Jesse Baynard
This all in one PC doesnt have a lot of bells in whistles (no touch screen, no webcam, wired accessories), but it does have a clean small footprint, nice screen, its super quite and doesnt have a lot of junk pre-installed. The processor is more than enough to handle office applications, web surfing, streaming video, as well as games... just not at the same time. When I first set the machine up it did seem slow, so I checked the task manager and the CPU was constantly hitting 100% usage... I was worried that it didnt have enough oomph to handle to OS (like some netbooks Ive used), but I was relieved when I realized that the system was just downloading and installing all the extra software that it does come with... notably an non-activated license of Office, McAfee, and few Windows 10 apps. After the initial download and installing process which lasted about 30 minutes, the system speed was not noticeable (which is good). I activated the Office apps and they all ran fine without any lag, same with all my daughters homework apps. I could tell this wasnt a gaming machine but I loaded some graphic intensive games including Sims 4, SimCity, Unravel, Minecraft and Battlefront and attached a Bluetooth Xbox controller. Although they mostly ran at the low to medium graphics level, they were are all very enjoyable playable. Only Battlefront suffered from some lag that would make the game a little less than enjoyable. PROS: + Fast enough for Office and School Apps + Web is no issue even with a lot of tabs + Runs simple games like Card games and even Minecraft easily + Runs intense games at a medium low graphic quality (impressive for this price point) + Has WiFi and Bluetooth built in (so its possible to have only a power cable if you replace the keyboard and mouse) + Has microphone/Cortana assistant built in + Quiet... no whirring fans or grinding hard drives, perfect for an office environment. CONS: - No Webcam (may be a plus for a kid/office computer) - Basic wired keyboard and mouse... functional, but wireless would have made for a cleaner looking desk - Doesnt multi-task intense apps well, CPU caps out especially during the initial installs - No touch screen... I actually like my screens free of fingerprints, so Im not too sad about this, but there are a few times touching the screen would be a little easier OVERALL: This is a good budget machine that would fit in well at a quite office running web/office apps or for a kids homework computer. Its fully capable, has a clean footprint, and doesnt have a lot of junk on it. It is not however a speed demon, and you wouldnt want it for video editing, a pure gaming machine or in situations where you need a fast machine no matter whats going on in the background. Finally its up to you and your needs to decide if the lack of touch screen and webcam are a blessing or a curse.
