Comments on: Adieu to the old-fashioned desktop computer?

Tae-Hyun "Tiger" Cho, CEO of Averatec, says the all-in-one PC is the way of the future.

[SactoGuy018]

I still like a separate desktop case because on such a system, you can still do upgrades like bigger hard drives, more system RAM and in most cases a new graphics card, all of which can breathe new life into an old machine. Indeed, any machine that uses the Intel 440BX chipset could be upgraded to at least 1 GB of RAM, which can make Windows XP or the current Linux distributions run decently fast.

[Angmarr]

I prefer the tower and the monitor separate, else there is not room for proper modification and cooling.
plus it looks better and less bulky when separate!

[rbergerpa1]

Once again Apple is the only company doing real innovation; everyone else is just copying what they released years ago.

[pithenumber]

Fail

the midtower is cheaper and faster
and did I mention upgradable

even small upgrades like a better monitor requires a whole new computer if you have an all in one

[ncoulombe]

Nope. The standard desktop will never be fully phased out.
2 Main Reasons:
DIY-ers
Gamers

[WheelerCub]

Great article! Keep up the good work.

[chalkbd]

I have a wife that is not so good with computers and every time she touched my desktop PC or my Laptop to go after her email or go to the web to search out some nonsense or other she would leave my computers in a state of shock. I solved this problem with Samsung's 10.2 Netbook. Now she has her email and her Mozzila Browser the way she likes it and leaves my desktop PC alone. Well worth the $400 I paid for it. I would reco0mend an all in one or a Netbook to anyone as a single purpose unit. I would not part with my desktop for my work but for my email and browsing I use a Toshiba 17 inch Laptop. Ed out//

[fokkwp]

$$ and environmental downside to all-in-ones: we have plenty of iMacs like this around, and after four years or so they fail with some hardware problem or another. Cost much more to fix than to replace. So now what do you do with the otherwise perfectly good monitor that is all-in-one-welded to the defunct motherboard or video driver or power supply? Can't reuse it. What a waste. So there are really great reasons to keep your CPU and monitor in separate boxes, even if it costs a tad more and takes up a bit more desk real estate.

Also, stand-alone monitors tend to be more adjustable (unlike iMacs with *no* up-down adjustment, and presumably other all-in-ones as well). That's a major ergonomic consideration.

[vikinzer]

I think that he is right in terms of home work computers. However, something I have never understood is why more people don't have computers connected to their televisions. Hulu has been running this whole campaign about television to your laptop portable comptuer device. My Dell desktop which once you cut out the monitor cost me MAYBE 350 is now connected to my 32 in television and I LOVE IT. I can do Hulu, World of Warcraft is amazing, my husband does photoshop work on it, and gets a great view of the pixels he's manipulating. It's hooked into our stereo system, so our MP3 collection on our home server provides all of our media needs.

Do I enjoy doing taxes on it? No I really really don't. I would love to have a good desktop all in one solution for that, but I also don't do finances often enough to make the expense worth it. We need to be willing to truly disrupt the whole cable paradigm and get more desktop hardware running in our central entertainment space. The world will be a better place, and as long as we have ad driven models like Hulu and less expensive one.

[passmeabrew]

The problem with this argument is that laptops are continuing to get cheaper and cheaper - why pay a minimum of $500 (most are much more) for an all-in-one when you can get a [portable] laptop for the same price (albeit a slightly smaller screen). This is assuming the average person's low expectations of hardware. Also, all-in-one's don't have specs much better than similarly priced laptops. I believe the trend will go towards laptops, not so much desktops of any kind. Also, as others have pointed out, the traditional desktop will live on for quite a while with gamers, enthusiasts, and photographers/designers/home-professionals. Size, heat, and power considerations for top of the line components (as well as the ability to customize and build it yourself) prevent (for the near future) a much smaller form factor. You are already compromising if for instance you choose a shuttle-sized setup. This is further evidenced by the fact that the mid-sized AT/ATX tower hasn't changed for 25+ years. Also, the versatility of choosing your preference of a screen size independent of the hardware should not be discounted.

[cubicleslave1]

Make a device that runs Win XP Pro, has US-based WiMax & WiFi, and truly fits in my pants pocket, and costs about $500, and I'd whip out my credit card so fast, it would leave scorch marks on my wallet! Anyone with me on this? This device could also replace my cellphone if I enrolled in skypeout ($65/year).

[cubicleslave1]

Make a device that runs Win XP Pro, has US-based WiMax & WiFi, and truly fits in my pants pocket, and costs about $500, and I'd whip out my credit card so fast, it would leave scorch marks on my wallet! Anyone with me on this? This device could also replace my cellphone if I enrolled in skypeout ($65/year).

[ldavidson]

You can have my desktop when you pry it from my cold dead hands! 90% of the fun of interacting with computers is tearing out their guts, adding new stuff and seeing how fast you can make a 2GHz chip clock, all activities that laptops, notebooks and all-in-ones are ill suited for.

[Bellette]

Mr Cho is surely talking about the iMac, it was released last Century.

Ross Bellette