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What are the best all-in-one desktop computers around $1000?

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Apr 1, 2023

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Asus Zen AiO ZN241ICUT vs Lenovo Ideacentre AIO 520S-23IKU

Pros + Cons

Pro
Good performance for the price

With a 7th generation i5, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, the Zen AiO offers great performance for day-to-day tasks such as browsing the web, editing documents, programming, and even some light photo editing. It also manages to handle some low-resource games such as Civilization V quite decently. At $970 it's also one of the best all-in-one PCs as far as the price/performance ratio goes.

Pro
Bright and colourful screen

The screen is very bright with lifelike and warm colours. Although images are not very sharp or as colour-accurate as some more expensive options.

Pro
Fast loading times

Thanks to the included 128 GB storage the computer starts up almost instantly and programs load quickly if they are installed on that drive.

Pro
Produces very enjoyable sound

Directed toward the user, the speakers are able to produce loud audio without getting distorted even at high volumes.

Pro
The keyboard is very comfortable to type on

The default wireless keyboard is very comfortable. The keys have decent travel distance and offer great feedback when typing.

Pro
Plenty of USB ports

There are in total of 6 USB ports available. Great if you have a lot of peripheral devices to connect to it. Two of them are the faster USB 3.1 while four are 3.0 USB ports.

Con
The keyboard and mouse are powered by disposable batteries

The built-in wireless keyboard and mouse are powered by disposable batteries instead of rechargeable cells.

Con
Basic mouse and keyboard

Opposed to the solid designed chassis the include keyboard and mouse are very basic and feel cheap.

Con
No USB-C ports

You will not find any USB-C ports on this computer. In the future, when the standard will become more popular you may start to feel the lack of these ports.

Con
Can’t be used as a screen only

There’s no HDMI input so you can’t connect another computer to the monitor.

Pro
Can be used as a monitor

The HDMI output on the back of the computer can also be used as an input. This allows to connect a second computer or a gaming console to this all-in-one PC and use it as a monitor.

Pro
Usable in bright light conditions

Because of the brightness of the display and the fact that it’s a matte one makes it easy to see the picture even in bright light conditions.

Pro
Touch support

The screen supports touch inputs so you can use all the tap and swipe commands found in the Windows 10 operating system.

Pro
Sleek design

This is one of the best looking PCs in its price range. Its chassis is slim and compact, measuring only 1.6 inches in the thickest part while the display has a border-less design that makes it look larger than it actually is.

Pro
Great color reproduction

The display can reproduce 112 % of the sRGB gamut and has a Delta-E accuracy of 0.08. This means that the screen can be used for photo editing and it is on par with other more expensive all-in-one computer displays.

Pro
The camera can be hidden inside the PC

The camera can be hidden away inside the PC. Not only that gives a cleaner look, it also adds privacy if you are afraid that someone will spy on you.

Con
Awkwardly placed USB ports

None of the four USB ports are easy to reach as two of them are located on the back of the unit while another two are located on the sides of the pop-out camera. This means that you have to deal with privacy concerns if you want to use these.

Con
No USB-C ports

There are only USB-A ports but no USB-C ports. While not a big deal for now, USB-C is slowly replacing the older USB standard and the lack of it may become noticeable.

Con
Odd webcam placement

Instead of placing the webcam on top of the monitor Lenovo has placed it under it. This position means you can't view your display without looking like you're gazing away somewhere in the distance.

Con
Noisy fan

Despite the fact that the computer uses low-voltage processors that are relatively cool the cooling fan runs frequently and generates a noticeable white noise.

Con
Low resolution display

The 23 inch display has a full-HD resolution. Full-HD is already a minimum today while other models are equipped with 4K or at least Quad HD resolution.