Acer Aspire AM5201-EF8400A Budget Desktop Personal Computer

10/14/08 - Acer's Aspire 5201 is their latest Prestige class of consumer desktop. It uses an AMD triple core processor rather than a more common dual core. This gives it a boost for multitasking. The case design and layout might be problematic for some as it will require more frequent internal cleaning to maintain airflow and the cables might get in the way of some expansion PCI-Express Graphics cards. A decent overall budget desktop system but lacking any truly stand out features.

10/14/08 - Acer has decided to go against the market trend and uses an AMD Phenom based processor for their Aspire 5201 desktop system. While the Phenom may not provide as high of performance clock for clock as the Intel Core 2 Duo processors, it is cost competitive and the X3 8400 model used in this PC has the advantage of a third processor core that gives it slightly improved multitasking performance over similarly clocked dual core processors. The 4GB of PC2-6400 DDR2 memory is also a bonus as it allows the system to run smoothly with the included Vista operating system.

One nice thing onf the Aspire 5201 is the included 15-in-1 card reader built into the front panel. More and more companies are dropping these from their desktops as a means of cutting down on costs. Since this unit has it, it makes it easier for owners to transfer files from digital media peripherals such as digital cameras.

One thing that consumers will want to be aware of is the case design for the Aspire 5201. The side panel includes a large amount of ventilation holes. This is good because it allow the system to properly cool down the internal components. The problem is that it also allows a fair amount of the fan noise from those same components to escape and for dust to travel into the computer. This will require users to more frequently clean the interior of the dust to ensure proper cooling.

Another item that users who want to add a dedicated graphics card should be aware of is the internal cabling. There is a fair amount of cables that reside around the PCI-Express graphics card slot. This may make it difficult to properly install some of the large graphics cards in the market without rerouting a few cables.

Read/Leave Comments