ASUS VivoPC-VM40B-02 Desktop | Best Product 2014

ASUS VivoPC-VM40B-02 Desktop

CUSTOMER REVIEW



I am using this as an entertainment PC in my bedroom where, although I have enough room for a full sized PC, I wanted a small form factor so my bedroom did not look like a home theater room. I have this PC connected to the TV in my bedroom by the HDMI port. I connected the VivoPC to a stereo with standard 3.5mm to RCA cable. With its small form factor, I was able to set it on the top of an NHT speaker.



Pros:



1) Small form factor. It can be placed just about anywhere. I prefer the styling to the similar Lenovo Q and Acer Revo series;

2) It is very quiet -- unlike the full size AMD FX8350 system I built for the home theater in the family room;

3) Very attractive case with nifty light through slit in front of the PC;

4) Wireless 802.11ac networking. This enables it to communicate very quickly with the PC on which I store all of my audio and video;

5) Good connectivity with 4 USB 2.0 and 2 USB 3.0 ports, audio and microphone plugs, HDMI and standard VGA outputs;

6) The 3.5" 500G hard drive is easy to remove and replace so you can upgrade it easily, unlike the Lenovo and Acer models.

7) Very inexpensive.

8) While the case is made of plastic, it feels solidly built.

9) Very portable.

10) The Intel 4000 graphics is adequate for 1080p video and audio.



Cons:



1) It is slow in that it uses a Celeron dual core processor. It scored a meager 877.5 on PerformanceTest 8. If you need more power but like the small form factor, the ASUS VIVO-PC VMB60 uses an I3 or I5 processor, but costs about $100 to 200 more and is done in a brushed black rather than the attractive gold of this PC;

2) I would like a front panel USB port to connect jump drives to.

3) It came with a wired keyboard and mouse. I purchased a Logitech tk820 all in one wireless keyboard with a built in touch pad so I didn't have to mess with a mouse where I did not have a place to use it.

4) Windows 8.



I am seriously considering buying a second one for the home theater system. You may want to compare this model to the similar Lenovo Q series or Acer Revo. If you can build your own system and have an operating system floating around, you may also want to consider the Intel NUC series or Gigabyte barebones PC which requires the addition of a hard drive and memory.