. The build quality is high enough to last for years and is similar to other offerings. I can see this being used by someone whose workflow isn't demanding and just needs to pop off a few emails and create a few Word or Excel documents. The AMD Ryzen 3 is enough to handle specific tasks however, you're not going to want to run Photoshop or Illustrator or do any heavy lifting like video editing - it just doesn't have the oomph. You can play Microsoft Store games and movies that play stutter-free. Plug this into your television and you have a very capable media center for watching YouTube, Netflix, or whatever. I really like the small footprint and this is what I would call a mid-tower and not a full tower so the space requirement is a lot smaller.

Decent approach to a Budget Desktop for 2026 - Pros: - Basic budget desktop PC at a reasonable price. - Uses DDR4 SODIMM (Laptop RAM), which is more affordable. - Good performance for basic computing with simple upgrade. Cons: - Pre-installed bloatware programs use up the limited RAM. - Uses mobile/laptop parts that have lower performance than desktop counterparts. Out of the Box: Acer did a great job including everything you’d need to get started within the box: Desktop PC, AC Adapter, Power Cable, USB Keyboard and USB Mouse. The included Keyboard and Mouse are basic but work well. This is a great bundle for a basic web browsing and email user. Unfortunately, Acer still includes multiple Pre-installed Bloatware apps like McCfee and cash grab games. Luckily, all of these, and most of the Acer branded apps, can be removed with minimal impact. Even the Acer Jumpstart and Acer Sense are redundant programs, as Windows Updates can handle the required system updates without needing to run a separate program in the background. Specs & Upgradability: The Acer Aspire XC 1715 is basically a laptop put into a desktop tower. It is as basic of a computer as they come, but it is plenty of PC for basic tasks like web browsing and email. It is built with older components that are widely available, and significantly cheaper than newer parts with an MSRP of $449.99. For the CPU Acer chose the Ryzen 3 5400U, this is a mobile processor with 4 cores and 8 threads. This means the power draw on the CPU is on the lower end at 15W, with a configurable draw between 10-25W. Graphics is provided through the Radeon Vega 6 integrated graphics. For RAM, Acer chose to go with SODIMM module (Laptop RAM), including only 1x 8GB DDR4 3200MT/s stick. There is a second slot that is empty and can be upgraded, for a maximum total of 16GB. I both love and hate this configuration. I love it as it provides a simple path to upgrade to 16GB, just install another 8GB stick of RAM. Since it is DDR4 SODIMM, it is significantly cheaper than DDR5. But I hate this as the performance of the Default system is significantly impacted as the RAM is not running in Dual Channel mode. For storage, a 512GB PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD is installed. 512GB is the new standard size of pre-installed drives for most PC, which is plenty for basic document and web application use, though if you want more space you will want to either get an external drive or a larger NVMe drive to install. But that would require transferring or reinstalling windows. The installed drive being an NVMe is much faster than a standard SATA SSD and WAY faster than an HDD. The drive Reads around 2,600MB/s and Writes around 1,200MB/s. The newest standard is PCIe 5.0, which is much faster but also more expensive. There is an empty Sata connector on the motherboard, which I assume would be for the Disk Drive or another storage drive, except that there is no power adapter included. The motherboard is a custom board, which requires a specific power adapter to be used to power another SATA device. Performance: For basic computing tasks, the Acer Aspire XC-1715 handles most tasks individually well; browsing the internet, watching videos and creating documents or excels. The system starts to slow down if you open too many apps or web browser tabs, the main bottleneck being the 8GB of RAM. Just starting the computer with all the default applications (Bloatware) uses up almost all the available RAM. I was sitting at 85% utilization for RAM, after starting up without opening any applications, just allowing the default programs to start up. I removed almost all the programs set to start on startup (in Task Manager, Startup apps tab), and my utilization dropped down to 45% which provides much needed resources for better performance. This allowed the system to start up quicker and be more responsive. Ideally, for much better performance, you would install a 2nd stick of 8GB DDR4 RAM (specifically an 8GB DDR4 3200 MHz SODIMM stick). I had a stick of RAM that worked on hand and installed it, which greatly improved the performance of the PC. The responsiveness of the applications and overall system more than doubled (think instead of waiting 10 seconds for a window to open, it took around 5 seconds). Additionally, with the extra RAM installed, I was able to open multiple apps at the same time without noticing any performance issues (each app opened within about 5 seconds). The integrated graphics will provide enough power to watch videos up to 4K at 60FPS with hardware decoding enabled. If you’re multi-tasking while watching a video/show, expect best performance at lower resolutions like 1080/1440. On the gaming side, you CAN game on this, but at 1080p on low to low-med settings and expect no more than 60FPS. I would not recommend this to play anything recent, but if it is older titles from 15+ years ago, this will play them without an issue at lower settings. Conclusion: If you want basic desktop experience, without the current high prices that come with the newest generation of desktop hardware, the Acer Aspire XC-1715 is a great alternative for the budget-minded PC user. It offers a decent amount of performance, for a reasonable MSRP (and hopefully a better sale price in the coming sales season). Adding an additional stick of RAM upgrades the PC from okay to good performance. Though you will likely want to disable multiple startup programs to improve the performance and uninstall unnecessary preinstalled apps to get back the limited storage space. Overall, the Acer Aspire XC-1715 (2026 Refresh) is a great approach providing a budget desktop PC in the current PC market.

Simple small tower PC good for daily use. - Small tower, simple setup, enough to do everyday items. Acer has been around for a long creating PCs and other components. I actually bought one of their first small form factor PCs many years ago for my mother in law. It lasted for quite long time. Anyway back to this Acer - Aspire XC-1715_CZN-UB13 Desktop - AMD Ryzen 3 5000 Series 2021 - 8GB LPDDR5 - 512GB - USB Keyboard and Mouse - in Black. Setup was super easy. In the box was the mini tower, power adapter, mouse and keyboard. Note for them the save space they are using power adapter that is not a standard tower power source. Pro on this is that it allows for smaller tower con is that it is a special adapter. I did not price it out so not sure how much it would cost to replace this adapter if it fails or something. Back of PC has multiple ports. 1 HDMI 2 USB A 3 2 USB A 2 Sport Network Mic in Audio out Front of PC has multiple ports too 1 USB C 1 USB A 3 Mic in Audio out So it's enough for every casual use. Ok back to setup. Plugged in fired up and hooked up a monitor and the windows setup went through at it needed to do. Took about 40 mins total with updates. Not bad. I browses the Internet just fine. I used word processing and spreadsheets just fine. Watched videos just fine. All good.. My only wish was that it would have come with an HDMI cord. I was short a spare one so I had to take one from another one of my PC setups. But that would have been over asking as this PC doesn't come with a monitor. For super simple use and small size this PC does the trick.