Ultrabooks and tablets are the kings of portable computing, but desktop PCs still have a role to play when it comes to office productivity, multimedia consumption and desktop publishing.

Asus’ ET2702 All-in-One (AIO) PC boasts a form factor that sees all of the processing components built straight into the monitor, culminating in an eye-catching desktop workstation that allows users to reclaim some desk real estate.

Beautiful to behold

The centrepiece of the Windows 8 powered AIO’s design is a stunning 27" touch-enabled display that boasts a delectable 2560 x 1440 screen resolution. We found this resolution to be a real treat when viewing full HD movies, sample UHD (4K) videos and high resolution pictures on this large touchscreen.

Seeing that it is an IPS display, the viewing angles are excellent (178° wide). The touchscreen is also highly responsive to multi touch input, making it easy to navigate the metro UI segment of Windows 8. Asus also includes a wireless keyboard and mouse with the PC, with the former delivering a pleasant typing experience thanks to well spaced keys.  

Capable processing muscle

Under the bonnet of our ET2702 test unit resides an Intel Core i7 4770 (4th generation, Haswell) CPU that runs at 3.4 GHz, which is coupled with 16 GB of DDR3 RAM. This not only allows for a buttery smooth and snappy experience within Windows 8, but also delivered some of the best benchmarking scores of any PC we have recently tested. In Passmark for instance, the AIO delivered a CPU score of 8818, crushing every ultrabook we recently tested including the Lenovo ThinkPad Twist (quick review; 3247) and Acer Aspire S7 (review; 3262).

Within graphic intensive benchmarks like Heaven Benchmark 2.0 the ET2702 also excelled thanks to packing a dedicated GPU in the form of AMD’s Radeon HD8880A which features 2 GB RAM. Asus’ ET2702 provided a tally of 616 in Heaven Benchmark 2.0 which is more than three times better than the score of the Lenovo ThinkPad Helix (review; 185) and 2.5 times better than the tally delivered by the IdeaPad Yoga 13 (quick review; 244).

The ET2702 also sports a 1 TB 7200 RPM HDD, Blu-Ray combo drive, 2 MP front-facing snapper for video calls over Skype, plus a plethora of connectivity options including HDMI in and out, Wi-Fi 802.11 AC, Bluetooth 4.0, Gigabit LAN, four USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 slots, and 3-in-1 card reader.  

To the point

Asus’ ET2702 AIO PC makes for a stunning piece of industrial design that sports a delectable touchscreen and impressive performance thanks to some class leading specs. It is ideal for graphic design and video producing.

Pricing, final specs and local availability for the ET2702 AIO is yet to be determined by Asus South Africa.

Pros:

Eye-catching design.

High spec level.

Blistering performance.

Excellent high-res touchscreen.

Cons:

Will most probably have a potent RRP to rival its performance and not much else.