It has been a long while since I reviewed an all-in-one computer. I always thought that they offer a blend of looks and practicality. After all, you can shrink the processor but you cannot make the monitor any smaller than what it is meant to be. On the contrary, home users are upgrading their monitors to be bigger with higher resolution.
The Zen AiO Pro Z240IC is made of solid block of anodised aluminium in Icicle Gold colour with a similarly heavy-duty stand. It embodies all the signature ASUS look with the concentric circles on the front fascia and the brushed-metal finish like the Zenbooks.
All the ports are lined up neatly behind and easily accessible. There are 4 USB 3.0 ports, 1 USB 2.0 port, 1 USB 3.1 Type-C port, Ethernet port, 2 HDMI-out ports to extend the display, SD card reader, separate audio and mic ports.
This 24-inch model sits imposingly on my dining table throughout my review period, looking very elegant like it is part of the furnishing. It works brilliantly as a family computer thanks to its huge touch display that makes content sharing very convenient. The wireless keyboard and mouse further eliminates the perception of a geek device.
The built-in SonicMaster Premium speakers made up of 2x 4W woofers and 4x 2W speakers may not be fit for audiophiles, but it does sound desirable for consuming online content on YouTube, Facebook, as well as for gaming. The audio favours vocals and sound effects, while the mids and bass is adequate to give that impact that gets away from sounding overbearing.
The Z240IC runs really quiet, except for the occasional whirling fan during start-up and when performing intensive tasks.
Performance Vary by Specs
The Zen AiO Pro Z240IC review unit runs on the following specs:
- 6th generation Intel Core i7-6700T 2.8GHz (3.6GHz turbo) processor
- 16GB RAM
- Intel HD Graphics 530 1GB RAM + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 2GB GDDR5 GPU
- Full HD 23.8-inch touch screen
- 802.11ac WiFi
- Bluetooth 4.0
- 1MP camera
- 1TB SATA HDD (5200rpm)
- Windows 10 Home 64-bit
- 7.3kg
The review unit runs laggy and can get unresponsive because of the mechanical HDD that spins at a slow 5200rpm instead of the solid-state super-speed SSD. I always tell my friends and readers when buying a computer to get one with SSD. It makes a lot of difference. Even the huge 16GB RAM cannot salvage the slowness.
The review unit retails at S$1899, and depending on the various configuration, can go as high as S$3200. The top-end model comes with 4K display, Intel RealSense 3D camera, 32GB RAM, better GPU, and a 512GB SSD, which I highly recommend. The RealSense 3D is a dual camera that is able to capture depth and support post-processing, as well as unlocking the computer with facial recognition.
Verdict
The ASUS Zen AiO Pro Z240IC is a great looking all-in-one desktop that should be displayed on a clean table for group enjoyment. I love the clean solid metallic design, just make sure you get the specs variant with SSD. I would recommend for family use while power users will gravitate towards traditional desktop units where hardware is easily upgradable.
