Testing using PassMark
Here is the overall PassMark rating (some of the tests, such as 3D Graphics were not run because the box doesn’t have a graphics card capable of supporting those tests):
Here are the individual PassMark ratings:
Final Thoughts
I really like this little box – it really does make a great Small Business Server 2011 Essentials box. The specification is good – with a powerful processor and a good looking box.
I thought that the inclusion of the Acer ITSmart add-in was a really great idea, and it has lots of really useful features for your business (or home).
Adding and removing drives was simple – both internally and externally. The internal drive bays are the same as the WHS V1 box, so its a click, pull, add drive, slide back and that is it. Very simple and only takes a few seconds.
It was useful having a monitor port on the back of the back – something that most WHS boxes don’t have, but something that makes it a lot easier to use the box and more importantly, troubleshoot the box if something goes wrong.
All the recovery media is provided just in case something does go wrong as well.
There is hardware RAID provided in the box and it makes it very simple to use RAID if you wish to do so.
One thing some people might find odd is that the power button is location inside the locked front door of the server. The reason for this, I assume, is that most businesses don’t power down their servers very often and the last thing they would want is the box to shut down because someone knocked the power button!
What would be nice is if Acer could take a leaf out of the AC100S box and install WHS 2011 on it and sell that. Although to be honest I won’t hold my breath on that happening. But there isn’t anything stopping you from running SBS 2011 E at home instead of WHS 2011!
Specifics on price and availability are still to be provided – as soon as they are available I will post them!
All in all, the Acer AC100S box is highly recommended.
where is this thing