Acer Aspire AX3200-U3600A review

None of these budget systems will impress you that dramatically with their performance, which is why we credit Acer so much for the features on these two systems. Still, each has its specialty. If you value performance strongly in a budget PC, you'll want to consider our tests and judge based on what you need in a PC. Of the three, the Aspire X3200 is the best multitasker of the bunch, and also offers an extra kick in apps that will use its third core.

There's not that much else to say about the Aspire X3200. You can get away with some lightweight 3D gaming on it, and you can even upgrade to a half-height 3D card, but it's far from a gaming PC. If your living room PC ambitions are strong enough, you could even buy an aftermarket Blu-ray drive and expect acceptable 1080p video output, thanks to the onboard GeForce 8200 graphics chip.

If we have one complaint about this system, we'd point to the icon clutter on the Windows desktop when you first turn it on. A variety of trialware icons dot the screen, although they're, of course, deleted easily enough. Perhaps a larger annoyance is the Acer Empowering Technology drop-down menu on the top edge. It helps you burn a restore CD, which is useful, but it also adds to the onscreen visual pollution. We've certainly seen worse onboard help applications, but memory-hogging floating menus, especially on a budget PC, are rarely a good idea

Otherwise, Acer provides a standard degree of service and support. The X3200 includes one year of parts-and-labor warranty coverage, as well as toll-free phone support from Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, and on the weekends from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The warranty also includes depot repair drop-off or mail-in service. Acer also provides the usual array of FAQ and support services on its Web site.

Find out more about how we test desktop systems.

System configurations:

Acer Aspire X1200
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.5GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 4850e; 4GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB (shared) Nvidia GeForce 8200 integrated graphics chip; 500GB, 7,200rpm hard drive.

Dell Inspiron 530s
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.2GHz Intel Pentium E2200; 4GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 128MB (shared) Intel GMA 3100 integrated graphics chip; 3200GB 7,200 rpm Western Digital hard drive

Acer Aspire X3200
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.1GHz AMD Phenom X3 8400; 4GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB (shared) Nvidia GeForce 8200 integrated graphics chip; 320GB 7,200rpm Western Digital hard drive.

Gateway GT5692
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.1GHz AMD Phenom X3 8450; 4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB (shared) ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics chip; 500GB 7,200rpm hard drive.

HP Pavilion Slimline s3500f
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.8GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400; 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 128MB (shared) Nvidia GeForce 6150SE integrated graphics chip; 500GB, 7,200rpm hard drive.