10 Dynamic Desktop PCs From CES 2014

The Desktop Is Dead! Long Live The Desktop!

While the desktop PC has been declared a thing of the past, the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show was still full of PCs, from massive high-performance gaming machines to ultra-small form-factor desktops. Here's a look at 10 of the coolest PCs in Las Vegas last week.

Lenovo N308

Lenovo made waves at CES this year with its first Android desktop, the N308. The all-in-one (AIO) desktop features a 19.5-inch HD touch-screen display with a 1,600-x-900 resolution. The N308 runs Android Jelly Bean 4.2 and Nvidia's Tegra quad-core processor, and offers up to 2 GB of memory and 500 GB of internal storage. The Android-based AIO desktop also comes with two USB 2.0 ports, built-in stereo speakers, a 6-in-1 card reader, a 720p Webcam and an internal battery for up to three hours of portable use. The N308 will be available in February starting at $450.

HP Slate21 Pro AiO

Another Android desktop dropped in Las Vegas last week (are you seeing a pattern here, Microsoft?) and this one was from Hewlett-Packard. The Slate21 Pro AiO desktop comes with a 21.5-inch HD touch-screen display with a 1,920-x-1,080 display resolution and runs Android 4.3 and Nvidia's Tegra 4 quad-core processor. The system comes with 2 GB of memory and 16 GB of eMMC flash storage, plus an SD card reader, four USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI port and a 720p Webcam. The HP Slate21 Pro AiO will launch March 6 at a starting price of $399.

Razer Project Christine

Of all the desktops at CES 2014, Razer arguably had the most eye-catching model with its prototype modular gaming PC, code-named Project Christine. The Windows-based system actually does away with the traditional desktop PC case and allows users to literally stack the self-contained PC components like building blocks. Therefore, gamers can continually upgrade their PCs by adding a new module here and there instead of having to take the whole thing apart. So if a user wants to add another graphics card, he or she can simply attach a new module to the column. And each module can contain a type of component: CPUs, GPUs, storage or motherboards. Plus the tower base comes with Razer's own noise-cancelling technology and a liquid mineral oil cooling system. No word yet on when Project Christine may become a reality or how much it will cost.

Lenovo Horizon 2

It's not a tablet -- it's a "table PC," according to Lenovo. The Horizon 2 is the next-generation version of Lenovo's Horizon table PC, which is a thinner (19.5mm thick) and lighter (16.8 pounds) model than the original. The Windows 8.1 system comes with a whopping 27-inch HD touch-screen display, with the option for a QHD display with a resolution of 2,560-x-1,440. The Horizon can run up to Intel's fourth-generation Core i7 processor and offers up to 8 GB of RAM and 500 GB of SSDH hybrid storage. Plus there are three USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI connector and a 720p Webcam. The Horizon 2 will be available in June starting at $1,499.

Xi3 Z3RO Pro Computer

Xi3 showed off several minimodular PCs at CES 2014, and among them was the Z3RO Pro, a business-focused modular PC designed for thin-client and digital signage applications. The small, power-efficient system operates with just 15 watts of electricity and measures just 4.9-x-3.7-x-1.9 inches, so you can hold the system in the palm of your hand. But in the tiny box is a 1.65GHz dual-core AMD G-Series processor with an AMD Radeon HD 6320 GPU. The Z3RO Pro comes with 4 GB of memory and up to 512 GB of SATA SSD storage. The system also comes with dual monitor support, an HDMI connector, four eSATA and USB 2.0 combo ports and a 1-GB Ethernet port. The Xi3 Z3RO Pro Computer is available now for a starting price of $549.

Toshiba Tecra W50 4K Mobile Workstation

Yes, it's technically a notebook, but Toshiba's new 4K Mobile Workstation isn't exactly the kind of light and thin mobile device you want to carry around today (though it still weighs in at less than 6 pounds). The new system boasts a 15.6-inch Ultra-HD 4K display with a native 1,920-x-1,080 resolution that's designed specifically for high-performance usage in CAD/CAM applications. The Tecra W50 can run Windows 7 or Windows 8 and up to an Intel Core i7-4800MQ quad-core processor, with a maximum of 32 GB of memory and up to 512 GB of SSD storage or 1 TB of hybrid disk drive storage. The display is powered by Nvidia's Quadro K2100MGPU, which comes with 2 GB of dedicated graphics memory. Toshiba's Tecra W50 will be available mid-2014 for an undisclosed price.

Lenovo ThinkCentre M93p Tiny

In addition to its other sleek PC offerings, Lenovo also showed off its ThinkCentre M93p "Tiny" desktop PC. At 7 inches tall, 7 inches wide and just 1.35 inches thick, the M93p is a business-focused PC with a small footprint and is equipped for digital signage mounting. The Windows-based system runs a fourth-generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processor with integrated graphics, plus up to 16 GB of memory and up to 500 GB of hybrid HDD storage. The tiny desktop also supports up to three displays and features Lenovo Intelligent Cooling Engine (ICE) 3.0 technology to keep the system cool and quiet. It also comes with two USB 3.0 ports and an optional HDMI port. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M93p is currently available for a starting price of $699.

HP Z1 G2 Workstation

HP's newest version of its Z1 AIO workstation takes performance to the next level. TheZ1 G2 has a 27-inch diagonal HD touch-screen display with a 2,560-x-1,440 resolution and comes with up to 32 GB of memory, 1 TB of SATA hard drive storage, or 512 GB of SSD storage. There's also plenty of options for operating systems (from Windows 8.1 Pro 64 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux) and CPUs (Intel Xeon, Intel Core i5-4570 and Intel Core i3-4130). The HP Z1 G2 also has the option for Nvidia Quadro discrete graphics cards. As for ports, the system comes with two USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, an SD card reader and the option for two Thunderbolt 2 ports. The Z1 G2 will be available later this month at a starting price of $1,999.

Lenovo Erazer X700

Lenovo may be known for its ThinkPad business notebooks, but that hasn't stopped the computer maker from venturing into the PC enthusiast and gaming market. Case in point: the Lenovo Erazer X700 desktop for gaming, which comes with a second-generation Intel Core processor (3.6GHz or 3.5GHz), up to 32 GB of memory and up to 2 TB of hard drive storage. The Erazer X700 also comes with some high-powered graphics options, including an Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 (1.5 GB) or an AMD Radeon HD 8950 (3 GB) with dual graphics card support. With AMD Eyefinity technology, the desktop also supports up to six displays. And, perhaps most importantly, the Erazer X700 comes with Lenovo's exclusive OneKey overclocking feature. The Erazer X700 will be available in June starting at $1,499.

iBuyPower SBX Steam Machine

CES 2014 was full of "Steam Machines" -- PCs built to run video game firm Valve Software's new SteamOS. And an assortment of boutique PC makers like Falcon Northwest and Origin showed off their new Steam Machine designs in Las Vegas. But the $500 prototype SBX Steam Machine from iBuyPower might have been the most attractive of the bunch, with its sleek case and small footprint. The SBX comes with an AMD quad-core Athlon X4 740 processor and an AMD Radeon R7 250 GPU, not to mention 4 GB of memory and a 500-GB hard drive. The iBuyPower system also comes with the Linux-based SteamOS preloaded, plus a Steam Controller and an HDMI cable. The iBuyPower SBX Steam Machine will ship later this year for a starting price of $500.