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Lenovo Ideacentre Q190 review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £330
inc VAT

This tiny PC has plenty of ports and power for the price, but its lack of upgrade options make it less versatile than other ultra compact systems

Specifications

1.8GHz Intel Core i3-3217U, 4GB RAM, N/A display, Windows 8

http://www.ebuyer.com

Mini PCs all save on space, making them perfect companions for messy desks. But while the Lenovo IdeaCentre Q190 is comparatively tall compared to other mini PCs we’ve tested, it’s still incredibly slight. Measuring just 155x22x193mm, it’s roughly the same size as an iPad Mini standing on its end. It even comes with a VESA mount so you can screw it onto the back of your monitor if you don’t want to lay it flat or use the included stand.

Lenovo Ideacentre Q190

Its small size doesn’t mean the Q190 is much less versatile than a traditional PC, though, as Lenovo has made good use of the available space to cram in plenty of ports. Most of these are on the rear of the PC, and include four USB2 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port and an optical S/PDIF audio output to connect to certain surround sound systems.

There’s only a VGA and an HDMI output to connect to a display, but as you can plug an HDMI port into a DVI monitor with a £4 adaptor this isn’t too much of a problem. You certainly won’t be short of USB ports, as the PC has another two USB3 ports on the front of the PC along with a multi-format card reader and separate headphone and microphone jacks underneath its elegant, if slightly flimsy, silver plastic flap.

Lenovo Ideacentre Q190

This gives you plenty of scope for adding extra storage to the Q190’s 1TB hard disk, but you’ll need to save two USB ports for a keyboard and mouse, or one if you use a wireless set; the Q190 doesn’t have built-in Bluetooth.

Lenovo Ideacentre Q190

The Q190’s main downside is its lack of upgrade options. The plastic chassis is completely sealed, so you’ll have to make do with what’s already inside the box for the duration of the PC’s lifespan. This will come as a disappointment to some, but fortunately the Q190 is already considerably more powerful than many PCs in this price range.

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Basic Specifications

Rating ****
Processor Intel Core i3-3217U
Processor external bus 100MHz
Processor multiplier x18
Processor clock speed 1.8GHz
Processor socket Socket 988B rPGA
Memory 4
Memory type DDR3
Maximum memory 8GB
Motherboard Lenovo Q190
Motherboard chipset Intel HM76

Ports

USB2 ports (front/rear) 2/4
eSATA ports (front/rear) 0/0
Wired network ports 1x 10/100/1000
Wireless networking support 802.11n

Internal Expansion

Case mini PC
PCI slots (free) 0
PCI-E x1 slots (free) 0
PCI-E x16 slots (free) 0
Free Serial ATA ports 0
Free memory slots 0
Free 3.5in drive bays 0

Hard Disk

Hard disk model(s) Western Digital Caviar 1TB
Interface SATA3

Graphics

Graphics card(s) Intel HD Graphics 4000
Graphics/video ports VGA, HDMI

Sound

Sound Realtek HD Audio
Sound outputs optical S/PDIF, headphone
Speakers N/A

Removable Drives

Supported memory cards SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro
Optical drive type(s) none

Display

Screen model N/A
Native resolution N/A
Screen inputs VGA, HDMI

Other Hardware

Keyboard none
Mouse none

Software

Operating system Windows 8
Operating system restore option restore partition

Buying Information

Warranty one year RTB
Price £330
Supplier http://www.ebuyer.com
Details www.lenovo.co.uk

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