Stefan Mileschin

All-in-one desktop PCs have a number of advantages compared to regular desktop machines when it comes to dimensions, style, lack of cable clutter, and other. Their main drawbacks are tight integration that an AIO implies, particularly the need to fully embed a system behind a monitor or within the base of a monitor, resulting in AIO PCs living up the name. Dell, however, has decided to take a different approach with their new OptiPlex 7070 Ultra. The AIO system not only puts the "system" component in a new place – the arm of a monitor stand – but Dell has made the system component modular, allowng system modules to be swapped in and out as needed, and has further done the same for the display panel as well.

Dell’s modular AIO PC platform consists of several basic components: a compute module that packs CPU, memory, and storage; a display stand that can house the compute module; and a monitor with VESA 100 mounts. In fact, because the display stand is just a shell to hold and mount parts, the compute modules can be attached to any display even without a stand from Dell.

The first compute module that Dell intends to offer is the OptiPlex 7070 Ultra, a 0.5-liter brick that looks like an external battery pack for a laptop. The laptop-sized module is based on Intel’s Whiskey Lake-U processor with up to four cores, UHD Graphics 620, and up to 25 W TDP that is cooled down using its own cooling system. The CPU is accompanied by up to 64 GB of DDR4 RAM (using two SO-DIMMs), an M.2-2230 SSD, and an optional 2.5-inch hard drive. The module has a GbE port, an optional Wi-Fi 6 adapter, and a side-accessible USB Type-C with DisplayPort, USB Type-A, and a 3.5-mm audio connector.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/14764...le-for-aio-pcs