Hands On: Acer's 2024 Aspire C27 AIO PC Brings Class, 'Meteor Lake' Speed to Office Work

(Credit: John Burek)

All-in-one computers tend to attract some criticism from PC enthusiasts. One common gripe is that while they take up less space on a desk than a desktop PC tower and a standalone monitor do, the space saved usually comes at the cost of performance. However, the gap between slim AIOs and larger PC towers is narrowing, as evidenced by the offerings from Acer’s booth at Computex 2024.

Among them is the 2024 Acer Aspire C27 (specifically, model C27-195ES), an update to the company's trim 27-inch AIO. Now it comes with Intel Core Ultra processors. The CPU can be configured for different use cases (either a 155U or a 125U), and 32GB of DDR5 RAM and up to 2TB of M.2 SSD storage are also available. We don't see many new AIO PCs, especially not good-looking ones, and fewer still with latest-generation CPUs. So we paid special attention to the latest C27 at Computex. Here are our first impressions.

An AIO to Speed Through Tasks (and Look Good Doing It)

Besides the CPU offerings, the Aspire C27's main appeal is that it's a sleekly designed AIO with great screen adjustability. It can do both height adjustments...

...and base swiveling...

We expect the new Acer AIO to be used in business applications, as it features Copilot support and Intel Unison straight out of the box to connect laptops or phones for syncing with Windows 11.

To better facilitate office connectivity needs, the C27 has three USB 3.2 Type-A ports, one USB 2.0 Type-A port, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, and one HDMI output port.

It features VESA mounting via an optional kit, a 1440p QHD webcam with privacy shutter and dual mics, and a screen resolution of 1440p. The display also features Acer’s Bluelight Shield technology to relieve eye strain from prolonged use.

In terms of peripherals, Acer includes a wireless keyboard-and-mouse combo. The keyboard has a Copilot key. It feels like a basic bundled wireless keyboard: nothing special, but serviceable.

Based on the few minutes we spent clicking around, the overall feel of the UI and menus seems snappy enough. Acer also includes a one-click utility that lets you select among balanced, silent, and performance modes.

According to Acer, the 27-inch model will be available in time for the holiday season and will retail for $899 and up. Stay tuned for PCMag.com's full review.

About Our Experts

John Burek

Executive Editor and PC Labs Director

My Experience

I have been a technology journalist for almost 30 years and have covered just about every kind of computer gear—from the 386SX to 64-core processors—in my long tenure as an editor, a writer, and an advice columnist. For almost a quarter-century, I worked on the seminal, gigantic Computer Shopper magazine (and later, its digital counterpart), aka the phone book for PC buyers, and the nemesis of every postal delivery person. I was Computer Shopper's editor in chief for its final nine years, after which much of its digital content was folded into PCMag.com. I also served, briefly, as the editor in chief of the well-known hard-core tech site Tom's Hardware.

During that time, I've built and torn down enough desktop PCs to equip a city block's worth of internet cafes. Under race conditions, I've built PCs from bare-board to bootup in under 5 minutes. I never met a screwdriver I didn't like.

I was also a copy chief and a fact checker early in my career. (Editing and polishing technical content to make it palatable for consumer audiences is my forte.) I also worked as an editor of scholarly science books, and as an editor of "Dummies"-style computer guidebooks for Brady Books (now, BradyGames). I'm a lifetime New Yorker, a graduate of New York University's journalism program, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

The Technology I Use

I use a lot of computers on rotation in my daily work, but I rely on just a few to get things done. I split my work life mostly between a Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (a 15-inch Ryzen model), paired with a Lenovo ThinkVision portable monitor, and a custom-built big-chassis Windows 10 desktop PC that has served me well for years now. (Specs: Liquid-cooled Intel Core i7-6950X Extreme Edition, 32GB of RAM, and a GeForce GTX 1080 card.) That's all in a giant chassis with six hard drives and SSDs packing its bays. (As I upgrade systems, I just keep moving the old warhorse drives over.) This behemoth is hooked up to a 32-inch LG monitor.

I also have a bunch of PCs around the house, all custom builds: another one attached to my main TV (for gaming and occasional forays into VR), a mini-PC on the bedroom TV (acting as a media server), and a Mini-ITX desktop in a corner of the living room...just because. I carry around an oversize OnePlus phone, but when I do long-haul travel, a vintage iPod Touch comes along, too, for old times' sake.

I wasn't always a PC guy. I cut my teeth on a cassette-drive-equipped Commodore VIC-20 in the 1980s. But I got serious with Apple desktops in the early 1990s, starting with a Macintosh SE, then a Macintosh LC, and finally one of the short-lived Umax "clone" Macs, before building my first PC and never looking back.

With all my typing and editing work over the years, I've become a huge proponent of thumb trackballs, which minimize wrist action (and my wrist pain). I have a secret cache of the long-discontinued Microsoft Trackball Optical Mouse (my personal favorite), held in an undisclosed location.

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Francisco Lahoz

Junior Writer/Associate Producer

In undergrad, I was the guy you’d run to if you needed a charge because I always had at least a few portable batteries in my bag. A lifelong interest in technology led me to PCMag, where I'm honing my journalism skills while also getting to nerd out about the latest advancements in computer tech. I’m a current PC gamer and a former console gamer with an unhealthy obsession with custom keyboards.

Run into me in PCMag's lab, and I'm usually benchmarking graphics cards, laptops, and desktops. That means I have a deep practical knowledge of testing software and the latest applications, games, and utilities used to generate our performance analyses. If a piece of tech isn't performing as expected, I'll be among the first to know. (You'll also find me hand-modeling for our product reviews, now and then.)

The Tech I Use

I use an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti in my gaming rig at home. I use a Sony Alpha a6400 for amateur photography, but I’ll more often than not rely on the camera on my Google Pixel 9a. I also rely on a pair of Sony WH-CH700N wireless headphones to stream podcasts and cancel out noise on my daily NYC subway commute.

In my downtime, I like to play video games and tinker with home networking solutions. My current obsession is building up a media library on my TerraMaster F4-423 NAS to cut out expensive subscription services.

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