Skip to main content

Acer AT3-600-UR11 Review

Image used with permission by copyright holder
Acer AT3-600-UR11
MSRP $599.99
“Every component and port seems designed with a purposeful, conscious respect for utility.”
Pros
  • Attractive, functional enclosure
  • Some upgradability
  • Well-rounded performance
  • Quiet and efficient
  • Good value
Cons
  • Terrible bundled peripherals
  • Too much bloatware

We’re reaching the end of the road for current Intel processors. The company’s new line of product has shipped to manufacturers, which means computers using the new chips, codenamed “Haswell,” will be out this summer. This is the last hurrah for the current 3000 series.

Recommended Videos

Still, consumers don’t stop buying just because better processors might be around the corner, and, for that reason, manufacturers don’t sit still either. Acer is a perfect example of this. The company’s new mainstream desktop, the Aspire T3-600-UR11, is built for consumers on a tight budget.

Our review unit arrived with an Intel Core i5-3330 quad-core processor, 6GB of RAM, and an Nvidia Geforce GT 630 graphics card. This represents a basic configuration that sells at an MSRP of $600. That seems like a reasonable price, but is there any reason to buy Acer’s latest desktop when new processors are about to launch?

Night light

The Aspire T3-600 isn’t just a new hardware configuration; it’s a new design. At first glance, the enclosure appears standard: small, boxy, and black. Plug it in, however, and the computer glows softly around the front port panel and behind the only Acer logo. This detail could have come across as cheesy or distracting, but the light is elegantly diffused and acts as a sort of runway beacon for the front-facing ports, making USB devices easy to connect in a dark room.

acer at3 600 ur11 desktop front right macro
Image used with permission by copyright holder

There’s a good selection of ports up front as well: four USB (two 2.0, two 3.0), headphone, microphone, and card reader. All of these are centrally located and uncovered for quick access. We do think the power button is a bit too easy to bump while inserting a drive, but the button is lit, so mishaps are unlikely. The eject buttons of the optical drives can be found along the center of the front panel, so they can also be easily accessed no matter the position of the desktop. 

Soft, grippy rubber runs along the top of the enclosure. Acer previously placed smartphone trays on the top of desktops, but an engineer apparently thought to wonder why the trays were small and only at the front of the PC. Why not make the entire surface a storage area? That’s exactly what Acer has done, and it’s a brilliant touch.

Lots of USB

Around back, the T3-600 offers a fair selection of connectivity for those who use all USB all the time. There are four USB 2.0 ports and two USB 3.0 ports, putting the total number of USB ports at ten.

Otherwise, there are the usual suspects: DVI, HDMI, Ethernet, and red/green/blue audio jacks. The only notable extra is a pair of PS/2 ports for mouse and keyboard. These legacy connections are rare on modern PCs.

Simple on the inside

Opening the Acer is a cinch. Just remove two screws and then pull backwards on the side panel – job well done! Once inside, you’ll find a spacious layout that is neat, tidy, and minimally confusing. All components are accessible and can be removed or replaced using a small Phillips screwdriver. Servicing the hard drive requires removal of the front panel, but there’s no need to worry since it’s only attached by plastic clips.

acer at3 600 ur11 desktop top right macro
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Future upgrades should be easy to install because of the system’s open layout. Still, there are only two empty drive bays, and the motherboard’s only PCI Express 16x slot (occupied by the GT 630 graphics card) bumps up against the Wi-Fi adapter. These problems get in the way of certain upgrades.

With that said, competitors sold at a similar price fair no better, and most are tighter or more confusing to work on. The T3-600’s simple, spacious layout is a cut above most.

Inexpensive computer, cheap peripherals

Acer ships the T3-600 with the company’s standard peripheral bundle. The keyboard is soft and vague, and the flimsy mouse has just two buttons. Buyers should plan on replacing both with an inexpensive Logitech or Microsoft keyboard and mouse set. It’ll be $40 well spent.

A well-rounded performer

The Core i5-3330 quad is among the least powerful entries in Intel’s quad-core desktop line. Even so, it proved respectable in our tests, reaching a SiSoft Sandra Processor Arithmetic score of 63.57 and a 7-Zip score of 12,363. These numbers are competitive with systems that sell for the same price.

No matter what we tried, the fans never registered on our decibel meter.

PCMark 7, which tests multiple hardware components including storage, turned in a final score of 3,182. This is far from the best we’ve seen, but it’s also a decent figure for a system with a mechanical hard drive. Some more expensive computers, like the HP Spectre One and Acer Aspire U, score lower.

Gaming performance proved a disappointment despite the Nvidia graphics card. 3DMark turned in a Cloud Gate score of 5,409 and a Fire Strike score of 716. These numbers are low for discrete graphics; even the Razer Edge, a gaming tablet, scored better in the Fire Strike test. Demanding modern games will struggle to run well even at low detail. Older titles like World of Warcraft and Dawn of War 2 should be playable at medium to high detail (depending on your monitor’s resolution).

Quiet and efficient

The system’s mundane hardware proved beneficial in our sound tests. No matter what we tried, the fans never registered on our decibel meter. That is not to say they’re silent – they can be heard – but their soft purr will be lost in the ambient noise of most households. 

Power testing also produced excellent results. The system uses only 29 watts of power at idle. Loading the processor with 7-Zip increased that figure to 60 watts while the Furmark graphics test spiked consumption at 74 watts. These numbers make the T3-600 our new record holder among desktop tower PCs. 

A little bloated

Acer ships this desktop with an armada of icons on the desktop and Start screen. Some are simply shortcuts to partners, like Netflix and eBay, rather than pre-installed programs. But the Acer Apps section of the Start screen does include apps like Evernote, Cut The Rope, and the 7Digital media store. Some are useful, some aren’t, and all are capable of being removed without much trouble.

acer at3 600 ur11 desktop logo macro
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The real annoyance is McAfee Internet Security, which, as always, pops up at inconvenient times to intimidate users with all the terrible things that might happen without a McAfee subscription. We hoped Microsoft’s decision to bundle Windows 8 with a basic antivirus would dissuade such annoying adverts, but alas, they continue.

Conclusion

The Aspire T3-600 is in the most competitive segment of the desktop market. There are literally thousands of other computers that can be purchased at the same price from every major manufacturer and some boutiques as well. With so much choice available, details can make or break a system – and that’s where this Acer excels.

Every component and port seems designed with a purposeful, conscious respect for utility. The top of the system doubles as a storage tray, the ports and buttons are accessible, upgrades are easy to install, the fans are quiet, and performance is well rounded. We have no complaints about the tower itself. Peripherals and bloatware are the only disappointments.

Should you buy this desktop when new processors are right around the corner? We think so, as the new processors will probably command a slight premium. But, if you’d rather wait, feel free to do so since  Acer will no doubt continue using this excellent design for desktops built on the new Intel processors.

Pros:

  • Attractive, functional enclosure
  • Lots of USB, including four USB 3.0
  • Some upgradability
  • Well-rounded performance
  • Quiet and efficient
  • Good value

Cons:

  • Terrible bundled peripherals
  • Too much bloatware
Matthew S. Smith
Matthew S. Smith is the former Lead Editor, Reviews at Digital Trends. He previously guided the Products Team, which dives…
Bid farewell to this small but helpful Windows 11 feature
The Surface Pro 11 on a white table in front of a window.

As Microsoft mentions in a December 12 blog post, Windows 11 users will soon no longer receive future updates for the suggested actions menu. The helpful feature would offer you related actions when you copy items like dates or phone numbers with actions to create an event or make a call.

Microsoft first introduced the feature in a Windows 11 2022 update. It made the suggested actions menu appear and gave contextual information based on the copied data. Microsoft describes the feature as follows: "Suggested actions that appear when you copy a phone number or future date in Windows 11 are deprecated and will be removed in a future Windows 11 update."

Read more
AMD’s next-gen gaming laptop chips may have just leaked
AMD's CEO delivering the Computex 2024 presentation.

AMD is readying its Strix Point Halo and Krackan Point APUs, with a potential launch in January at CES 2025. Ahead of launch, details about an Acer Swift Go 16 laptop with an upcoming AMD laptop chip have been spotted on Geekbench.

According to the leaked listing, the laptop is powered by a Krackan Point engineering sample with an OPN Code of "100-000000713-40_Y," which is most likely the Ryzen AI 7 350. It features eight cores, divided into two clusters of four cores each, utilizing Zen 5 and Zen 5c architectures. It has a base frequency of 2GHz, which can reach a maximum boost clock of 5.05GHz, along with 16MB of L3 cache and 8MB of L2 cache.

Read more
Today only: 55% off the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 4
The Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 5 opened up on a table.

Today is the last day of Lenovo's 4-Day Sale, which means there are plenty of great laptop deals happening, but you have to act fast. We’ve picked out one of our very favorites: the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 4 is down to $1,080. According to Lenovo, that’s reduced from $2,399, but as experienced folk know, Lenovo tends to be a little optimistic with its estimated value system. What we do know though is that $1,080 is a great price for the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 4. Here’s a deeper look at what it has to offer, but remember: the sale ends today so you only have hours to snag this offer.

Why you should buy the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 4
Lenovo is one of the best laptop brands, particularly for business laptops, so the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 4 is built to last. With this particular model, you get a 13th-generation Intel Core i5-1335U CPU along with 16GB of memory and 512GB of SSD storage. That trio forms essentially the core things you need from a business laptop. There’s also a great looking 14-inch WUXGA screen with 1920 x 1200 resolution, 45% NTSC, 300 nits of brightness, and anti-glare properties. It’s a little smaller than some other laptops, but that means it’s very portable and you can easily take it with you on your travels.

Read more