Toshiba DX1210-ST4N22 All-in-One

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Toshiba DX1210-ST4N22 All-in-One

Toshiba stopped making consumer desktops for the U.S. market almost 10 years ago, but if the new Toshiba DX1210-ST4N22 is any indication, it appears Toshiba has found some viable economics in the all-in-one market.

This 21.5-inch, $935 system is not quite as fast as others in this price range, but it has a clean look and some useful features, including touch input and the ability to work as a display for HDMI-based video sources. We're still waiting for an all-in-one vendor to hit upon the perfect combination of value and functionality at this price, but for its first consumer desktop in a decade, Toshiba has made a game attempt. We recommend it to anyone looking for a midrange Windows all-in-one with touch input and external device integration.

Toshiba has opted for a simple design for its new all-in-one, relying on a clean, glossy black bezel with silver-gray trim along the bottom edge. The right side of the chassis has dedicated buttons for volume, screen brightness, screen power, and input select, a more logical set of controls than you usually see on competing all-in-ones.


Toshiba DX1210-ST4N22 
HP Omni 200-5380qd


Price 
$935 
$949



Display size/resolution 
21.5-inch / 1,920x1,080 pixels 
21-inch / 1,920x1,080 pixels



CPU 
2.3GHz Intel Core i5 2410 
2.8GHz Intel Core i5 760



Memory 
4GB 1,333MHZ DDR3 SDRAM 
6GB 1,333MHz DDR3 SDRAM



Graphics 
Embedded 64MB Intel HD Graphics 3000 
1GB AMD Radeon HD 5570 graphics card


Hard drives 
1TB, 7,200rpm 
1TB 7,200rpm



Optical drive 
dual-layer DVD burner 
dual-layer DVD burner



Networking 
Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n wireless 
Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n wireless



Operating system 
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) 
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)


In a side-by-side component comparison with the HP Omni 200-5380qd, a recent HP all-in-one, the Toshiba DX1210-ST4N22 doesn't look like the best deal going, but the HP Omni does not support touch input, and it also lacks an HDMI input. We would gladly trade touch in the Toshiba for a Blu-ray drive, a discrete graphics card, or a faster CPU, but the HDMI input makes this system twice as useful as the HP Omni. Not every dorm room or den needs a touch screen, but the fact that you can use the Toshiba as a display for other devices is a major space-saving plus that largely offsets any problems with its remaining features.


Adobe Photoshop CS3 image-processing test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)


66

76
Toshiba DX1210-ST4N22 (2.3GHz Core i5 2410, Summer 2011)
94
129


Adobe Photoshop CS5 image-processing test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)


207

253

Toshiba DX1210-ST4N22 (2.3GHz Core i5 2410, Summer 2011)
302


Apple iTunes encoding test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)


92

118

Toshiba DX1210-ST4N22 (2.3GHz Core i5 2410, Summer 2011)
122

205


Multimedia multitasking (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)


144

354

Toshiba DX1210-ST4N22 (2.3GHz Core i5 2410, Summer 2011)
470

537


CineBench 11.5 scores
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Rendering multiple CPUs
Rendering single CPU

3.96
1.25

3.93
1.11

2.71
0.69

Toshiba DX1210-ST4N22 (2.3GHz Core i5 2410, Summer 2011)
2.59
1.12

While 21.5-inch screens like the Toshiba's are common in this price range, you can also get 23-inch displays in sub-$1,000 all-in-ones like the Dell Inspiron One 2305

Since the Inspiron One 2305 also has an HDMI input it might seem to have the overall advantage, but you can see from our performance tests that the Toshiba scored significantly faster than the AMD-powered Inspiron in almost every test. None of these Windows all-in-ones is meant for demanding HD video editing, and although the Toshiba's Core i5 4010 chip has a relatively robust embedded graphics core, it can barely handle the game Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and only then at its lower image-quality settings. Still, the Toshiba DX1210 is acceptably fast for its price, and its versatility makes up for what it lacks in raw performance.

In addition to its HDMI input, this Toshiba all-in-one boasts a pair of USB 3.0 inputs, still a relatively uncommon connectivity feature. You also get four slower USB 2.0 jacks, as well as an extra, enclosed USB 2.0 jack that neatly houses the wireless mouse and keyboard receiver. Other inputs include two analog audio jacks and an Ethernet adapter. We might like to see digital audio outs, but otherwise, we can only think of a few other ports we'd really like to add to this system.

Unlike on most other touch-based all-in-ones, you won't find a big application suite designed to round out the DX1210-ST4N22's touch support. Toshiba includes some useful apps that lend themselves to touch input, including Toshiba's Book Place e-book store and reader, and ReelTime, a carousel interface that displays large, touch-friendly icons of your document and program history. This approach is more understated than that of other touch-input peddlers, and does a good job of making use of touch input without overselling the concept.


Toshiba DX1210-ST4N22

Average watts per hour


Off (watts) 
0.95


Sleep (watts) 
1.13


Idle (watts) 
32.54


Load (watts) 
76.27


Raw (annual kWh) 
138.25


Energy Star-compliant 
Yes


Annual power consumption cost (@$0.1135/kWh) 
$15.69


Annual power consumption cost
Toshiba DX1210-ST4N22 (2.3GHz Core i5 2410, Summer 2011)
$15.69

$16.80

$19.16

$40.24



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