Labs

The Acer Aspire certainly looks the part: it's solid and stylish, while its tiny dimensions mean it's no bigger than the average DVD player. We've already reviewed the Hiper chassis it's based around and weren't too enamoured by its tacky plastic fascia, so it's pleasing to see that Acer has designed its own front panel.

It's amazing how much can be squeezed into such a limited space. Processing power comes courtesy of a 2GHz Athlon 64 3200+ with 512MB of PC3200 memory, and the resulting 2D score of 0.78 is more than enough for everyday use. The integrated Radeon Xpress 200G GPU won't cope with Far Cry at our strenuous settings, but this isn't a gaming machine. Instead, Acer has clearly focused on the mainstream market with the L200, making everything as simple as possible. The front panel has four handy USB 2 ports and one mini-FireWire hidden away, keeping things neat.

Storage is taken care of by a 160GB Western Digital disk, but there are no upgrade options. There's

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only room for one TV tuner, albeit a hybrid analog-digital one; you choose which you want to use in the installation process. If you already have a digital receiver - either integrated into a TV or in a Freeview box - the Acer is a good choice, as you can use its single tuner to record while watching live TV through your other tuner.

Wi-Fi isn't integrated, but Acer bundles an 802.11g USB dongle in the box. Ports for VGA, S-Video and composite in and out are present, although DVI is missing. 5.1-channel audio is output via coaxial S/PDIF, stereo RCA cables or standard mini-jacks, and there are four more USB 2 connectors and one FireWire port on the rear.

Unfortunately, the Acer is among the noisiest machines this month, particularly when playing a DVD. It's inevitable that it would be noisy with so much crammed into such a tight space, and even when idle the Acer's fan hum (34.5dBA) was noticeable in a quiet room. You can hide it away, though, so long as the external infrared sensor - which has to be plugged into the PC - is visible.

The bundled keyboard is no match for Microsoft's MCE keyboard. A wide range of playback buttons line the top, but the integrated directional pad (for mouse control) is definitely no substitute for a trackball's accuracy. It's a minor quibble, though, and you can use the remote control most of the time.

The L200 is ultimately a decent Media Center, looking nothing like a standard PC. The one-year warranty is disappointing, as is the noise, but if you can live with these the Aspire represents good value.