Asus ET2220 All-In-One PC

[Aniallation]

Some background info first: I went to a car meet last night, one of my buddies who goes to the meets a lot was stopping by on his way back from his uncle's who gave him his computer, seeing as my buddy already had a computer and didn't really have a use for it, so he asked if I wanted to buy it for $200 so he could pay for gas, I didn't know much about the PC or it's specs, all I knew was that it was an Asus touchscreen AIO, it was in the box and everything, so I went ahead and took it off his hands.

 

And honestly, I don't regret it at all. It has some pretty damn great specs for the money, especially considering that compared to a regular "desktop" that $200 also covered a screen, speakers, a keyboard, and a mouse. 

 

Stock photo

 

Specs:

Intel Core i5-3330 CPU 3.0GHz (3.2GHz Turbo)

Proprietary Asus motherboard, Intel H61 chipset

8GB DDR3-1600

1TB 3.5" 7200RPM hard drive

A thing you can put DVDs into

Intel HD Graphics 2500

120W external PSU

 

21.5" TN touchscreen, 1920x1080

Stereo speakers

Wireless Asus keyboard and mouse

 

_________________________________________________Here goes, my first touchscreen PC!_______________________________________________

 

The PC itself is actually not bad, it's definitely snappy and takes care of regular tasks such as internet browsing, media consumption, and productivity uses with no struggles whatsoever. There are a few hiccups here and there, but it's definitely nothing that an SSD upgrade wouldn't iron out.

 

It fits neatly on the desk and there's only one cable for the power, no other cables needed, as display and speakers are built in, and keyboard and mouse are wireless. It's quite odd actually, being used to having a tower sitting right next to you and now using something where everything is built into the display panel. Something that iMac users have been able to enjoy for a while now, but not something that many PC users on here would have experienced. It's quite the... interesting... change.

 

 

I thought that as an AIO it would use a mobile chip or at least an "S" model, but nope, this AIO actually uses a full-fledged i5-3330 quad-core CPU, as well as a full-size 3.5" hard drive. RAM however is SO-DIMM like a laptop, but I couldn't really imagine that would affect performance compared to regular DDR3-1600 DIMMs.

 

Image credit: UK Hardware.Info

 

 

Windows 8 is Windows 8. Nothing special really, works as it does on a tablet or touchscreen laptop, we all know how stupid the gestures and everything are. Modern UI does work a lot better when you have a touchscreen at your disposal, but it's still not as ergonomic as a touchscreen laptop (and definitely not a tablet). It often feels awkward when switching to a Modern UI app to reach up from the keyboard or mouse to touch the screen.

 

 

It's quite slim. Not iMac thin obviously, but then again a full desktop-class chip and 3.5" HDD have to go somewhere. The side has two USB 3.0 ports, headphone and microphone jack, an SD card reader, and buttons to switch between the screen's PC input and external HDMI input.

 

 

The back features two more USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 port, Gigabit ethernet, HDMI output, HDMI input (use the screen as a monitor, even with the screen off, pretty darn nifty, currently using it with my cable box to watch TV on the same screen), and power jack.

 

 

The screen, while great in resolution and pixel density (21.5" 1080p), is a TN panel, and therefore looks only okay when sitting directly in front (colors still aren't anything to write home about), but when looked at from below or above, is trash. I've lived with an IPS monitor for long enough to get more then used to it, and now coming to this is a HUGE drawback.

 

 

The tiny stereo speakers below the display are pretty horrible.

 

 

System Properties:

 

 

Who needs an EVGA G2? 120W PSU ftw! Actually quite eye-opening actually, they're running an entire i5 rig including the display off a 120W PSU comfortably. Of course this is without a dedicated GPU, but still, 120W is how much the GTX 960 uses on it's own!

 

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

Conclusion:

 

Obviously, it's not meant to be a gaming PC. Intel HD Graphics 2500 isn't going to get you anywhere far at 1080p so I didn't even bother with gaming benchmarks, the most demanding thing I will be doing on this PC is occasionally playing League of Legends. 

 

However moving away from the "gaming" perspective and leaving behind GPU as a discerning factor (because although it is to most of us, it isn't to many people), I don't think I could have possibly gotten anywhere near as good of a PC for $200, especially one with a 1080p monitor and peripherals. 

 

Now what:

 

At the moment I don't really know what I'm going to do with it. I'm using it alongside my main rig but eventually I do have to get rid of/sell one of them. Seeing as I don't really even game anymore with all the time I'm putting into school, I was thinking of seeing how much I could get for my main rig (without the 970 as it's my boyfriend's), so I can keep this one and use it, but then again the TN panel is a HUGE turn-off for me, viewing angles are just so awful.

[Thebman712]

use your current monitor, as your main display off of this.

 

try and find a cheap ssd for boot and this is gr8 for school, and web browsing

[Aniallation]

use your current monitor, as your main display off of this.

 

try and find a cheap ssd for boot and this is gr8 for school, and web browsing

Eh, if I had to keep my current monitor I'm not sure if it'd be of any profit to switch over in the first place

[Aniallation]

I might just end up keeping both tbh

[spwath]

I had that same desk!!!!

Very wobely when you load it up with a PC and 2 monitors.

Then I built my own

[Aniallation]

I had that same desk!!!!

Very wobely when you load it up with a PC and 2 monitors.

Then I built my own

lol, my main rig's desk is on a desk that my friend's dad built, this desk is just in the guest room

[Kherm]

Seriously, you reviewed that with the shitstorm of Windows 8.0 on it? Otherwise, great review! 9.-375/10

[Aniallation]

Seriously, you reviewed that with the shitstorm of Windows 8.0 on it? Otherwise, great review! 9.-375/10

Windows 8 is better then you think it is with a touchscreen