Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon 27 Review: Our First Table PC

Features
By
published

The latest all-in-ones look a lot like huge tablets, right? An internal battery adds portability to Lenovo's 27” IdeaCentre Horizon, but is this cool concept still functional as a desktop, or does the push toward mobility sacrifice too much performance?

Test Settings And Benchmarks

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Test Hardware Configurations
Row 0 - Cell 0 Lenovo IdeaCentre HorizonDell XPS Touch 27
Processor (Overclock)Intel Core i5-3337U (Ivy Bridge, 1.8-2.7 GHz, 3 MB Shared L3 Cache, 17 W Max TDP)Intel Core i7-3770S (Ivy Bridge, 3.1-3.9 GHz, 8 MB Shared L3 Cache, 65 W Max TDP)
Graphics (Overclock)GeForce GT 620M 625 MHz, GDDR5-3600GeForce GT 640M 645 MHz, GDDR5-4000
Memory (Overclock)8 GB DDR3-1600 CAS 11-11-11-2816 GB DDR3-1333 CAS 11-11-11-28
Motherboard (Overclock)Lenovo (Proprietary) Intel HM76 ExpressAsus IPIMB-PV Intel H77 Express
Hard DriveSamsung Spinpoint ST1000LM024: 1 TB 5400 RPM 8 MB Cache, SATA 3Gb/sSeagate Barracuda ST2000DM001: 2 TB 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache, SATA 6Gb/sSamsung MZMPC032HBCD-00000 32 GB MLC Cache Drive, mSATA 6Gb/s
PowerDelta ADP-120ZB 19 V, 6.32 A (120 W)Proprietary Integrated Power Adapter
Software
OSMicrosoft Windows 8 Pro x64
GraphicsGeForce 307.21
ChipsetIntel INF 9.3.0.1021

Sold as a tool for screen calibration, Datacolor’s Spyder4Elite also includes a few handy utilities to display image quality. Having passed through several hands before arriving here, I pieced the torn retail box back together in Photoshop.

The Spyder4Elite colorimeter hangs over the screen by its weight-counterbalanced cord, measuring various points on the screen.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
3D Game Benchmarks
Battlefield 3Campaign Mode, "Going Hunting" 90 Seconds Fraps Test Set 1: Medium Quality Defaults (No AA, 4x AF) Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Defaults (4x AA, 16x AF)
F1 2012Steam Version, In-Game Benchmark Test Set 1: High Quality Preset, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset, 8x AA
The Elder Scrolls V: SkyrimUpdate 1.5.26, Celedon Aethirborn Level 6, 25 Seconds Fraps Test Set 1: DX11, High Details No AA, 8x AF, FXAA enabled Test Set 2: DX11, Ultra Details, 8x AA, 16x AF, FXAA enabled
Far Cry 3V. 1.05, DirectX 11, 50 Seconds Fraps "Amanaki Outpost" Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA, Standard ATC., SSAO Test Set 2: Ultra Quality, 4x MSAA, Enhanced ATC, HDAO
Adobe Creative Suite
Adobe After Effects CS6Version 11.0.0.378 x64: Create Video which includes 3 Streams, 210 Frames, Render Multiple Frames Simultaneosly
Adobe Photoshop CS6Version 13 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates
Adobe Premeire Pro CS6Version 6.0.0.0, 6.61 GB MXF Project to H.264 to H.264 Blu-ray, Output 1920x1080, Maximum Quality
Audio/Video Encoding
iTunesVersion 10.4.1.10 x64: Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 minutes, default AAC format
LAME MP3Version 3.98.3: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, convert WAV to MP3 audio format, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
HandBrake CLIVersion: 0.98: Video from Canon Eos 7D (1920x1080, 25 FPS) 1 Minutes 22 Seconds Audio: PCM-S16, 48,000 Hz, Two-Channel, to Video: AVC1 Audio: AAC (High Profile)
TotalCodeStudio 2.5Version: 2.5.0.10677: MPEG-2 to H.264, MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2), Audio: MPEG-2 (44.1 kHz, Two-Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s), Codec: H.264 Pro, Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS), Profile: H.264 BD HDMV
Productivity
ABBYY FineReaderVersion 10.0.102.95: Read PDF save to Doc, Source: Political Economy (J. Broadhurst 1842) 111 Pages
Adobe Acrobat XVersion 10.0.0.396: Print PDF from 115 Page PowerPoint, 128-bit RC4 Encryption
Autodesk 3ds Max 2012Version 14.0 x64: Space Flyby Mentalray, 248 Frames, 1440x1080
BlenderVersion: 2.64a, Cycles Engine, Syntax blender -b thg.blend -f 1, 1920x1080, 8x Anti-Aliasing, Render THG.blend frame 1
Visual Studio 2010Version 10.0, Compile Google Chrome, Scripted
File Compression
WinZipVersion 17.0 Pro: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to ZIP, command line switches "-a -ez -p -r"
WinRARVersion 4.2: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to RAR, command line switches "winrar a -r -m3"
7-ZipVersion 9.28: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5"
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
3DMark 11Version: 1.0.4.0, Benchmark Only
PCMark 7Version: 1.0.3 x64, System, Productivity, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks
SiSoftware Sandra 2011Version Version 2013.01.19.11, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / Cryptography, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark
TouchXPRT 2013v0.213.15.101, All Tests
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
21 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Pyree
    Would be nice if they have truth or dare.
    Reply
  • majudhu
    This explains the "for those who do" part
    Reply
  • sgadadish
    My only question is why not Haswell?? with all it's benefits for mobility where are the portable with the processor...
    Reply
  • stupiduser
    As reported on Slashdot IT - "defence agencies of key Western governments such as Australia, the US, Britain, Canada and New Zealand have banned Lenovo gear from being used in sensitive areas, because of concerns that the Chinese vendor has been leaving back doors in its devices for the Chinese Government."

    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.
    Reply
  • az0937
    http://forums.overclockersclub.com/
    Reply
  • az0937
    http://technologygian.blogspot.com/
    Reply
  • Crashman
    11250051 said:
    Try using this for any length of time as a table pc and your neck and back will be in knots. Not enough gpu power to really make it interesting for gamers but i can see this in industrial, medical applications, schools etc. I can see apu's being used in this application at a much lower price point.
    You're right, if we treat this as a huge tablet or an IPC, it looks pretty good. Thanks!

    Reply
  • rcald2000
    I'm a help desk technician and I'll tell you one thing that I've learned about mobile graphics cards in all-in-one PCs; they are a very bad idea. Just yesterday I had the pleasure of troubleshooting a 4-5 year old Dell all-in-one, which had a problem with the video going black for thirty seconds at a time. I of course attempted to upgrade the video drivers, and found out that neither Dell nor nVidia had ever updated the drivers. I believe the computer originally shipped with Vista 32 bit but was advertised as being Windows 7 upgradeable. I base this opinion on the reviews that I read about the machine, and also on the fact that it had both a Windows Vista and Windows 7 logo sticker on it. Dell's site didn't have any drivers newer than 2009 and nVidia's own auto video driver detection application couldn't identify the video card. In conclusion, I think using a mobile video card in a like this size is lame. But I do applaud Lenovo for trying out new ideas. I would have more faith in the form factor if a company like Samsung was behind it. Also, I should mention that I'm typing this very review on my Lenovo X230.

    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.
    Reply
  • Ed Chombeau
    Retired; and need big screen to see ; would take it on car travel but airline travel?
    Reply
  • Crashman
    11250051 said:
    Try using this for any length of time as a table pc and your neck and back will be in knots. Not enough gpu power to really make it interesting for gamers but i can see this in industrial, medical applications, schools etc. I can see apu's being used in this application at a much lower price point.

    11285869 said:
    Retired; and need big screen to see ; would take it on car travel but airline travel?
    It's about as long and wide as an oversized carry-on bag. Which means you may get it past the gate, or not, depending on how strict the airline staff is being at that gate. And you'd want something to protect the screen.

    Reply