Acer Aspire A5600 U review

It has a 2.6GHz Intel Core i5-3230M processor paired with 6GB of RAM and a 1TB hard disk. This let the PC score a fairly respectable 50 overall in our multimedia benchmarks, but as the i5-3230M is a mobile CPU, other all-in-ones with desktop processors scored higher.

Dedicated graphics are always good to see. The Aspire A5600 U 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 630M graphics chip l failed both our Crysis 2 and Dirt Showdown tests at Ultra Quality settings at a resolution of 1,920×1,080, but getting playable frame rates wasn’t hard. Switching detail settings down to High Quality at 1,920×1,080 got us 23.5fps in Dirt Showdown, while running our laptop test (1,280×720) we managed 37.2fps. Provided you don’t want the highest detail settings, then, the Aspire A5600 U will cope with all of your games.

The 5600U also has a good range of ports, but most of these are located underneath a plastic lip at the back. This makes them rather fiddly to plug in, but here you’ll find an HDMI input, so you can connect an external device, such as games console, and an HDMI output for connecting a second monitor. There’s a TV input, too, and pre-installed AverMedia TV software, so you can use the all-in-one as a Freeview TV and PVR.

Thankfully, the two USB 3 ports, multi-format card reader, DVD drive and headphone and microphone jacks on are all located on the sides and are much easier to access.

While the A5600 U clearly wants to be your one-stop-shop for all things entertainment, its integrated speakers just aren’t up to the task. These sounded very tinny while listening to music, with hardly any discernible bass. They’re better than your average laptop speakers, but they’re a long way off other all-in-one PC sound systems.

We weren’t big fans of the bundled in keyboard and mouse either. They use the same clear glass design from the main PC, but they look decidedly less smart and pick up fingerprints easily. This wasn’t helped by the keyboard’s black, glossy finish either, and it’s noisy and bouncy plastic keys cheapened its overall look. The mouse also became quite grubby, but at least it was the right size for our hands.

The Acer Aspire A5600 U is a beautifully designed all-in-one PC, but at its current price it can’t compete with its more powerful competition. It might not be as attractive, but the Asus ET2220IUTI is faster, has better speakers and is cheaper, too.