Review monoblock ASUS ZenAiO Pro

In May of this year, we already considered one monoblock from ASUS - ET2323 . Less than a year, as a new model, ZenAio Pro. The device turned out completely different from its predecessor, getting rid of some functions and finding new ones.

Specifications

Processor :

• Intel® Core ™ i7 6700T Quad-Core
• Intel® Core ™ i5 6400T Quad-Core
• Intel® Core ™ i3 6100T Dual-Core

Display : 23.8 "(60.5 cm), 16: 9, IPS, multitouch

• Ultra HD 3840x2160
• Full HD 1920x1080

Chipset :

• Intel® H170
• Intel® H110

Graphics :

• NVIDIA® GeForce GTX960M 2 GB / 4 GB
• NVIDIA® GeForce GTX950M 1 GB / 2 GB

RAM : 4 to 32 GB, DDR4, 2133 MHz

Data Store :

• 512 GB SSD
• 1 TB HDD + 128 GB SSD
• 1 TB HDD + 512 GB SSD
• 1 TB SSHD

Wireless data transmission : 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, Bluetooth V4.0

Local Area Network : 10/100/1000 Gigabit

Cameras :

• 1 Mp
• 2 MP Intel RealSense

Sound :

6 speakers with a total power of 16 watts

Microphone

SonicMaster Premium Technology Support

Rear connectors :

• 1 x USB 3.1
• 4 x USB 3.0
• 1 x USB 2.0
• 2 x HDMI Out
• 1 x RJ45 LAN
• 1 x audio
• 1 x microphone
• 1 x DC-in
• 1 x power connector

Card reader : 2-in-1: SD / MMC

Power supply : 180 W

Dimensions : 585 x 434 x 52 cm (L x W x H)

Weight : 7.3 kg

Color : Icicle Gold

Accessories : wireless keyboard + mouse kit

Appearance

The monoblock is packed in a large box, with dimensions of 26 x 55 x 72 cm. The total weight is impressive, more than 11 kg. In contrast to the ET2323, ZenAiO Pro comes already fully assembled, you will not need to screw the stand. The large device is reliably protected from damage with the help of foam polyethylene inserts.







The body of the monoblock is a monolithic aluminum strongly convex bath. The stylish look of the stand is also made in the form of a single piece.















Behind is the power button and all connectors:



















At the bottom there are located the exit ventilation slots. And the air flow, apparently, is provided through the grid, hidden behind a stand.











Unfortunately, I did not manage to intelligently photograph the front panel of the monoblock, because the large glossy protective glass worked like a great mirror, mercilessly reflecting everything around.











A decorative panel with a proprietary concentric pattern of the Zen line passes along the entire underside of the monoblock.







In the lower right corner of the front panel there are LED indicators for disk access and power.







Along the edging of the front panel, the chamfer is removed along the entire perimeter of the aluminum case.











Above the display, in the center, are the webcam lens, as well as the lens and infrared illumination module of the Intel RealSence 3D camera, which allows you to create three-dimensional models of various objects. For example, your face. More on this, I will tell below.







Included with the computer is a wireless set of mouse and keyboard. In my opinion, they look simpler than those who marched with ET2323.































Actually, there’s nothing much to say about this mouse and keyboard: these are entry-level devices, without frills and some pronounced flaws. They work from the batteries in the kit, using the same tiny USB-receiver (pictured above).

Display

The review was a model with a magnificent 4K-display, equipped with IPS-matrix. With a diagonal of 23.8 inches, this resolution does not look redundant at all. The pixel density is 185 ppi. The colors are excellent and do not distort in almost the entire range of viewing angles. I tried to take a picture of a piece of the screen, but it turned out that the LED matrix of the display doesn’t like the matrix of the camera, and the colors of a considerable part of the spectrum are not fixed:







"This is such a pretext." Although in reality, I repeat, the display gives a very beautiful and balanced image. By the way, the display brightness is automatically adjusted, depending on the ambient light.



It is curious that, in addition to everything, the display in this model is touch-sensitive, with multi-touch support. As they say, the finger is the best interface in the world, and with ZenAiO Pro, you can stop fumbling around the table when you want to, say, play music and go about your business, or start a video player. In general, you can come up with a ton of applications for a touch screen of this size.

Software

Monoblock running Windows 10 Home. Also, additional applications were installed on the computer:



Flipboard (news aggregator)











Proprietary ASUS App Box utility that allows you to manage settings, software updates, backup creation, security, etc.















FreshPaint (digital coloring). By the way, she just sharpened by touch displays.















Health Vault (applications for logging your health status, a hypochondriac's dream).

3d camera

This is one of the main "chips" ZenAiO Pro. Fresh Intel RealSence technology, which is a combination of a separate camera and an infrared backlight module. It creates a certain zone at a short distance from the computer, within which the camera captures objects illuminated by infrared radiation. And thanks to some algorithms, a three-dimensional model is built.



The 3D camera gives a literal meaning to the phrase “manual control”. In applications that support RealSence, you can control and interact without touching the screen or mouse at all with the keyboard. Simply gesturing. According to the Intel site, the camera recognizes 22 control points on the hand, which can be used to determine gestures. The technology has certain limitations: the field of view is not very wide, so you don’t especially rub your hands, and the camera doesn’t recognize too fast movements.



In some applications, you can use gestures to operate with some objects, for example, to edit images. So far, the list of programs compatible with the ZenAiO Pro camera is small:







Screenshot from Madagascar game (user’s outline is dynamically displayed in the bottom left corner):







A nice bonus: 3D camera allows you to log in to Windows, simply by showing your unforgettable face. I wonder how hack resistant this system is?











As you understand, 3D cameras and 3D printers are just made for each other. In this symbiosis, some companies are already making money, offering the population to perpetuate in the sculptural miniature everything that the soul desires. And the soul usually wants to perpetuate itself, which is what businessmen use. For example, in the 3DMe application, you can scan your face, apply it to one of the available models of popular movie characters, and for some bribe you will print a statuette and send it by mail. At the site you can watch videos on this topic. I could not get past such entertainment and also indulged with 3DMe. More or less “purely” I managed to scan my face only once from the fourth. It turned out that it is best not to sit down to the device with the whole body, but to lean forward, because otherwise pieces of the shoulders or the chest can be scanned.















Looks pretty ... unusual.

Performance

The review was a top-end version of the ZenAiO Pro - with the sixth generation Core i7 processor - 6700T , operating at 2.8 GHz. RAM is more than enough - 32 GB DDR4. There are two video cards: "office" Intel HD Graphics 530 and Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M with 4 GB of memory.



















A 512 GB SSD connected via the M.2 interface is used as a drive.















The top processor, a large amount of RAM, a powerful video card and a very fast SSD make it possible not to think about such mundane things as lack of resources. However, if you plan to play ZenAiO in modern “heavy” games, then I recommend doing it not in your native resolution. Still, the number of pixels is 4 times more than that of FullHD, and this is a challenge even for powerful gaming computers. In all other cases, filling a monoblock provides excellent performance, including in Photoshop.

Conclusion

ZenAiO turned out to be more attractive than ET2323 from all points of view: exterior, display and filling. Particularly impressive is the design of the device, on its background the previous monoblock looks, let's say, old-fashioned. In my opinion, the ASUS developers made the right decision, abandoning the built-in TV tuner, BlueRay-drive and multi-functional stand.



The novelty in the form of a 3D camera looks very promising, although the choice of compatible applications is still small. At first glance, there are not so many applications: some game genres, specific business processes, work with various editors, but the 3D camera is not intended to become the main control method. So far we are away from completely "manual" interfaces, but a start has been made.







You can not discount the good old touchscreen, which today is the most intuitive control interface. It is especially convenient in applications with a tiled design, like the same Flipboard. And in many operations, touch control is much more convenient than a mouse.

ZenAiO has many application scenarios. First of all, it is a stylish, powerful and compact home computer, as well as a completely working machine for designers, artists, 3D modelers and editors.



Recommended retail price: from 79 990 rub.