Performance
The Touchsmart is more than capable of DVD playback, but it's still a mid-level laptop crammed into a desktop form factor. Ideally we'd like to see more power on the video card side, if anything to smooth out HP's interface lag issues (assuming the interface is GPU accelerated, and if not, then more CPU power or better coding is in order), but also to lower CPU usage during high-definition video playback.
With the exception of the video card, the hardware is mostly good. A 2GHz Core 2 Duo T5750 makes sure things stay reasonably snappy on the CPU front, the 320GB hard drive should satisfy most, and the 4GB of RAM will be more than enough save for the most furious of the Photoshoppers and database admins.
3DMark06 struggled due to the integrated Intel graphics, posting a substandard score of 505, while PCMark05 came in at 3,846, indicating it's perfectly fine for office use.
As it so happens, there is another model that may satiate our need for more power — the IQ508a packs a GeForce 9300M GS, 2.16GHz CPU, 500GB of storage, a TV tuner and remote control, and will set you back AU$2,499. We'd consider this model a better investment — it is, however, a Harvey Norman exclusive, so you'll have to see Uncle Gerry should you want the extra power.
The second generation Touchsmart as just a panel PC is gorgeous. The AU$1,999 price is fantastic as well — but we can't help but feel that there's so much more potential in the touchscreen aspect being left, ahem, untapped.
6%
3%
Stunning piece of computer that can sit proudly in any family room
The good: All-in-one computer with a nice user interface.
The bad: Should also include a digital TV tuner built-in.