Toshiba DX735-D3201

The Toshiba DX735-D3201 ($899.99 list) is an all-in-one PC with a brilliant 23-inch widescreen first, and a touch screen PC second. It has the power to display videos, play back music, and view photos in beautiful 1080p HD resolution (1,920 by 1,080). It also has a couple of forward-looking technologies like the HDMI and USB 3.0 ports, which both will extend the life of the system. It's a good mainstream all in one PC, with a bunch of future-proofing technology. It's a very good desktop for today, and will help you step through the threshold to tomorrow's way of doing things.

Design and Features
The DX735-D3201 is a pedestal-mounted all-in-one PC like its smaller cousin, the Toshiba DX1215-S2101 ($879.99 list, 3.5 stars) or the Sony VAIO VPC-L222FX/B ($999.99 list, 3 stars). All of its components are built into the system's 23-inch touch screen, like the Intel Core i5-2430M processor, 4GB of memory, DVD burner, and 1TB hard drive. The system has six USB ports (two of them are the faster USB 3.0 variety), and an HDMI-in port. The HDMI-in port is a boon for people who like the system's bright, sharp screen. When the system's components finally become obsolete, you can use the DX735-D3201 as an external monitor, extending its life. You can also use the system as a monitor for a cable box or Blu-ray player, making up for the fact that the system lacks a TV tuner and Blu-ray drive. The touch screen uses IR sensors, which are more common on touch-screen PCs, but by design require the screen to be indented slightly to accommodate the sensors. Systems like the Sony VPC-L222FX/B and Samsung Series 7 (DP700A3B-A01) ($999.99 list, 4 stars) have seamless flat glass over their touch screens, thanks to newer surface acoustic wave technology.

The DX735-D3201's screen floats over your desk surface, thanks to the pedestal mount. The open air base of the pedestal gives you room below the screen for keyboard storage, helping keep your desk clear when you're not using the keyboard. The hinge connecting the screen to the pedestal tilts forward (so you can use the system while you're reclining) and back (so you can use the system while standing). It's not quite the range of motion on Samsung DP700A3B-A01 or the HP TouchSmart 610-1150y ($1,199.99 list, 4.5 stars), both of which tilt much further back, but the DX735-D3201's tilt is sufficient for most computing. The Samsung DP700A3B-A01 and HP 610-1150y are better for extended touch sessions, however: on the DX735-D3201, you'll be sitting there with our arm straight out for as long as you use the touch screen.

Speaking of ergonomics, the system's glossy smooth keyboard is pretty to look at, but the keys are so slick that they don't give your fingertips enough grip to type quickly. It's one of the more egregious flaws of the system. Speaking of flaws, the DX735-D3201's USB receiver for the wireless keyboard and mouse is a strangely-shaped block with a mini-USB plug on the side. It fits into a proprietary cubby behind a door on the back of the system, unlike the usual full-sized USB plug found on other wireless keyboard setups. This would be okay if the receiver was pre-installed, but there wasn't any diagram of the receiver on the setup instructions, and the strange-looking accessory could be overlooked in the system's packaging, leading to a non-functioning keyboard and mouse.

The system has a few pieces of software pre-installed, though there isn't a touch-oriented interface replacement like the one on HP's TouchSmart PCs nor Samsung's Touch Launcher. The system comes with Micrsoft's Touch Pack for Windows 7 and Toshiba's Bulletin Board with post it notes, a clock, and calendar. The rest of the included software works with the touch screen, but isn't necessarily optimized for touch use. The system comes with a bit of bloatware: there's only a 30-day subscription to updates for Norton Internet Security (the same as if you downloaded it yourself off of the Internet), and "Toshiba Book Place" is a front for the Blio e-reader and online bookstore. Toshiba does include a bunch of utilities, which govern the energy use of the system, let you login using your face, and Google Chrome is pre-installed. On the whole, it's a lot of software, and most of it is useful, but not a lot of it is touch-optimized.

Toshiba protects the DX735-D3201 with a one-year warranty for parts and labor. Buyers looking for a little more peace of mind may also want to look into Best Buy's extended protection plans, which stretch the current warranty to two years ($129.99) or four ($239.99), and cover the all-in-one against normal wear and tear, power surges, and pixel damage on the screen. These plans include Best Buy's "No Lemon Policy" which guarantees that if four or more in-plan repairs are needed, they will swap it out for a new one.

Performance
The DX735-D3201 is a decent performer, thanks to its dual-core Intel Core i5-2430M and 4GB of memory, though it is a bit slower than its competitors. The i5-2430M processor is nominally a laptop processor. Toshiba uses this CPU in this system for two reasons: Toshiba Corporation has the infrastructure to deal with the laptop-class component in its inventory system due to its expertise making laptops, and the laptop-class processor uses less electricity, simplifying the cooling needs of the system. The system is fast enough for day-to-day tasks, as well as viewing video streams in 1080p HD over the Internet. But its dual-core CPU makes it slower than quad-core processor-equipped rivals on our multimedia tests. The DX735-D3201 produced a decent 1-minute 52-second score on our Handbrake video encoder test; it's a bit slower on the Photoshop CS5 test (4:05). The Dell Inspiron One 2305 (IO2305-4400ELS) ($799.99 list, 3 stars) is a smidge faster (1:47 in Handbrake; 3:54 in CS5) on both tests, due to a faster clocked processor. True quad-core processors, like the one in the HP 610-1150y are faster still (1:29 in Handbrake; 3:56 in CS5), but of course you'll have to pay more money for more performance. The system's integrated Intel HD Graphics are more suited to decoding HD video than playing 3D video games, as seen in the system's lackluster 18fps score on Crysis.

As far as all-in-one desktops go, the Toshiba DX735-D3201 is a good choice for the video junkie, since it has an all-important HDMI-in port. HDMI-in will allow you to extend the life of the monitor past the point when the CPU and PC components become obsolete. HDMI and the USB 3.0 ports, along with the brighter, crisper screen give the system a better overall score than the Dell Inspiron One 2305 (IO2305-4400ELS), even though the DX735-D3201 a is a bit more expensive. However, systems like the Samsung Series 7 and Editor's Choice TouchSmart 610 systems from HP are much more usable as touch-screen PCs, and both demonstrate a commitment to touch-screen technology, while the touch-screen seems tacked on to the Toshiba. Think of the Toshiba DX735-D3201 as a very good to excellent all in one PC that happens to have a touch screen as a bonus, and you'll be fine.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Toshiba DX735-D3201 with several other desktops side by side.

More desktop reviews:
??? Toshiba DX735-D3201
??? HP Pavilion p7-1154
??? Dell XPS 8300 (X8300-4004NBK)
??? Gateway DX4860-UB33P
??? Dell Inspiron One 2305 (IO2305-4400ELS)
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/mD8STP-k4o0/0,2817,2394948,00.asp

college board libya moammar gadhafi heart attack grill cardinals cj wilson chris carpenter