It had a long run, and has survived all kinds of threats--laptops, gaming consoles, netbooks, countless pundits like myself proclaiming its end. But seriously this time: it's done. And ironically, the tower desktop got put down by a PC that actually sits on top of your desk.

Out With The Old
In 2011, all-in-one desktops went from being a novelty to becoming a palatable product category that served up a strong value and great performance in a compact case. So here's my prediction for 2012, and the next few years: All-in-ones will be everywhere.

You'll still find a few towers haunting store shelves. And they may even seem like a good deal--say, $400 for a 1TB hard drive, 4GB of RAM, and some middle of the road CPU from AMD or Intel. Pair that with your monitors and an existing set of keyboard and mice, and you'll have a perfectly serviceable PC.

And also a relic of a bygone age.

Some of us need to tinker inside of our machines: Gamers like myself will still need giant cases for our graphics cards and liquid-cooled CPUs. Professionals will need workstations, and businesses will need machines that can be upgraded or repaired en masse. Drab black boxes will remain a mainstay in the corporate environment--for a little while longer, anyway.

But all-in-ones are the future. The average consumer just wants something that works, and works well--and it never hurts if it looks good or takes up a minimum amount of space. All-in-ones hit every single point with aplomb.

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SOURCE: PC World