# Is this computer any good? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 3, 2021, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-computer-any-good/939279 "2021-04-03T01:01:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@CastletonSnob1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob1)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-computer-any-good/939279/1 "2021-04-03T01:01:44Z")
I got this computer today. Is it any good? Anyone have any experience with Acer computers? I plan on using it to surf the web and watch streams. I ask because I’ve heard of Acer products breaking soon after purchase, and I’ve heard horror stories about Acer’s customer service. [www.amazon.com/Acer-TC-895-U…/dp/B088X2YR3X](https://www.amazon.com/Acer-TC-895-U.../dp/B088X2YR3X) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-computer-any-good/939279/2 "2021-04-03T04:07:45Z")
Specs look okay, but it seems really weird it doesn’t mention anything about PCIe slots. Would they really make a PC where you can’t add on any cards? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-computer-any-good/939279/3 "2021-04-03T04:46:26Z")
Since you seem more worried than I initially thought: I’ve not heard of any of these major brands breaking soon after purchase. And, while I’ve heard of bad service, it’s not _that_ bad, just annoying. And, finally, if something went wrong and Acer wouldn’t/couldn’t help, PCs are one of the most user repairable devices out there, or could be fixed by a third party. You’re computer will probably be fine. The only thing I was checking on was how easily it could be upgraded. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-computer-any-good/939279/4 "2021-04-03T04:52:24Z")
> [@CastletonSnob1](#): > > I ask because I’ve heard of Acer products breaking soon after purchase, and I’ve heard horror stories about Acer’s customer service. If you’ve heard these things, why did you buy one? Just asking. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-computer-any-good/939279/5 "2021-04-03T05:14:10Z")
Probably just light in hardware features, like mic and cam — my low-end Dell Latitude didn.t have them either. I’d worry about the durability of high-use hardware like keyboard and USB ports… I’ve been running a Acer optical mouse now for 4 years and it’s fine. Bought is for $2 out of a cannibalized box. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-computer-any-good/939279/6 "2021-04-03T11:00:12Z")
**Moderator Note** You have effectively opened three different threads about one thing (selecting and buying a new computer). I’m not going to try merging the threads since that is likely to create an incomprehensible jumbled mess, but for future reference, we would appreciate it if you did not open multiple threads for essentially the same topic or a continuation of the same topic. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy your new computer. Edited by PuzzleGal to add: I was moving the posts as engineer\_comp\_geek wrote. The next several posts were originally in a topic named something like, “what are the best brands of computers”. ---
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@CastletonSnob1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob1)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-computer-any-good/939279/7 "2021-04-03T01:01:15Z")
If you don’t feel like building your own computer and would rather get a prebuilt, What are the best major computer brands? The worst? ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-computer-any-good/939279/8 "2021-04-03T01:10:23Z")
Why are you asking this within a minute of posting this in another thread? … I got this computer today. Is it any good? Anyone have any experience with Acer computers? I plan on using it to surf the web and watch streams. I ask because I’ve heard of Acer products breaking soon after purchase, and I’ve heard horror stories about Acer’s customer service. [www.amazon.com/Acer-TC-895-U…/dp/B088X2YR3X](https://www.amazon.com/Acer-TC-895-U.../dp/B088X2YR3X) If you’ve already bought a computer convince me to spend time giving you my experience with various brands. ---
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@CastletonSnob1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob1)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-computer-any-good/939279/9 "2021-04-03T01:14:41Z")
If this computer dies soon, I want to know what brands to get. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-computer-any-good/939279/10 "2021-04-03T01:17:57Z")
Ask that at the time-you would want the latest expertise and that is very hard to pick ahead of time. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-computer-any-good/939279/11 "2021-04-03T01:36:13Z")
I agree with **Bippity**. You seem to be fishing for reassurance about something you’ve already done, or are otherwise being disingenuous. The reality is that there’s a vast spectrum of quality among major computer brands, and it changes with time and with different models. Dell for example has both business and consumer lines, and both high ends and low ends in both, and all are different. You’re in the best position to know whether the specific computer you have was a good buy, and any advice anyone can give about what to buy in the future is purely conjectural. And the option of building your own may also be a good one – it all depends. Trying to address this OP seems like a waste of time. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-computer-any-good/939279/12 "2021-04-03T05:56:02Z")
I’d imagine it depends a lot on the characeristics you most want in a computer. I’ve owned about 18 computers, all of them Apple Macs. Folks who fault them tend to emphasize their lack of expansion (which isn’t anywhere near as limited as reputed) and for a long time the use of components other than the mainstream ones used in PCs, but now Macs are PCs (at least until the M1 chip takes over the whole line at any rate) and can run Intel Linux distros and MS Windows on the same basis as their competitors. Their primary advantage of Macs in my opinion is that the computer you buy can be your primary computer for up to a decade; they tend to be engineered with longevity in mind. You may still find the range of options at purchase point to be more narrow than you want though. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-computer-any-good/939279/13 "2021-04-03T11:13:31Z")
Op also started a similar thread here > [@Planning to buy a new computer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planning-to-buy-a-new-computer/938913): > > My computer is 7-8 years old, and I plan on buying a new one. What should I look for if I just plan on browsing the internet? What’s the price for a good computer? I’m looking at buying, not building, and I would like a desktop. I know I don’t want a laptop, because I had a laptop, and it stopped working after a few years because it overheated because I was on it all the time. I like to watch stuff on YouTube and streaming services. I don’t play games on my PC much, and the games I have are… But i guess that one is different enough that I’m not going to merge it. But as engineer\_comp\_geek said, next time please keep it in one thread. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-computer-any-good/939279/14 "2021-04-03T13:20:45Z")
> [@CastletonSnob1](#): > > I plan on using it to surf the web and watch streams. If this is all you’re doing with it, you’re fine. It’s got an SSD but only 512GB. If it were mine, I would add a storage drive or three, but I tend to do a lot of storage-heavy things, and that’s a really easy, cheap upgrade. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-computer-any-good/939279/15 "2021-04-03T13:38:45Z")
> [@CastletonSnob1](#): > > I plan on using it to surf the web and watch streams. That’s such a light demand on a computer that almost any brand, any model would be adequate. I hope you’ll be very happy web surfing with yours. And not worry about it. You sound like my senior “beginning computer” students, who are very intelligent and capable, until they’re confronted with a PC. Then their brain kind of shuts off and they get scared. But it does seem like there’s some fear involved, if you’re asking this after you’ve bought one. It’s like “I’ve got a new car! But I’ve heard they get into accidents. If I need a new car in ten years, what should I get next?” I hope you can get used to your new toy, and either learn more about it… _or_ be so immersed with what’s happening on the screen that you don’t even think about what kind of box you’re looking at it with. ---
**Author:** ![LivingGhost371](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@LivingGhost371](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LivingGhost371)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-computer-any-good/939279/16 "2021-04-03T13:57:32Z")
I’m guessing it has some, but it’s not a spec someone that would buy an inexpensive SFF pre-built would care about so they don’t bother mentioning it. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-computer-any-good/939279/17 "2021-04-03T14:41:39Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > I’ve owned about 18 computers, all of them Apple Macs. … Their primary advantage of Macs in my opinion is that the computer you buy can be your primary computer for up to a decade I conclude that you’ve been using Macs for 180 years now. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-computer-any-good/939279/18 "2021-04-03T16:14:10Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I conclude that you’ve been using Macs for 180 years now. 😀 😃 I actually have most of them upstairs in my “computer museum”, in running order and networked. A few on the list of 18 were replacements for each other as boards fried (or in one case got ruined in a thunderstorm) but each model has one viable bootable incarnation with the classic/preserved HD contents, with the exception of my System 6 LC which is sidelined for the time being. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2021, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-computer-any-good/939279/19 "2021-04-03T22:25:34Z")
My dad’s even cheaper computer mentioned it, as does a similar model (with a 91). And I don’t just mean on Amazon: I didn’t find the spec mentioned anywhere the computer was listed. It was just weird, something I’ve never seen before.