How Desktop PCs Got Their Groove Back

Is the desktop PC dead? Far from it.

Tablets and phones of all shapes and sizes are hogging the limelight, but the desktops unveiled at this year's CES have offered up important evolutions in form and function. Driven by versatility, performance, and (arguably most importantly) value, the humble desktop will be with us for some time--we probably just won't recognize it.

The Rise of the All-in-One

We've seen the rise of the all-in-one PC coming for some time now. In 2010 especially, these

melds of monitor and machine sought to simplify the desktop experience. "There's only one cord!" became a common refrain on marketing materials. All-in-Ones were a svelte, hassle-free alternative to the burdensome beige and black boxes we've known for so long.

But all-in-ones were more expensive than comparable tower desktops, and generally rather sluggish. That's changed. Intel's 2nd Generation Core processors have demonstrably lower power requirements, while offering substantial performance gains -- for the same price. That means smaller, thinner chassis -- or models that are the same size as today's all-in-ones, packed with discrete graphics cards and all sorts of neat extras. And while AMD's Fusion platform will be making its way into notebooks first, we've already seen all-in-ones like Lenovo's C205 offering up Fusion in an inexpensive chassis.

(pcworld.com)