Acer Aspire™ T180 (AST180-UA380A) PC Desktop
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- Optical Drive Type: DVD-ROM DVD Burner CD-ROM CD Burner
- Chipset: NVIDIA GeForce 6100
- Form Factor: Desktop
- Recommended Use: Home Use
- Processor: AMD Athlon 64 2.4 GHz
- Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home
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User ReviewRead All Reviews »
Decent PC for the price
Pros
price, best in class
Cons
too many RAM eaters for the PC illiterate crowd.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
if you need a inexpensive PC, this is definitely one to consider. But be aware there will be drawbacks to buying a value PC.
I bought this PC package on a tight budget after my 3 year old Dell PC bit the dust. For the price you pay this is a decent PC compared to others in this price range, but I would recommend it best for someone who unlike myself uses it for very basic computing and web browsing. If you need a PC that can easily handle pictures, video, music or the occasional game, this is not the computer for you.
This PC comes with a 2.4ghz AMD Athlon processor (this is my first non Pentium PC and my next PC will definitely have an Intel Processor), 1GB of RAM, 140GB hard drive and is preloaded with Windows Vista Basic OS. No fault of Acer's I was not aware when I purchased this PC that Vista basic does not include many of the advantages of Vista over XP that Microsoft advertised, you can upgrade your version of Vista to one that does have these advantages on the Microsoft website, but the least expensive option is around $100.
Out of the box the only components that I used was the 17 inch LCD monitor and the PC itself. The package includes speakers, mouse and keyboard, but all three were of such poor quality that I opted to continue using these items from my previous PC. I also salvaged from my old PC the two 512mb RAM chips, upgrading the memory of my system to just over 2gb.
My major problem with this system is the amount of memory it uses. When I edit pictures from my digital camera and digital camcorder I have to reboot the system about every 20-30 minutes because the available memory becomes too low to view images or video. Part of the problem lies with all the active processes involved with Vista as well as the the software that is preinstalled by Acer. Most of the preinstalled software I don't need and got rid of within a week of buying this system. However there are several that require a complete OS reinstall to get rid of. Among these programs include something called "Acer Assist" which is basically a memory eating program thats only true purpose is to provide quick links to other windows programs such as PSD, system backup, etc.
I am not a regular game player but I occasionally play a few first person shooter and racing games. Compared to my old PC this PC has a faster processor and more RAM but unlike my old PC I have to keep my games set on the lowest graphics level in order to have decent game play. This is in part due to the poor video card built into the system motherboard.
Compared to other value PC packages in the $500 price range this is one of the best I have encountered. But it definitely has its downfalls.
As I cannot afford a better PC at this time I plan on upgrading this system further. I recently ordered a 1GB memory upgrade which will bring my total RAM to just over 3GB, hopefully this will solve my memory problems. At some point in the future I will probably upgrade the video card. When I do these upgrades I will update this review with my results.
This PC comes with a 2.4ghz AMD Athlon processor (this is my first non Pentium PC and my next PC will definitely have an Intel Processor), 1GB of RAM, 140GB hard drive and is preloaded with Windows Vista Basic OS. No fault of Acer's I was not aware when I purchased this PC that Vista basic does not include many of the advantages of Vista over XP that Microsoft advertised, you can upgrade your version of Vista to one that does have these advantages on the Microsoft website, but the least expensive option is around $100.
Out of the box the only components that I used was the 17 inch LCD monitor and the PC itself. The package includes speakers, mouse and keyboard, but all three were of such poor quality that I opted to continue using these items from my previous PC. I also salvaged from my old PC the two 512mb RAM chips, upgrading the memory of my system to just over 2gb.
My major problem with this system is the amount of memory it uses. When I edit pictures from my digital camera and digital camcorder I have to reboot the system about every 20-30 minutes because the available memory becomes too low to view images or video. Part of the problem lies with all the active processes involved with Vista as well as the the software that is preinstalled by Acer. Most of the preinstalled software I don't need and got rid of within a week of buying this system. However there are several that require a complete OS reinstall to get rid of. Among these programs include something called "Acer Assist" which is basically a memory eating program thats only true purpose is to provide quick links to other windows programs such as PSD, system backup, etc.
I am not a regular game player but I occasionally play a few first person shooter and racing games. Compared to my old PC this PC has a faster processor and more RAM but unlike my old PC I have to keep my games set on the lowest graphics level in order to have decent game play. This is in part due to the poor video card built into the system motherboard.
Compared to other value PC packages in the $500 price range this is one of the best I have encountered. But it definitely has its downfalls.
As I cannot afford a better PC at this time I plan on upgrading this system further. I recently ordered a 1GB memory upgrade which will bring my total RAM to just over 3GB, hopefully this will solve my memory problems. At some point in the future I will probably upgrade the video card. When I do these upgrades I will update this review with my results.
