ASUS Zen AiO 27 opens its base, gets versatile

By Chris Burns/Oct. 22, 2018 9:51 am EST

Normally I'd never say an all-in-one machine was "versatile" in basically any respect – they're supposed to be made to be easy to use, primarily. The ASUS Zen AiO seems to be something different. I've not yet gotten my hands on one, so I'm not certain how well it lives up to its claims, but it would appear that it's designed to look nice at the same time as it offers easy access to its innards – that's pretty rare.

The ASUS Zen AiO 27 looks like an All-in-one, but it's almost more akin to a monitor that just happens to be shipped with a PC that's attached to its base. The base opens up and allows easy access and upgrades, while the monitor stays affixed above. As they suggest: "The base can be easily opened to provide access to the storage and memory modules for hassle-free upgrades."

The base also has Qi-standard wireless charging so that wireless charge-friendly devices can be set on top and charged while you use the PC. Most ports run out the back of the base, while one USB 2.0 and one audio combo jack sit on the right. One microSD card slot can be found right up front. All jacks are listed below:

• 1x USB 3.1 Type-C (Gen 2)/ Thunderbolt 3

• 3x USB 3.1 Type-A (Gen 2)

• 1x USB 2.0

• 1x HDMI in

• 1x HDMI out

• 1x RJ-45 LAN jack

• 1x Combo audio jack

• 1x 2-in-1 card reader (SD)

• 1x DC-in

This PC has an Intel Core i7-8700T Processor inside with 16GB DDR4 2400MHz memory and 2TB 5400RPM 2.5' SATA3 HDD + 512GB PCIe Gen3x2 SSD for storage. Graphics processing power is provided by an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 and Intel HD Graphics 630. Harman Kardon-certified audio is provided by two 16W speakers.

This AiO has a 27" UHD (3840*2160) (4K UHD) "NanoEdge" Pantone Validated touch display with 87% body coverage. There's a front-facing camera with Advanced Infrared (IR) abilities below the panel for Windows Hello login.

The PC includes an ASUS wireless keyboard and mouse set, both of which are the color Gold or Deep Dive Blue to match the color scheme of the main unit. ASUS describes the colors of this PC as "Deep Dive Blue with Rose Gold trim around the base."

This PC goes by the name ASUS Zen AiO 27 with a code name Z272SD-XH751T. It's available starting this week at MSRP of approximately $2k. Users will find the PC at the ASUS Store online, Abt, Amazon and on Newegg.