Hewlett-Packard debuted the first 27-inch Windows all-in-one earlier this year. Now Asus follows suit with its ET2700I. Like HP, Asus charges a reasonable premium for its large display, asking $1,399 for a system that might otherwise cost around $1,000 with the same components and a 24-inch LCD. None of these 27-inchers has the same high resolution as Apple's large iMacs, making them a better fit as home entertainment PCs than productivity workstations. Should you choose the Asus system over the HP? If overall performance and budget gaming capability are important to you, yes.
Asus offers a few different versions of the 27-inch ET2700I. This one, the ET2700INKS, is the most expensive, thanks to its Core i7 CPU, a discrete Nvidia graphics card, a Blu-ray drive, and a standalone subwoofer unit that plugs into the side of the system.
I haven't seen an all-in-one with a breakout subwoofer before. It seems like a reasonable way to differentiate the system, but the effort is marred by underpowered hardware. Asus sends power and the audio signal to the sub via a single audio cable. The unit provides a slight boost to the bass output, but even at max volume and with all of the various software effects enabled, the audio isn't what you would call room-filling. At the higher volume levels, the output also lost some integrity.
Cheap subwoofer aside, the 27-inch screen is the highlight of the ET2700I. The resolution tops out at 1,920x1,080 pixels. That's plenty for most home users, and movies, games, and other media content will look great. You might be disappointed if you want a giant screen to cram full of open windows for multitasking. Professional digital-image editors and others will also likely prefer the 27-inch iMac's denser 2,560x1,440-pixel resolution.asus pc
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