all in one PCs, a joke?

[Panerai 1]

I'm moving into my new house this week and the wife has told me that my current PC setup "...just won't work" in the study.

My new study is somewhat formal and too many wires and monitors is too many wires and monitors.

I was obviously thinking laptop, but 17in is bleh to me, coming from multiple 24" today.

portability of a laptop is nice, but i don't see myself playing WoW, swtor, D3 etc... with anything but a full keyboard and mouse.
Docking station with standalone monitor may be an option, but not sure.

All-in-ones look somewhat intriguing, because I can get at least 21"+ monitor without a tower unit. Some even have "acceptable" internal speakers, but I'll have a headset for good sound.

anyone have any experience with all in ones?

[Meraxiss]

My experience had been I see the price tag, and then move along

[Vosskah]

I'm not a fan. Very hard to upgrade, just like a laptop.

You could use a cable cover, it looks like one thick cable going down fron your screen to the ground. I think we need a picture to think up some idea of how you can have a real computer while looking good.

[Shaen]

Yeah, I think it's much better to figure out a way to hide what needs to be hidden instead of getting all new stuff that will have cables anyway. I haven't seen any of the all-in-one systems that are really good for gaming without spending a ton of money, and even then you're stuck with something incredibly difficult or impossible to upgrade.

What specifically is she wanting to avoid in terms of how it looks?

[Autoriot]

Cut back to one 24" monitor and get a nice desk to hide all the cords. You can get a desk with an enclosed area for the PC, just make sure you have excellent cooling and some ventilation in the back for it. That will hide most of the junk except the two cords coming down from the monitor. Invest in a good wireless keyboard and mouse if it really means that much to not have cords (although I hate wireless peripherals).

Stay away from all-in-one PC's if you hope to do any gaming in the future.

[Zierlyn]

Remember! If it's your house, you can feel free to open up holes in the wall to run your cables! XD

This is advice coming from an electrician though, so it's somewhat biased.

I'd wall mount the monitor(s), run the wires behind and inside the wall and down to behind the desk or other sort of nice looking hollow furniture where you keep your tower, and that would be that.

Other key points have already been mentioned:
- Proper ventilation is a must for hidden pc towers.
- Wireless KB/Mouse are an option, and I used them happily for a number of years, but the simplicity of wired is tough to beat.

==ADDENDUM==
I should add that you wouldn't just leave gaping holes in the drywall. Your local major hardware store (Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.) would have some clean looking covers for the wires to pass through, which you would want to size your holes to if you went my route. =p

[Carlctrl]

My dad got an HP all-in-one about 6 months ago. Didn't consult me like he usually does... I wasn't a big fan, but it has worked well for him. Great picture on this particular one, easy to setup for sure. Voss and others are right about the upgrades, if you ever want to, forget the all-in-one.

[Sinpree]

I like them. I just actually order myself a new iMac which I am excited about. It really all depends on what your looking for and what you want it to do. I think all in one computers are a great solution for most people computing needs but will never be high end gaming computers. But if you don't play a lot of PC games and dont need to run them at the highest setting I think this is a good choice since they are clean, don't take up a ton of space, and should last long enough till you want a new one.

[Zierlyn]

Sin's recommendation is probably the best one if a tower PC is completely out of the question. I was hesitant to suggest an iMac because I've never personally used one, but if you're looking for compact, powerful, and reliable... that's probably the route to go if you're willing to make the jump away from PC's.