Acer Altos R520

Pros

Dual- or quad-core Xeon processors Up to 32GB of memory Six hot-swap disks Choice of SATA or SAS interface Optional RAID PCI Express expansion slots

Cons

Noisy when all ten cooling fans are running Operating system and optical drive not included in price

Verdict

Acer has taken standard Intel OEM components to put together a highly configurable and very scalable 1U server, capable of handling a variety of tasks. It's more than a match for similar products from the big-name vendors.

One line summary

Pros

Cons

Comments:

• Business and productivity
• Development tools
• Education and reference
• Handheld software

• Internet utilities
• Operating systems
• System utilities