HP Omni 120-1024

Browsing through the all-in-one desktops at any computer retailer, it's easy to be wowed by entertainment options and touch-friendly features, but forget about finding a fully decked-out system for less than $800. The HP Omni 120-1024 ($529.99 list) may not have all the bells and whistles of more expensive systems, but if you want a compact and attractive all-in-one for browsing the Web or light office work, it's a decent system at a price that's hard to beat.

Design and Features
Instead of the pedestal design used on previous iterations, the HP Omni utilizes an easel-back design. The screen and chassis are supported by a single bar and a hinged leg in the back, resulting in both sturdiness and some tilt adjustability. The screen bezel and chassis are covered in burnished black plastic, but the supporting bar below is a stately silvery color. The speakers along the bottom edge of the screen provided good stereo output when I played the new Avengers and Mission: Impossible trailers, though I found the sound a little thin when I listened to some Jimi Hendrix songs with the volume turned all the way up. There's also little to no bass to speak of.

The 20-inch widescreen display has a resolution of 1,600 by 900, fine for 720p playback but short of the 1080p HD picture found on the Dell Inspiron One 2305 (IO2305-4400ELS) ($799.95 list, 3 stars). The display is clear enough for any sort of document or spreadsheet work, and large enough for working on documents side by side or enjoying a full-screen movie from four or five feet away. And though it may sit on the shelf next to several touchscreen-equipped all-in-one systems, the Omni 120-1024 has no touch capability itself. The included wired keyboard and mouse are nothing fancy, but they get the job done.

On the right and left edges of the chassis you'll find a tray-loading DVD?RW optical drive, a media card reader (SD/HC, MMC, MS/Pro, xD), two USB 2.0 ports, and headphone and microphone jacks. On the rear are four more USB 2.0 ports, though you'll need two for the keyboard and mouse. There's also an audio output and an Ethernet port. What you won't find on the Omni are faster USB 3.0 ports, like the ones found on the MSI Wind Top AE2050-008US ($679.99 list, 3 stars) or an HDMI video port.

Internally, the Omni 120-1024 is equipped with 802.11n Wi-Fi and a 500GB 7,200rpm hard drive. On the hard drive there are several programs preinstalled, from a dedicated eBay website link on the desktop to ereaders (Blio and Kobo) and a handful of game samples from WildTangent. There's also a 60-day trial of Norton Internet Security 2012, Microsoft Office Starter 2010 (the full suite is preloaded, but requires a product key to activate). You'll also get HP LinkUp software, which lets this computer easily share files with any other on your home network.

Performance
The HP Omni 120-1024 is equipped with 4GB of RAM and AMD's latest Fusion Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), a single chip die shared by a dual-core E-450 (1.65GHz) processor and Radeon HD 6320 graphics processor. This approach allows for better graphics than might be offered with traditional integrated solutions, while conserving space and energy. In CineBench R11.5 the Omni 120-1024 scored 0.64, outpacing the 0.62 of the MSI Wind Top AE2050-008US and the 0.50 of the Intel Atom-equipped Acer Veriton Z290G-UD525W ($599 list, 3 stars), but falling far behind every competitor equipped with an Intel Core CPU.

The weak processor also led to slow performance in Handbrake and Photoshop CS5 multimedia tests. The Omni 120-1024 completed Handbrake in 6 minutes 30 seconds, and Photoshop in 14:24. To provide some context, the Sony VAIO VPC-L231FX/W ($999.99 list, 4.5 stars) completed those same tests in about one-third the time (Handbrake 2:22, Photoshop 5:34)?and it's far from the fastest system we've reviewed.

The AMD Radeon HD 6320 didn't help out much in the graphics department. The HP completed 3DMark 11 with a score of 548 at Entry settings, and was unable to run any of our graphics or gaming tests. Don't plan on playing much more than casual or Web-based Flash titles on this all-in-one.

The HP Omni 120-1024 offers buyers a compact and stylish all-in-one at a budget-friendly price. It's a no-muss, no fuss way to browse the Web and edit documents, but not ideal for much beyond day-to-day applications. For a more capable all-in-one, the Editors' Choice HP TouchSmart 320-1030 ($699 street, 4 stars) comes equipped with a more powerful AMD A4 desktop APU, and costs only $130 more.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:

COMPARISON TABLE
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