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Get the big picture with these tabletop PCs

Gather the family around a computer that's most at home on your coffee table.

Dan Ackerman
Dan Ackerman leads CNET's coverage of computers and gaming hardware. A New York native and former radio DJ, he's also a regular TV talking head and the author of "The Tetris Effect" (Hachette/PublicAffairs), a non-fiction gaming and business history book that has earned rave reviews from the New York Times, Fortune, LA Review of Books, and many other publications. "Upends the standard Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg technology-creation myth... the story shines." -- The New York Times
Scott Stein Editor at Large
I started with CNET reviewing laptops in 2009. Now I explore wearable tech, VR/AR, tablets, gaming and future/emerging trends in our changing world. Other obsessions include magic, immersive theater, puzzles, board games, cooking, improv and the New York Jets. My background includes an MFA in theater which I apply to thinking about immersive experiences of the future.
Expertise VR and AR, gaming, metaverse technologies, wearable tech, tablets Credentials
  • Nearly 20 years writing about tech, and over a decade reviewing wearable tech, VR, and AR products and apps
Dan Ackerman
Scott Stein
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1 of 4 Sarah Tew/CNET

Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon 27

This 27-inch all-in-one functions perfectly well as a desktop, but to see it really shine, push the spring-loaded hinge down and lay the system flat on your table, desk, or even the floor. There's even a collection of custom tabletop apps and games, including the requisite air hockey (seemingly the first app everyone thinks to play on a tabletop PC), Texas Hold 'Em poker, and Monopoly.

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2 of 4 Sarah Tew/CNET

HP Envy Rove 20

The built-in kickstand is rock-solid and adjusts to different angles easily, and the Rove also features HP's standard Beats Audio subsystem, more USB ports, and a clever on-demand screen rotation button that keeps Windows 8 from flipping the image around every time you jostle the screen.

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3 of 4 Sarah Tew/CNET

Sony Vaio Tap 20

The original Vaio Tap 20 came out last year and was one of our early favorites in the tabletop PC world. The landscape has expanded since then, and the new Tap 21 model (not yet reviewed) has an aluminum chassis and easy-fold rear stand/hinge that give the PC all the appeal of a well-build monitor/tablet with a bit of the feel of a TV. It's also 30 percent lighter than last year's model at about 8 pounds, despite gaining in inch in overall screen size.

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4 of 4 Sarah Tew/CNET

Dell XPS 18

Thanks to its light weight and portability, the Dell XPS 18 is probably the most useful of the current crop of tabletop PCs, and it's fun for playing touch-friendly games. Rather than a built-in kickstand, it uses a heavy dock that stays anchored to the table (and that acts as a charging base), allowing you to pick up the tablet part and walk away easily.

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