Which All In One Computer Should I Buy
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Your 15-inch laptop display is feeling cramped, and you work in one place mostly. For about the same money that you would spend on a midrange-to-high-end 17-inch laptop (or more likely, less), you can get an all-in-one (AIO) computer with a 23-inch or larger display.
Of course, buying a highly integrated system like this is more exacting than your average desktop. Why You're buying a computer and a monitor in one, and the inherent limits on what you'll be able to upgrade down the line make smart buying upfront crucial. Indeed, landing the right AIO is more like shopping for a laptop than a desktop.
We've outlined below our top picks among AIO desktops we've tested for 2023. Read on for our lab-tested favorites, followed by the buying basics you should know when purchasing an AIO. Also note: At the very end of this article is a detailed spec breakout, in handy chart format, of our top choices.
Its ultra-thin flat panel makes the iMac the most fashionable all-in-one you can buy as well as a top choice for students or home-office entrepreneurs using the Apple ecosystem. Like most Apple wares, it's not cheap (starting at $1,299 with a skimpy 256GB of storage), but it remains an iconic home computer.
Though its screen is slightly larger, the Aspire C24 costs a bit more, landing just behind Lenovo's IdeaCentre AIO 3i in our Editors' Choice competition. Regardless, that shouldn't deter you from checking it out if you're looking for an affordable everyday desktop.
Like the screen, the Dell's webcam operates at full HD (1080p) resolution; it also lets you take advantage of face recognition to bypass passwords with Windows Hello. Most businesses favor traditional minitower or small-form-factor desktops because the computer and monitor can have separate lifespans, but offices choosing the AIO route will be thoroughly satisfied with the OptiPlex 5490.
Though it's not a concern to those with 20/10 vision, a larger screen and a higher native resolution will let you increase the font size on your Word documents or Excel spreadsheets while still keeping a lot of information on the screen at one time. Desktop screens tend to be brighter than laptop displays in general, as well. Look for in-plane switching (IPS) technology for the best screen quality. IPS screens are inherently better at off-axis viewing, which means you won't have to be sitting perfectly centered to see accurate colors and all the detail in your images.
An 8GB helping of DDR4 RAM should be the minimum amount of system memory you settle for. (We've only seen one 12th Generation Intel CPU-based AIO so far, but some will eventually support the newer DDR5 memory standard.) Although 4GB will work fine for very basic tasks, you'll feel the pinch of such a low-spec computer sooner. That said, 8GB or 16GB will let you keep dozens of tabs open on your browser and still have room left over for a demanding program such as Photoshop. Plus, 16GB is the recommended minimum for professional content-creation use.
As far as storage, look for a boot drive of at least 1TB capacity if you're going to store any video on your PC. Videos clog up hard drives faster than just about any other type of file. If you're a heavy download fiend, opt for a 2TB drive. The only issue is that a traditional spinning hard drive is relatively slow at booting and loading apps. If you'd rather have a snappier system that's more speed demon than a file-storage repository, look for an AIO that uses a solid-state drive (SSD) as the boot drive. (Most now do.) If you keep all your files on a central network-attached storage (NAS) device or stored in the cloud, just about any SSD or hard drive 500GB or larger should be sufficient. That's enough for the operating system and a handful of frequently used programs.
Because an all-in-one is, at its heart, a computer, it should have all the ports you expect to need during your day-to-day activities, particularly USB ports (in easy-to-access places, if at all possible). You may also want a dedicated Ethernet port, though all-in-ones today come with Wi-Fi support built-in, so you can easily hook up the system to the wireless network you already have in your home or office.
Also handy is an HDMI input port, which gives you the flexibility to use the AIO as a discrete display for a separate PC, a game console, or another video source. It also gives an AIO with a nice display some potential utility years down the road as a stand-alone monitor, when the PC portion inside becomes obsolete.
That said, towers are still better than all-in-one PCs when you need to do intensive work like CAD/CAM or scientific data processing, and most of them are expandable in ways far beyond even the most upgrade-generous AIO on the market. PC gamers, especially, will get much more value out of a stand-alone tower in which they can swap out a graphics card than in a fixed-config AIO PC.
In my early career, I worked as an editor of scholarly science books, and as an editor of \"Dummies\"-style computer guidebooks for Brady Books (now, BradyGames). I'm a lifetime New Yorker, a graduate of New York University's journalism program, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
All-in-one computers provide everything your average consumer might need in a single package, nixing the need for a standalone desktop in favor of a monitor-endowed piece of PC hardware. They come in an array of styles, offering everything from 1080p touchscreens and 5K resolution to robust sound and high-end Intel Core processors, each of which typically comes bundled with a keyboard and mouse.
Most target the premium market with a sleek, streamlined design, yet recent market offerings continue to push the boundaries of a what a budget-based PC is capable of. Consumers pay for this style and convenience with performance, and while the best all-in-one computers don't pack the processors or video cards some enthusiasts demand, they're efficient enough for most everyday tasks.
No matter what you have in mind for this AIO, it's ready to handle it. That extends to the Nvidia GeForce GTX 3060 graphics card, which can power your gaming adventures, and twin Thunderbolt 4 connections (plus USB-A and USB-C and an SD card reader). Storage comes in with a 1TB PCIe NVMe solid-state drive (SSD), enough for most purposes, and Wi-Fi 6 is supported.
In addition to Apple's powerful M1 chip (which is indeed an upgrade compared to past smaller iMacs), this iMac also has a seven-core GPU (upgradeable to eight cores), 8GB of RAM, and up to 512GB of storage. The base model comes with two Thunderbolt 4/USB4 ports, but upgraded models add USB-A and Gigabit Ethernet ports, too.
The downside is that the only option for the iMac M1 version is the smaller 24-inch model, which does cut down on display room. The larger 27-inch iMacs have Intel Core i9 chips that are powerful, but they're not a patch on the newer Apple M1.
The Inspiron 27 7000 model from Dell is perfect if you need an AIO computer that the whole family can enjoy. It's barely more than our budget options but has a top-notch appearance, and it offers lots of up-to-date high-performance hardware for every family member.
This computer is ideal for those who need lots of connectivity. It has four USB-A ports, one USB-C port, and HDMI output and inputs. It also features an SD card reader, wired Ethernet, Bluetooth version 5.1, a pop-up webcam, and Wi-Fi 6(22), making the Dell Inspiron 27 7000 an outstanding PC for your family.
Ports for the computer include HDMI 2.0a, USB-A, DisplayPort 1.4, and USB-C. There are also several expansion slots for future upgrades if you decide that your workstation needs more storage capacity or memory.
All-in-one computers make great whole-household computers or workstation computers for straightforward tasks and larger displays for multitasking. They can also handle demanding software if you choose models with the appropriate specs. As you can see with picks like the Studio 2 or 5K iMac, they are popular options for artists and designers, too.
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The best all-in-one computer right now is Apple's iMac (24-inch, 2021). Although it's a little older, having been released in 2021, it's still the best in terms of design, performance, and value in our opinion.
Compared to standard PCs that require monitors, towers, keyboards, and mice to be purchased separately, all-in-one computers come with the monitor and tower combined which helps save you money in the long run. You might even be able to save a little more money by finding a bundle that comes with a keyboard and mouse as well.
We're rolling into 2023 and we're on the hunt for new AIO computers to slot into our rankings. The M1 model of the 24-inch iMac retains the top spot for now, since it looks like Apple's all-in-one systems will skip over the second generation of Apple silicon - hopefully, though, we'll see an M3 iMac sometime this year.
Elsewhere on this list (and not likely to leave it anytime soon) is the awesomely sleek and stylish HP Chromebase 22, which touts a rotating display and powerful speakers concealed in its fabric-coated base. If you want a super-versatile system - perhaps for a home office or kitchen space - be sure to check this one out.
The best all-in-one computers are excellent for those who need PC-level performance without the pains of a PC setup, the inevitable cab