A match made in heaven with Windows Media Center.
The DX730 has movie lovers set in its sights with this feature-packed all-in-one. Armed with a TV tuner, Blu-ray drive and TV-style remote control, it’s the perfect hybrid of a TV and computer for those with minimal space to spare.
Unlike most other all-in-ones, Toshiba has managed to achieve slim and sexy lines with the DX730, with a monitor depth much slimmer than the competition. This makes it a much better option for those looking to wall-mount the PC. To achieve this svelte figure, something had to go and the CPU has suffered most. Designed for notebooks, the Intel Core i5-2450M is limited to dual cores, so those who like to multitask might notice a performance hit. Despite this, the machine still posted a zippy PCMark 7 result, clocking in at 2,329, thanks in part to the Nvidia GT540M. A terabyte of mechanical drive storage is plenty, but once again we see a total absence of any solid-state storage, strange given their huge performance-boosting abilities and small form factor.
Unlike its competitors, Toshiba has kept bloatware to a minimum, with just a couple of applications preinstalled. During testing the 23in touchscreen exhibited pinpoint accuracy, easily the best of the bunch of all in ones we've recently used. We were also rather impressed by the built-in speakers, but you’ll probably still want to use the HDMI output to pump sound to an external sound setup. There’s no S/PDIF out, though, which is a slight omission for those with older amps.
We’re very impressed by the DX730, offering a wealth of multimedia options at a reasonable price. If only it came with a quad-core CPU, it’d be an easy recommendation.
Available from Toshiba, retailing for $1,999.
APC rating: 8/10 (Highly Recommended)