OUR VERDICT
We’re hot off the heels to review most of the competing desktops mentioned above, but with all that recent information, it’s clear that the 2021 Acer Aspire TC-895 is the best pick. It’s priced at par (and sometimes lower) with the others, but it somehow manages to offer superior components and performance.
-
EDITORS RATING7.6
Budget desktop shoppers need the best value, and the Acer Aspire TC-895-UR11 is certainly the cream of the current economy machines. It represents the best blend of price, build and performance of any economy desktop PC we’ve reviewed in 2021.
Of course, there are some alternatives that cost fairly less, but the Aspire performs better than even some more expensive rivals, while retaining the price sweet spot.
We don’t have much to complain about here, since the peppy hexa-core Intel Core i5-10400 CPU, 12GB RAM and 512GB SSD storage will have you zipping through all your home-office tasks.
In fact, it is a refreshed upgrade of the Acer Aspire TC-895-UA92 from last year that came in with Windows 10 Home, but the new model comes with Windows 10 Professional pre-installed, making it ready for all your office productivity tasks.
Design
With the Aspire TC-895-UR11, Acer offers a pretty sleek machine. It’s a few steps from plain, but I think the angular front design and black plastic will blend well into any home office environment. You may prefer the HP Envy Desktop more for its ribbed front design, but both of these machines are among the nicer budget desktops around – at least for now.
The Aspire is fairly compact at 13.78 x 6.42 x 13.39 inches, and 14.9 pounds; which is very reasonable, there’s no need for desktops at this price range to be overly big. If you’re limited on space, it takes up very little space and can fit in a small compartment or even a dorm room hassle free.
Ports
Even with the lean profile, it manages to include a DVD-RW drive on the front panel alongside a single USB-C port, one USB 3.1 port, an SD card slot and headphone and mic jack.
Around the back, there are two more USB 3.1 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, a pair of HDMI connections, a VGA port and an Ethernet jack. Wireless connectivity comes in way of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0. Also bundles in the package are a basic wired keyboard and mouse, but they get the job done.
Acer Aspire TC-895-UR11 performance
The Acer Aspire TC-895-UR11 excels as a general use PC, performing well on most tasks that you’ll throw its way. The impressive performance is thanks to a new 10th generation Intel Core i5-10400 processor, backed by 12GB RAM and 512GB SSD storage. The Aspire has a leg ahead with its recent Core i5 chip, but more reason we like this system so much is that it includes a superior core component without hiking the price.
Compared with its closest competitors, the Acer Aspire is only a few bucks more than the Dell Optiplex 9020, and less expensive than the HP Envy and the Lenovo IdeaCentre. Considering the kind of performance, you’re getting, that’s a value or years to come.
Apart from general productivity, the Aspire TC-895-UR11 performs well at basic video editing. While at it, you should note that the TC-895 isn’t a workhorse workstation PC, but it’s able to work with footage, as you can add titles, soundtracks, add some video effects. Its render times are relatively fast too.
Bottom Line
We’re hot off the heels to review most of the competing desktops mentioned above, but with all that recent information, it’s clear that the 2021 Acer Aspire TC-895 is the best pick. It’s priced at par (and sometimes lower) with the others, but it somehow manages to offer superior components and performance.
At this price tier, you won’t shop for fancy features, and for that we give the Acer Aspire TC-895-UR11 desktop top marks for delivering the essentials better than the rest, at a good price. It’s our new Editors’ Choice among budget general-use desktops.
Acer Aspire TC-895-UA92 Desktop, 10th Gen Intel Core i5-10400 6-Core Processor, 12GB 2666MHz DDR4, 512GB NVMe M.2 SSD, 8X DVD, 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6, USB 3.2 Type C, Windows 10 Home
4 used from $539.00