Just an thought
I just want to put this thought out there publicly.
Is the convention of building a computer inside of a computer case out of date for general home users?
Obviously for those who enjoy hording lots of Linux ISO’s, or building ultra huge fast machines (read enthusiasts), its not, and it is still a viable platform, but my main question is, why hasn’t there been a greater push for more consumers PC’s designed similar to HP’s TouchSmart, Dell’s Studio One, or Apple’s iMac?
Personal, for general home users, and even general office workers, I think the idea of having a box that houses your CPU, Hard Drives, DVD drives, motherboard, video card, sound card, etc. is a way of computer building that should have started to die quite a bit ago.
I mean, how many of you have built cheep home computers, and had a huge amount of free space left in the case can just make you feel sad looking at it.
The obvious argument against this, is “we have laptops”, but those machines don’t easily cater to people who want something with a 22″ or bigger screen (22″ seems to be in the process of becoming the current monitor “standard” for size).
I also don’t see why this type of design couldn’t be feasible to the home builder either. I mean, if Dell, HP, and Apple are fitting proper processors into these types of machines currently, and with low and mid-range graphics cards being GENERALLY good enough for most casual gamers, without putting out allot of heat (and this situation is only getting better).
Would it really be that bad, if Monitor “cases” were a standard? I mean, you would only need to replace your case… when you wanted a bigger screen (assuming you are not a normal home user who will simply throw out, and buy new, an entire new computer when one component is out of date)
Obviously, this way of computer building isn’t going to be an overnight change, and I’ve got a feeling that if or when it does come, allot of enthusiasts will fight it.
I really want to hear what everyone thinks to this, I believe its the way forward, do you?
Failing that, as an intrum step: whats your thoughts to USB hubs (already have them) and DVD/Br Burners built into Monitors?
do note that current AIO solutions from companies like Dell and Apple are laptop internals usually, thus they dont generate too much heat. normal computer cases allow for better heat dissipation etc etc
also the current range of AIO imac/dells dont cater for people wanting a screen upgrade, but however they do come out in 22″ and 24″ forms anyway so thats null and void.
as an Enthusiast i like the option of cases etc etc… but i do see the point in AIO
only real problem is any repairs needed on said AIO machines….. then it becomes expensive
If the hardware is common it shouldn’t be to expensive
I am of the opinion computers are generally not worth upgrading for the home user. If you get 3 years out of a PC today, that’s pretty good by anyones standards. As soon as you start upgrading, you spend alot more than if you buy a whole new PC (plus the experience of having everything new is much better). For instance; buying a PC 3 years ago may have seen you with a Pentium-D Processor, 160GB HDD, DVDRW, 7600GT/x1800, 1GB of RAM, 17″/19″ 4:3 LCD; or at least an early conroe.
Now, those specs are pretty terrible. You could upgrade it, the CPU, the HDD, video etc… but to do so, you are effectively buying a new PC (parts at least). You would be better off buying a new PC and passing on the older one to someone else who doesn’t need the speed.
AIO solutions have good appeal. They look the part, they can still remain modern for a few years – and they are tested to integrate properly. I would like to see the ability to upgrade the Video Card, RAM and have a second slot for a HDD – but I suppose extra space is supplemented for the “Average Home User” by simply using external eSATA drives.
Whilst not the most economical way to do a PC upgrade, anyone who would seriously consider an AIO PC clearly have some financial backing that a $150 external eSATA drive from Harvey Norman is not going to break the budget (consider $100 for an internal drive they have to get installed anyway). Mmm… video upgrade would be nice, but those playing games alot probably want a big case anyway to house a full HD4890
PC’s are far more powerful today that they can happily process word documents and multitask. Even 3 year old PC’s. Sure, a nicer screen would be cool – and hardware deteriorates over time.
So you are agreeing with me that AIO solutions, for home and office use, are the way to go?
Where requirements support AIO Computing, yes.
@Craig Upgrading probably isn’t worth it, but at the same time, how many people really *need* to upgrade that frequently these days? If you’re not using a modern computer to play the latest games at the highest settings (i.e. just using Office / Firefox / whatever other office software) then you could get away with a computer for five years+ I reckon (as long as there’s not a botnet’s worth of viruses/spyware on the machine after a short time and the user doesn’t know about good old format c:\). By the time you’re looking for a faster computer, then a new PC is really the only option anyway.
The sad thing is, untill the prices come down enough, then theirs not much chance of AIO computers taking off. $500 is still better value than $1k, no matter which way you look at it.
So whats really needed is the IT industry doing what it does best. Creating a demand where there is none, and flooding the market with GOOD AIO computers.
As The_Muffin mentioned in IRC countless times, laptop parts, whilst GENERALLY not as good as desktop components, can be just as cheep. So maybe thats one way to go to kickstart the AIO revolution? (might lead to more reliable laptop components as well
)
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