In the market for a basic all-in-one PC without the unnecessary bells and whistles?
Many all-in-one PCs try and compete with full size desktops. The problem is big chassis are needed to house powerful hardware and that clashes with the AIO idea of a small footprint and greater simplicity. The HP Omni 200-5320a takes a different tack, and is one of the most down to earth AIO PCs we have seen.
For a start, the screen is only 21.5 inches - small by today's behemoth standards. The Omni also uses the budget conscious Intel E8500 CPU and an NVIDIA GeForce G210 videocard. Unlike some of its more rambunctious brothers, the Omni doesn’t bother with over the top extras like a touchscreen, Blu-ray drive, monster GPU or surround sound.
In operation it’s very no fuss. Boot up is fast, it’s responsive to use yet very quiet and it draws a very low 26W. While it’s last year’s model, the CPU zips along at 3.2GHz and happily ran our standard web surfing, document editing and entertainment programs. This is helped in part by the generous 4GB of RAM. In PCMark Vantage, the Omni scored a low but usable 4,727. The screen itself is LED backlit and runs at 1,920 x 1,080 and is sharp and vibrant, though tends to reflect a bit of light.
You also get a 1TB HDD, 9 USB 2.0 ports (no USB 3.0), a memory card reader, webcam and microphone, 802.11n wi-fi, LAN port and a headphone jack. The Omni has inbuilt speakers and while you shouldn't expect amazing performance, they do handle Skype or YouTube videos no problem. You also get a pretty nice wireless keyboard and mouse just to ensure the whole clutter free AIO PC experience.
While perfect for home or mild office use, the Omni won’t perform double duty as a casual gaming machine unless you want to relive your youth or play Facebook games. Still, as a portable yet capable machine it excels. Unfortunately the rrp is a rather high $1,299, though hopefully the street price will drop enough to make the HP a great buy, rather than just an acceptable one.
Available from HP retailing for $1,299.
APC rating: 6/10