ALL IN ONE PC ACER ASPIRE 5600 U Prica and specifications

ALL IN ONE PC ACER ASPIRE  5600 U

We've never seen a computer that's counted a webcam as its most exciting feature, but Acer's Aspire 5600U breaks the mould thanks to the inclusion of gesture control. The system used here comes from a third-party developer and, while Sony has previously experimented with basic gesture control, the Acer's system is far more extensive. Waving an open palm around the screen moves the cursor; pinching two fingers together represents a click; and waving inwards from the right, left and top edges opens up Windows 8's Charms, previous apps and taskbar menus. We like the idea, but it's flawed. Holding and waving a hand in front of the webcam quickly becomes tiring, and the app's default settings are far too sensitive. Even when we turned this setting down, it's not the most consistent of systems, with gestures often taking multipleattempts to register.

At least the 5600U improves elsewhere. The Acer's seethrough plastic base is a welcome dose of originality that continues to the mouse and keyboard, and the system itself measures just 18mm from front to back at its thickest point. It's relatively versatile too, with a kickstand that squats down to a shallow angle - ideal for usewhile standing up and walking around the house.The 23" screen shares its 1920x1080 resolution with most of this month's rivals, but quality is middling. Black levels are decent, and the measured contrast ratio of 1194:1 ensures a reasonable colour palette, but colours themselves are too insipid to our tastes, especially when compared to the wellbalanced Asus.

The highlight under the hood is the Nvidia GeForce GT 630M. It's the most powerful graphics core in this group, and it scored 40fps in our 1600x900 Mediumquality benchmark - faster than the Asus ET2300, which scored just 13fps in the same test. That tops our tables, but bear in mind it's still not enough to play high-end games without compromising on quality  settings.

Not everyone wants a big box of components they can tinker with. For them, the all-in-one PC presents a nice, simple solution, with everything contained in a single unit

Acer has been more generous with the rest of the specification, with a Blu-ray reader, DVB-T TV tuner, capacious 1TB hard disk and dual-band wireless - a rare sight in this group.

The Acer's media capabilities are let down by the speakers, however, which lack both bass  and volume - there's not enough grunt to fill a room and, even at top volume, the audio lacks punch and clarity. It's a mixed set of results, then, for Acer's Aspire 5600U.

It has the beefiest graphics chip here and a smart, slimline design, but its screen, speakers and gimmicky gesture control just aren't up to task. The Asus is more accomplished and cheaper,as you are about to see.

ALL IN ONE PC ACER ASPIRE 5600 U Prica and specifications

Posted by Digital Estate No comments

ALL IN ONE PC ACER ASPIRE  5600 U

We've never seen a computer that's counted a webcam as its most exciting feature, but Acer's Aspire 5600U breaks the mould thanks to the inclusion of gesture control. The system used here comes from a third-party developer and, while Sony has previously experimented with basic gesture control, the Acer's system is far more extensive. Waving an open palm around the screen moves the cursor; pinching two fingers together represents a click; and waving inwards from the right, left and top edges opens up Windows 8's Charms, previous apps and taskbar menus. We like the idea, but it's flawed. Holding and waving a hand in front of the webcam quickly becomes tiring, and the app's default settings are far too sensitive. Even when we turned this setting down, it's not the most consistent of systems, with gestures often taking multipleattempts to register.

At least the 5600U improves elsewhere. The Acer's seethrough plastic base is a welcome dose of originality that continues to the mouse and keyboard, and the system itself measures just 18mm from front to back at its thickest point. It's relatively versatile too, with a kickstand that squats down to a shallow angle - ideal for usewhile standing up and walking around the house.The 23" screen shares its 1920x1080 resolution with most of this month's rivals, but quality is middling. Black levels are decent, and the measured contrast ratio of 1194:1 ensures a reasonable colour palette, but colours themselves are too insipid to our tastes, especially when compared to the wellbalanced Asus.

The highlight under the hood is the Nvidia GeForce GT 630M. It's the most powerful graphics core in this group, and it scored 40fps in our 1600x900 Mediumquality benchmark - faster than the Asus ET2300, which scored just 13fps in the same test. That tops our tables, but bear in mind it's still not enough to play high-end games without compromising on quality  settings.

Not everyone wants a big box of components they can tinker with. For them, the all-in-one PC presents a nice, simple solution, with everything contained in a single unit

Acer has been more generous with the rest of the specification, with a Blu-ray reader, DVB-T TV tuner, capacious 1TB hard disk and dual-band wireless - a rare sight in this group.

The Acer's media capabilities are let down by the speakers, however, which lack both bass  and volume - there's not enough grunt to fill a room and, even at top volume, the audio lacks punch and clarity. It's a mixed set of results, then, for Acer's Aspire 5600U.

It has the beefiest graphics chip here and a smart, slimline design, but its screen, speakers and gimmicky gesture control just aren't up to task. The Asus is more accomplished and cheaper,as you are about to see.