Acer Aspire AM3970-UR11P Pro Reviews

The Acer Aspire AM3970-UR11P is an adequate tower desktop burdened with a lot of bloatware.

If you’re a bargain shopper, $700 may seem like a lot for a modern desktop system. However, our comparison shopping showed the Acer to be in line with systems from other manufactures. You can receive a much better discrete graphics card, but to obtain that you usually have to sacrifice some power in the processor or some hard drive capacity. We like this Acer’s quiet, cool operation as well as its shapely design and plethora of ports. These are practical concerns that users will appreciate during day-to-day use. Performance isn’t going to blow anyone away, but it’s more than adequate, and in line with similarly priced competition. Our biggest disappointment is the discrete graphics card. Its inclusion is enough to give Acer an excuse to bump up the price (you can buy a similar Acer without the HD 6450 for $100) but doesn’t offer a significant performance bump over Intel HD graphics. If you want to play games, save a little extra and buy a system with a better graphics card. Here’s the bottom line. The Acer Aspire M3970 with the Radeon HD 6450 isn’t the one to go for. If you remove that card (and the $100 price tag that accompanies it), this Acer is a reasonably priced system with lots of ports and quiet fans. If you are looking for a simple desktop that can handle basic use, it’s a good choice. Those who want to game, and those with hopes of one day building their desktop up to something more powerful, should look elsewhere.

While there’s not much demand for the product category, the AM3970 definitely stands out in its limited field. Generous memory and discrete (if only just) graphics give it a performance boost that will satisfy most, and a ton of USB ports and a roomy interior make it suitable for hardware enthusiasts looking to expand. Software load is relatively light, and Windows regulars will feel right at home and unusually unburdened. The odd ergonomics of the case and downright awful keyboard are an issue, but should be easy enough to adjust to (or in the case of the keyboard, replace). All in all the Acer is a solid choice for those needing desktop-class power without breaking the bank.