The idea of a PC with a table-like display isn't new. Arcade game cabinets began to appear in restaurants and taverns long before many of us owned a PC. But of course those weren't touch-based devices. Alternatively, high-end touch-screen PCs like the one we looked at in Dell XPS One 27: Can An All-In-One Make Us Love Windows 8? would need a custom cabinet in order to become a true tabletop PC.

The IdeaCentre Horizon’s headline feature comes from a spring-loaded stand that supports most positions between 0° and 75° from horizontal. There's no latch to hold the stand flat against the Horizon's back though, so you probably wouldn't pick it up and hold it like a tablet. Still, this PC's combination of moderate weight and integrated battery offer portability you don't typically find in a table-shaped or conventional all-in-one machine.
Table mode inspires the return of multiplayer gaming on a single screen, though the addition of touch input means you probably shouldn't set your beer down on this one. Our review unit shipped with two air hockey-style strikers, two joysticks, and a rechargeable die. According to the Horizon’s product page, Lenovo now bundles twice as many strikers and joysticks to support four players.
The Horizon’s low-end GeForce GT 620M GPU isn't particularly interesting to hardcore game enthusiasts. However, the mainstream titles you'd play with four people on this table PC don't often require top-shelf graphics processors. Lenovo even nudges you along in your multi-user quest by including IdeaCentre Horizon-optimized games like Monopoly, Air Hockey, and Roulette. The following video, borrowed from Lenovo, demonstrates game play in action.
- Lenovo's Table-Sized IdeaCentre Horizon PC
- What Is A Table PC Used For, Anyway?
- Getting To Know The IdeaCentre Horizon
- Brightness, Contrast, Uniformity, And Gamma
- Color Gamut, Accuracy, And Calibration
- Test Settings And Benchmarks
- Results: 3DMark And PCMark
- Results: Sandra And TouchXPRT
- Results: Battlefield 3 And Far Cry 3
- Results: Skyrim And F1 2012
- Results: Audio And Video Encoding
- Results: Adobe Creative Suite
- Results: Productivity
- Results: File Compression
- Energy, Heat, And Battery Life
- The Overall Efficiency And Value Of Lenovo's IdeaCentre Horizon
I wish Tom's would aim their incredible testing abilities at these types of claims. I would like to know if MY Lenova is making me vulnerable.
Lenovo X230
i7 ivy bridge processor
16 GB RAM
500 GB 7200 rpm drive
HD4000 integrated graphics
* connected to one external Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24" monitor.
Why have a PC? Just buy a big a## table.
Why have a PC? Just buy a big a## table.
Ahh, I thought it used both as I've seen some reviews on this website where software uses the cpu and gpu accelerated openCL together.
Also a weird thing I've noticed is that in this article 7zip hands down beats every other program in both file compression time and size, yet in articles such as this one winrar is faster by a factor of over 2. Why is there such a discrepency? The articles are even using the same versions of the program.
Ahh, I thought it used both as I've seen some reviews on this website where software uses the cpu and gpu accelerated openCL together.
Also a weird thing I've noticed is that in this article 7zip hands down beats every other program in both file compression time and size, yet in articles such as this one winrar is faster by a factor of over 2. Why is there such a discrepency? The articles are even using the same versions of the program.