What do you need that box for anyway, the All in one HP TouchSmart IQ816 HTPC Review

What do you need that box for anyway, the All in one HP TouchSmart IQ816 HTPC

All in one computers, especially in the HTPC and Multimedia PCs arena have been slow to fruition, ( I think mainly due to their struggling little brother, the all in one tablet.), but I think that the new HP TouchSmart IQ816 might change that by setting a new standard in convenience and utility for the market. At 1920x1200 resolution and just over $2000, this fully functioning Intel Core 2 Duo powered LCD masterpiece adorn the walls of board rooms and living rooms alike worldwide. Now that I am done singing its praises, there were a few things that I feel were overlooked (or should I say forsaken) if the want people to truly be happy with their HTPC centerpiece. I regret to inform that it ships out with only 750 GB of hard drive storage. While it may seem like a lot of storage for a desktop PC, these sleek wall mounted beauties can easily have a capacity need that exceeds most home or business PCS. Especially with the introduction of Blu-Ray to a wider audience, the idea of storing 50GB of data on a single disk will soon be seen as the norm (as soon as the Blu-Ray Recordable media prices fall a little more), and even a TB of data will become the new GB.

Getting ride of the mouse and keyboard once and for all can truly be achieved with the HP TouchSmart IQ816 HTPC, though it does come with both. It also has all of the other bells and whistles that people like to attach to their PCs, built right in. There is an unobtrusive web cam, DVR/HDTV/Blu-Ray Player, and even 5 USB ports if you just can't seem to get enough.

There are competitors that can bring the same features to the table or even a few more for only a few extra dollars, but if you want exactly what you pay for, and are in the market for a $2000 All In One HTPC for your living room, den, kitchen, or bedroom, then you can safely buy this one and throw away the box.

Back to Multimedia Systems REVIEWS