Pros![VIZIO CA24T-A4]()
- Nice Apple-esque styling, super thin
- 24″ 1080p touchscreen
- Can be used as a TV even when the PC is off
- Includes mini sub woofer and remote
- 10-point touch screen works great with Windows 8
- Nice list of specs for the price
Cons
- 5400 RPM hard drive hurts overall performance
- Keyboard and trackpad have been panned by users
- No optical drive
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The Geek’s Take
Our number one criteria for choosing and recommending All-in-one PCs is styling, and like our Editors’ Choice Samsung Series 7 AIO before it, the Vizio All-in-one CA24T-A4 reeks of premium style. Oozes it. Like a Don Draper at a cocktail party level of style. But fear not. The CA24T-A4 is more than just a pretty face – it also has the muscle to back it up. Though complaints about the included keyboard and trackpad keep it from the Editors’ Choice realm, this is an All-in-One desktop you would be proud to take out for a night on the town.
Full Review
Performance
Vizio packed a solid list of specs into the ultra thin CA24T-A4 All-in-one. At the heart of the system is an Intel i5-3210M, a low voltage mobile version of Intel’s 3rd gen (Ivy Bridge) Core CPUs that clocks in at 2.5GHz. It’s not a powerhouse by any means, but it does have those four hyperthreaded cores and 6GB of memory, more than enough juice for everyday tasks. Just don’t expect blistering frame rates from the latest games with this bad boy.
Where the CA24T-A4 really shines is the 24″ 1080p 10-point touch screen. It’s bright, thin, and very sharp, reminiscent of Vizio’s successes in the TV game. Vizio was so confident you’d like the screen in fact, that it built their All-in-ones to also work as televisions when connected to Blu-ray players or cable boxes, even when the PC is powered down.
Things aren’t all kittens and roses with the CA24T-A4′s performance and specs, though. Like the Samsung Series 7 AIO, the 1TB hard drive is a 5400 RPM which does put a damper on how quickly programs launch and the system boots. The CA24T-A4 is also missing a DVD drive, a feature you may or may not notice depending on how ensconced you’ve become in the world of digital downloads. If you’re still tied to physical media, fear not. External USB DVD drives are very cheap these days.
Design
The CA24T-A4 really does look amazing. Its sleek, ultra thin look is very Apple-esque (better than Apple in our opinion, if you can believe it) while the aluminum accents will class up any workspace. The icluded wireless keyboard and trackpad (yeah – no mouse for some reason) along with the tabletop sub woofer give it a very futuristic look. Unfortunately though, the internet is full of reports of those keyboards and trackpads not working too well, so a simple replacement could be in order. Beyond that small snag, we have nothing but great things to say about this Vizio All-in-one’s design.
Warranty and Support
The Vizio CA24T-A4 All-in-one comes with what’s basically become the standard 1-year parts and labor warranty found in the realm of electronics. Their support is based in California and offers phone and web contact options as well as the online knowledgebase that we’ve also come to expect. As for the quality of that support…well, you don’t have to look far to find some negative comments and experiences from customers on the web. We’d still consider Vizio’s support to be well above average for the industry though.
Value
Now available for around $925, the Vizio CA24T-A4 feels like a much better deal than the original $1300+ price. We were pretty satisfied with the pricing of the Samsung Series 7 at $999 so this price for a similarly specced unit save for the slightly slowerprocessor is about right. For All-in-one shoppers lusting over that iMac styling without that iMac pricetag, the CA24T-A4 is a great choice.
Summary
We really, really like what Vizio has done with the styling of the CA24T-A4 specifically and their All-in-one PCs in general, channeling their inner Apple to create a really fantastic looking PC. Unfortunately, by packing the CA24T-A4 with what are essentially laptop parts, Vizio has made an All-in-one that won’t exactly be killing it in the benchmark arena. Still, for users looking for a amazing looking home office or family PC, the Vizio CA24T-A4 All-in-one is a good choice.