This all-in-one really does have it all.
Aimed at the premium end of the market, Acer hasn’t been afraid to give the 23in Z5771 a feature list as large as the price tag. It’s not the only one on the market packing everything but the kitchen sink into a single chassis, so is the high cost justified?
Looking inside reveals a well-spec’d machine, with an Intel Core i7-2600 CPU, 8GB of DDR3 memory and an Nvidia GeForce G520 delivering solid performance. Unfortunately, these are held back by the mechanical hard drive, a sluggish 5,400rpm 1.5TB brute that delivers plenty of storage but minimal speed. Posting 2,401 in the PCMark 7 benchmark pegs this as the fastest all-in-one tested, but only by a small margin over the Toshiba DX730. Real-world performance will be significantly better here, though, thanks to the quad-core CPU used here compared to the dual-core in the Tosh.
Multimedia users are well catered for, starting with the Blu-ray drive and dual HD TV tuner. Throw in an extremely accurate touchscreen and operating Windows Media Center by touch becomes a pure delight. Acer has been kind enough to throw in a nifty remote with a tiny keyboard on the rear, a godsend for operation from the couch. A combination card reader is also included, alongside dual USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0 ports. There’s even HDMI in and out, as well as S/PDIF out, making this our preferred video weapon of choice.
Add excellent build quality and a stunning 1080p display into the mix, and the result is a feature-rich, high-quality all-in-one. However, the competing DX730 includes nearly all of the same features for $350 less, leaving the Z5771 looking decidedly overpriced.
Available from Acer, retailing for $2,349.
APC rating: 7/10