Desktops & Servers > Acer Desktops & Servers > From 250 GB to 400 GB > Microsoft Windows XP Media Center

Advantages: Good Processor, plays nice with home productivity
Disadvantages: Bad graphics card, Stupid Power Button

Acer E380 I picked one of these up at comet on sale sue to a shop refurbished and as such got a display model for a bargain price of £299.99, excitement and a sense of smugness when other customers were piped to the post by me, ok it didn't have a box and need some spit and polish but it was cheap and for what it is mega cheap! In The Box (or not in my case): You get one PC, An Acer keyboard and mouse (wired), Media Centre Remote and Receiver and ...
...time you turn on the Acer software advises you to create a restore DVD (do it) as so you can recovery from any very bad crashes or faults, the system comes preloaded with as Acer calls it "Acer ePerformance Management improves response time, releases unused memory, and enhances overall system health" I found this to be the opposite and so uninstalled as soon as I could and found performance and boot times increased but someone make like the preloaded ... Read review

Advantages: Looks SHARP!!! Has almost everything "IN THERE" (TV, FM,++)
Disadvantages: Not too user servicable.. but then we haven't had problems. Sooo...

...I give kudos to the Acer Group. The Aspire 510 is one we can place in our customers homes. Set it up. Teach the nuances of it and how Media Center works, and move on to the next customer. NO call-back thus far for hardware-related issues. I came about this unit quite by accident. I can't build units fast enough. And we needed a supplier reliable enough to take the strain off of me. Yet one that could think outside of the box and provide us with forward ...
...a time if need be. Acer kept coming up at or near the top of the list. Their Aspire 510 has won awards from third parties that have like me, have no ax to grind. Business is business. Crashes... none. Lock-up none thus far. Problems..... No. Suggestions..... We would like Acer to spec the Aspire 510 with more (2 gigs ) memory STANDARD for Vista. But that is not a deal breaker. The Dual core T5500 is plenty fast!!! And a recent release. Cool, yet ... Read review

Advantages: compact, attractive, and performs well
Disadvantages: none

Acer is one of the market leaders in notebooks, but when it comes to buying a PC for the home, I must admit that Acer isn't a brand name that would immediately spring into my mind. However, considering that it makes some of the best value notebooks around that's probably short sighted. Indeed, is one of the few companies in the world that can make almost every component in the PC, a fact which is bound to lead to cost savings. This seems to have ...
...However, the case on this Acer is pleasingly compact, in the main thanks to the use of a microATX motherboard. Design wise, it's quite attractive, with a futuristic sort of 'Star Trek' look to it (but in a good way) with a pleasing mix of silver and black combined with the seemingly obligatory blue lights. Fortunately, these are done tastefully, with a glowing power switch and the Aspire brand lit up from behind. Unfortunately, the look is spoilt ... Read review

Advantages: Quick, Cheap
Disadvantages: Better (albeit more expensive products) are out there

...* Hard disk controller HP Embedded 6 Port SATA Controller with embedded RAID (4 ports for HDD) * Internal drive bays Four 3.5" Non Hot Plug SATA * Optical drives DVD-RW * Internal mass storage Maximum 2 TB (4 x 500 GB) SATA System features * Chassis type Micro ATX Tower * Chipset Intel 3200 Chipse Networking & Expansion * Network interface Embedded NC105i PCIe Gigabit Server Adapter * External I/O ports Parallel - 0; Serial - 1; Pointing ...
...- 1; USB - 8 total (4 rear, 2 front panel, 2 internal (one for USB Tape connectivity)); Network RJ-45 (Ethernet) - 1; Management: Optional Lights-Out 100c Remote Management port * Expansion slots Expansion Slots: Slot 1: 32-bit/33MHz PCI at 3.3V slot; Slot 2, 3: PCI-Express x8 connector with x1 link; Slot 4: PCI-Express X8 connector with x8 link Power * Power supply type 365 Watts Power Supply * Power requirements 90 to 132 VAC, 180 to 264 VAC; ... Read review

Advantages: Can play the latest games, fast boot-up, reliable, runs cool, runs quietly
Disadvantages: Price is a little steep, not all games are compatible with Quad Core processors

...built XPS 420 directly from Dell which contains a 2.40GHz Quad Core processor, 4GB RAM, an Nvidia GeForce 9800GT, and all the other good stuff a computer needs. I ordered it late night on a Sunday, and I had it setup and working by the Thursday. Best of all? Shipping was free! Between pressing the power button and the computer being ready to use, you are looking at around 30 seconds. This includes me entering my password to log on. I see this as ...
...hadn't been for the current Dell offer and a discount code I had at the time. I will admit, I wouldn't have paid £920 for the system, no chance! Since starting the computer for the first time, I haven't had a single problem with it that wasn't caused by a faulty disk or my lack of patience. I would recommend it to anyone, even gamers. ... Read review