Thursday, January 27, 2011

All-in-one PC: Desktop beauties

Long as they were niche products, now they are pop culture: All-in-one PC. Smaller and smaller components make it easier to do away with the inner workings of the computer in the monitor housing. However, there is under the hood are considerable differences in performance. Apple has shown us for years that the concept can work an all-in-one computer - now the competitors from the Windows world are on the train.


The idea to store the entire PC in the casing of the monitor displayed the manufacturers more and more followers. They entice with extras such as touch screens and 3D and in some cases significantly lower prices than the real thing from Apple. The advantages of such a PC are obvious: If your monitor and computer are not physically separated from each other, there is between them and no cable clutter.

This is particularly true if the receiver for wireless keyboard and mouse is built right into the device. And under the table takes no hulking box off the square. Ideally, you will only need a cable, namely the outlet. Nevertheless, all-in-one PC is at first reluctant to have penetrated to the desks.

Not without reason: the manufacturer's use because of the size often components of the notebook world, which detracted from the performance in some cases significantly. Too slow, too loud, too bulky and do even more expensive: The Call of the compact computer was not the best. Technical features are usually absent, but with current components such concerns are largely a thing of the past, like the hardware expert by computer magazine c't, Windeck says.

This is true at least for units in the medium price segment around the 850 €, as a test of the magazine (issue 23/2010) revealed. Cheaper models can pay for the price advantage at the end with such poor displays and slow Netbook chips. The good news for normal consumers: "The units are designed for people who do not pay attention to any technical finesse, but only work with the PC like," says Windeck.

For such users could be recommended in principle the device class. More and more manufacturers - whether Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Asus, Acer, Lenovo, Sony and smaller vendors such as MSI, Medion and Packard Bell - now have a selection of models on offer. Note details the concept of "all-in-one-roof" PC holds for some user groups but disadvantages.

Who wants to be sure to replace a component or the other even to the device class does not look at the first closer. And hardcore gamers who are dependent on a sophisticated graphics, the all-in-one computer may currently forgotten, says Windeck. Some models are already in test at medium load become quite loud, "This one should look at as consumers already closely." Was also necessary to ensure that all important connections are up to date, such as USB 3.0 for fast filling of an external hard drive.

In terms of performance, however, develop the computer on and on. For example, Lenovo and Asus already announced models with the latest Intel processors, the "Sandy Bridge architecture, it combines the processor and graphics card in a chip. Also, the competition-chip "Fusion" is AMD's move into the cluster computer.

Extras are good often is not externally advertised the all-in-one PC can already see through the design principle of basically similar. Her inner life will vary considerably, with a strict dependence between price and performance catches the eye. The chips ranging from Atom netbook processor to the powerful Core i7.

There are two to four gigabytes of RAM, and even with the graphics card, the gap apart. Accordingly, a price range gapes 650-1300 € between the cheapest and most expensive models: the consumer can not fail to study the price lists and tables of technical data accurately. "In the traditional desktop computer, more and more computing power for the money," admits Windeck consider.

And the price of more sophisticated all-in-one PC is comparable with what you have to shell out for an iMac. Another reason why the manufacturers are trying strengthened to lure customers with touch screen operation or 3-D displays. At least the finger-operation made by the c't testers little impression.

You bring in software to a desktop computer at the moment little - and it should also be uncomfortable, "You must always stretch the arm, and quickly becomes lame." The 3-D functionality goes quickly into the money, usually just a special shutter glasses are settled, which means additional costs, if you do not want to watch TV alone.


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