Touchscreen Computing: Gateway ZX4931 And HP TouchSmart 310

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Have you ever looked to a future without keyboards and mice? Today we review two PCs that not only integrate everything, including their screens, into one enclosure, but also include touchscreens. Best of all, both models sell for less than $700.

Test Setup And Display Specifications

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Reference Hardware
ProcessorAMD E-350 APU (Dual-Core, 1.6 GHz)
MemoryKingston Hyper-X 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3-1600
MotherboardASRock E350M1
GraphicsAMD Radeon HD 6310
Hard DriveIntel X25-M 160 GB SSDSA2M160G2GC, SATA 3Gb/s (System Drive)
Power SupplySeasonic 760 W, 80 PLUS
Operating SystemWindows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bit
Graphics DriverCatalyst 11.3
WirelessEdimax 150 Mb/s 802.11b/g/n nano USB Adapter (EW-7811Un)
Windows Update3/28/2011

At $110, ASRock's E350M1 is one of the best examples of how AMD can maintain a low price point and still provide competitive performance. That's why we're using it as a reference point against our budget all-in-ones.

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Test Systems
BrandGatewayHP
ModelZX4931-31eTouchSmart 310-1125y
ProcessorIntel Pentium E5800 (Dual-Core, 3.2 GHz)AMD Athlon II X2 245e (Dual-Core, 2.9 GHz)
MemoryUnifosa 3 GB (1 x 2 GB, 1 x 1 GB) DDR3-1333Samsung 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) DDR3-1333
GraphicsIntel GMA X4500HDAMD Radeon HD 4270
Hard DriveHitachi 7200 RPM, 500 GBHitachi 7200 RPM, 750 GB
Operating SystemWindows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bitWindows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit
Graphics Driver8.15.10.23028.733.0.0
Windows Update3/28/2011

The display is just as important as the internal hardware in an all-in-one PC. That's why we are subjecting these screens to our monitor benchmarks as well.

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BrandGatewayHP
Model2311xTouchSmart 310
TypeLEDLED
Panel TypeTNTN
Screen Size21.5"21"
Max Resolution1920x10801600x900
Aspect Ratio16:916:9
Response Time5 ms5 ms
Brightness cd/m^2300300
Andrew Ku
17 Comments Comment from the forums
  • compton
    This article was worth what I can only assume was a torturous trip to Best Buy. But curiously, I'm not thinking about all in ones, but rather touch screens. Dell makes an eIPS panel with a touch screen for not a ridiculous sum of money. I've been considering it for a foray into touch screen computing on my desktop where I have the juice to do it right.

    Toms strikes another blow against boring reviews. Good job.
    Reply
  • flong
    Interesting subject - could this really be the computer's future? I don't think that the keypad will be replaced until voice control is more mature.
    Reply
  • Voice control is not the future; it's been around forever. Until computers can think, you can't talk to them.

    In reference to the article, while desktop DIY rigs are definitely orientated to serve a central purpose, these all-in-ones are just as purpose built to serve an environment. (eg kitchen, living area)

    Make touchscreens more seamless. By seamless I mean cheap. Where is the touch screen film I can just roll over whatever I want? How about a coffee table that recognizes my devices and my Heineken?
    Reply
  • flong
    Voice control has been around forever - duh. Brilliant observation. And while we are making observations, there is at least one computer you can talk to, IBM's Watson, which won jeopardy. Quality voice control is just coming into being.

    What I meant was that until we have better voice control / input, a keypad will be necessary because typing on a vertical touchscreen, which is obviously awkward, would not suffice to do say a high school homework assignment.

    Even with better voice input there may be some physical interface like a mouse. Right now cutting edge voice control for consumers is what we find with Ford's "Sync." But that would not work for a work station.

    Touch screens like the Ipad have their strengths but nobody thinks they will replace computers with keyboards (nettops excepted).

    However, if we have a "Watson" interface where we can provide input via voice control: that is the future of computers. With Watson you could virtually ask it to do any function, search any website or dictate a spreadsheet to it. Per your example, you could ask Watson to make your coffee and then put the morning newspaper on the built-in LCD coffee table viewer, turn the AC down to 75 degrees and find out what traffic is for the morning commute and it would be cable of doing all these things with voice input only. Bill Gates's home has many of these functions without an AI interface.
    Reply
  • I hate touch screens, bringing it to the PC just annoys me, I dont want to touch my screen, do not see a use for it...

    The next step forward is voice control that works!
    Reply
  • cknobman
    This article is one of the worst I have ever seen on Toms Hardware. It seems rushed, is missing tons of relevant information, and basically skims over the most important features of a touchscreen computer.
    Reply
  • On the HP display ... is it 20" and ??? as on the lead page or is it 23" and 1600x900 as on the Display Spec page ? Because HP says it's 20" and a 1080P display for the 310 series.
    Reply
  • molo9000
    Touch screens on desktops are an ergonomical nightmare

    Just point your finger at your display for a while. Your arm will start hurting after about 2 minutes.
    Reply
  • acku
    MacTheKnifeOn the HP display ... is it 20" and ??? as on the lead page or is it 23" and 1600x900 as on the Display Spec page ? Because HP says it's 20" and a 1080P display for the 310 series.
    Fixed!
    Reply
  • acku
    cknobmanThis article is one of the worst I have ever seen on Toms Hardware. It seems rushed, is missing tons of relevant information, and basically skims over the most important features of a touchscreen computer.
    If you want to see something specifically please let us know. If there is one thing missing, it's more discussion on software/touchscreen demos, but we provided these as videos. And, as this is Tom's Hardware not Tom's software, we wanted to focus on the hardware.
    Reply