Asus’s ET2321IUTH is a mid-priced family PC in a slimline package with understated good looks. Priced at £799 it delivers performance better than we would have expected from its installed hardware and it’s also the only AIO PC we’ve recently reviewed to double up as a digital Freeview TV. The Asus Eee Top PC looks just like a standard 23in monitor, and unlike bulkier designs doesn’t give away the fact that there’s an entire PC fitted inside. It may be made of plastic, but it’s rather pleasing on the eye and much less imposing than some competing models. Powered by a 1.6GHz-2.6GHz Intel Core i5-4200U processor, the Asus Eee Top E2321IUTH is a dual-core system. However, it still manages to outperform the inexplicably slow ENVY Beats AIO from HP and the low-cost MSI Adora20 2BT, which features a less powerful Celeron CPU. No discrete graphics processor is provided, the all-in-one PC relying instead on the Intel HD Graphics 4400 integrated onto the Core i5 CPU. This level of performance is suitable for very basic gaming only, although again the Asus PC outperforms the HP system which has nominally faster graphics onboard. Sound from the stereo speakers of the Asus Eee Top ET2321IUTH came with plenty of volume, but seemed rather thin, lacking the considerably better bass response of the Acer Asipre AZ3-615 and the mighty HP ENVY 23 Beats AIO. They’re perfectly adequate for general multimedia use though if you’re not too fussed about quality. If you’re willing to spend a little more, there’s an optional Asus subwoofer available which connects via a dedicated port at the rear of the PC. Here you’ll also find a TV antenna connection, three USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports, HDMI in and out and a wired Gigabit Ethernet socket. Microphone and headphone sockets are provided on the underside of the monitor bezel for easy access, along with a fourth USB 3.0 connection and a memory card reader. The right hand side of the Asus Eee Top’s case houses a DVD re-writer. Despite turning in better than acceptable results from our objective display tests, the picture quality left a little to be desired. Text seemed somewhat oversharpened and we wouldn’t find a way to reduce this effect. Both brightness and contrast are somewhat lacking when compared to the Acer Aspire AZ3-615, but are adequate for a family PC. It was nice to see a display off option, enabling the PC to be left on without wasting energy keeping the monitor on. The display also offers a full ten-point multi-touch input facility.
