Review: Acer Aspire C27-1655-UA93 AIO 27" Desktop

I needed a new computer and saw the Acer Aspire C27-1655-UA93 AIO Desktop and thought it might be perfect for my needs since the computer is built right into the monitor, saving a ton of space. I had been using a laptop that I hooked up to a widescreen monitor, and I wanted to replicate this type of setup with a desktop, but I did not want to suddenly have to find a way to accommodate a tower.

This computer is easy to set up, even for 1 person. It is extremely lightweight, and the screen is very thin. This is the perfect computer for someone who needs something that will work right out of the box with minimal setup. What was nice, too, is that it already offered Windows 11 during the setup process; however, if you want to stick with Windows 10, you have that option as well. I went with Windows 11, which may or may not have been a mistake. I encountered a few screen glitches when I was working in Word. First, my screen went black, then it came back, but the font started to squiggle on the screen. I was unable to do anything to fix it other than restart my computer. I’m not sure what caused this, but in my case, I also have another screen hooked up because the nature of my work requires that I have multiple documents open at any given time. The other monitor is 4k, so the glitch could also have to do with this, but the computer does seem to be able to drive a 4k monitor (extended, not mirrored, so two independent displays).

It's packed safely. — It’s packed safely.

Speaking of monitors, the screen is nice, but there is no way to physically adjust anything—no color, brightness, etc. The monitor is supposed to be calibrated out of the box; however, compared with my 4k monitor, you can see a huge difference in the quality. My case is unique though, as most people are not going to add a 4k monitor. So, on its own, the screen looks great. You likely would not notice any issues with the resolution (it’s only 1920×1080), but when you hook up an additional, higher resolution monitor, you will definitely notice a difference.

The rear of the computer, showing all of the ports.

I’ve also added my own web camera because I did not like how the built-in camera looked. The picture looks a bit gritty, and it seems to add a slight green/blue hue. So, if you must do a lot of Zoom/Google Meet calls, like I do, you may want to add your own camera. The difference between even my budget camera and the built-in computer camera is pretty significant.

My desk setup. I'm using a quality 4K monitor as the main display. — My desk setup. I’m using a quality 4K monitor as the main display.

A few other things I want to note:

The fan is very noisy. Because so much is packed into the monitor, it frequently needs to vent heat, even with minimal activity. This noise is not bothersome to me, but people who are sensitive to noises might find it annoying.
You can tilt the monitor up and down but can’t raise it or go left and right. For my setup where I put it on a stand, this wasn’t a problem.
All ports are in the back of the monitor. If you frequently need to plug things in or out, like headphones, you may need to add a USB hub. The one USB hub I tried worked, but might have been drawing too much power on the USB ports, so it kept on being enabled and disabled by Windows. I ultimately just used a single extension cord since I only need to plug in USB headphones regularly (everything else is dongle-based and can stay plugged in in the back full-time).
The keyboard was paired right out of the box, but my keyboard stopped functioning the first day. The few hours that it did work, it wasn’t very responsive. There was no way to try to pair it again. Because I did not plan on using the keyboard provided anyway (I instead use this Logitech G915), it was not a big deal to me that it stopped working.
The mouse is not Bluetooth-enabled. It uses a USB dongle. I had some trouble with the mouse as well. It was not always as responsive as I would have liked, but I was not planning on using the mouse since I have my own mouse, a Logitech MX Ergo trackball, that I love. Subsequently, this was not a problem for me either.
Going back to the monitor—things appear larger because the monitor has a relatively low resolution—1920 x 1080. This is perfectly fine for day-to-day use, but if you want to use this for heavy duty productivity purposes (eg, if you tend to have multiple documents open on the screen simultaneously), you won’t see as much content on the screen as you would with a higher resolution monitor.
The computer only has an HDMI output despite most computers these days having DisplayPort. It also only has standard USB-A ports, so if you want USB-C or Lightning ports, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
The memory is good and there is plenty of storage. It has 16 GB of RAM. The speedy NVME main drive is 500 GB and there is a 1 terabyte data drive, which is really nice to have despite being the slowest available drive they could have included.

In summary, if you want a computer that is easy to set up and has a minimal footprint with great storage, this might be the computer for you. If your needs go beyond the basics, you’ll likely have to deal with some compromises that shouldn’t necessarily be present at this price point.