ASUS Offers an All-in-One that May Be the One for All

Ever since Apple and the iMac, PC users have envied the slim, sleek all-in-one concept. But that green-eyed monster no longer has to rear its ugly head—all-in-one computers have made their debut, with Windows-based systems emerging last year to great success.

The frontrunner in the marketplace for All-in-Ones (also called AIOs) has been ASUS. Their all-in-one computers are speedy, powerful, and efficient. The design is simple and effective, and the configurations are accommodating and flexible enough to suit almost everyone’s needs.

Their new model is the ASUS ET2322INTH-04 Multi-Touch All-in-One Desktop Computer, which sports top-of-the-line specs. The engine is revved by a powerful and all-new Intel® Core™ i7-4500U Haswell processor clocking in at 1.8GHz. This 4th generation dual-core processor can be overclocked to 3.0GHz using Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 and includes a 4MB Intel Smart Cache along with Intel’s signature hyper-threading technology for more efficient use of the two cores. It’s aided by 16GB of 1600MHz dual-channel DDR3 memory, which is ideal for all the multitasking, multiple program openings, and high-end work you intend to throw at it. This is a processor and RAM configuration that can handle a wide variety of work easily and quickly.

The new Haswell processors feature a higher-graded graphics chip, the Intel HD Graphics 4400, which gives a boost to the native graphics capability of the processor. The bad news? It’s still not powerful enough for some games. The good news? The ASUS ET2322INTH-04 is configured with its own dedicated graphics processor, the NVIDIA GT740M, with 1GB of dedicated RAM. The GT740M is rated 5x higher than the standard Intel HD 4000 of older notebooks, and should give you a graphics boost for games like Guild Wars 2 and Battlefield 4. It uses new Kepler GPU architecture, which enhances the card's capabilities, performing twice as fast as the previous GT700 series GPUs. It also supports Direct X 11, CUDA, 3D Vision, and Optimus technologies.

The screen on which you’ll be viewing all that gorgeous graphic content is a 23-inch LED-backlit 10-point multi-touch display. With native Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 and 16:9 aspect ratio, all of your multimedia viewing will be as cinematic as possible. The screen is also an IPS (in-plane switching) display, which gives you brighter colors and sharper images at a greater 178-degree viewing angle. The bezel won’t interfere with your line of vision either—the screen is edge-to-edge glass. The 10-point screen also allows a greater range of gesture and movement commands, when paired with Windows 8.

The rest of the computer serves the processor, graphics, and screen well. A roomy 1TB 7200 rpm internal hard drive is included for storage (along with three years of 32GB ASUS WebStorage), and the AIO also includes an integrated side-loading Blu-Ray combo drive that plays Blu-ray Discs and burns DVDs, so you can watch Blu-ray content in Full HD widescreen magnificence. You also have three USB 2.0 and three USB 3.0 ports to connect high-speed peripherals like external drives, and a 6-in-1 card reader that supports SD, SDHC, SDXC, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro Duo, and MMC cards.

If you want to view your digital content on another screen, you can use the HDMI port (one in, one out). The device also supports Intel Wireless Display (WiDi), so you can stream content from the screen to your WiDi-compatible HDTV or alternate monitor wirelessly.

But where would your multimedia be without a sound system? Eschewing the normal cheap computer speakers that most manufacturers bundle with their all-in-one systems, ASUS went for substance with integrated stereo speakers and a 10-watt subwoofer using SonicMaster and MaxxAudio technology. Crystal-clear gaming and room-rocking movie effects are all a part of this package.

ASUS rounds out the system with Gigabit Ethernet, wireless 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0 technology so you’re never without a connection to your ISP. There’s also an integrated 2.0MP webcam and a wireless mouse and keyboard.

There are also other configurations available that fit your budget and computing needs. The ASUS ET2322INTH-03 23" Multi-Touch All-in-One Desktop Computer has the same basic configuration but with a downgrade in processor (Intel Core i5 Haswell) and memory (8GB instead of 16GB). The downgrade in processor and memory will only affect power users who need to perform high-end video editing or graphics work and need the power. The screen is the same, as is the dedicated NVIDIA GT740M graphics controller. It even includes a 1TB 7200 rpm hard drive, but it also downgrades the optical drive from a Blu-ray reader to a SuperMulti DVD burner.

There are also two all-in-one workstations that keep things even simpler. The ASUS ET2322IUKH-01 23" All-in-One Desktop Computer features an Intel Core i5-4200u Haswell processor, 4GB of RAM and the same hard drive and display of the above all-in-ones, a 23” Full HD IPS 1920 x 1080 resolution display, but they get rid of the multi-touch screen and opt for a traditional non-touch display. Alas, with this model, you’ll have to rely on the integrated Intel HD Graphics 4400 chips for your games, because this does not offer the integrated NVIDIA GPU. This model also includes a SuperMulti DVD burner, not a Blu-ray reader. There’s even a similar version with an Intel Core i3 Haswell processor, the ASUS - ET2322IUKH-02 23" All-in-One Desktop Computer, which is almost identical in all other specs as the ET2322IUKH-01, with the exception of a smaller 500GB hard drive. It’s the perfect gift for a college student or as an office workstation—or even as an extra desktop for the kids to play on while you do your work on a higher-end model.

So how does the unit perform aesthetically when placed in your work or home environment? The slim fit (only two inches thick at its widest point) will complement any desk or countertop. The screen is positioned on a circular metallic-finished base, and tilts slightly to adjust to your most comfortable viewing angle. All connections are made in the back of the screen, so unsightly wires are a thing of the past. As a matter of fact, the only wire out of the box is the power cord for the 90W power adapter.

If you’re looking to organize your life, start with the one machine that probably takes up a good chunk of it—your personal computer. Finally, form and function go on a play date and make nice with each other. With PC sales dropping every quarter and losing market space to tablets and mobile phones, it’s about time.