Hystou all-in-one workstation – $1,253.70 at AliExpress
(£1,002.71/AU$1,775.24)
This all-in-one workstation from Hystou is up there with the best iMac Pro rivals on the market – and it costs only a fraction of the price. If you can abide a product from a lesser known vendor, check it out!View Deal

A flurry of new products have been launched in the last few weeks, based on the new Intel processors. One in particular caught our eye, because it almost seems too good to be true.

Hystou is selling an all-in-one gaming computer for circa $1,250 (£1,000/AU$1,775) via its AliExpress store. But frankly, we see it more as an Apple iMac Pro competitor, which is especially true once you’ve beefed it up.

What do you get for your money? An 8-core, 8-thread Intel Core i7-9700F processor with a dedicated graphics card (Nvidia Geforce GTX1650 with 4GB GDDR5 memory), 64GB DDR4 memory and a 1TB PCIe SSD.

All the components are housed behind a 27-inch full HD display, which is probably the most underwhelming part of the configuration.

Elsewhere, there’s a DVI-D port (great for legacy displays), four USB 3.0 connectors, two USB 2.0 ones, one GbE LAN port, a full size DisplayPort connector and two audio jacks – and you can add two other 2.5-inch SATA storage devices too.

Other notable features include a 200W power adaptor, 802.11n Wi-Fi, a keyboard and mouse, plus a pair of integrated 3W speakers.

There are a couple of issues though. Firstly, while there is a three-year warranty, any issues will mean sending the 17.5kg package back to China. We don’t like the fact that there’s no webcam or Bluetooth and the Wi-Fi could also have been better for the sake of a few dollars.

The nearest Apple iMac equivalent has the same amount of memory, but a 256GB SSD and a far inferior 6-core Intel Core i5 – and it retails for $2,799. Yes, it has a vastly superior build quality and that Retina 5K display, but is it worth the 120% premium?

Bear in mind

  • If this product is shipped from mainland China, it will take a month to reach the UK or US (and potentially more). You may be levied an additional tax, either directly or through the courier.
  • If you’ve managed to get hold of a product with equivalent specifications, in stock and brand new, let us know and we’ll tip our hat to you.
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