ViewSonic VPC190 18.5-inch Nettop All-In-One Desktop PC

Jul 2 2010 - The ViewSonic VPC190 is sold as a green all-in-one desktop solution. They do a good job and restricting its power consumption and materials but this has its downsides. The Atom based processor while above average still lacks much performance and the paltry hard drive provides almost no storage space. What really hurts the unit is its price at $600. This is as much as many more powerful budget all-in-ones or touchscreen enabled nettops.

Jul 2 2010 - ViewSonic's VPC190 all-in-one is kind of an odd selection for a computer. It carries a near $600 price tag that puts it in competition with real budget class desktop class PCs but it still uses the internals that would be found in the average netbook today. They do make some concessions that improve performance but they don't quite go far enough.

Powering the system is a newer Intel Atom D510 dual core processor that is designed more for nettop systems that netbooks. It provides it with a smoother experience than traditional netbooks and nettops but still falls quite short of even the most basic of real desktop processors. ViewSonic was going for a lower power consumption which this processor does achieve. The big difference here though is the system comes with 2GB of memory instead of 1GB that Microsoft's netbook licensing restricts. This is because ViewSonic uses a standard Windows 7 Home Premium operating system that provides it with more features and better performance with the extra memory.

One of the more disappointing aspects of the VPC190 is the storage. Since ViewSonic didn't go with the netbook licensed version of the operating system, they were not bound by Microsoft's hardware licensing. Even with this, they included the extremely small 160GB hard drive. The cost difference between this and larger drives is not much so it doesn't make much sense. They do include an dual layer DVD burner so the unit can playback and record CDs and DVDs. Ejecting a disc requires use of the operating system as there is no eject button.

The display is fairly typical of nettop class all-in-one systems. Viewsonic uses an 18.5-inch display screen with a 1366x768 resolution. The big problem is that with the price tag that the VPC190 carries, many competing systems either offer a larger screen or a touchscreen enabled interface. The nettop internals include the Intel GMA 3150 which suffices for basic computing work but lacks any performance for 3D or even providing reliable 720p HD video streaming at watchable frame rates. It will work with some Flash 10.1 accelerated video but there are still times of less than stellar quality.

At first glance, most people would just assume that the VPC190 is just a standard monitor. The unit is only slight larger and thicker than some similarly sized LCD monitors on the market. This allows for the system to occupy very little space on one's desk. It also helps reduce the amount of materials needed to make it.

The big problem with the ViewSonic VPC190 is its price. At $600, the system is just too high priced for the level of features it provides. For just a little more, one can get a more powerful all-in-one based on full laptop or desktop processors and larger hard drives or for the same price get a nettop based unit that provides more storage and a touchscreen.