As soon as the Asus Zen AiO Pro Z240IC arrived at our office, it immediately kicked off a conversation about a similar product from the other ‘A’ company. Deliberate or not, there is no question that the new Asus Zen AiO bears a striking similarity to some the Apple iMac.
Not a bad thing as both are certainly objects of great beauty. The Asus Zen AiO Pro Z240IC has a 23.8-inch glossy full HD LCD screen. We have mixed views on the screen. In regular office lighting conditions with fluorescent lighting, there will be a lot of reflection from many angles. You might want to consider getting a matte screen protector. The screen is also not touchenabled, a real shame as the minimalist design of this device cries out for a mousefree look.
The PC has the usual array of ports, all tucked away at the rear bottom of the screen. These include USB 2.0, USB 3.0, SD card reader, mic-in, audio-out, two HDMI ports and a USB Type C port. There is also a hidden row of exhaust vents at the bottom of the screen facing directly downwards.
The Asus Zen AiO Pro comes in two flavours. The lower priced version uses the Intel Core i5 CPU and the Nvidia GeForce GTX 950 GPU while our test version had the 2.8GHz Core i7-6700 CPU and the GTX 960 GPU.
In addition to the massive 16GB of RAM, there is also an additional 2GB attached to the Nvidia GPU. Like many laptops and portables these days, the 2D desktop is powered by the Intel 530 integrated GPU while gaming and 3D applications will switch to the discrete Nvidia GPU.
Audio is provided by the ubiquitous Realtek HD audio. Users also have the option of using one of the HDMI ports for HD audio using the services of the Nvidia GPU. The Asus Zen AiO Pro also ships with a slim Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.
The performance of the Asus Zen AiO Pro cannot be called revolutionary. We also noticed some performance throttling during intensive gaming and benchmarking. Although heat was never an issue, overall performance did fall off after more than half an hour of intensive use.
In terms of software, there are no bells or whistles added on top of the Windows 10 Home installation. This Asus PC is definitely not for the passionate PC gamer. Considering its overall design, it is clear that the company has targeted the Zen AiO Pro at households and office users. From the perspective of that owner, it is an object worthy to be in the living room and become the neighbour’s envy.
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever. very usable too.
Spec
PROCESSOR: Intel Skylake i7-6700
GRAPHICS: Nvidia GTX 960M
MEMORy: 16GB
STORAGE: 1TB HDD
DISPLAy: Full HD glossy panel
OS: Windows 10 Home