Acer Aspire Z3 Allinone Desktop Az3700ur12 Reviews
Our Verdict
The Acer Aspire Z3 is a family-friendly, portable all-in-i with a 21-inch, 1080p touch screen and booming speakers, but we'd adopt a faster CPU.
For
- Full HD brandish with wide viewing angles
- Expert wireless keyboard and mouse
- HDMI-in port lets you connect gaming console
Against
- Dimmer screen than competitors
- Beneath-average functioning
- Somewhat heavy
Looking for a desktop system that will bring your family together? Acer's 21-inch Aspire Z3 packs quad-core Intel operation, booming speakers and a full Hard disk display to offer multimedia enjoyment with your loved ones. For $799, this Windows eight all-in-one also comes with a bombardment so you lot're not restricted to the study. Will the Z3 satisfy your family's needs? Read on.
Design
The Acer Aspire Z3 sports a black front with rounded corners and a somewhat chunky white behind. It'south pleasant looking but not exciting. The glossy 21.v-inch screen is framed by an inch-thick bezel. At the eye of the summit sits the Z3's integrated Hd webcam, while a concrete Windows button lies below the screen in the centre of a speaker grille.
The balance of the Z3 is more often than not covered in white plastic. You might have to hunt for the power button, which is a round, white depression on the tiptop right corner that blends into the dorsum of the device. The Z3's right side houses indicator lights, a button for display options and a volume rocker. Pressing the display options button lets you select an input channel -- from PC to HDMI -- and conform the screen'southward brightness.
A portion of the Z3's rear protrudes rather sharply, making information technology feel more disjointed than the Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon 20, whose dorsum portion flows more naturally from the front. An aluminum kickstand is attached to the smaller rectangle on a flexible hinge. The kickstand folds in completely so the device tin can be laid flat for use on a living room floor, and props the device up almost perpendicular to the surface for desktop use.
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Click to OverstateThe protruding rear portion of the Z3 as well houses its ports: the right edge features an SD menu slot, two USB ii.0 ports, a headphone jack and a battery indicator light. The left side packs USB iii.0, Ethernet, ability and HDMI-in, which lets y'all use the Z3'southward brandish as a TV or with a gaming console.
Despite the Z3 beingness touted as a somewhat portable device, y'all may need to musculus up to move the Z3 from room to room. At 21.02 x fourteen.57 ten i.89 inches, the Z3 is quite the beast. Other all-in-one systems are smaller, such as the Lenovo IdeaCentre Flex 20 (xx.five x 12.2 x 0.8 inches), the Sony VAIO Tap 20 (19.ix x 12.0 10 1.viii inches) and the Dell XPS 18 (eighteen.25 x 11.17 x 0.41 inches). To exist fair, the Z3 has the largest screen of its competitors.
The fourteen.6-pound Z3 is also the heaviest of the lot past a pregnant margin, compared to the Flex xx (eight.ii pounds), the Tap 20 (11.2 pounds) and the XPS 18 (5.two pounds).
Display
Click to EnlargeYou'll enjoy games and movies on the Z3's glossy, 21.5-inch, 1920 10 1080 HD IPS 10-point touch screen. We watched a trailer for "The Amazing Spider-Human 2" and loved the bright red and blue of Spidey'due south costume. Details such as individual eyelashes on a close-upward of Andrew Garfield'southward face were impressively sharp. Text and graphics on websites such as Laptopmag.com and NYTimes.com too appeared crisp. Viewing angles were aplenty; three staffers standing around the Z3 were able to lookout a trailer without experiencing distortion.
The main drawback to the Z3's display is that it'due south not very bright. The console measured 223 lux on our light meter, dimmer than the average desktop replacement (252 lux), the Tap 20 (254 lux), the Flex 20 (274 lux) and the XPS eighteen (307 lux).
Audio
The 2.5W Harman Kardon speakers with Dolby Abode Theater enhancement provided booming but somewhat tinny sound. We start played "Lola" by Mika and "Paradise People" by Sam Sparro. While the Z3 filled a large open up newsroom with music, college tones sounded muddled, and there was a lack of bass. A harmonious chorus in "Paradise People" sounded like a cacophony of voices, while the piano and percussion intro for "Lola" was canned and hollow.
The Z3 comes with Dolby Digital Plus Contour Editor to tweak the speakers depending on what you're listening to. Four preset options -- Movie, Music, Game and Vocalization -- are available, and you tin as well create 2 custom profiles. Nosotros noticed no big change in audio quality when switching among modes while playing songs such as "Born in the USA" past Bruce Springsteen and "Timber" by Pitbull featuring Kesha.
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In more nuanced music, though, such as the opening to "League of Legends," we could hear clearer layers of audio in Moving-picture show and Game modes than in Vocalisation or Music.
On LAPTOP'southward sound exam (playing a tone at max volume and measuring it from 23 inches), the Z3 registered 88 dB, softer than the boilerplate desktop replacement (ninety dB) merely on a par with the IdeaCentre Flex 20 (88 dB).
Keyboard and Mouse
Click to OverstateThe Z3 comes with both a wireless keyboard and mouse. Powered past 2 AAA batteries, the thin and light plastic keyboard has flip-out stands at the elevation two corners so y'all can angle it for more comfy typing. The handsomely sized keys provided acceptable travel and feedback, and did not flex fifty-fifty when we jabbed hard. On the Ten Thumbs Typing Tutor test, we scored an average of 75 words per infinitesimal with 0.66 percent error rate, compared to our usual desktop average of 77 wpm with no errors.
Unfortunately, the arrow keys were somewhat squished. We likewise wish the Office row keys at the top were reversed then nosotros could toggle book, brightness and playback settings with one touch instead of having to printing the Fn button beginning.
The blackness optical mouse takes one AAA battery and has curved, recessed edges that proved comfortable for our pollex and ring finger. It connects wirelessly to the Z3 with a USB dongle. The ii click-buttons are slightly indented to meliorate accommodate your fingers, and the mouse also has a scroll wheel between the two buttons and an on/off switch at the lesser.
Webcam
Click to OverstateThe Z3'south integrated HD webcam was sufficient for Web chats, but didn't print. Images nosotros snapped looked irksome and pixelated. Our green center shadow appeared brown, while our gray turtleneck looked fuzzy and lacked item.
In addition to the standard Windows 8 camera app, Acer offers its Crystal Eye Webcam software that packs additional frames, filters and effects. We enjoyed using the fun frames to create goofy postcards to send to our friends.
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Functioning
Packing a quad-core 2.41-GHz Intel Pentium J2850 processor with 4GB of RAM, the Z3 is responsive on 24-hour interval-to-day tasks, simply it'due south not meant for heavy lifting. We played a circular of "League of Legends" with ease while apps such equally Internet Explorer, Photographic camera, Store and Video Actor ran in the background.
All the same, the $799 Z3 didn't fare as well on synthetic tests. On PCMark 7, the Z3's score of 1,728 was far below the average desktop replacement (four,714), the ii.7-GHz Intel Core i5-powered XPS 18 (iv,127 score) and the 1.7-GHz Intel Core i3-powered Flex 20 (2,330). To be fair, the Dell we tested costs $one,424, simply the Lenovo is cheaper than the Acer, at $749.
With a 750GB and 5,400-rpm hard drive, the Z3 took 28 seconds to boot Windows eight. That'due south slower than the boilerplate desktop replacement (24 seconds), the Flex 20 (xv seconds) and the XPS eighteen (19 seconds).
The Z3 duplicated a 4.97GB folder of multimedia files in three minutes and 29 seconds, which translates to a rate of 24 MBps. That'south slower than the XPS 18 (33 MBps) and Flex twenty (31.4 MBps).
Taking 17 minutes and 11 seconds to match twenty,000 names and addresses on the OpenOffice Spreadsheet Macro examination, the Z3 significantly trailed its competitors. The average desktop replacement (5:13), the XPS xviii (5:58) and the Flex 20 (8:06) all completed the chore in much shorter times.
Graphics
Click to EnlargeThe Z3'due south Intel HD Graphics GPU volition concord upward for casual gaming, and delivered decent graphics on "Shark Dash." Those looking to play more graphics-intensive games will find this all-in-1 only isn't upwards to par.
On 3DMark 11, the Z3's score of 251 is well below the XPS xviii (619) and the Flex 20 (715).
When we played "Globe of Warcraft" with settings on Autodetect at 1366 10 768 resolution, the Z3 delivered an unplayable 16 fps (11 fps at its native resolution of 1920 10 1080). Past comparing, the Flex 20 and XPS 18 delivered improve frame rates of 27 fps and 31 fps on Autodetect and 1366 10 768.
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Battery Life
Y'all tin can move your Z3 from room to room, thanks to its onboard, six-cell lithium-ion battery. But don't expect a ton of time to play unplugged.
On the LAPTOP Battery Test, which involves continuous Web surfing over Wi-Fi with the brandish ready to forty percentage brightness, the Z3 clocked two hours and xv minutes. While that'south in line with Acer'due south prediction of 2.5 hours, it's significantly less than the times of the Flex xx (three:27) and XPS 18 (iv:12).
Software and Apps
Click to EnlargeRunning a 64-fleck version of Windows 8, the Aspire Z3 comes with a small suite of preloaded software including the usual Windows viii apps such as Xbox, SkyDrive, News, People, Bing and Skype.
You besides get some 3rd-political party apps, including Amazon's Kindle reader, Norton Online Backup, Nero BackItUp Essentials, McAfee Net Security Suite (60-day trial) and WildTangent Games. If you're looking to exercise some calorie-free work, the Z3 too comes with a trial version of Microsoft Office.
Acer also includes its own Acer Power Button, Recovery Direction, User'southward Transmission, AcerCloud, clearFi Media, clearFi Photograph, Docs, Hotkey Utility, Identity Menu and Alive Updater.
Warranty and Configuration
Our unit of the Acer Aspire AZ3-600-UR31 costs $799 and has a 750GB hard bulldoze. For $779, you can become the 500GB configuration (AZ3-600-UB30), which costs $699 on Best Purchase.
Acer offers a 1-year limited warranty for parts and labor with each Z3. See how Acer fared in our Tech Support Showdown and All-time & Worst Brands report.
Verdict
Click to OverstateWith a full Hard disk display, loud speakers and a comfortable keyboard and mouse, the $799 Aspire Z3 is a solid multimedia system for families who don't want to spend too much for a impact-based all-in-one. And while you don't get very long bombardment life with the Z3, it's overnice that you can employ it unplugged. However, we wish Acer included a beefier CPU for the price and that the screen were brighter.
For the aforementioned toll, the Lenovo IdeaCentre Flex twenty provides amend functioning with a longer-lasting bombardment and an engaging Aura interface. Its 1600 10 900 display isn't equally sharp as the Z3's, but the Flex'southward system packs corking voice command features. Lesser line: If you're looking for a family friendly all-in-one, the Z3 is a worthwhile choice, but we'd store effectually for a lower price.
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Acer Aspire Z3 Specs
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth four.0 |
| Brand | Acer |
| CPU | 2.41 Ghz quad-core Intel Pentium J2850 |
| Company Website | http://us.acer.com/ac/en/U.s.a./content/model-datasheet/DQ.STHAA.002 |
| Brandish Size | 21.5 |
| Graphics Card | Intel Hard disk drive Graphics |
| Hard Drive Size | 750GB |
| Hard Drive Speed | 5,400rpm |
| Native Resolution | 1920x1080 |
| Operating System | Windows eight |
| Ports (excluding USB) | USB iii.0, USB 2.0, RJ-45, Microphone, HDMI-in |
| RAM | 4GB |
| RAM Upgradable to | 8GB |
| Size | 21.02 x 14.57 x 1.89 inches |
| USB Ports | 3 |
| Warranty/Support | one year express warranty |
| Weight | 14.6 pounds |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11a/b/k/n |
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Source: https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/acer-aspire-z3
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