Intel's Atom CPU Inside New Averatec's All-in-One PC

Intel’s Atom processor has shown up in a fair number of portable devices, thanks to its small size and very low power consumption, but Trigem USA has tapped the tiny processor for its Averatec All-in-One desktop machine.

The Averatec All-in-One is a one-piece computer in which the system unit and an 18.4-inch wide-screen display (with native resolution of 1680x945) are integrated into a single device. As such, it’s very similar to HP’s TouchSmart, Dell’s XPS One, Gateway’s Gateway One, and of course Apple’s iMac. But with a list price of just $549.99, the Averatec is considerably less expensive than those rigs. It’s also less powerful.

Trigem selected Intel’s single-core Atom N270 CPU, which runs at 1.6GHz and has a 533MHz front-side bus, and paired it with Intel’s 945GMS Express chipset (with integrated graphics in the form of the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950) and Intel’s ICH7M I/O controller hub. The system comes with 1GB of DDR2 memory and can be expanded to 2GB (although upgraders will have to toss the existing 1GB DIMM, because the motherboard has only one DIMM slot).

The Averatec has built-in wired and wireless networking, but the former is limited to 10/100 Mb/sec speeds and the latter is limited to 802.11b/g. A smallish 160GB SATA hard drive, spinning at 5,400 RPM, is provided for storage. A 1.3-megapixel webcam is built into the display’s bezel, and there’s a four-in-one (Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, MultiMedia Card, and Secure Digital) media reader integrated into the chassis.

Considering the price, we’re not surprised that the Averatec All-in-One lacks a TV tuner, Bluetooth, or a wireless mouse and keyboard (wired models of both are included). But we do find it interesting that Trigem is selling the Averatec All-in-One not with Vista installed, but with Windows XP Home. Hmm, that wouldn’t be because Vista is such a resource pig, would it?