10 tips on choosing a monoblock

Monoblocks have won a place under the “market sun” and are gradually replacing ordinary computers on users' desks. And this is not surprising. This type of equipment has plenty of advantages:

1. You can do without a pile of wires - only one plug is inserted into the network, and not 2-3, as usual. And peripherals are easily connected wirelessly.
2. Monoblock compact. He will find a place on any table. And a huge box will not interfere under your feet.
3. The device, as a rule, has a large screen diagonal. In essence, this is a TV with computer stuffing. Therefore, candy bar has a good image.

At the same time, it is worth remembering about one important minus of the monoblock - the difficult configuration upgrade. As a rule, manufacturers are deprived of warranty if the user decided to change something in the device. Yes, and the layout of the most compact, so that new components will be difficult to find and insert into the case. In this regard, a monoblock is much inferior to ordinary computers.

An important caveat: if you compare a conventional PC and a monoblock, then at the same power, the latter will be much more expensive. Professional models for games or design cheaper than 100 thousand rubles to find problematic.

It should be understood that initially monoblocks were created primarily for professionals - designers, programmers and other people associated with working at a computer. Therefore, the devices were conceived quite productive. But the narrow specificity made them not very convenient for other tasks. However, over time, the candy bar has become almost 100% universal.

Like any other device on the market, the candy bar has thousands of variations. Before buying, you must immediately decide for what purpose a monoblock is required. Otherwise, there is a risk of either overpaying for a car, 70% of the functionality of which is not needed at all, or getting a weak computer.

So, what types can be distinguished:

1. For work and study. When such a device is supposed to be used as an office horse, then there is no need to worry - technical characteristics will not become a problem. Any modern candy bar will pull office work. He will digest mail, Word, tables - whatever.
2. For home use (multimedia). Average configuration monoblock. Must "digest" a video player with a good quality movie or YouTube with a similar video. Therefore it is worth choosing a rather productive, but not the maximum option.
3. For games and "heavy" programs. The configuration should be powerful to pull the maximum number of modern games and programs. This is exactly what is suitable for professional designers and gamers. Remember that the "iron" in the monoblock and the usual PC is different - it is weaker, despite the name. Like laptops.

In general, we recommend the following:

1. Determine the list of necessary programs that should work on a monoblock, and the maximum possible purchase price.
2. Examine their system requirements (better “recommended”).
3. Write out the system requirements of the most productive and "heavy" program. Or make a list of requirements if the maximum characteristics are required by several at once.

According to the data obtained, it is necessary to select a monoblock, choosing a model a little bit “with a reserve”, if finances allow. If not, then it is enough to buy a gadget "butt" on the characteristics.

The next step is the choice of the manufacturer. It should be understood that each company creates a product for its own target audience. And on this will depend on the technical characteristics of the device. There are quite a few options:

1. Apple produces iMac monoblocks, created specifically for designers, layout makers and other people working with graphics. It has the best monitor among all. The price corresponds to the quality and even exceeds it.
2. Microsoft - the company produces a single candy bar Surface Studio, also specifically for designers. Sharpened model for just this - a non-standard monitor, has a special resolution and format.
3. MSI - the company of gaming devices decided to do and monoblocks. But she created several lines at once - super configurations for gamers (MSI Gaming), less productive for office workers (MSI Pro) and excellent quality models for everyday use (MSI Adora).
4. Lenovo is a company focused on the budget segment, occupying it with fully productive and high-quality models for work and study. But without unnecessary frills. Products suitable for undemanding users home or office.
5. Acer - the company has covered all segments of the market: there are both weak office monoblocks and modern gaming models. The quality is quite decent, and the prices are quite affordable. With proper skill, you can find a great candy bar.

Naturally, this is not all firms that produce monoblocks. But they create the most qualitative and successful models that are worth their money.

Remember: a design candy bar is never suitable for games. "Office" gadget with a mediocre filling is not able to cope with heavy design programs. And the game will be too powerful for work and not very convenient for working with photos / videos and so on (although it will pull them in terms of characteristics).

Monoblocks, as a rule, have high quality screens. The display diagonal depends on the functions assigned to the device. As a rule, it is possible to divide monoblocks into two large groups:

1. Casual (up to 24 inches). Suitable for users who do not want something big from a monoblock - so, watch a movie, learn or work. The recommended resolution for such models is Full HD, higher optional.
2. Professional (from 24 inches). As a rule, such models have much better configuration and are sharpened for a specific task - for example, for the creation of graphic content or for computer games. The resolution also depends on the problem: it is better for designers to acquire the maximum possible, and 2K is enough for gamers (otherwise lags in games are possible).

The IPS-matrix is ​​the most common now - it is the most suitable option because it provides high-quality color reproduction and excellent viewing angles. In addition, designers recommend buying a candy bar with a screen color span of at least sRGB - this will allow you to see the picture in the form in which it was created. Otherwise, colors may be distorted.

Monoblocks come in with a glossy and matte screen. The latter is convenient if the gadget is in a place where the rays of the sun will fall on it. But for such models, the brightness is slightly underestimated and the color rendition is changed due to the type of coating. Glossy are more versatile, but fade in the light.

An important feature of some candy bars is the touch screen. Is it really necessary - you decide. But you should know that for everyday use the touch screen does not have any important function.Not very convenient to drive a finger on a 30-inch monitor. Why then need this feature? Designers and artists! With pen input you can draw or edit the image directly on the screen, which is much more convenient.

It is important to understand: it is unprofitable and very difficult to change the processor in the monoblock. Therefore, you must immediately select the best option. But in order to make the right choice, you need to understand that processor performance is far from just the number of cores. As a rule, this is influenced by three factors:

1. CPU generation.
2. Clock frequency.
3. Nuclear

These indicators are important when choosing. It should be understood: the newer the processor and the better the combination of these three characteristics, the better and more productive it is. But more expensive. So for a gaming or professional monoblock is better to choose expensive, but effective processors with a maximum of GHz and cores. And for the worker enough for a simpler option.

But which manufacturer to pay attention to? Only two options - AMD and Intel. Both are about equal in technology and usability. But AMD is cheaper, albeit quite a bit. Each manufacturer creates several processor lines. And how to understand the labeling? We make a small table for simplicity. We have identified processors suitable for various monoblocks:

Manufacturer	Working	For home	Professional
AMD	A6, E2	A8	A12
Intel	Pentium, Celeron	Core 2 Duo, i3, i5	i7, i9

The latest processors in each column are the most powerful. But it is worth remembering that their performance will depend on the "novelty", frequency and number of cores. But, naturally, the dual-core Pentium at 1.5 GHz will never be more powerful than a dual-core Intel i3 of the same clock frequency.

A video card is a component that is responsible for displaying an image on the screen. It is logical that the better it is, the more complex the image can be modeled, for example, when used with 3D graphics or computer games. But this is an expensive component, and its modernity will seriously affect the final price of a monoblock.

Video card options are easily divided into three standard categories:

1. For a computer to study or work, which does not involve frequent work with graphics or watching movies, an integrated Intel HD Graphics card is sufficient, which is available in almost all models.
2. Monoblocks for home use (for example, multimedia) must have at least an average power card. Integrated will not work - it is best to focus on discrete options of the average price category.
3. It is better to buy gaming and professional monoblocks if the video card of the last (or at least the penultimate) generation is installed in them. In this case, problems with graphics just will not. But the price will increase significantly. For games it is worth taking top-level video cards.

An important caveat: monoblocks use the so-called mobile video cards. Therefore, their performance is somewhat lower than that of similar "full-size." And when choosing it is worth considering.

RAM is a special component that is responsible for the speed of the computer. If it is not enough, the device starts to slow down, is unable to start several programs at once, and so on. Therefore, there should be a lot of RAM. Desirable - with a margin.

The minimum values ​​of RAM for monoblocks, depending on the type:

• workers: 4 GB;
• for home (multimedia): 8 GB;
• gaming and professional: 16 GB.

The values ​​are given with a certain margin so that in a couple of years you do not have to buy a new device or try to upgrade it (remember that in the case of monoblocks this is difficult). Ideally, it’s better not to skimp on RAM. Because the excess will not adversely affect (except on the wallet). But in case you suddenly need, for example, to open something very heavy on a working monoblock, it can even help out from constant freezes.

By the way, the speed depends not only on the number of gigabytes, but also on the generation of RAM. It is recommended to purchase third-generation RAM or, if the wallet allows, the last fourth generation (DDR3 and DDR4, respectively).

A hard disk drive (HDD) is a familiar storage device on a computer, working thanks to hard drives (hence the name) magnetic disks inside. It is somewhat slow, but inexpensive. He gradually comes to replace the solid-state drive (SSD) - a version of the new generation, with no moving elements inside and working at the expense of flash-memory.

Ideally, in the monoblock should be combined HDD and SSD. The first type of memory is quite cheap and common - it is ideal for storing large amounts of data that you do not need to constantly access in the process. For example, store on it work files, games and programs. SSD allows you to receive a response from the file several times faster than a hard disk. But such a drive is expensive, and the volume is not too large.

Why do we need two types of drives? Everything is simple to demarcate the system:

1. On the SSD install the operating system and several programs that are needed most often. This will speed up work with them, since the SSD has a higher response rate.
2. HDD used as storage files (movies, music, games and other programs). But it is worth preparing for the fact that the response from them will have to wait a little longer.

The size of each of the disks should be estimated individually. If you are going to work at a computer or take it for home use, and not store a lot of files on it - then several hundred gigabytes on both drives are enough. If you are a professional designer or a gamer with experience, it is better to purchase a HDD at least 1 TB (or better 2 or more), and an SSD at least 256 GB.

Since the monoblock must somehow connect to the outside world, there are connectors for various peripherals (and not only) on its case. And, to make it as convenient as possible to use, it is worth choosing a candy bar with a convenient number and composition of interfaces.

Most candy bars have standard connectors. They allow you to connect the main peripherals and additional devices. What exits must be:

1. USB 2.0 or 3.0. Standard outputs for most devices. Connectors should be enough to connect all the peripherals (at least 3-4).
2. HDMI - often in monoblocks there are several such ports.
3. Audio output - combined or, more preferably, separate. The latter allows access to professional headphones and headsets without using an adapter, which will appeal to gamers.
4. Card reader - allows you to use memory cards from smartphones, cameras, camcorders and much more without an adapter for USB.
5. Ethernet - without this interface it is impossible to connect the wired Internet to the monoblock.

It will be very convenient if at least 1-2 USB-output will be on the front or side panel. This will allow you to quickly connect flash drives, not climbing behind the "back" of the candy bar.

Additionally, you can search for monoblocks with USB Type-C (USB 3.1) outputs, this is a faster version of regular USB. But it has another plug - small and compact, so devices cannot be connected to it without an adapter. Monoblock with analog VGA output is already quite small. But if you have peripherals that work with such a plug, then you should look at the model with the appropriate connector.

By the way, it is very desirable that the model had adapters for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. This will give the opportunity to use a candy bar to the maximum.

And finally, we figured out how to choose a computer-monoblock on the basic parameters and features. But without peripheral devices it is useless - just a beautiful TV on the table. Therefore, it is important to choose the right keyboard, headphones, mouse and other devices.

If you want the number of wires on the desktop to be minimal, then the best option would be to purchase a wireless keyboard, mouse, and headphones.In this case, there will be only one network cable. On the other hand, wireless devices are rather unstable compared to wired ones. Therefore, gamers are not suitable.

As for the webcam: many monoblocks have a built-in camera. But not all. Therefore, when buying, you need to clarify this issue separately. The same goes for the built-in microphone. By the way - the presence of the camera does not imply the presence of a microphone! Therefore, check everything separately.

Another important question: do you need a drive in a monoblock. Professionals recommend leaving it as many device drivers are shipped on disks. But it is worth considering: how often do you install something with a disk drive? If it is very rare or never, then you can safely refuse it. Everything you need can be brought to the memory card.

Selection of office equipment (printers, scanners and others) for the home, as well as professional options like a graphics tablet - the choice of the buyer. These devices work with all gadgets equally, so there is no difference.