The best All-in-One computers

In the early days of the personal computer, it was customary to find all parts of a computer, including the monitor, in one element. Later, however, the main electronic parts were separate, due to the advantages it offered in terms of power, upgradeability, and maintenance. It was like this for many years, until Steve Jobs, promoted the relaunch of all in one computer, with the 1998 iMac.

All in One computer are the middle ground between a traditional desktop PC and a laptop. Today there are models for all needs and budgets.

In this guide, we have selected the best all-in-one mid-range devices, that are able to handle most daily tasks and have the ability to process photos and videos up to Full HD resolution. All selected models have monitors with a diagonal of 24 inches.

Lenovo IdeaCentre

For: aesthetics, SSD drive, ultra-competitive price

Against: 256GB of internal space may not be enough for everyone

The IdeaCentre (Check on Amazon.com) is an All in One PC with sober and elegant aesthetics. The sleek design features a retractable HD webcam with face recognition for unlocking your computer via Windows Hell. The 23.8-inch monitor with Full HD resolution and IPS technology provides an excellent viewing angle. The processor is AMD’s Ryzen 3 2200G APU, a quad-core CPU with Radeon Vega 8 integrated graphics, that can easily handle multimedia applications. It also has 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD that prioritizes speed over storage capacity. Those who need to store many media files, especially videos, may need an external disk.

It has 2 USB 3.0 ports, 3 USB 2.0 ports, HDMI in and out, a 3-in-1 card reader (SD, SDHC, SDXC), a LAN RJ45 10/100/1000 Ethernet port, and a mini audio/microphone combo jack. It also sports WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity and comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse included in the package.

Acer Aspire C24-865

For: very attractive and with a convincing performance

Against: only 256GB of storage

The 23.8” quality monitor uses IPS technology and features an invisible filter to protect your eyes from the harmful blue light. The removable HD webcam sits at the top of the screen. Hardware-wise we find an Intel i5-8250U that can turbo up to 3.6GHz. The integrated GPU is the Intel Iris HD 620. It comes with 8GB of RAM, expandable up to 16GB. The hard drive is a fast 256GB SSD. Connections ports include two USB 3.1 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, and a mini combo audio jack for both input and output. It also sports wireless connectivity and a wireless keyboard and mouse are included in the price (Check on Amazon.com).

HP Pavilion AIO

For: audio curated by Bang & Olufsen, optical drive, 1TB storage

Against: an SSD would provide better performance.

This HP Pavilion AIO (Check on Amazon.com) has a neat design and sports an almost bezel-less 23.6” Full HD monitor. At the top, we find an HD webcam. Its stand out feature is the speakers developed by Bang & Olufsen.

This PC is also one of the few equipped with an optical drive. On the back, there are four USB ports, including two Type C ports, the RJ45 network port, a mini audio jack, and an SD card reader. A wired keyboard and mouse are also included in the price.

Apple iMac 21.5″

For: build quality, 10bit panel, Thunderbolt 3 port

Against: price, 21.5″ screen

This couldn’t be a list of the best All in One PCs without this iconic model from Apple (Check on Amazon.com). This 21.5″ model has a higher cost due to the brand’s prestige but also to some technical solutions. The monitor, for example, is graded for professional use since it sports a 10-bit panel and 1 billion colors instead of the 16 million colors we find in the standard monitors. The Intel processor, despite being a dual-core chip, has similar performance to that of many quad-core models. The 1TB hard drive is a Fusion Drive; it is paired with a small 32GB flash drive, which automatically prioritizes the files used more frequently and grants them SSD speed. Connectivity-wise apart from all the usual ports we also find two high-speed Thunderbolt 3 ports. That means you can connect two external monitors and/or a professional video card. It runs the Mojave version of macOS.