Reviewed By
(12/01/2006)
Though the Windows Media Center PC has been around for some time, demand did not pick up as the previous OS failed to deliver as a complete entertainment setup. Installed with the latest Windows XP Media Center 2005 Edition, the Acer Aspire has enough features to replace your TV, DVD recorder and possibly your gaming console at a reasonable price. However, there are still several improvements required for before the PC finds a permanent spot in your living room.
Design
The CPU case is the standard nondescript silver box with air vents cut into the sides. The front panel gives access to the optical drive, memory card reader, two USB 2.0 ports, audio jacks and a mini-FireWire connector. There is a sliding panel which hides the memory card reader and makes it look a little tidier. The unit's rear holds the rest of the connectivity options, which includes two USB 2.0 and a FireWire option, 5.1-channel audio jacks, wired networks, parallel and serial ports and external display connections. A considerate non-slip platform on the top of the CPU allows the remote control to rest securely when not in use.
In terms of expandability, there is not much room for additional peripherals. Two PCI and one PCI Express slot are available for upgrades. The DVD Super Multi drive can handle ±R/RW, dual-layer discs as well as DVD-RAM format. If the massive 160GB harddisk is insufficient, an addtional 3.5-inch bay is available for storage space upgrade. As we are provided with the higher-end E600-8301R model for review, it comes with a 19-inch LCD monitor. The display panel has a conventional white plastic design that can be mounted on the included base or hung on the wall.
Features
Running on the latest Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, the Acer E600 has multimedia capabilities which can adequately double for home entertainment. The PC aspect of this machine is just adequate for a high-end machine, though we feel four USB ports are inadequate, considering that the wireless module for the keyboard, mouse and remote control occupies a valuable slot. The graphics card is able to handle most games. However, when it comes to resource-intensive titles, the ATI Radeon X600 Pro is unable to deliver.
There are two configurations for the Acer E600. The lower-end model consists of a 3.06GHz Pentium 4 processor, 512MD RAM, 17-inch LCD monitor and a 128MB ATI Radeon X300SE graphics card. Our high-end model uses the dual-core 3.0GHz Pentium D processor with 1GB of RAM and a 256MB ATI Radeon X600 Pro which displays on a 19-inch LCD panel. The monitor has a white color scheme and connects to the CPU via the VGA connector. The display is sufficiently illuminated for use under bright external lights and supports resolutions of up to 1,280 x 1,024 pixels.
Connectivity options include four USB 2.0, mini-FireWire and a full-sized FireWire port. Network connections are possible through Gigabit ethernet and modem lines. For those with older peripherals, two PS/2 ports, a parallel and serial slot offers backward compatibility. Those with a collection of memory cards will appreciate the 9-in-1 reader, which handles common formats such as xD-Picture Card and CompactFlash but leaves out Memory Stick Duo, TransFlash and mini-SD cards.
Typical for a Media Center PC, a TV tuner card and remote control give it the convenience of a television. Add a DVD Super Multi drive, and you have a DVD player-cum-recorder as well. Setting up TV channels is easily accomplished with the built-in application. Like its home entertainment equivalent, the time-shift recording allows the user to playback to the beginning of a show even as the system is still recording the rest of the program. Radio stations can be received and recorded on the Acer E600 by attaching an antenna to the tuner card. Though the remote suggests a teletext function, it unfortunately does not work in Asia Pacific.
The display driver is powered by an ATI Radeon X600 Pro graphics card running on 256MB of VRAM. For gamers, this card would barely be adequate for playing resource-intensive titles like F.E.A.R. Fortunately, less demanding tasks like high-definition video playback are easily handled. For a cinematic experience, the 5.1-channel sound can be passed through an S/PDIF jack into your favorite audio system. If you have picky neighbors, the included 2.1-channel stereo speakers and subwoofer are adequate but unimpressive.
Taking up only one USB port, the wireless adapter works with the keyboard, optical mouse and remote control. The optical mouse has two buttons and a scroll wheel and tracks movements well enough, though for hardcore gamers a laser mouse will be preferred. The keyboard is a standard 101-key design with a row of multimedia buttons on the top. Shortcuts are available to common applications like email, which also includes preset ones for multimedia playback and volume control. The full-size remote control comes with an array of buttons mainly for television, video and music playback and recording functions. Suffice to say that once the system has been set up, the three input devices give one total control over the Acer E600.
We are disappointed that this PC is unable to play music and video discs without booting into Windows. Though the system can be set to enter the Media Center interface on power up, it is not instantaneous. However, this is one of the cheapest Media Center PCs available, starting at S$1,999 (US$1,471.77) for the low-end model and S$2,599 (US$1,913.52) for our high-end test unit. This is the first Media Center PC from a major vendor to retail at under S$3,000 (US$2,208.76). Despite its underpowered graphics card, the Acer E600 is an affordable model for the budget-concious consumer.
Performance
Our test unit comes with a dual-core Pentium D 830 processor running at 3.0GHz. Basically two computing chips combined in one machine, software optimized for parallel processing should see a significant performance increase. However, applications permit only a single data stream which will not benefit from a dual-core processor and will run faster on a single-core CPU with a higher clock speed.
Complete with 1GB DDR2 RAM and a 256MB ATI Radeon X600 Pro graphics card, the Acer E600 gave a pretty good showing with a score of 349 on SysMark 2004 SE office productivity test. Compared with results of 238 given on Intel's Web site for the faster Pentium D 840 chip, this system should have no problem handling any productivity applications thrown at it.
The graphics card is, unfortunately, a major disappointment. With a score of 1,651 on 3DMark 2005, its performance in this area barely beats the LG LM60 notebook running on a similar ATI Mobility Radeon X600, which had a 1,563 result on the same benchmark test. The Acer E600 definitely needs a graphics card upgrade if gaming is a priority, though for normal multimedia playback and recording, its performance is more than sufficient.
Service And Support
This desktop comes with a local one-year onsite warranty from Acer. Once the product has been registered on Acer's Web site, a technician will be sent to repair any hardware-related problems with the system. Users who wish to perform their own troubleshooting have access to an online FAQ, with an option to fill up a Web form for specific issues not previously addressed. Updated drivers and patches can be downloaded from the Web site. For greater peace of mind, Acer offers an additional two years of warranty for S$199 (US$146.51).
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