All-in-One Desktops
Discussion
I consider myself reasonably tech savvy but... My mum wants a new PC. She's very traditional and still wants a PC with monitor in her little computer room rather than a laptop.
So, as her dutiful son I said I'd find her one as I have with everyone in the family for laptops. I haven't bought a desktop PC for many, many years and I am seeing lots of 'All-in-one Desktops'. They look nice but I'm immediately wary of not having a separate screen and tower and I didn't know these were even a thing!
Should I consider one of these? If relevant, mum is in her 70s so won't be gaming or going beyond booking a holiday and reading the news.
So, as her dutiful son I said I'd find her one as I have with everyone in the family for laptops. I haven't bought a desktop PC for many, many years and I am seeing lots of 'All-in-one Desktops'. They look nice but I'm immediately wary of not having a separate screen and tower and I didn't know these were even a thing!
Should I consider one of these? If relevant, mum is in her 70s so won't be gaming or going beyond booking a holiday and reading the news.
Moved my mum over to a HP Chromebook years ago - she only needs the web and emails and has the bonus of the integration of Google Photos from her phone to beign able to see it on the laptop.
Try her with a chromebook if you can, it's far simpler for the oldies imho with less alerts popping up all over the place etc
Try her with a chromebook if you can, it's far simpler for the oldies imho with less alerts popping up all over the place etc
Another alternative, is these small form factor Lenovo "tiny" pc's.
Got one of these for my parents, and just added the screen and it's much better than some massive desktop as all they do is basic web surfing type stuff.
Usually floating around on Ebay for £100ish depending on spec.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZdZNQ3-0yI
https://tinyurl.com/686nmnwb - ebay link to an example
Got one of these for my parents, and just added the screen and it's much better than some massive desktop as all they do is basic web surfing type stuff.
Usually floating around on Ebay for £100ish depending on spec.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZdZNQ3-0yI
https://tinyurl.com/686nmnwb - ebay link to an example
The All In One is basically a large monitor with everything built in - I think Apple may have had some success with a similar idea 
Good - tidy looking - just one cable. Bad - heavy and usually poor graphics capability but that doesn't sound like a problem in your case.
Value for money won't be as good as a small PC / laptop plus decent monitor.
Good - tidy looking - just one cable. Bad - heavy and usually poor graphics capability but that doesn't sound like a problem in your case.
Value for money won't be as good as a small PC / laptop plus decent monitor.
I have an AIO from PCSpecialists.
The monitor is a curved 3440x1440 driven by a GTX1060 6GB. Also 8xCPU. 1GB M1 and 6GB HDD. 16GB RAM.
I don't agree the graphics are poor in AIO, the above spec is from 5 years ago, dare say better exist nowadays. Personally I like AIO as they are much tidier.
My daughter had a lower spec Samsung AIO 19" screen and that was almost as portable as a laptop in that you had to pick up the mouse/keyboard and unplug the power and then could move it anywhere. Not much different from a laptop really.
The benefit to an older person of a desktop or AIO over a laptop is you can have a much bigger screen which is easier to read, as well as a larger keyboard for fat fingers/poor eyesight. Older people get stubborn, if she doesn't want a laptop then don't force it on her !
The monitor is a curved 3440x1440 driven by a GTX1060 6GB. Also 8xCPU. 1GB M1 and 6GB HDD. 16GB RAM.
I don't agree the graphics are poor in AIO, the above spec is from 5 years ago, dare say better exist nowadays. Personally I like AIO as they are much tidier.
My daughter had a lower spec Samsung AIO 19" screen and that was almost as portable as a laptop in that you had to pick up the mouse/keyboard and unplug the power and then could move it anywhere. Not much different from a laptop really.
The benefit to an older person of a desktop or AIO over a laptop is you can have a much bigger screen which is easier to read, as well as a larger keyboard for fat fingers/poor eyesight. Older people get stubborn, if she doesn't want a laptop then don't force it on her !
IanJ9375 said:
Moved my mum over to a HP Chromebook years ago - she only needs the web and emails and has the bonus of the integration of Google Photos from her phone to beign able to see it on the laptop.
Try her with a chromebook if you can, it's far simpler for the oldies imho with less alerts popping up all over the place etc
This is the very definition of not reading the OP!Try her with a chromebook if you can, it's far simpler for the oldies imho with less alerts popping up all over the place etc
aquarianone said:
Another alternative, is these small form factor Lenovo "tiny" pc's.
Got one of these for my parents, and just added the screen and it's much better than some massive desktop as all they do is basic web surfing type stuff.
Usually floating around on Ebay for £100ish depending on spec.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZdZNQ3-0yI
https://tinyurl.com/686nmnwb - ebay link to an example
Not sure if this is one, but these come with VESA mounts so you can fix them to the back of a monitor. I'd do that rather than buy an all-in one as it'll work out cheaper and gives you much more choice.Got one of these for my parents, and just added the screen and it's much better than some massive desktop as all they do is basic web surfing type stuff.
Usually floating around on Ebay for £100ish depending on spec.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZdZNQ3-0yI
https://tinyurl.com/686nmnwb - ebay link to an example
aquarianone said:
Another alternative, is these small form factor Lenovo "tiny" pc's.
Got one of these for my parents, and just added the screen and it's much better than some massive desktop as all they do is basic web surfing type stuff.
Usually floating around on Ebay for £100ish depending on spec.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZdZNQ3-0yI
https://tinyurl.com/686nmnwb - ebay link to an example
Yep these are excellent, I would only add get one with an SSDGot one of these for my parents, and just added the screen and it's much better than some massive desktop as all they do is basic web surfing type stuff.
Usually floating around on Ebay for £100ish depending on spec.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZdZNQ3-0yI
https://tinyurl.com/686nmnwb - ebay link to an example
You can get ChromeOS all in one machines, I have one, I'm typing from it now, LG Chromebase 21".
It is however out of ChromeOS support now so you have 2 options, Install Linux or install Cloudready (basically ChromeOS), I've installed ElementaryOS on mine and it runs fine (upgraded RAM).
There are newer ChromeOS all in ones out there but they tend to be £££ or get her a Chromebox. At 70 if shes just wanting to book holidays and read the news she isn't going to need all the Windows software etc so ChromeOS would be perfect. Got my Mum and Sister on it, saves a lot of calls about stuff not working.
It is however out of ChromeOS support now so you have 2 options, Install Linux or install Cloudready (basically ChromeOS), I've installed ElementaryOS on mine and it runs fine (upgraded RAM).
There are newer ChromeOS all in ones out there but they tend to be £££ or get her a Chromebox. At 70 if shes just wanting to book holidays and read the news she isn't going to need all the Windows software etc so ChromeOS would be perfect. Got my Mum and Sister on it, saves a lot of calls about stuff not working.
My mum got an HP all-in-one. It's been a good fit for what she wants, and crucially this year, no chance of unplugging the camera or having it fall off the monitor.
The only "problem" in the couple of years she's had it was that she didn't realise what was going on with the separate SSD and HD in there, so filled up the SSD with photos pretty quickly. Walked her through moving those directories to the HD and all good since.
The only "problem" in the couple of years she's had it was that she didn't realise what was going on with the separate SSD and HD in there, so filled up the SSD with photos pretty quickly. Walked her through moving those directories to the HD and all good since.
Thanks all. As someone has put well, she's is set on not wanting a laptop and it's not really worth me convincing her otherwise.
I have also seen the 'mini' desktops which looked interesting as the specs looked more than adequate for her needs. Having 2 storage drives will confuse her so I'll need to set that up for her...
Interestingly, I've used a lot of Dell machines over the years but didn't use them for last laptop as they seemed very pricey - they seem more competitive for desktops.
I have also seen the 'mini' desktops which looked interesting as the specs looked more than adequate for her needs. Having 2 storage drives will confuse her so I'll need to set that up for her...
Interestingly, I've used a lot of Dell machines over the years but didn't use them for last laptop as they seemed very pricey - they seem more competitive for desktops.
I needed a cheap 'reception desk' PC for my business a year or so ago, and ended up just going to Currys and buying an inexpensive Acer all in one:
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/desktop-pc...
I'm sure someone who works in IT will be along in a moment to say it is a rubbish spec or something like that, but it works perfectly for emails, Microsoft Office, Internet, printing stuff etc.
Nice big screen, extremely compact, everything built into the screen, built in webcam that pops up out the top of the monitor when you want it. Works great. It is also totally silent unlike the old separate 'tower' PC's.
I would definitely buy something like that if she wants a desktop.
I usually only buy Apple computers/tablets these days because I hate Windows, but to be fair to the Acer, it worked fine and Windows was also fine. It simply wasn't worth buying an Apple iMac for £1100 when a £400 PC would be fine on a reception desk for just opening emails and looking things up on the internet.
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/desktop-pc...
I'm sure someone who works in IT will be along in a moment to say it is a rubbish spec or something like that, but it works perfectly for emails, Microsoft Office, Internet, printing stuff etc.
Nice big screen, extremely compact, everything built into the screen, built in webcam that pops up out the top of the monitor when you want it. Works great. It is also totally silent unlike the old separate 'tower' PC's.
I would definitely buy something like that if she wants a desktop.
I usually only buy Apple computers/tablets these days because I hate Windows, but to be fair to the Acer, it worked fine and Windows was also fine. It simply wasn't worth buying an Apple iMac for £1100 when a £400 PC would be fine on a reception desk for just opening emails and looking things up on the internet.
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 17th March 13:55
Hi,
My 9 year old DIY PC wheezed to it's end last year & I replaced it with a Dell All in One (Inspiron 5490 AIO) .
I'm very pleased with it, mouse / keyboard are wireless & wi-fi built in so the only cable is the power line - make the desktop much less cluttered. I bought an i5 processor & as far as I'm concerned, its as fast as I'd ever need.
As mentioned above, by default everything goes onto the SSD, so a bit of fiddling is needed to put data onto the HDD "D" drive.
That's about the only caveat. Otherwise the graphics (23.8" screen) are good, it's fast and quiet. Fan only comes on occasionally after startup & also if I'm doing graphics stuff.
And it talks you through initial setup - very user-friendly.
My 9 year old DIY PC wheezed to it's end last year & I replaced it with a Dell All in One (Inspiron 5490 AIO) .
I'm very pleased with it, mouse / keyboard are wireless & wi-fi built in so the only cable is the power line - make the desktop much less cluttered. I bought an i5 processor & as far as I'm concerned, its as fast as I'd ever need.
As mentioned above, by default everything goes onto the SSD, so a bit of fiddling is needed to put data onto the HDD "D" drive.
That's about the only caveat. Otherwise the graphics (23.8" screen) are good, it's fast and quiet. Fan only comes on occasionally after startup & also if I'm doing graphics stuff.
And it talks you through initial setup - very user-friendly.
Keypad said:
Hi,
My 9 year old DIY PC wheezed to it's end last year & I replaced it with a Dell All in One (Inspiron 5490 AIO) .
I'm very pleased with it, mouse / keyboard are wireless & wi-fi built in so the only cable is the power line - make the desktop much less cluttered. I bought an i5 processor & as far as I'm concerned, its as fast as I'd ever need.
As mentioned above, by default everything goes onto the SSD, so a bit of fiddling is needed to put data onto the HDD "D" drive.
That's about the only caveat. Otherwise the graphics (23.8" screen) are good, it's fast and quiet. Fan only comes on occasionally after startup & also if I'm doing graphics stuff.
And it talks you through initial setup - very user-friendly.
Looks a good setup. I like that the USBs etc. are all obviously at desktop height. Surprisingly slim too.My 9 year old DIY PC wheezed to it's end last year & I replaced it with a Dell All in One (Inspiron 5490 AIO) .
I'm very pleased with it, mouse / keyboard are wireless & wi-fi built in so the only cable is the power line - make the desktop much less cluttered. I bought an i5 processor & as far as I'm concerned, its as fast as I'd ever need.
As mentioned above, by default everything goes onto the SSD, so a bit of fiddling is needed to put data onto the HDD "D" drive.
That's about the only caveat. Otherwise the graphics (23.8" screen) are good, it's fast and quiet. Fan only comes on occasionally after startup & also if I'm doing graphics stuff.
And it talks you through initial setup - very user-friendly.
It would blow my mother's mind as she will ask where the computer is!
It's good to hear they are an option. I know monitors last for ages but presumably there aren't issues with it all being in the same unit? As someone said though, Apple have been doing it for years so I guess not.
Dell outlet have a half dozen to pick from - will be good enough for most home users.
mmm-five said:
But still chose to ignore the requirement for a PC with a separate monitor 
My suggestion was to try her on a chromebook if she doesn't like it then fair enough - I've got my mum and also my retired uncle who does the books for about 7 different club/charity organistations all happilly chugging away on a Chromebook.Never heard of connecting the chromebook to a monitor then I guess.....
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