An all-in-one computer is frequently required to serve the demands of every member of the family, including serving as a teaching tool for children, a photo- and video-editing computer, and a desktop that can handle the occasional job project for Mom or Dad. The Acer Aspire Z24 meets the most of these criteria without breaking the bank, providing one of the greatest all-in-one Computers for the money, with strong processing and all-around performance for less than $1,000. While it might not sate your child’s desire for intense gaming, it does pretty much everything else, including providing useful listening abilities thanks to Amazon Alexa.
Design
For an all-in-one, the Z24 features a fairly appealing and sleek design, with a stylish black and silver color scheme. Despite the Acer’s larger, 24-inch display, the Z24 is relatively similar in size to the 21-inch Apple iMac (20.8 x 17.7 x 6.9 inches), at a sleek 17.3 x 21.3 x 1.4 inches. As Apple’s iMac computers have some of the biggest bezels available on an all-in-one, the Acer achieves this in large part due to the display’s narrow bezels.
The build quality might use some improvement, as the majority of the silver-colored trim is plastic rather than aluminum as you could see on an iMac. The trim, stand, and base of the machine are all composed of silver plastic, while the rear of the all-in-one is black, giving it a faux-metal appearance throughout. The mounting bracket for the stand seems to be the only exterior metal component.
A stand with a Y-shaped base is linked to the Aspire all-in-one computer. The stand attaches in the back and has a respectable range of vertical angle adjustment, but there is no way to change the stand’s horizontal position without moving the entire unit, and there is no way to change the stand’s height without stacking the computer on something else, like a stack of books. This is not an uncommon issue for all-in-one systems, and even expensive workstations may find themselves perched on a stack of stuff, but we’d still like to see more height options, if only to improve the ergonomics of the machine.
A tray-loading DVD drive is located around the display’s right side. This used to be a reasonably standard feature on any PC, but it’s now somewhat of a tech holdout, an oddity. But anyone who still has a sizable CD collection or uses DVDs for long-term document and media storage may find it handy.
Display
The 24-inch full-HD (1920 x 1080) display on the Aspire Z24 is impressive. Because of the screen’s capacitive touch capabilities and matte coating, which reduces glare from neighboring windows and lights, you may tap and swipe for natural interaction. In this particular area, Windows PCs clearly outperform Macs, which do not support touch.
I was able to make out every detail in the 1080p video when watching the Top Gun: Maverick teaser, whether it was depicting swiftly moving fighter jets, Tom Cruise’s youthful face, or the reflections on a dazzling pair of aviator sunglasses. Shots of aircraft ships in the ocean appeared clear and detailed, while the blue skies appeared authentic and bright. Honestly, my only issue is that a 4K display, like those seen on the Asus Zen AiO Pro Z240IE and Apple iMac 21.5-inch models, is not an option (2019).
In tests, the Aspire Z24 performed well in some display-related areas. Our Klein K10-A colorimeter determined the brightness to be an average of 249.4 nits, which is slightly brighter than the Asus Zen AiO Pro Z240IE (247 nits) and the Acer Aspire S 24 (236.6 nits) but less bright than the more expensive displays found on the Dell XPS 27 7760 (344 nits) and 21.5-inch Apple iMac (436 nits).
Only 95.1% of the sRGB color spectrum was produced by the Acer, which left room for improvement in color quality. That contrasts sharply with the competition’s outcomes, which were all better than 100% and featured fuller, more obviously bright color.
The Asus Zen AiO Pro Z240IE (0.28) and the 21.5-inch Apple iMac both had slightly better ratings for color accuracy than the Acer, which had a Delta-E rating of 1.32 (a perfect score is 0). (0.1). That so, it can be challenging for most people to distinguish between any scores below 3.0. Also, you may adjust the color calibration to your preferences with the Acer Color Intelligence tool that is provided.
Acer has integrated a few eye-health features to prevent eyestrain as you stare at the screen. By adjusting the colors to seem as they should while lowering the amount of blue light emitted by the screen, Bluelight Shield lowers the wavelengths that can over time harm the eyes. Flicker reduction is another eye-friendly technology that improves viewing experience.
Audio
The downward-firing internal speakers of the Z24 delivered crystal-clear sound. Even when roaring fighter planes tried to drown out Ed Harris’ dialogue in the Top Gun: Maverick trailer, I was able to clearly hear every word. The sound is clear enough to distinguish between conversation, sound effects, and the movie soundtrack, and the volume levels are good enough to be heard in the adjacent room. The bass is weak, and the sound quality from the speakers is a little underwhelming.
Keyboard and Mouse
The wireless keyboard and mouse that are included with this all-in-one are connected by a little wireless dongle. When plugged in, the low-profile dongle blends in with the display chassis’s bottom edge USB 2.0 port. There’s a good chance you’ll plug it in and quickly forget the dongle is even there.
The wireless keyboard that comes with it has chiclet keys and adjustable feet that let you change between two heights and angles, making it reasonably pleasant to type on. The full-size keyboard offers a numeric pad and a full complement of function buttons, but it would have been nice if the keys had offered a tad more vertical travel.
Simple to set up and powered by a single AA battery, the provided mouse. Despite the fact that most all-in-one systems come with lightweight, uncomfortable mice, this mouse has a respectable amount of weight. With right and left buttons and a rubber scroll wheel, the layout is straightforward but manageable in the hand.
Ports
Together with one USB-C port, the Z24 is equipped with three USB 3 ports: one blue USB 3.1 Gen 1 port, two red USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports, and one red USB 3.1 Gen 3 port. Two HDMI ports are provided, one of which is an output for adding a second display and the other an input for utilizing the all-in-one as a monitor.
Underneath the display, along the bottom edge of the chassis, are a few connections. There is an SD card slot, a 3.5mm headphone connector, and a USB 2.0 port for use with the wireless keyboard and mouse that are supplied.
The Z24 offers built-in 802.11ac Wi-Fi, a wired LAN port, and Bluetooth for tethering wireless headphones, keyboards, and other accessories.
Bottom Line
For less than $1,000, the Acer Aspire Z24 provides a rather feature-rich desktop experience. This machine’s Intel Core i7 hexacore processor competes with all but the most potent systems we’ve seen, and it comes with a ton of storage and fast memory. Things are somewhat hampered by the lack of a graphics card, especially if you intended to play video games. However the Aspire Z24 offers great performance in most situations for a home machine that may be used for anything from finishing easy school papers to editing home movies.
The Acer Aspire Z24 has replaced the earlier Acer Aspire S 24 as our best value all-in-one thanks to these factors, as well as the reasonable pricing and elegant appearance. You won’t find a better all-in-one machine for around $1,000, however I might advise paying a little more for graphics that are suitable for gaming or a 4K monitor.
