Asus All-In-One ET2410IUTS-B011C Review

Asus All-In-One ET2410IUTS-B011C
All in one feature packed desktop!
http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/et2410iuts-b011c-asus-et2410iuts-b011c-p-54104.html?sort=2a 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABCDsW8i5cA

Features

Today we have something special straight from ASUS. I’ll be looking at their all-in-one desktop computer. Today’s model is the base Core i3 priced at $1199; they go up to a Core i5 priced at $1599 with BluRay drives. Bit disappointing to see no Core i7 in one of these units. Would have been interesting to see how much power they could have put into one of these.
So, let’s take a look at what we have to play with today.

Model: ET2410IUTS-B011C
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
CPU: Intel® 2nd Gen Core™ i3-2100
Memory: 4GB DDR3 1333MHz
Hard Drive(s): 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6GB/s
Optical Drive(s): Super Multi DVD R/W
Networking: Gigabit Ethernet
Graphics: Intel Graphics 3000
Display: 23.6” Multi-Touch LCD-LED (1920x1080)
Audio: Stereo Speakers (2x3w)
Coms: 802.11b/g/n
Inputs: 3x USB2.0, 2x USB3.0, HDMI-in, e-SATA, 1x Microphone, 3-in-1 Card Reader
Outputs: 1x Headphone Out, HDMI-out
Webcam: 1.3m

Taking it out of the box was a bit of a struggle, I must admit the box almost had me beat. Once you open the box you need to pull up the unit to take it out, problem is, it’s pretty much stuck on to the lower foam, so you need to put a bit of strength in your pull to take it out.

The unit comes with a bunch of built in ASUS programs that help add a bit more interactivity with the touch screen. Some of the apps include a nice little paint program which kids would love, however I wouldn’t be a big fan of letting my kids keep fingering my brand new touch screen computer, but each to their own I guess. The programs surprisingly, can be a bit time consuming but it provides good several hours of fun.

One of the biggest things in this unit would be the touch screen. Straight up I can tell you it is very responsive and manages multi-touch gestures very well. It definitely adds a unique experience browsing through windows explorer simply by touching on what I want, however I can see it to be an effort to keep it up. After all, it is a desktop computer, so it will be sitting on your desk (or mounted on a wall if you like with the VESA mounts (not included)) so it means your arm will be constantly raised for you to use this computer by touch. Unless you’re the Hulk, keeping your arm in a suspended state can be ridiculously tiring and I couldn’t do it for longer than 20-30 minutes.

With touchscreens comes the worry of finger prints and smudges, and you'd be right to worry. It does retain prints and smudges however it doesn't keep as much on it as one would think, and doesn't become noticeable till you turn the screen off.

Design

Once I took it out though, it was pretty. I’ve usually been the one who is skeptical about all-in-one designs from companies other than Apple, and though the iMac is definitely up in top spot for its uniform design, this ASUS unit I must say sits up within top 5.

The screens border and backing is a nice mix of polished and matte black, with the speaker area and base in silver. The speakers grill reaches from end to end and is plastered with branding stickers on the left hand side. Not sure what they were thinking with that one. I mean, it looks so sexy, why ruin it with a bunch of unsexy stickers?

The base is one solid piece of hardware. I’m not sure what it is made of, but it is solid to the bone and weighs as much as the entire unit, but it does a good job keeping the screen grounded and no little bump or knock will tip this bad boy over.

On the back of the unit, we have 3x USB2.0 ports, 2x HDMI (1 in, 1 out), Ethernet port and VGA Output. The input can be a very handy feature. If you have a PS3, plug the HDMI into the unit and switch between the inputs and turn your computer into a screen for your PS3. Same goes for any other device with HDMI. This could be very useful features for people who want to watch something on a portable device on the big screen, quickly.

The keyboard and mouse are small and petite and come in a shiny plastic black material. Looks very clean and elegant and are wireless! I did however ask myself why the wireless devices have their own dongle which you need to plug in to the unit, meaning, at the back you have 2x USB2.0 ports and not 3. Not sure as to why they couldn’t just build the wireless dongle, into the unit? Both pieces are quite comfortable to use, however the mouse is quite small.

Overall though, this is a fantastic piece of design. It looks fantastic and would complement any home or office. For small businesses and office workers, this could be a machine you are looking for. The simplicity of it will save you space and power consumption.

Performance

The unit was quite quick to boot up and restart, coming in around the 45sec mark.

The display of the unit is gorgeous.  Full HD playback on the unit produced vibrant colours and rich blacks. At no point were the blotchy marks or pixilation.

The sound on the unit features “Sonic Master” and “DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC™” which simply means, it puts out good sound! Watching HD content, the audio was crisp and clear. From explosions to speech, everything was clearly audible.

The unit features in integrated Intel Graphics 3000 chip for its graphic processing. This means the unit is not suitable for high end gamers. Mid-range casual gamers however might find the unit to be quite pleasant overall.

Our Cinebench software gave us the following test results:

CPU: 2.96pts
OpenGL: 6fps

The CPU performed remarkably well. Easily out scoring 2^nd Gen Laptop processors of the same speed. The graphics however is let down by the Intel Graphics 3000.  

Our PCMark07 benchmark gave a result of 2561 PCMarks. 

Conclusion

This is probably the perfect unit for the family computer. If you need something for the kids to do their homework on, to pay some bills, watch movies, listen to music, then I would highly recommend considering one of these. Its simplicity would be a big attraction to most as you do not have to worry about plugging this into that to work. What I would like to see from ASUS though, is beefed up versions of these units. Give us a unit with 2^nd Gen Core i7, fill it with memory and a dedicated graphics card, and you could find yourself the perfect desktop machine.

A BIG plus to this machine is its 2 year on-site pickup and return warranty! A big advantage to have in an all-in-one pc!

sahin.s@centrecom.com.au