Priced at $1250 (as of August 24, 2012), the Vizio CA27-A1 comes stocked with an Intel Core i5-3210M processor that runs at a standard 2.5GHz but ramps up to 3.1GHz when using Intel’s Turbo Frequency technology. This is coupled with 4GB of 1600MHz DDR3 RAM to support a speedy, responsive machine.
The screen is a beautiful 27-inch display with a maximum resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels. It has a slight tilt to get a better viewing angle and to alleviate any glare that might catch the reflective screen. But it's not a touchscreen, which feels like a bit of an oversight with Windows 8 so close to release. While a touchscreen isn’t necessary, it could be useful with Microsoft's forthcoming operating system.
One goal for most all-in-one desktop PCs is to be as thin as possible. This often means sacrifing some of the bulkier, more powerful components. Vizio managed to squeeze in a discrete GPU, albeit a mobile one: Nvidia’s GeForce GT 640M LE graphics card with 1GB of memory. While the CA27-A1’s specs will let it run some less strenuous games well, it struggled a bit on our graphics/games test.
