Asus Zen AiO Z240ICGT review – the iMac has a Windows rival

Performance and benchmarks

The quad-core, 2.8GHz Core i7-6700T processor inside the Zen AiO is a slightly underclocked version of Intel’s desktop i7-6700, but it can still hit a maximum boost speed of 3.6Ghz. Paired with 16GB of DDR4 RAM, the Zen AiO managed an overall benchmark score of 86. This included a rather low score of 70 in the image rendering benchmark and a high point of 98 in the video rendering portion. The processor is hyper-threaded, meaning each of its four cores are treated as two, significantly improving performance in complex tasks. The low image editing score points to slightly sluggish single-core performance; we suspect some of this lethargy is down to the slow, 5,400rpm 1TB hard disk.

Noise is kept to a minimum, even when the fans are at full speed. The PC never gets particularly hot, either, even during the toughest of tasks, which is a testament to the design of the system and the energy efficiency of the components inside.

The Zen AiO is also a decent gaming machine, thanks to the 4GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M graphics card. It’s a chip you’d normally find in mid-range gaming laptops, but we’ve known it to produce desktop-level performances in the past. In the Dirt Showdown benchmark at Full HD resolution it achieved 46.2fps, while in the extra challenging Metro: Last Light Redux benchmark it managed a slightly unplayable 18fps. Disabling the notoriously challenging SSAA anti-aliasing improved this to 59fps. It’s a capable gaming PC as long as you’re prepared to stick to 1080p and stick to High detail settings. More casual offerings, such as Minecraft won’t trouble it one bit.

Conclusion

The Zen AiO is a premium all-in-one PC with plenty of power and a terrific screen. It can even play a few games. Our only reservation is the sluggish hard disk, which seriously harms its credibility when working with photos and high-resolution video. If you’re not going to be working with this sort of material professionally, it’s a decent buy.

The whole lot costs £99 less than Apple’s entry-level 27in 5K iMac. For your money you get similar performance, better graphics capabilities but a slightly smaller screen and cheaper peripherals. It’s horses for courses, really. If you want Windows and all it offers, the Zen AiO is a great choice. Otherwise, we’d probably shell out an extra £99 for the iMac.

Of course for this much money you could buy a far more powerful desktop PC and a brilliant monitor, such as the Scan 3XS Z170 Performance GTK6 and Asus PB279Q. But that’s the price you pay for a pretty-looking all-in-one.