All in one Desktop PC

[ProPho]

Time to upgrade my computer again.

I am considering an All in one desktop setup.

Has anyone had experience with one?
Would you recommend a particular brand/model?

I need a fast system as I work as a wedding photographer so process large file volumes.

Your feedback both for and against would be greatly appreciated.

[ricktas]

finding one 'off the shelf' that offers good motherboard, decent ram, HDD size, good video card and good quality screen will be difficult. They are a space saver, but often they lack something, and cause of their all-in-one package, upgrading is not that easy. I had one and the only easy thing to upgrade was the RAM, access to the video card, HDD etc was by way of basically pulling the entire thing to bits. You also don't have room to add an extra HDD, or a better graphics card etc, as they are so compacted, and everything is custom sized to fit the parts that it comes with, that they are really not upgradeable, like a decent desktop system. Also as the screen is built in, you cannot get a better quality screen if you find the one in the device is not good enough. And if something breaks, the whole system goes in for repair. EG the Optical drive laser dies, you cannot just go and buy a new one and slot it in.

[JM Tran]

some good points by Rick

all-in-1 systems have crappy screens for editing, no ifs or buts, and that includes iMacs as well - great for viewing due to its rich and punchy colours, but when calibrated its not that accurate.

for me, doing a lot of weddings per year, most important is RAM and Solid State Drive for very fast access of files while processing/editing. Keep RAWs on an external HDD as back up but transfer the files onto the SSD for editing, then delete them after when you are done.

[ProPho]

Thanks guys. Think I'll be shopping for a straight tower. Much appreciated!

[FallingHorse]

I was talking about buying one the other day and my friend (who is a little more IT savvy than I ) said to reconsider because if things go wrong such as the Power supply unit dying then they are difficult to find spares etc for or maybe the whole thing would have to be replaced? We have a lot of lightning strikes up here and I have lost 2 power supply units (even with those boards) so I didn't bother

[arthurking83]

I was talking about buying one the other day and my friend (who is a little more IT savvy than I ) said to reconsider because if things go wrong such as the Power supply unit dying then they are difficult to find spares etc for or maybe the whole thing would have to be replaced? We have a lot of lightning strikes up here and I have lost 2 power supply units (even with those boards) so I didn't bother

spot on!

last night, I just fixed my sis's old PC, a Medion(Aldi) cheapie that's done her 3 years of service so far.

She complained of "a strange brickwork like interference pattern" on the screen(over the phone) prior to me getting down there, and once I saw it for myself, it was as she described.
I instantly assumed that the graphics chip is fried and the motherboard probably needs replacing .. being a Medion(Aldi) $500 special.

I then connected the LCD screen to her laptop to be sure it was a graphic chip and not the screen or cable, and the screen worked perfectly.

Opened the case and to my surprise it actually had a graphics card installed(being so cheap, I assumed it'd have onboard graphics.

Popped in a 'new' graphics card and away she (still) goes!
The old banger still chugs along a rapid pace(considering it's running Win Vista!) and now it's got a few more years of life in it to boot.

For about $50 odd dollars, even if it was an oboard graphics chip issue, a graphics card can be as cheap as that and you're off and flying again.

The point is, why turf a perfectly good thousand dollar machine just for the sake of a $50 part(in her case it was free as it was my graphics card, and I may replace mine now gone card with another .. maybe) .. but as Jodie said, all in one systems look schmick and sound like a great idea, but the reality is that they almost certainly have a more limited lifetime.
Screens would be the worst points of contention, both as Jackie says in quality and eventually in terms of user acceptability.


FWIW, those Medion PCs are quite good value for money. Her system contained MSI parts and pieces within it's case, a high quality low noise PSU, quad core Intel CPU, proper Samsung RAM modules.. etc.
For $500 or so you can't source that kind of quality individually.
The only issue is that even tho the individual parts may be from the likes of name brands such as MSI(or whoever), you can still only get support from Medion themselves.
Using the part number of the motherboard, I tracked the identical retail level motherboard on MSI's website and while you can hack it with retail BIOSes and drivers, it's advised not too do so.

A well thought out proper tower PC desk setup can be as slick and sleek as an all in one unit if you plan it out properly, but with the advantage of better performance(for the same amount of money) and longevity.

[Cyza]

My main advice would to to custom build it. If you're a tech savvy person you should be right doing it for the first time, and if you don't feel confident the places where you buy parts will often do it for you for about $100

In regards to where to buy it, being from Melbourne I'd recommend PC CASE GEAR pccasegear.com or Centre Com www.centrecom.com.au
great thing about centre com is that if you really do feel confused with computers, and your knowledge is limited or close to non existent they offer pre built computers and reasonable prices/specs unlike the kind of things you'll find at stores such as Dick Smith, JB Hifi etc.