Buying Guide: What's the best all-in-one PC for you?

Finding the best all in one PC isn't so easy any longer - there are now so many options available. The choice used to be more limited - between expensive high end machines such as the Apple iMac or the HP TouchSmart and low-cost 'net tops' like the Asus Eee Top.
Now there are all-in-one computers at a range of budgets, enabling consumers starved of space in offices or bedrooms to find a PC that suits their needs.
Here we look at the best all-in-ones on the market, and put them in price order.


1. Lenovo C200 Atom DC 2 320 - £411

If you're looking for an entry level all-in-one, for basic web browsing and email, then the Lenovo C200 is a fantastic system. The 18.5" touchscreen means you can work without a keyboard and the Atom Processor and 2GB of RAM mean that it will easily handle basic tasks, and the small body and desktop footprint mean that it will fit in pretty much any space. What's more, it's packing the NVidia Ion graphics chip, so video playback won't be a problem either.
2. Asus Eee Top ET2010 - £599

The 20-inch Asus is certainly a looker and the first impression of the hardware is superb. Presumably to make its 'nettop' dulynimble, Asus has employed Intel's Atom processor – usuallyused in netbook PCs. While the chip is still dual-core,there's a bit to be desired in terms of poke.
You'll be fine forgeneral web surfing and video streaming – graphics areboosted by nVidia's Ion graphics chip and there's even anHDMI port to output video to an HDTV – but seriousgaming is completely out of the question and there simplyisn't enough power to edit video, for example.
3. Packard Bell OneTwo M D-6020 - £630

Packard Bell's computers have improvedimmeasurably over recent years in terms of lookand feel. This attempt at an all-in-one computer is worthconsideration and would make a great kitchen PC, forexample.
However, the Packard Bell suffers from a lack of power in the processingdepartment. The Pentium processor is still used in thinand-light laptops where battery life needs to be conserved. The graphics, too, are disappointing and thePackard Bell is the only model in our test not to featurededicated nVidia graphics.3GB of memory and a large 640GB hard drive mightimpress some, as might the crisp 20-inch display, TV tuner and beefed-up Dolby Home Theater audio.
4. MSI WindTop AE220 Hi-Fi - £760

Hardly a budget choice, this is a souped-up version of MSI's WindTop line and features a 5W integrated speaker system. The MSI is pretty powerful, packing nVidia's Ion graphics technology as well as a reasonable 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo in addition to that beefed-up sound – ideal for gamers who want a computer that doesn't look out of place in a living space.
Memory and storage isn't lacking either, with 4GB of memory and a 640GB hard drive. It's all finished off with an integrated TV tuner should you want to use it as a spare TV. This PC doesn't hold an overwhelming advantage over the other models here, but it does just enough to edge out more expensive or lesser-equipped competition.
5. Samsung DP-U250 - £900

This is the closest thing you'll get to an all-in-onecomputer that looks just like a monitor. Performance isn't state of the art,but compares roughly with the MSI, with a decentlypoweredCore 2 Duo and nVidia GeForce 310M graphics aswell as 4GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive.
Sadly, though, there's no TV tuner – for such anentertainment-orientated machine, this is a big miss. Thereare plenty of connectivity options, though, with six USBports on the rear and Wi-Fi built in. This is how atouchscreen Windows 7 PC should be, and the quality of the finish is typical of Samsung. If you're buying an all-in-onebecause of the appearance, this model is clearly aheadof the pack. But it's costly, and for this price you should begetting the finest performance and the latest in hardware.
6. HP TouchSmart 600-1210uk - £1,122
All-in-one PCs don't come much more powerful than the latest in the TouchSmart range, a series which has led the all-in-one charge from the beginning. Driving the 23" touchscreen is a 2.13GHz Intel i3 processor, with 4GB of DDR3 and a huge 1TB hard drive.
The HP TouchSmart is designed with entertainment in mind, and it comes with TV in ports and a dedicated graphics card for video playback. There's no Blu-ray included which is a shame, but HD movies will look fantastic on the 23-inch display.

7. Apple iMac 21.5-inch - £1,209

All iMacs now use Intel's new Core i-series processors, with the mid-2010 upgrades retiring the ageing Core 2 Duos. Three of the four new iMacs use entry-level Core i3 CPUs, with the most expensive in the line giving you a quad-core Core i5.

The move to the new Core-i processors is very welcome, as the Core i3's Hyper Threading facilities mean the iMac is great at multitasking, and running applications that use more than one core.
Discrete graphics is very welcome, with the machine's ATI Radeon HD 4670 adding much to its multimedia and gaming capabilities. The screen is as excellent as ever, and can be viewed from almost any angle without the colours shifting, and iLife remains a very useful software bundle.

8. Apple iMac 27-inch SSD - £2,114

If you buy online through Apple's online store, you can opt for a 256GB solid state as well as the standard 1TB hard disk drive.
So given that this particular model of iMac costs £1,649 off the shelf, which is already a very considerable investment, and the solid state drive pushes this price up to over £2000, is it worth the extra? Are the very real benefits offered by solid state storage worth pushing up the price of an already-expensive computer by £600?

Using the solid state drive as the boot volume made everything run very quickly. Applications opened in an instant, and the processor hardly ever stalled while waiting for data. The quad core Intel Core i5 processor is excellent, and makes light work of even the most intensive tasks, and having an ATI Radeon HD 5750 graphics card on top makes this a stunning all-in-one.