Acer Veriton Vero Mini Review

While the Intel NUC will always have a special place in my heart, small form factor (SFF) PCs like the Acer Veriton Vero Mini have their advantages too. Key among those advantages are a more versatile design, more powerful innards, and superior expandability.

Design

From a form factor perspective, the Acer Veriton Vero Mini sits in a useful middle ground between true mini-PCs like the Intel (now ASUS) NUC and traditional desktop PCs. Like a mini-PC, the SFF is ideal in space-constrained environments and can even be mounted via VESA behind a display. But like a traditional desktop, the SFF also offers the versatility of landscape and portrait positioning for easier access to its ports and buttons, and better expandability options both inside and out.

The Veriton Vero Mini is similar to other SFF designs I’ve used and seen, and while it can’t be configured per se at purchase time—there are basically just two preconfigured models—you can of course do as you will once you get it home. To set apart the Mini, and to highlight its eco-friendly nature, Acer allows a unique speckled paint-like effect to adorn the plastic front face of the device, similar to what we see on its other Vero products. It’s a reminder of its extensive use of recycled plastics and other materials (noted below), but it’s also curiously attractive and provides a bit of character.

As important, Acer also uses the space available in this SFF design to good effect. There are many ports on the front and the back, offering a good mix of temporary and permanent expansion, respectively (and as described below). There are no surprises overall: the top of the PC (in landscape) provides a sea of venting holes and the bottom is all business.

Internal components

As noted, the Mini comes in two pre-configured models, one with a 6-core Intel Core i5-1240T processor, Intel UHD 730 integrated graphics, 16 GB of DDR-4 RAM, and 512 GB of PCIe NVMe SSD storage, and one with a 12-core Intel Core i7-12700T processor, Intel UHD 770 integrated graphics, 16 GB of RAM, and 1 TB of SSD storage. The review unit is the latter configuration, but I suspect either would meet the needs of the typical productivity worker.

Granted, the T-series Intel Core processors threw me for a loop at first as I’m not sure I was even aware that such a thing existed. As it turns out, this processor family is specifically designed for SFF PCs and they offer an interesting middle ground for performance and power management when compared to other desktop-class CPUs, and they are correspondingly less expensive. Each runs at 35 watts, for example, compared to the more common and power-hungry Intel Core i5 and i7 desktop CPUs at 65 to 125 watts.

Looked at another way, the Veriton Vero Mini offers a step up from the standard mobile chipsets found in NUCs and other mini-PCs. And I think this was the right place to land, though I’m surprised Acer isn’t using the newer 13th Gen Intel parts by now. Not that it mattered in my own usage: The Mini handled all of my normal productivity tasks with no hiccups, and with just a steady and quiet humming and no undue fan noise. My not really noticing anything in this regard is perhaps the best compliment I can give, but even if it did spin up the fan more, you could always tuck it away.

Connectivity

Connectivity hits at the same middle of the road as the core specs, with gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6, and, surprisingly, Bluetooth 5.3. I used Wi-Fi and Ethernet extensively—the Acer was a key component in my digital decluttering activities in August and September—and it was able to hit over 600 Mbps down on my gigabit Ethernet connection on Wi-Fi. So no issues there.

Ports and expansion

The Veriton Vero Mini offers a nice selection of ports on its front and back. I just have two concerns, the lack of any kind of Thunderbolt 4/USB4 connectivity and the difficulty in determining which USB ports had which capabilities: Each is at least color-coded.

On the front, you will find two full-sized USB-A ports, one a red USB 3.2 Gen 2 port (10 Gbps) and one a blue USB 3.2 Gen 1 port (5 Gbps), plus the PC’s only USB-C port, which is USB 3.2 Gen 2 with speeds of up to 10 Gbps. There is also a combo microphone/headphone jack and, on the other side of the ports (and at the top if the unit is stood up vertically), a power button.

On the back, Acer provides full-sized HDMI and DisplayPort ports for video-out, two blue USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (5 Gbps), and, embarrassingly, two black USB 2.0 ports (480 Mbps), plus a full-sized gigabit Ethernet port and the power connector.

Acer is sadly vague about the HDMI and DisplayPort versions and capabilities, but it separately notes that each can handle 4K+ resolutions at 60 Hz at the same time. I used it with a single display most of the time, but I did experiment with dual displays back in late August and didn’t have any issues.

Keyboard and mouse

Acer ships its Veriton Vero Mini as a complete package, sans the display, so it comes with a full-sized and wired keyboard and mouse. Neither is in any way ergonomic or notable, so I kept them in the box and used my preferred Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop set instead. But I suppose these would solve the USB 2.0 problem, as you could use them with those two otherwise pointless ports and leave the more capable expansion to other tasks.

Security

Acer occupies an interesting middle ground—there’s that term again—between the fully managed environments preferred by large corporations and the loosely managed (or unmanaged) systems used by individuals and startups. And the Mini reflects this: It comes with TPM 2.0 circuitry, of course, it has to for Windows 11, and the SSD is protected with Intel’s Opal2 technologies. And Acer places links to its Office Manager software for those budding small businesses that want to go that route. I just used the system normally as an individual.

Sustainability

The Mini is EPEAT Gold rated and it uses 56 percent post-consumer recycled plastics in its front panel, keyboard, and mouse. And the packaging it arrives in is 100 percent recycled plastic and molded pulp.

Serviceability is also good despite the cramped innards. The top panel comes off easily enough, and then you can replace or upgrade the RAM (two slots, supporting up to two 128 GB total), the M.2-based SSD, and the wireless module once you get below the fan housing and the SSD expansion cage.

Also, a bundled VeroSense for DT app provides ecological-focused recommendations for power management if you’re into that kind of thing.

Software

The review unit shipped with Windows 11 Pro, though it looks like you can get Windows 10 Pro instead if that’s of interest. There are only a few Acer-branded utilities onboard for documentation, product registration, system configuration, and VeroSense, plus links for the Acer Office Manager app and agent, two Intel utilities, Realtek audio, and Evernote. Three items—Amazon.com, Booking.com, Dropbox promotion—qualify as crapware but they’re easily removed.

Pricing and configurations

The Core i5 version of the Mini retails for $850, while the Core i7 version is typically $1200; the latter is on sale for $1100 as I write this. I’m not as well versed in desktop PC pricing as I am on mobile, but this seems about the right price area given their mid-range desktop parts.

Recommendations and conclusions

The Acer Veriton Vero Mini offers a nice blend of performance and versatility in a small package and, for the most part, I had a hard time differentiating it from the workstation-class desktop PC I normally use. Assuming, of course, that I stuck with the standard productivity tasks for which it was designed. Even a single Thunderbolt 4/USB4 port would make a big difference, but the Mini has enough expansion, including support for dual displays, to meet most needs. This is a terrific little PC.

At-a-glance

Pros

• Compact and hidable form factor
• Solid productivity performance
• Plenty of ports
• Supports dual displays
• Sustainable design and packaging

Cons

• Only one USB-C port, no Thunderbolt 4/USB4
• Basic bundled keyboard and mouse