A middle-of-the-road desktop PC
Nobody ever got fired, they used to say, for buying IBM. A machine from that stalwart of business computing might not be the most exciting, but it would be a safe choice. Dull but worthy. Reassuringly uninspired. You might well think the same of this desktop PC from Acer. The Taiwanese company may not be the world’s most innovative company, but it is the world’s fourth bestselling personal computer manufacturer.
At first glance, the Extensa is the epitome of prudence. Its plain black case is so featureless, it verges on the ugly. For a tower PC, it’s quite compact, though it still finds space for a built-in DVD writer - one of the advantages of sticking with a traditional PC format. The price tag is tempting, given there’s a mouse and keyboard thrown in, and there are ports for two 1920x1080-pixel monitors, although one of them is of the old VGA type, which won’t give you the sharpest picture with modem monitors. The configuration we tested has a mid-range Intel Core i5 processor, not a slow Pentium or Celeron.
What it doesn’t have is USB 3.0. The six ports are all USB 2.0. That will slow the performance of an external hard drive, so if you need more storage than the included half-terabyte drive, you should open up the case and install it in the spare bay. There’s a fast Ethernet network socket, but no Wi-Fi, though you could add this via USB 2.0 or in one of the two PCI-Express x16 (2nd gen) slots inside.
Adding a graphics card is another potential upgrade you could make, as long as you pick one that’s bus-powered, because no separate connector is provided from the Extensa’s mains power supply. The included Intel HD Graphics 4600 chip, which shares the PC’s measly 4GB of memory, can’t really cope with 3D games, although it’s fine for simpler tasks like watching Full HD video.
Rendering video imported from a camera (a true test of processing power) works fairly quickly thanks to the i5 chip. But the Extensa began to let itself down in our multitasking tests, and we found it could become stuttery during quite basic operations. The limited memory and cheap hard drive are probably to blame.
It might seem strange that this PC comes with Windows 7, but some people did get fired for buying Windows 8. A Windows 8.1 licence is included, and you can upgrade to Windows 10 free of charge. Because this PC is aimed at business users, the Pro version of Windows is installed, so you’ll get the Pro version of Windows 10, which adds features like drive encryption and remote desktop access.
That’s a bonus - but still not enough to make us recommend the Extensa. Despite a capable processor and a reasonable price, it feels much like a PC that’s been designed to be bought by IT managers who won’t have to use it themselves.
VERDICT
It may look terribly sensible, but the Extensa suffers from its limited ambitions.
SPECIFICATIONS
3.2GHz Intel quad-core i5 4460 • 4GB memory • 500GB hard drive • Intel HD 4600 graphics • 6x USB 2.0 ports • Gigabit Ethernet port • DVI port • VGA port • Windows 7/8.1 Pro • 365x175x372mm (HxWxD) • One-year warranty