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Acer Aspire X1200 Series Mini-PCs Stuff HDMI Jack, 9 USB Ports and More in a Tiny Space
Posted by Benny Goldman at 2:01 PM on July 8, 2008
If you gotta go the desktop route, Acer's got three mini-PCs packed heavy with ports that don't take up a ton of space. Measuring 10.6" x 4" x 14.4", about the same as a hardcover book, the X1200s have an HDMI port—like Dell's leaked mini, aka the green PC, but unlike the smaller Asus Eee Box, which only has DVI—plus two PCIes, nine(!!) USBs, FireWire, front and back audio jacks, a DVD SuperMulti drive and a 14-in-1 card reader. Under the hood, it comes standard with 4GB RAM, the better to power the AMD dual-core processor with Nvidia GeForce 8200 integrated graphics to run Vista (now with SP1!). The PCs are out now for US$450 to US$700, a config which includes a 500GB drive and 22" LCD monitor. Check out the press release after the jump. [Acer]
NEW ACER® ASPIRE X1200 DESKTOP IS A SMALL YET MIGHTY PACKAGENo-compromise solution boasts desktop power and value in a compact, expandable and environmentally-friendly design
SAN JOSE, CALIF., July 8, 2008 - Acer America, the third largest vendor in the PC market,(1) today announced the Acer® Aspire X1200, a truly dynamic and sleek entertainment centre with prices beginning at just $450.
Offering powerful desktop components and expansion capabilities in a small box, the Acer® Aspire X1200 desktop enables users to enjoy high-definition movies, games and theater-like sound while maximizing space in the home. Featuring AMD dual-core processors, NVIDIA® GeForce® 8200 on-board graphics and PCI Express® 2.0, it's ideal for entertainment enthusiasts and space-conscious consumers desiring phenomenal performance in an environmentally-friendly design.
"Our innovative, low energy consumption desktop is a no-compromise solution providing desktop power, performance and value in a compact form factor," said Stephanie Hatchel, Senior Manager, Retail Desktop Product Planning for Acer America. "Aspire X1200 was designed to be an appealing, easy to use media hub for making the most of entertainment. From broadcasting MP3s in crystal clear acoustics to showcasing HD movies, this sleek system is a multimedia powerhouse and available at a price today's budget-minded consumers will appreciate."
Expandable and Elegant Space-Saving Design
Measuring just 10.4-inches (L) x 3.9-inches (W) x 12.4-inches (H), the stylish, compact chassis maximizes desktop real estate. Its high gloss coating and recessed venting sport an elegant look and feel. Translucent plastic knobs on the speakers are attractive and make it simple to adjust volume. Peripherals including the keyboard and mouse showcase subtle colour differences that enhance the overall design appeal.
Providing room for expansion, the system offers two PCI Express slots (X1 and X16). For easy access and reach, five USB 2.0 ports, a multi-in-1 card reader, IEEE 1394 port and audio jacks are conveniently located on the front of the PC. Four additional USB 2.0 ports are positioned on the back for connecting to a wide array of peripherals and digital devices.
Dynamic Digital Media Powerhouse
Unlike similar small form factor PCs that leverage mobile components with higher costs and lower performance, the Aspire X1200 offers a choice of models that scale up to an AMD Athlon™ X2 5000 processor and up to 4GB DDR2 memory for taking on advanced multitasking. The AMD processors support downloadable AMD Live! applications for optimal recording, transferring, sharing and organizing of photos, videos, music and media. The energy-efficient designs employing the AMD Athlon™ X2 Dual Core 4850e processor, consume less power, resulting in less wasted energy, lower operational cost as well as cooler and quieter operation.
Boasting the NVIDIA® GeForce® 8200 Chipset with PureVideo HD Technology, the Aspire X1200 supports the hottest games with Microsoft® DirectX 10 for realistic, life-like images. The system also promises high-definition movie picture quality with supported formats including H.264, VC1 and MPEG2. Fully integrated high-definition audio with 7.1-channel audio support provides dynamic sound for games, music and movies. In conjunction with an HD display, the Acer Aspire X1200 delivers a superb home theatre experience.
HDMI makes it easy to hook the PC to a big screen TV and gives users a full range of support for any high-definition format via a single cable. A high-performance 14-in-1 digital media card reader makes it easy to transfer video, music and movies from a host of digital devices. The mini-desktop also come with a large SuperMulti Double-layer drive, which provides enough room to record significant data, hours of DVD-quality video and thousands of songs.
Front- and rear-access audio jacks speed up connection of headphones, microphones and other audio peripherals. PCI Express 2.0 optimizes computer components, such as high-end discrete graphics cards and network cards for the fastest performance available.
Specifications, Pricing and Availability
The Acer® Aspire X1200 desktop PC is available now at major retailers nationwide. Prices range from $449.99 to $699.99 depending on configuration. See following for available models.
Acer® Aspire X1200-U1520A: Available now for $449.99
* AMD Athlon™ X2 Dual Core 4850e Processor
* NVIDIA® GeForce® 8200 On-Board Graphics
* 4GB DDR2 Memory
* 320GB SATA II Hard Drive
* 16x DVD+R/RW, DVD-RAM SuperMulti, Double-Layer Drive
* 14-in-One Media Card Reader
* Windows Vista® Premium 64 with SP1
Acer® Aspire X1200-U1510A: Available now for $459.99* AMD Athlon™ X2 Dual Core 5000+ Processor
* NVIDIA® GeForce® 8200 On-Board Graphics
* 4GB DDR2 Memory
* 320GB SATA II Hard Drive
* 16x DVD+R/RW, DVD-RAM SuperMulti, Double-Layer Drive
* 14-in-One Media Card Reader
* Windows Vista® Premium 64 with SP1Acer® Aspire X1200-B1581A: Available for $699.99 starting on July 13
* AMD Athlon™ X2 Dual Core 4850e Processor
* NVIDIA® GeForce® 8200 On-Board Graphics
* 4GB DDR2 Memory
* 500GB SATA II Hard Drive
* 16x DVD+R/RW, DVD-RAM SuperMulti, Double-Layer Drive
* 14-in-One Media Card Reader
* 22-inch Widescreen LCD Display
* Windows Vista® Premium 64 with SP1
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
chillovacoffee
Posted July 9, 2008 8:10 PM
When will this be available on Australia?
I want!!
centinall
Posted August 27, 2008 10:08 PM
Acer broke the HDMI audio with a BIOS update. I believe systems are now shipped this new BIOS, thus no functioning HDMI audio out of the box. Acer support is unaware of this problem and thus there is no fix, nor any sign that this issue has been elevated to engineering.
http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic109876.html
Bodie1550
Posted 3:12 PM 8/7/08
I'd pay $1000 dollars for something like this from Apple. Why? OS-X.
For me, the Mini is too little and the Mac Pro is too much.
Apple market share is growing but their lack of parity in the desktop arena will hold them back.
That is unfortunate for consumers and their stock holders.
Bodie1550
itchytooth
Posted 3:05 PM 8/7/08
@Xavoc: The problem with OS X is trying to integrate TV tuners with FrontRow. That and the no Netflix streaming...
itchytooth
room209
Posted 2:58 PM 8/7/08
Looks like it has an esata port too, which they don't mention.
room209
DomZ
Posted 2:55 PM 8/7/08
Am I the only one that was hoping for something Intel underneath the hood of this thing?
DomZ
Xavoc
Posted 2:40 PM 8/7/08
Eh, I have a Mac Mini that is smaller, and for media playback is more than capable of streaming/playing back anything I need...
Since I already have500 gig and 400 gig external firewire drives that I can easily hide. OS X is by far preferable to Vista if you ask me. OS X and XP have interchangable features that I like, but Vista really has no redeeming value that I can find.
Xavoc
EGBTMagus
Posted 2:35 PM 8/7/08
I wonder what the expansion capabilities are. I have two 750GB Drives I would want to use but don't know if you could fit them in the case...
EGBTMagus
Dynasty
Posted 2:34 PM 8/7/08
With the price tag of $699.99, I should be saving for this. Good enough to eat, mmmmmmmm.
The official website is not update yet.
Dynasty
imTheKing
Posted 2:34 PM 8/7/08
@socioecoboy: but no OSX :(
I'm still considering taking off the lcd screen on my powerbook and mounting the laptop behind the lcd.
imTheKing
socioecoboy
Posted 2:30 PM 8/7/08
This may be my first HTPC. I was going to convert a Mac mini, but this looks awesome.
socioecoboy
regnez
Posted 3:30 PM 8/7/08
@DomZ:
Absolutely not, but at those prices, the AMD will do just fine.
Except that they used the "e" processors, which are nothing more than a marketing stunt. They should have just gone with the X2 5000+ across the range and under-clocked it to save energy/heat.
The 5000+ is also cheaper, so they could have brought the price down even further.
On a side note, it is good to finally see a 64-bit OS installed by default on a pre-built system. Seems like everything I see in the BB and CC ads has 3GB of RAM and is running 32-bit Vista Home Premium.
Here's to hoping 32-bit falls by the wayside sooner rather than later.
regnez
Charging_Mooses
Posted 3:28 PM 8/7/08
for $700 at the max config!! that right there is a good deal
Charging_Mooses
Pyao lyang shen
Posted 3:25 PM 8/7/08
finally. this is great.
Pyao lyang shen
pacalis
Posted 3:24 PM 8/7/08
I wonder how loud the Acer is.
pacalis
pacalis
Posted 3:24 PM 8/7/08
Then by a mini - with apple upgrades it should cost you $1000 in a couple years.
pacalis
athingunique
Posted 3:58 PM 8/7/08
Hell yes!!! I was looking for a cheap powerbox to run Hardy on (screw Vista). WINE or XP partition; should be no problem on the 500 gb hdd. Might even triple boot and throw OSx86 in there just to see if it works. And an NVidia card? It's like they built this thing for me!!
athingunique
Tyrax
Posted 5:21 PM 8/7/08
This looks great, I love that they are shipping with Vista 64 bit by default. Just give me a QAM tv tuner and hd optical drive, and I'm set
Tyrax
shanzi
Posted 5:13 PM 8/7/08
I have Acers everywhere
including one desktop pc and a laptop.
I gotta its value for money but without compromising a bit. Its same as for this. Will be a hit.
shanzi
daftrok
Posted 6:19 PM 8/7/08
HP's mini PC is better. It's dimensions are 13.89"(L) x 4.21"(W) x 10.87"(H)
daftrok
strider_mt2k
Posted 8:27 PM 8/7/08
@DomZ: I was too. :(
@daftrok: Yes...better. (?)
strider_mt2k
CutePuppyz
Posted 8:56 PM 8/7/08
That's a belle of hardware for such a low price. That 700 buck confit looks really good. It has a 22 inch widescreen mon too!
9 USB ports? my god!
CutePuppyz
diskdaddy
Posted 9:48 PM 8/7/08
Hello...BLURAY??? Frig. Way to drop the ball.
diskdaddy
astrograph
Posted 9:33 PM 8/7/08
im so getting this.. i just checked their website, its not under the desktop section.. *sigh*
astrograph
iatacs19
Posted 10:25 PM 8/7/08
Are there any specs on the db levels?
It's a perfect HTPC if it's quiet.
iatacs19
drewls
Posted 11:03 PM 8/7/08
I wonder if they have a version with no OS for less money. I'd rather put Mythtv on it.
drewls
maven2k
Posted 11:30 PM 8/7/08
Hmmm, I wish my tv was a bit newer so I could use this for an HTPC. Acer has been making some pretty solid pc's, they seem like the only ones that hold up here at work.
maven2k
TheCapt
Posted 12:00 AM 9/7/08
@EGBTMagus: With 9 USB ports and an eSATA port, just put them in an external enclosure
TheCapt
StartingAces
Posted 11:57 PM 8/7/08
@daftrok:
I've got one of the mini HP's. Loud as hell starting up, quiet as a mouse running normally. Way lower power consumption, too.
StartingAces
Macdelaney
Posted 11:55 PM 8/7/08
im sorry if this is a dumb question, but will it be able to playback 1080p? if not, i see no use to it as a HTPC, so i'm assuming it can
Macdelaney
ihaterabbits15
Posted 11:48 PM 8/7/08
Great box, big concern though is the quality of the fans used in a box that would be purposed as a htpc. Hopefully Acer realized this and included quality fans. I don't want my htpc sounding like a xbox 360.
ihaterabbits15
Metkis
Posted 12:22 AM 9/7/08
@discounteggroll: Features irritate you? I still have some PS/2 devices specifically for if the drivers for my USB protocol fail. They have in my laptop before, as well as 2 desktops I've owned.
Metkis
godwhacker
Posted 12:22 AM 9/7/08
kinda cool, but i wonder how the heat control would be. looks like it has enough punch to be a middling good media box, and with a 22" monitor for $700.00 that is a good value.
@ghackett:
64 bit xp WILL run 32-bit apps, it just won't use all your processor's potential
godwhacker
discounteggroll
Posted 12:09 AM 9/7/08
2008 and PC's still have PS/2 KB&M ports? sheesh
I guess with 9 USB ports it won't be that big of a deal, but it still irritates me
discounteggroll
ghackett
Posted 12:05 AM 9/7/08
It says available now, but where? Also I dont understand why everyone is so stoked that it comes with 64-bit Windows. Isn't there still a big compatibility gap? Unless I'm mistaken, you can't run regular 32-bit apps on 64-bit windows, and I use a ton of apps that dont have 64-bit versions. But then again, you could just throw a copy of 32-bit Vista (eugh) and maybe even XP if they have the drivers for it.
@Macdelaney
These 3 machines should have no problems playing 1080p video. If my old Athlon can do it, these definately can.
ghackett
Metkis
Posted 12:47 AM 9/7/08
@N@tedog: That's what the USB ports are for I suppose. It is pretty cheap.
Metkis
N@tedog
Posted 12:34 AM 9/7/08
No Wi-Fi?!?!? Or did I miss something?
N@tedog
xAppleFan
Posted 12:28 AM 9/7/08
Now this looks awesome. Might have to pick one up!
xAppleFan
Lego Addict
Posted 1:17 AM 9/7/08
@diskdaddy: ditto on that one... I was pumped to see this as I want a small form PC for use with the tv... but no Blu.... so sad...
Lego Addict
jabber
Posted 1:28 AM 9/7/08
@ghackett: It's available at BB [www.bestbuy.com] I checked it out a few days ago and it's a little wonky for my taste. I'm not sure if it was because it's a floor model but after I ejected the DVD tray and try to close the tray it would get jammed against the Acer dvd door. You will have to literally hold open the door as tray retract into the computer. Besides that I also prefer to have fireWire port on the back of the computer as oppose to the front of it.
jabber
scott johnson
Posted 1:58 AM 9/7/08
Does anyone know whether these new PCs with HDMI actually have both the video and the sound running through that HDMI port? I'm tired of video-only HDMI interfaces...I would totally buy one of these if it's all just integrated and hassle-free.
scott johnson
jsketto
Posted 2:32 AM 9/7/08
read my comment above...it should answer most questions
jsketto
jsketto
Posted 12:46 AM 9/7/08
I picked one of these up last week from Circuit City!! I got it for $449...I absolutely love it...It is the best HTPC for the price, hands down.....hopefully this will answer som of your questions..
-Fan: extremely quiet...can not hear it at all and still is inaudible when spinning up
-HDMI: it does 1080P AND it does audio (5.1)
-ESATA: yes it has one in the back (and no i doubt you can squeeze a bunch more drives inside but i havent cracked it open yet)
-HD Videos: it has played all of the 1080P mkvs and HDwmvs that i have thrown at it so far without studdering (with the exeception of one time but i was overtasking the system on purpose)
-Optical Drive: i am planning on throwing a Blu-ray drive in there (im pretty sure the graphics card will handle it because it played the M2TS files i ripped)
Overall: Id give this and A+ for the price...a couple extra features like bluetooth and Blu-ray would have been cool but are both a quick fix after a visit to newegg....the system is incredibly quiet and quick....Best bang for the buck HTPC for sure
jsketto
jsketto
Posted 3:19 AM 9/7/08
i just tried to post it again for you guys...hope it works
jsketto
scott johnson
Posted 2:59 AM 9/7/08
@jsketto: Thanks! It's srange, but that comment definitely was not appearing here on the site when I posted mine. Even after I posted mine, I searched the page for "HDMI", and yours wasn't there. This site's got some issues.
scott johnson
CutePuppyz
Posted 5:58 AM 9/7/08
Oh and are Nvidia integrated graphics better than Intel integrated ones?
I mean, the graphics chip in this sucker isn't a dedicated graphics card right?
CutePuppyz
CutePuppyz
Posted 5:57 AM 9/7/08
Will you be able to uninstall Vista and install XP on it? I have a copy of XP Sp2 ready to roll...
CutePuppyz
rahilmehta
Posted 5:41 PM 8/7/08
@athingunique: It's not a card. Those are integrated graphics ;)
rahilmehta
rahilmehta
Posted 2:28 PM 8/7/08
Interesting...There is a version of the X1200 available in Singapore already. It is much, much weaker than these, with only 1gb of RAM, an Athlon X2 4200, and (gasp!) only 4 USB ports.
[www.acer.com.sg]
rahilmehta
MrBlahBlah
Posted 12:08 PM 9/7/08
wow this really shows how much of a rip off the mac mini really is
MrBlahBlah
crunchwrapsupreme
Posted 9:40 PM 9/7/08
I just bought one of these today (the 2nd model listed) at best buy and I am very impressed, for the price this is an excellent system for my HDTV setup...now we're doing Netflicks Online rignt from the couch!
crunchwrapsupreme