Lenovo IdeaCentre Q190-57312246 Pro Reviews

The IdeaCentre Q190 looks the part and has decent build quality. The option optical digital output and optional matching Blu-ray drive make it good for home theatre use, but it could really do with a more modern processor as performance is somewhat lacking.

Anyone looking for the fastest PC ever built is going to be sorely disappointed with the performance on offer from the Lenovo IdeaPad Q190, but other than that, there's a lot to like here. It's versatile, well-priced and offers up a good selection of ports. The small footprint means it's just as well-placed next to your television as it is as a discrete desktop, and the sizeable hard drive covers many uses too.

While the IdeaCentre Q190 doesn’t win any performance contests, it offers a lot of value for money. A base model from Lenovo’s Web site was, at the time of this review, running just $335 with 4GB of RAM and a USB keyboard and mouse, while the version we tested, with the added DVD drive and Multimedia Remote, was selling for just under $400 on Amazon.com. While that pricing is similar to what we’ve seen from Zotac’s Zbox models, keep in mind that the IdeaCentre Q190 includes Windows 8 preinstalled, while the Zotac boxes require you to obtain and install your own operating system.As a small, quiet home theater computer for playing videos and music, the IdeaCentre Q190 is a bargain. It’s also a fine basic family computer for doing homework, running Office apps, browsing the Web, and other typical home-user tasks. If you’re not doing intensive work such as video editing or serious PC gaming, the Q190 offers decent performance given its price and compact size. Though our Celeron model fell behind the Core i3-based mini-PCs we tested, keep in mind that you can opt for that faster processor in the Q190 if you want to spend a bit more.

Although it isn't the strongest performer, the Lenovo IdeaCentre Q190 desktop gives users a good way to jazz up their home theatre, provided they don't stray too far from its intended media purposes.