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expired Posted by cgigate • Jul 15, 2022
expired Posted by cgigate • Jul 15, 2022

Acer Aspire XC Desktop (Refurb): Celeron J4125, 4GB RAM, 256GB SSD

+ Free Shipping

$88

$330

73% off
eBay
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Deal Details
Acer via eBay has Acer Aspire XC Desktop (Refurbished, DT.BHFAA.001) for $87.99 (price reflected in cart). Shipping is free.

Thanks to community member cgigate and drjs for sharing this deal.

Note, must add to cart for the sale price.

Specs
  • Intel Celeron J4125 2.00 GHz Quad-Core Processor
  • 4GB RAM
  • 256GB Solid State Drive
  • Intel UHD Graphics 600
  • Includes Keyboard & Mouse
  • Windows 10 Home

Editor's Notes

Written by oceanlake | Staff
  • About this item:
    • This price matches a recent Frontpage Deal.
    • This item is Certified Refurbished. It has been professionally restored by an Acer approved vendor. Units are usually cosmetically indistinguishable from New products, but some may show signs of light use. Functionally, these units are equivalent to New. Certified Refurbished units will be shipped in a New Brown Box.
    • See the forum thread for additional discussion from Slickdeals members about the best uses for this budget desktop.
    • Comes with a 2-year warranty from Allstate.
  • Returns:
    • Free 30 day returns. Seller pays for return shipping.

Original Post

Written by cgigate
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Community Notes
About the Poster
Acer via eBay has Acer Aspire XC Desktop (Refurbished, DT.BHFAA.001) for $87.99 (price reflected in cart). Shipping is free.

Thanks to community member cgigate and drjs for sharing this deal.

Note, must add to cart for the sale price.

Specs
  • Intel Celeron J4125 2.00 GHz Quad-Core Processor
  • 4GB RAM
  • 256GB Solid State Drive
  • Intel UHD Graphics 600
  • Includes Keyboard & Mouse
  • Windows 10 Home

Editor's Notes

Written by oceanlake | Staff
  • About this item:
    • This price matches a recent Frontpage Deal.
    • This item is Certified Refurbished. It has been professionally restored by an Acer approved vendor. Units are usually cosmetically indistinguishable from New products, but some may show signs of light use. Functionally, these units are equivalent to New. Certified Refurbished units will be shipped in a New Brown Box.
    • See the forum thread for additional discussion from Slickdeals members about the best uses for this budget desktop.
    • Comes with a 2-year warranty from Allstate.
  • Returns:
    • Free 30 day returns. Seller pays for return shipping.

Original Post

Written by cgigate

Community Voting

Deal Score
+76
Good Deal
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Top Comments

drjs
159 Posts
109 Reputation
Mine idle at 6W.
AquaGalley8616
1731 Posts
285 Reputation
...
This 88 dollar PC is not a powerful PC. That is correct. I'm not being duped into thinking this is a POWERFUL PC!
This is a laptop PC who's motherboard has been placed in a tiny tower case and can run windows 10/11, and you can add more ram, and comes with NVMe, with external power supply that laptop's use! So very, very low power 24/7 machine 6 watts idle.
It has bluetooth/wifi,ethernet port, 4 usb 2 ports, 2 usb 3 ports. 2 year warranty, intel 600 internal graphics, hdmi and vga port,

You know that Walmart currently is selling this at 299 dollars with good user review average.

I object to the word "duped" in your post. There are 2-3 threads on this device on slickdeals , with things people are doing with it.

Like the Raspberry Pi, it is hobby device, and cheaper than Pi,( if you were to buy Pi plus all the extra's you need to buy to complete Pi package).

Hopefully, people read YOUR post, and read posts from others that discuss the positive aspect of this device, so they know what they are buying and not buying. Alert heard, sir. . Your mission is accomplished. Torpedoes away. Next target!
Pinako
601 Posts
107 Reputation
For those of you wanting to use this thing as a NAS, you're looking at three issues:

Where to mount the disks? As previously mentioned, there's space for a 3.5" disk and a 2.5" disk if you removed the optical drive. Alternatively, you could remove the entire cage and replace it with something that'd accept two 3.5" disks [amazon.com] (I haven't actually tried it because I haven't received the computer yet, but it should work). Similarly, it should not be too difficult to put four 2.5" disks in the case. Use a cage if you want to be fancy. Velcro or duct tape if you just don't gaf. Or get a bigger case, but then you'd lose the cute little form factor.

Where to get the power? Y-splitters. Just don't overload the power supply.

Where to connect the data cables? Ah, now this is the fun part. See previous post regarding the limitations of the PCIe bus. If the goal is to install as many disks as possible, one way would be to put SATA controllers in the ×16, ×4, and ×2 slots. Yes, the M-keyed M.2 slot and even the E-keyed M.2 slot could probably be used for PCIe modules, including SATA controllers and Ethernet controllers.

Each lane of PCIe 2.0 provides 500 MB/s of bandwidth, just barely sufficient for SATA III's 600 MB/s. This is obviously not a problem for HDD, but could limit SSD performance. You might want to be... creative... with port selection, if you plan to use SSDs and HDDs together. For example, if you put a 2-port SATA controller in the ×2 slot, you might want to pair an SSD with a HDD on that same controller to optimize bandwidth usage.

Also remember the limitations of the DMI link. If you're using this machine as a NAS, your disks might be sharing PCIe bandwidth with your NIC. You could potentially install many disks and a lot of other stuff, but they'd compete for bandwidth. Proceed with caution.

655 Comments

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Jul 24, 2022
601 Posts
Joined Nov 2013
Jul 24, 2022
Pinako
Jul 24, 2022
601 Posts
Quote from jcky000 :
maybe it's an obvious question, but i dont see where is the SATA power cable when i open mine, is it behind the DVD mount?
The SATA power cable does run behind the DVD mount, and you could follow it to the motherboard. It's the white socket labeled SATAP1.

Edit: Misread your question. The cable runs underneath the disk drive caddy and terminates in a SATA power connector labeled P3!
Last edited by Pinako July 23, 2022 at 09:06 PM.
Jul 24, 2022
969 Posts
Joined Jun 2007
Jul 24, 2022
R@VEN
Jul 24, 2022
969 Posts
Quote from Pinako :
Inquiring minds want to know. Is there something intrinsically wrong with the configuration, was your item defective, or was it just not a good fit for your application? This would help other prospective buyers choose wisely.

I'll start with one potential reason for avoiding Acer: shoddy refurb job. Just look at how this IO shield was mashed into the case. Horrifying. The damage was relatively minor and I was able to fix it acceptably, but it does raise the question of what else did they screw up? Purchase only if you're able to inspect and test it carefully within the 30 day return window. You are the quality control.

But hey, you might win the lottery and get an i3 box for $88 Wink
Im the guy that got the I3 on accident. I ordered a second one that came in today and its the Celeron. Both of mine came in boxes beat up I assume by FedEx.. Luckily both computers look nearly new. I still need to test the new one but at least it doesn't seem to be dented or anything. I'm planning on adding another 4gb of ram. Is there a consensus on the best place to get a cheap stick?
Jul 24, 2022
113 Posts
Joined May 2008
Jul 24, 2022
jcky000
Jul 24, 2022
113 Posts
Quote from Pinako :
The SATA power cable does run behind the DVD mount, and you could follow it to the motherboard. It's the white socket labeled SATAP1.

Edit: Misread your question. The cable runs underneath the disk drive caddy and terminates in a SATA power connector labeled P3!
Thank you so much! i will check it out tomorrow! I ordered the dvd drive caddy for a 2.5" drive, do i just switch the existing cables connected to the dvd drive to the new caddy?
Jul 24, 2022
76 Posts
Joined Sep 2011
Jul 24, 2022
Wafna
Jul 24, 2022
76 Posts
I got mine yesterday and I've ordered a 4 gig stick from Ebay for just over $10 with tax. There were cheaper ones, but this one was Samsung like the one in it and it had the same model number. I'm happy with the performance with just 4 gigs, but figured why not for dual channel. My box had a huge gash in it, but happily everything inside was ok. It just pushed the bubble-wrapped keyboard to one side. This unit is noticeably more snappy than the old XC 603G that I have with a J1900, no surprise.
Jul 24, 2022
1,731 Posts
Joined Feb 2021
Jul 24, 2022
AquaGalley8616
Jul 24, 2022
1,731 Posts
Quote from minuteman1970 :
Just another update regarding my WIFI situation. I brought one of my Acer units over to a friend's house who has a 5ghz Linksys router. Sure enough, I checked speedtest.net and my Acer has perfectly acceptable download and upload speeds while connected to his 5ghz router. It seems my PC's are working fine but they are either not compatible with my older 2.4ghz Actiontec router, or perhaps there is some sort of issue with my router itself.

Thanks to all who provided troubleshooting input and suggestions.
I'm very glad it worked out for you. You figured out the ram problem and the wifi problem. Good job.
Jul 24, 2022
1,731 Posts
Joined Feb 2021
Jul 24, 2022
AquaGalley8616
Jul 24, 2022
1,731 Posts
Quote :
Quote from AndoX :
Sorry but this Celeron 88 gang is garbage
bro
Are you doing ok? How is your day going? Gee, if you don't like your Acer , return it, and ACER will cover the return cost.
I have bought plenty of stuff on SD that didn't work out for me. Peace!
Jul 24, 2022
8,361 Posts
Joined Jul 2006
Jul 24, 2022
fbueller
Jul 24, 2022
8,361 Posts
Quote from Pinako :
I'm considering printing one of the many cute little boxes on thingiverse [thingiverse.com]. Just have to make sure it doesn't get too hot and melt Wink (54 °C for PLA+)
I was considering the same, but I can't figure out if PLA+ will hold its shape with one of these systems installed. I didn't see any comments feedback, and I hate/can't reliably print with PETG or ABS.

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Jul 24, 2022
4,044 Posts
Joined Jul 2006
Jul 24, 2022
budster
Jul 24, 2022
4,044 Posts
Quote from WHY888 :
Got 2 units today. One is new, the other is used. Both of them are working fineSmilie
What do you mean that one is new and one is used? What differences do you see between the units?
Jul 24, 2022
4,044 Posts
Joined Jul 2006
Jul 24, 2022
budster
Jul 24, 2022
4,044 Posts
Quote from Pinako :
The SATA power cable does run behind the DVD mount, and you could follow it to the motherboard. It's the white socket labeled SATAP1.

Edit: Misread your question. The cable runs underneath the disk drive caddy and terminates in a SATA power connector labeled P3!
So seems there's only one SATA power connector (P3). If we want to power 2 SATA drives, how can this be done? The power connector that goes to the DVD drive won't work for a HD/SSD. Would it be necessary to replace the power cabling that goes to the motherboard and provides a SATA power connector and the power connector to the DVD drive with something else that provides 2 SATA power connectors? If so, I'm not sure what the term for this is so if someone could point me to an example, that'd be helpful.

---

Update: I see now in the wiki that it suggests using a SATA Y splitter cable to be able to get more SATA power connectors. Still kind of curious whether it's possible to replace the entire SATA power cable with another that has at least two connectors and what part I'd be looking for. Not sure if I really want to install 2 SATA drives but just want to be prepared.
Last edited by budster July 24, 2022 at 11:29 PM.
Jul 24, 2022
601 Posts
Joined Nov 2013
Jul 24, 2022
Pinako
Jul 24, 2022
601 Posts
Quote from jcky000 :
Thank you so much! i will check it out tomorrow! I ordered the dvd drive caddy for a 2.5" drive, do i just switch the existing cables connected to the dvd drive to the new caddy?
Yes, the SATA data cable could be switched over. I don't think you could use the power cable attached to the DVD drive. Use the P3 cable. And a Y-splitter if you need more power cables.
Jul 24, 2022
837 Posts
Joined Jan 2017
Jul 24, 2022
randompurplehippo
Jul 24, 2022
837 Posts
Quote from Pinako :
Inquiring minds want to know. Is there something intrinsically wrong with the configuration, was your item defective, or was it just not a good fit for your application? This would help other prospective buyers choose wisely.

I'll start with one potential reason for avoiding Acer: shoddy refurb job. Just look at how this IO shield was mashed into the case. Horrifying. The damage was relatively minor and I was able to fix it acceptably, but it does raise the question of what else did they screw up? Purchase only if you're able to inspect and test it carefully within the 30 day return window. You are the quality control.

But hey, you might win the lottery and get an i3 box for $88 Wink
My use case is Plex. Ended up going with a spare Dell SFF 9020 unit I already had. In all honesty Acer was an impulse purchase and i had requested cancellation but they still shipped it. Now I've to deal with return
1
Jul 24, 2022
632 Posts
Joined May 2010
Jul 24, 2022
thedesi
Jul 24, 2022
632 Posts
How is the performance as a standalone NAS? I have read the limitation given only 1 3.5in bay.. but idle state is low power consumption. Can anyone comment on performance and what's your setup? Main use case to use it as google photos replacement
Jul 24, 2022
601 Posts
Joined Nov 2013
Jul 24, 2022
Pinako
Jul 24, 2022
601 Posts
Quote from Mundosold :
Quote from Pinako :
Yes, it's a Realtek NIC.
Realtek NIC? thought those had problems with pfsense or has the situation improved?
So I installed OPNsense. Set up re0 (Realtek) as WAN and igb0 (Intel) as LAN. So far it has not had any problems routing 1 GbE [openspeedtest.com]. It idles around 9.5 W running OPNsense and spikes up to 12 W during speed tests. Nothing fancy yet (such as VPN or IDS/IPS, which would of course drive up the power usage). Most reported issues seem to be related to high volume traffic (2.5 GbE) or IDS/IPS usage, and there are reports of degraded performance or lockups. If that happened, I'd try the vendor driver (realtek-re-kmod on pfSense and os-realtek-re on OPNsense) or switch to one of the Intel ports.

Next project would be Proxmox and OPNsense on Proxmox Smilie
Last edited by Pinako July 24, 2022 at 07:13 AM.
Jul 24, 2022
1,731 Posts
Joined Feb 2021
Jul 24, 2022
AquaGalley8616
Jul 24, 2022
1,731 Posts
My VERY SIMPLE celeron 88 PC for Plex Server!
I put extra ram in the device.
I put a 2 tb SSD into the device.
I upgraded to windows 11
I installed Plex Server on PC
I migrated movies/tv series/music/ etc I wanted to watch or listen to over the next month to folders I created ... movies... tv shows... pictures... placed on 2TB SSD and done.
Now my xbox, fire sticks, roku, etc can all see that stuff on plex player on those devices too. Simple and it works for me.

p.s. I also have 2 QNAP servers, that I might turn on when I need to watch stuff for next month and transfer to celeron 88 pc, and then turn QNAP servers OFF! NAS device ransomware, and viruses and other nasty things are not as safe on NAS devices as PC with Windows 11 security with daily/hourly security updates.

If I want to do stuff on Windows 11 I can. I do NO transcoding! Why? I don't need it. I watch my stuff on big screen HDTV's. Smilie
Last edited by AquaGalley8616 July 24, 2022 at 02:17 PM.

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Jul 24, 2022
14 Posts
Joined Nov 2016
Jul 24, 2022
ProrDash
Jul 24, 2022
14 Posts
Need your guys help and opinion, is this good for streaming?

I was thinking of upgrading the ram and seeing if I could add a 1050 ti or something to this for encoding and streaming with a capture card. Is that feasible with this machine, given the upgrades that I will add with ram and GPU?

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