Acer Aspire TC-780-ACKi3 Review: An Affordable PC That Gets the Job Done

Acer Aspire TC-780-ACKi3 Highlights -

Pros: Competitively priced. Powerful, above-entry level CPU. Plenty of connectivity options.

Cons: No dedicated graphics card. Lack of SATA ports limit additional drive upgrades

Whether you're a hardcore gamer or you're looking for a budget PC that will hold up to the rigours of intense computer use, finding the right model can be tricky. You want to balance usability, affordability, and the power to get the job done. Budget PC's like the Acer Aspire TC-780-ACKi3 give you all of the above in a single package. While it may not have all of the features of a high-end gaming PC, the Aspire gives you plenty of room to grow and to build your own custom experience.

Main Features at a Glance:

* 7th Generation Intel Core i3-7100 Processor (3.9GHz)
* 8GB DDR4 2400MHz Memory (Upgradable upto 32 GB maximum).
* 1TB 7200RPM SATA3 Hard Drive.
* Intel HD Graphics 630.
* 4x USB 2.0, 3x USB 3.1 Gen 1, HDMI Output, 802.11ac wireless LAN, Gigabit LAN, 1x PCI Express® X16

Performance - This Acer Aspire model comes with a 3.9GHz 7th generation Intel Core i3-7100 processor. The 3.9GHz speed stands at the high end of standalone Intel Core i3 processors, allowing the Aspire to process data quickly. You'll be able to stream video, play games, and surf the web without issues. Intel creates high-quality processors that last, and you can't do much better than this one for an entry-level processor, especially for the price.
Storage & Memory - In addition to a entry-level high-end processor, the Aspire's 8GB of DDR4 RAM offers you the kind of memory you'd expect in a more expensive gaming PC. The latest in RAM technology, DDR4 provides superior performance compared to DDR3. 8GB of fast memory storage will give you more than enough to play games, buffer HD streaming video, and video chat with friends. For long-term storage, the Aspire's internal hard drive holds a whopping 1TB (terabytes) of data, meaning that you can save all the photos, videos, games, documents, programs, and music you want without having to worry about running out of space. Also, the hard drive running at 7200RPM is a little bit faster than traditional hard drives running at 5400RPM.
Gaming Performance & Sound - Due to not having a separate graphics card, the Acer Aspire probably won't hold up to intense gaming sessions with its Intel HD Graphics 630. For that purpose, you will probably need to upgrade to a separate GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) strictly dedicated to rendering videos. That said, the built-in Intel processor can easily handle casual gaming sessions, HD video streaming, and video chat with no problems. You'll only really feel the difference while playing graphics-intensive online games which need to process graphics together with complex rendering/processing. At that point, the computer may take a slight hit while the central processor attempts to handle high definition graphics and data processing at the same time. The Aspire lets you bring your own monitor setup, with ports for both HDMI and VGA. You can set up dual monitors in either format or both, provided you have the right cables for the job. For sound, the Aspire gives you High-Definition Audio with 6-channel surround sound for an immersive home studio experience.

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Additional Features - The Aspire comes with Ethernet (wired Internet), Bluetooth, and WiFi built-in, meaning you can connect to the Internet and wireless devices with ease. This Aspire model comes with USB Mouse and Keyboard included, but you can always bring your own Bluetooth accessories instead, for a completely wireless experience. An internal 8x DVD player and writer lets you play and create DVD's and CD's at speeds more than adequate for everyday use. If you plan to do a lot of disc burning or if you'd like to watch Blu Ray on your PC, you can always upgrade to a new internal or external drive. Speaking of upgrades and customization, the Aspire comes with plenty of ports to handle everything from external storage to printers. The Aspire comes with 3 high-speed USB 3.0 ports and 4 standard USB 2.0 ports, two of which you can use for the USB mouse and keyboard. On the front panel, you'll find two USB 3.0 ports, an SD card slot, and audio connections. You can use these ports to connect and disconnect microphones, headphones, flash memory cards, and USB gaming accessories on the fly. This Acer Aspire model comes with the Windows 10 operating system pre-installed and fully licensed. The unit weighs less than 20 pounds out of the box. The Aspire is 7 inches wide, a little over 17 inches high, and 15 inches deep, making it easy to place just about anywhere and easy to carry around as needed.
Similar/Alternate Products - Comparing Acer Aspire to similar products in the same price range, you can see where the Aspire shines. Budget desktops like Hewlett Packard 8300 tend to come with less memory or slightly slower processors. For example, the Hewlett Packard 8300 comes with a slightly slower 3.2GHz processor and DDR3 as opposed to DDR4 RAM. Either of these computers will do fine as a budget PC option, but this model nudges slightly ahead in terms of speed, memory, and overall value. There is also a slightly upgraded model of the Acer Aspire that comes with bigger memory and better processing power - Acer Aspire TC-780-ACKI5 but will also cost a little bit more.

The Acer Aspire TC-780-ACKi3 is a highly-affordable starter PC, giving you everything you need including room to build your own custom system. For the gamer or videophile looking to create an immersive audiovisual experience without paying a lot of money, this PC gets the job done.

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