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Looking for a space-saving desktop PC?
Rohan Naravane, Feb 09, 2010 1306 hrs ISTThese PCs will unclutter your desk and help save on power bills too!
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More often than not, the first accessory people purchase with their new desktop PC is a computer trolley. Though space consuming, this is a necessary evil to hold the different PC components together. Also, the matrix of wires running at the back of a desktop PC is an eyesore. In a world where space and electricity are getting expensive by the day, a smaller, power-efficient PC will make sense to many. Let's look at the way the desktop PC has evolved into different space saving formats and understand what you'll gain or lose if you plan on buying these.
Net-tops
Net-tops are tiny desktop PCs that came into existence after manufacturers found roaring success with netbooks. Their goal was to bring the best of what a netbook has to offer -- price, power efficiency and size -- onto a desk. They have petite dimensions and some can even be mounted at the back of an LCD monitor. These ones mostly have an Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, Wi-fi and bluetooth connectivity; basically the guts of a netbook.
Net-tops are just about powerful to surf the internet, use office productivity apps and other work that's light on the resources. It can even playback standard-def movies, but forget about running that 3D modeling app or a 1080p HD movie on it. Gaming is also out of the question since it's generally powered by Intel's paltry on-board graphics. Also, be warned if you use CDs and DVDs on a regular basis; many of these net-tops do not sport an optical drive. But transferring of data between PCs is possible via a handful of USB ports on it. Thanks to the low-power components, they consume way less electricity than your typical desktop PC. For example, an Asus Eee Box B202 consumes just 20 watts of power under full load. 
Upgradeability is only limited to RAM and the hard drive; much like laptops or netbooks. Also, many will have 2.5-inch laptop hard drives, which are more expensive than 3.5-inch desktop hard drives while upgrading. Therefore the bottom-line is - net-tops will make sense to people who have limited computing use. It'd also be a good download rig thanks to its low power consumption. Now that similarly powered netbooks sell for a little above Rs. 15,000, the ideal pricing for a Net-top (without a monitor) should be in the range of Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 12,000 at the most.
If we were to choose, we'd check out the Asus Eee Box B202 (without monitor) for Rs. 13,500. The only thing missing from it is a DVD drive. If you desperately need one, a Dell Zino has a DVD writer and a 17-inch LCD monitor for Rs. 16,000. One thing we didn't like about the Zino is that you have to compulsorily buy a Dell LCD monitor with it.
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