This Windows mini PC made me question why I still use a full-size desktop in 2025

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My world largely revolves around laptops; I’ve spent most of my personal and professional life using them. As a result, mini PCs have mostly been an afterthought, although I’ve always been curious about their capabilities. Could a tiny desktop offer the same level of satisfaction to pull me away from the notebook form factor? 

I confronted that question head on when I recently tested the Acer Veriton NUC AI PC, a tiny Copilot PC designed for businesses.

Also: The best mini PCs you can buy

I’ll be honest: I don’t plan to ditch laptops anytime soon. However, Acer’s mini machine made a very compelling case. I can absolutely see myself adding one of these PCs to my setup in the near future. If you’re looking for a new computer, there are certainly reasons to consider a mini PC. Here’s why.

Small but mighty

As you can see, the Veriton PC is tiny, measuring just 5.16 x 5.16 x 1.69 inches and weighing about a pound. It’s basically a tenth of the size of my big PC tower. I’ve eaten sandwiches bigger than this. 

Even with the included 90W power adapter, this setup will not demand a ton of room, and that’s the point here. Acer says the PC is designed for small spaces, especially in a business setting where there’s no room for a full office setup. It’s also worth mentioning that the PC is VESA-compliant, so with the right accessories, you can attach it to the back of a monitor for an even cleaner setup.

Acer didn’t waste any valuable surface space, as the device comes with a thoughtful selection of ports. You get four USB-A ports (two USB 3.2 inputs up front and two USB 2.0 inputs around the back). The Veriton also provides three different display ports: HDMI and DisplayPort on the rear, plus DisplayPort over USB-C at the front, supporting up to three external monitors simultaneously.

What’s neat about the USB-C is that it supports data transfer and can also be used for charging external devices.

One standout detail is the pair of 2.5Gbps LAN ports on the back. Most people won’t touch these (especially since the Veriton supports Wi-Fi 6), but they’re handy for professionals working across multiple networks. Speaking of workplace environments, above the power button is a fingerprint reader for added security, which can be set up via Windows Settings.

The hardware inside this mini PC is comparable to a midrange laptop, so heat buildup has the potential to be a problem. Acer accounted for this, providing heat vents on every side (except the top and front) to cool the internals.

Putting it to the test

There are two main configurations of the Veriton NUC AI PC, and I tested the higher-end model. My review unit came with an Intel Core Ultra 7 256V processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. A configuration like this lands the PC closer to a midrange Windows laptop than a premium machine, as noted in the table below. You’ll notice that it aligns more with the Acer Aspire 16 AI than with the more powerful Asus ExpertBook P3.

In everyday use, the Veriton holds its own. My first stress test consisted of dozens of Chrome tabs, a couple of 4K livestreams, animated GIFs, and a pile of Black Friday deal pages. Everything ran smoothly until I crossed the 40-tab mark, at which point slowdown began to creep in, accompanied by blank pages and longer load times. 

Things worsened further when I downloaded a game through Steam while browsing the web. The large file resulted in throttling and a few temporary freezes.

Being me, I couldn’t help it but try playing a few video games on the Veriton. Lightweight indie games like “Hollow Knight: Silksong” ran perfectly, with no stuttering or freezes. With more graphically demanding titles, things weren’t quite as smooth. “Resident Evil 3” was another test game, and I had to adjust a few of the settings — the frame rate was a bit choppy. But in the end, it also ran great, if a little fuzzy-looking. 

While playing both games, the fans kicked into high gear. The Veriton’s surface temperature stayed tame, as the chassis only became slightly warm.

Also: How much RAM does your PC actually need in 2025? A Windows and Mac expert weighs in

For my final stress test, I drew inspiration from Jack Wallen, a fellow ZDNET writer. I attempted to run a local LLM that I downloaded from Ollama. Unfortunately, due to the PC’s limited hardware capabilities, I was unable to do this. A significant portion of the Ollama LLMs require a good amount of memory to run, with a few demanding as much as 64GB. I couldn’t install them.

If you plan on using the Veriton for AI workloads, you’re better off with a cloud-based model. I ran the gpt-oss:120b-cloud model as a test, and I asked it to create a 20-year career strategy plan. It delivered a highly detailed outline, complete with tables and clean formatting.

ZDNET’s buying advice

The Acer Veriton NUC AI PC normally retails for $1,050, but is currently on sale for $834.97. If you’re looking to save some money, the Acer Veriton PC with an Intel Core Ultra 5 225V processor is available for $800. Both listings come with a free mouse and keyboard.

I would recommend this mini PC to professional users who need a compact, secure desktop with modern hardware and takes up no space. The dual LAN setup, in particular, emphasizes its role as a business-centric machine. I can’t really recommend it to the average user since it can’t match the same level of utility as a traditional laptop, like the Aspire 16.