IdeaCentre B520: Brawn and Beauty
Sporting a striking, frameless design, the 23-inch IdeaCentre B520 is one of the most attractive All-in-Ones we’ve seen. It’s a fitting update to the visually appealing IdeaCentre B500 we checked out last year, but it also offers a few new features — most notably, multitouch support.
Joining Intel’s second-generation Core- i7 processor is support for Nvidia’s 3D Vision, for 3D gaming, or watching movies on the Blu-Ray drive. It joins a rather limited set of 3D-ready All-in-Ones one the market — we reviewed MSI’s AE2420 3D just a few months ago, and came away impressed.
The B520 also offers integrated 5.0 speakers, a TV tuner, and can be loaded up with up to 16GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage space.
IdeaCentre A320
Sporting a screen that’s just 18.55mm deep, Lenovo’s IdeaCentre A320 is vying for the title of world’s slimmest All-in-One. We reviewed the IdeaCentre A300 just a few months ago, and what it lacked in raw muscle it made up in style, and functionality.
The 21.5-inch A320 keeps the stylish chassis, but trades the aging Core 2 Duo CPU for Intel’s second-generation Core-i5 Sandy Bridge processor. HDMI, 802.11n Wifi, and an integrated TV tuner make a welcome return, while a pair of USB 3.0 ports joins the generous ensemble of connectivity options.
IdeaCentre B320: The Couch Potato’s Desktop
The 21.5-inch IdeaCentre B320 serves double duty as an HDTV — hit a switch on the side of the unit’s frame, and you’ll switch between Windows and the built in TV tuner. You can also use the PC as an instant-on TV, without booting it up. And if you’d prefer to sap any notion of productivity, toggle the picture-in-picture setting so you can catch up on Desperate Housewives while churning through spreadsheets.
Despite an affinity for couch potatoes, the IdeaCentre B320 is no slouch. It’s equipped with a second-generation Intel Core-i5 processor, and up to 8GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage. Its 1080p display might not as svelte as the IdeaCentre A320, but it does over Lenovo’s NaturalTouch Panel technology, for full multitouch support.
Lenovo C205: An All-in-One for Everyone
Sitting at the lower end of Lenovo’s revamped All-in-One lineup is the C205. It’s equipped with an AMD Dual Core E-350 processor — the long awaited Fusion processor, which bundles a CPU and a GPU onto a single chip. You can also load the PC with up to 8GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive.
While ostensibly aimed at the budget-conscious, the C205 isn’t necessarily short on features. Its 18.5-inch display sports a 1366-by-768 pixel resolution. Lenovo’s Dynamic Brightness System automatically adjusts the screen’s brightness, based on light conditions in the room. And like the rest of the lineup, there’s an optional TV tuner.
We’ll be checking out these machines in person very soon, so be sure to follow our CES 2011 coverage, for our hands-on impressions!
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