Is this computer any good?

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
You should have no performance problems with that machine with what you plan on doing with it. About the only company I can't recommend anymore is HP. I have a client that bought an Acer predator pc years ago that is still going strong.
 
OK, but I'm mostly worried about it breaking soon after purchase, because I've heard that about Acer products, and heard horror stories about their customer service.
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
You have the 1 year warranty on it from Acer. Did you get some sort of extended or accidental damage warranty?

Basically it's the luck of the draw if you get a bad machine. Parts will die at some point.
And usually people ask if it's any good BEFORE they buy something not after.
 

Pupp

Member
It's decent. I couldn't find a diagram of the motherboard, so It's impossible to know if it has any expansion slots for a graphic card. I'm guessing you can add another hard drive. I have experience with those sort of computers. It has a Type C slot, so you could easily get a USB Type C dock and have all the ports you could possibly need. It desperately needed the Type C port due to the fact the computer is difficult to upgrade internally. The 12 megs is enough you won't have to upgrade the ram.

I don't know the Wattage of the computer, but since it supports USB Type C, I'm going to say wattage isn't an issue if you don't add a graphic card.

Generally, those types of computers are very limited as far as beefing it up with expansion cards or a graphic card. But, excluding integrated graphics, it's pretty decent. The USB Type C port makes a huge difference.

The build quality of computers in that price range leave a lot to be desired. They cut corners everywhere. It's PSU is almost certainly less than 300 watts, and it would be doubtful if you could get a replacement anyplace else other than Acer. Even if you could find a 3rd party replacement, it would be doubtful if it had more wattage. Don't be surprised if it's built on a laptop motherboard with a single laptop DIMM slot for ram.

I do know people that have computers like that, and the computers are still fine after several years of usage. The biggest problem is helping them to expand the inside. Even if they have expansion slots, the computer might only be running on 60 to 90 watts of power.

Since you computer appears to have a traditional plug for the electrical connection, I'm thinking the PSU is at least 250 watts, which is plenty for a computer like that. Even a 150 watt PSU would be adequate: the main limitation would be a future graphic card installation.
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This is a CyberpowerPC for under $900: https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-Master-Gaming-GeForce-GMA888A4/dp/B08WH881NW/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=cyberpowerpc&qid=1617732500&s=electronics&sr=1-3

It's a good $900 computer will give you all the options for future upgrades, and give you a computer that can easily last 12+ years. About the only thing lacking is Thunderbolt 3, which you only find on high end motherboards (and some laptops). You won't be able to install a thunderbolt card unless the motherboard itself have the chips on it.

You can always upgrade the RAM in the future. 8 gigs of ram is the bare bottom, but it's easy to upgrade. Depending on how you use it, 8GB might be all you need. The biggest things going for it is that it has both a SSD drive for booting the computer and a 2T data drive, and an actual graphic card. The lack of a USB Type C port is minimal. One can always install a Type C expansion card later. Unless you need a Type C dock, or wanting to use a Wacom Tablet, and few other outlier things, the lack of a Type C port isn't a deal breaker. The PSU is probably 600 watts. I think that's the lowest CyberpowerPC goes with a desktop using a mid tower or full tower configuration. That's more than adequate for all but the most powerful graphic cards.

If you haven't opened the box yet, I'd recommend shipping it back and going to Cyberpowerpc.com or some other online builder and look at their offerings. Most desktop computers under $600 leave a lot to be desired. You should be able to get a pretty decent build for under $900, and be a lot more satisfied. I would recommend 16 gigs of ram and at least a 2 gig HDD in a build. Integrated GPU is fine if your not gaming.
 
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Pupp

Member
My typing is exceptional (when I'm typing)... it's only later I realize I'm not the god of typing.

But yes, I meant 2TB hdd drive. I think I've been obsessed with editing (and re-editing) my post all day. :eek:
 

Pupp

Member
osI don't plan on upgrading my computer. I didn't upgrade my last one, and I had it for 7-8 years.

Then you'll be fine with what you bought. Any computer can die an early death under warranty. My current dream build [2015] died inside of 2 weeks of getting it. CyberpowerPC sent a repairman to my house and fixed the issue. The PSU was bad. Been working without a hiccup ever since.

Acer is a well known company and you shouldn't have any problems if it's under warranty.

Like I said, I know several people using sub $600 computers and even sub $500 computers, and they're perfectly happy.

I did have to upgrade the ram on the sub $500 build because it was only 4GB and also trying to run integrated graphics. I bumped it up to 8GB and installed a 19 watt graphic card, and kept the price for both together under $50. You wouldn't even know it originally cost less than $500 now. It only has 60 watts of power to boot, but I'm going to install a sound card in it, when I get a chance. I checked with Creative Labs to make sure it could run, and they said it only uses a few watts of power. The person needs a sound card so they can get digital-to-analog converter functionality on the computer. That particular PC is kind of a side hobby of mine, being owned by a relative that knows very little about computer hardware.

ROFL: I actually took the relative to Best Buy to get a computer, and I could NOT get the person to buy anything other than the cheapest PC on the rack.
 
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johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
No not bad at all. I won't build a pc without one. Still a lot of people who use them like me.
 

beers

Moderator
Staff member
Why did you buy the thing if you were terrified of it failing?

You trollin' brah.
 
I saw that it was considered the best budget computer on some sites (Well, the UA91 model was, but I figured that the UA92 model would be even better), and I saw that it had the Amazon's Choice label.
 

Pupp

Member
As a matter of fact, just today I bought some cd's/dvd's from Amazon that had bunches of games on it. Older stuff like card games, board games, and some casino type games on one disc.

So optical drive isn't dead. But my next computer will use an external optical drive, and I'll just plug it in when necessary.
 
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